Current News

by Rob Roper Love him or hate him, one has to concede that Bernie Sanders has had a tremendous impact on the political direction of Vermont over the past a quarter century plus. His influence has reverberated throughout the Green Mountains and in our State House. He has had spawned many acolytes in the activist community and in the halls of power.

Over his political career, Sanders has been remarkably consistent with his democratic/socialist, populist message, which he now wants to bring to the national stage in a run for president. A major theme for “Bernie 2016” will be the consequences of rising income inequality. This begs the question, what has Bernie Sanders done for income inequality here in Vermont? What does his long legacy of helping the little guy by taking on big corporations and “the rich” in his home state really look like?

Two studies shed some light on the answer.

Brandwatch, the leading social intelligence company, Tuesday released an extensive social data report focused on the restaurant, food and beverage industries. In the report, more than 2.5 million social media mentions were collected and analyzed. With an estimated 32 percent of all UK brand mentions on Twitter centered around the food and beverage industry, this indicates that there exists huge opportunities for businesses around the globe in this field to leverage social media data. With notable exceptions, this also could be the revearse of the Red State-Blue State political map, with the traditional Republican states liking liquor and Democratic states liking beer and wine.

Key report findings include:

United States Alcohol Preference

Governor Peter Shumlin joined with students, Vermont State Colleges Chancellor Jeb Spaulding, and others Tuesday in Burlington to encourage Vermonters to apply for summer dual enrollment courses ahead of upcoming registration deadlines. Shumlin signed into law legislation in 2013 that expanded dual enrollment, a program that allows students to earn college credit for free while still in high school. The law has been a success, with the number of Vermont students taking advantage of dual enrollment doubling from around 600 to almost 1,300 in 2014.

Vermont Business Magazine In order to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at the Fair Market Rent in Vermont, renters need to earn $20.68 per hour, or $43,017 a year. This is Vermont’s 2015 Housing Wage, revealed in a report released today. The report, Out of Reach 2015, was jointly released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organization, and the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition.

The Housing Wage is the hourly wage a family must earn, working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, to be able to afford the rent and utilities for a safe and modest home in the private housing market. While rents generally align with median income (see data and map below), Vermont ranks 13th highest in average rent but 21st highest in median household income.

Attorney General Bill Sorrell, together with state law enforcement partners in every other state in the nation, the District of Columbia, and the Federal Trade Commission, has joined in filing a federal lawsuit in Arizona against four sham cancer charities and their operators, who allegedly scammed more than $187 million from consumers throughout the country.

On any given night, about 57,000 children under the care of our nation’s child welfare systems are going to bed without the care and comfort of a family.

The Green Mountain Care Board has received and begun its review of the 2016 proposed health insurance rates for plans offered through Vermont Health Connect, the state’s health benefit Exchange. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont has requested an average annual rate increase of 8.4 percent over 2015 rates. MVP Health Care (MVP) has requested an average annual rate increase of 3.0 percent over 2015 rates. The insurers cite increasing medical and pharmacy prices as well as costs related to federal and state requirements as drivers of the requested rate increases.

NFP, a leading national insurance broker and consultant based in New York, has acquired Hackett Valine & MacDonald, Inc (HVM). The transaction closed on May 1, 2015. HVM, based in South Burlington, is a brokerage and consulting firm that specializes in P&C and employee benefits. The firm offers personal and commercial lines expertise and employee benefits capabilities for companies in a range of industries. HVM’s leadership team will remain in place, with Michael Walsh transitioning to Managing Director for NFP’s New England region, reporting to Terrence Scali, Chief Executive Officer, NFP Property & Casualty. Timothy Ford will continue as a Director of Sales, focused on employee benefits, and Richard Bazluke will serve as the Finance Director.

Expenses related to increases in the prices for medical care and prescription drugs in Vermont and Federal changes related to the Affordable Care Act require an 8.4 percent increase in premiums for Exchange-related qualified health plans, according to a rate filing prepared by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, the state’s largest health insurer.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont filed with Vermont’s Green Mountain Care Board proposed rates for 2016 qualified health plans. The rates filed by the company would increase premiums for individuals and small businesses by an average of 8.4 percent.

The company said in its filing that significant medical and pharmacy price increases were partially offset by favorable demographic and other assumptions within the company’s control. Combined, these factors produced a 5.3 percent increase in rates. The remainder of the 8.4 percent increase was driven by changes related to the Federal Affordable Care Act.

The Vermont Ski Areas Association is excited to announce the winners of the third annual Green Mountain Awards for Environmental Excellence at Vermont Ski Resorts. Judged by Alan Hebert of Efficiency Vermont, Melinda Vieux, President of Green Up Vermont, and VSAA President Parker Riehle, resorts competed to win awards in environmental stewardship. Categories looked closely at improvements made to waste reduction, water consumption, carbon footprint, Green Up Day participation and combined environmental efforts.

The Vermont Community Loan Fund (VCLF) has announced the launch of the Food, Farms & Forests Fund, a new capital resource dedicated to investing in Vermont's healthy foods, sustainable agriculture and natural resources enterprises. A kick-off celebration is scheduled for the evening of May 20th at Shelburne Farms. A short program will outline the goals and opportunities the new Fund presents in Vermont’s food and farm financing landscape. The launch celebration will also showcase the work being done by current VCLF borrowers in this area, and feature foods produced by VCLF borrowers.

“The new Food, Farms & Forests Fund is an important extension of the work the Loan Fund has been doing for twenty years, providing flexible financing and financial services to Vermont’s family farms, food and working landscape businesses,” said VCLF Executive Director Will Belongia.

Expert Drain Care, LLC, a Brattleboro-based corporation that does business as Roto Rooter and Monadnock Septic, was convicted of three felony environmental crimes in Vermont Superior Court, Brattleboro Criminal Division last week. Pursuant to a plea agreement with the Vermont Attorney General's Office, Expert Drain Care pled no contest to one count of transportation of solid waste without a permit, one count of illegal disposal of solid waste, and one count of false claims. In addition to the three felony convictions, Expert Drain Care must pay a $5,000.00 fine and related court costs.

"This business tried to cut a few corners to save a few hundred dollars on permit fees and ended up with three felony convictions and thousands of dollars in fines," said Attorney General William H. Sorrell. "Vermont businesses should be on notice that we take the enforcement of Vermont’s environmental laws and regulations very seriously," he added.