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Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) has been recognized as a Platinum-Level Fit-Friendly Worksite by the American Heart Association for helping employees eat better and move more. The Fit-Friendly Worksites program is a catalyst for positive change in the American workforce by helping worksites make their employees’ health and well-being a priority.

“Physical activity and employee wellness are important priorities at BCBSVT. We are honored and excited to be recognized by the American Heart Association as a Platinum-Level Fit-Friendly Worksite,” said Don George, President and CEO. “We’re committed to providing the best workplace environment possible to our employees. Offering our employees a robust, comprehensive worksite health and wellness program benefits not only their health but also the good work they do every day.”

Norwich University has received a grant for $55,675 from the National Science Foundation, with support from the National Security Agency, to lead a weeklong summer camp on cybersecurity for rising high school juniors and seniors. Dubbed GenCyber@NU, the comprehensive program is free to all participants and will be taught by standout Norwich faculty and alumni.

Students will dive into the fields of cyber security and cyber defense while building their own computers, which are theirs to take home at the end of the week. The pre-college program will be held June 21-27 and is designed for students interested in information security, digital forensics, cyberattack defense, and personal online protection.

Spring weather is here and there will be an increase in recreational hikers using hiking access points throughout Vermont. Last year there were numerous car breaks at various hiking access locations in Vermont. This is in part due to the ongoing heroin and opiate challenges the state currently faces. Vermont State Police are warning citizens to not leave valuable items in their vehicles at the trailheads. Some examples would include: purses, ipads, ipods, cash, credit cards, debit cards, social security cards, wallets, and jewelry. These crimes occur each summer and into the fall months in Vermont. Troopers are sending out a pro-active message to citizens to take their valuables with them on their hike or to simply leave valuables at home.

The Vermont Lottery and Vermont Agency of Education announce Charleston Elementary School of Charleston, Vermont, as the first winner of the Educate/Innovate Grant Program. This is the first of what is expected to be a twice-annual award. The program, funded by the Vermont Lottery, will provide a cart of 20 iPad devices to the school in support of their proposal, which has eighth graders working with elders in their community to explore the differences in how communication has changed over time. The project proposed, entitled Elders Among Us: Building Bridges, Breathing History will commence in the coming school year and employs the iPads as an integral part of the process.

The winning proposal states:

Hunters are gearing up for Vermont’s spring youth turkey hunting weekend later this month and getting ready for the regular spring turkey hunting season that starts May 1. Vermont offers some of the best turkey hunting in New England according to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. In 2014, Hunters took 5,160 turkeys in both the youth weekend and regular seasons, and 1,232 turkeys in the fall season.

Photo by John Hall, VT Fish & Wildlife: Vermont’s highly successful wild turkey management program resulted in hunters taking 6,392 turkeys in spring and fall seasons last year. This year’s youth spring turkey hunting weekend is April 25-26. The regular spring season is May 1-31.

by Public Assets Institute Thousands of Vermonters work at jobs that don’t pay enough to meet their families’ basic needs. That leaves Vermont taxpayers paying tens of millions of dollars to pick up the slack left by employers who pay so little that hard working men and women have to turn to public assistance. So, before the Legislature approves more tax breaks ostensibly designed to induce employers to create new jobs, it should require that those jobs pay at least enough to keep workers off public assistance.

Otherwise, state taxpayers will be paying twice: once for the tax credit to create the jobs, and again annually to help more low-wage working families make ends meet. Subsidizing the creation of more low-wage Vermont jobs drives up state spending, reduces state revenues, and only aggravates the structural budget problems Montpelier says it wants to solve.

People's United Financial, Inc (NASDAQ: PBCT) has reported net income of $59.2 million, or $0.20 per share, for the first quarter of 2015, compared to $53.1 million, or $0.18 per share, for the first quarter of 2014, and $64.7 million, or $0.22 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2014. Operating earnings were $63.2 million, or $0.21 per share, for the first quarter of 2015, compared to $56.5 million, or $0.19 per share, for the first quarter of 2014, and $65.1 million, or $0.22 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2014.

The Company's Board of Directors voted to increase the common stock dividend to an annual rate of $0.67 per share. Based on the closing stock price on April 15, 2015, the dividend yield on People's United Financial common stock is 4.4 percent. The quarterly dividend of $0.1675 per share is payable May 15, 2015 to shareholders of record on May 1, 2015.

The University of Vermont officially broke ground on April 15 on a new instructional barn and milking parlor and a new research barn at the Paul R. Miller Agricultural Research Farm, Phase I of a two-phase, $10 million upgrade of the farm, located on Spear Street in Burlington. The $2.55 million, 13,176-square-foot teaching barn and milking parlor will accommodate an instructional herd of 50 cows and be completed in mid-September. For reasons of student safety, both facilities have safety and fire suppression systems not commonly found in barns.

The 8,764 square foot, $987,100 research barn will be used by CALS faculty and their graduate and undergraduate students to conduct short-term, intensive trials on dairy cows related to nutrition, reproduction and animal health. It will also be completed by mid-September.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont.), Representative Peter Welch (D-Vermont), and a representative from US Patrick Leahy’s (D-Vermont) office will speak during the official renaming of the Danville, Vermont, post office to honor Thaddeus Stevens on Saturday. The Danville, Vermont-born congressman fought for the successful passage of the 13th Amendment to end slavery in the United States.

Stevens, who represented Pennsylvania in Congress, is also credited with shepherding the 14th and 15th Amendments through Congress in the wake of the Civil War and for fighting for public education and social justice. In the 2012 motion picture "Lincoln" by Steven Spielberg, Stevens was portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones.

Who: Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Peter Welch, and other invited guests, including students from the Thaddeus Stevens School and representatives from the Danville Historical Society and the Thaddeus Stevens Society.

Many colleges observe Earth Day, scheduled for next week on Wednesday, April 22. “Green Mountain College traditionally celebrates Earth Week,” said GMC sustainability director Aaron Witham. “Sustainability plays such a big role in our curriculum and in our campus culture that we believe it's important to be mindful of the earth every day.” The Princeton Review recognized Green Mountain College’s exceptional commitment to sustainability today in its sixth annual guide to the most environmentally responsible "green" colleges: GMC was ranked second in the nation, just behind Lewis and Clark College in Oregon.

Vermont was by far the fastest growing state in New England for homes sales in March, up more than 20 percent. The state was also up significantly over the same time last year. Home prices were also up but at a more modest 2.6%. Meanwhile, the better-late-then-never arrival of spring inspired an uptick in home sales throughout New England. Month-over-month, home sales reflected the spring market with an increase of 29% over February’s numbers. Year-over-year, home sales increased by 1% in the region with 10,311 recorded sales. Across New England, median prices were on the incline. Almost every state in the region revealed modest price appreciation over March 2014’s figures. On average, home prices rose 3.7% year-overyear.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont is prepared to bill the state for millions of dollars in past-due premiums, according to a letter the company sent to state officials last month. BCBSVT, Vermont’s largest health insurer, has more than 90 percent of the state health exchange’s individual market, nearly 35,000 plans.

In a March 5 letter to the state, which was provided to VTDigger, BCBS said it expects that $3 million to $5 million in past due premiums from 2014 “will never be collected,” and the company would be billing Vermont Health Connect for the final amount due at the end of March.