Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell announced today that his office has filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of the State of Vermont against Dean R Corren seeking enforcement of Vermont’s campaign finance laws and the provisions governing the public financing of election campaigns. The violations asserted arise out of requests by Corren, a publicly financed candidate, to the VDP to contribute to his campaign for lieutenant governor in 2014, Corren’s facilitation of such support, and the VDP’s assistance by sending a mass email expressly advocating Corren’s election to a distribution list of between 16,000 and 19,000 people. Corren has counter-sued the AG's office.

Sterling College launched the most ambitious fundraising effort in its history on Wednesday. “Nourish the Roots: The Campaign for Sterling” has a goal of $9 million, and the college also announced that it has already raised $4.5 million in gifts and commitments toward that goal for the Craftsbury Common school. The heart of the campaign is strengthening the college’s abiding commitment to environmental stewardship.

“Sterling has always been a pioneer,” said President Matthew Derr, “and it has consistently emphasized what is important and what is authentic.”

Vermont Business Magazine Vermonters are not equally healthy. Chittenden County residents are the healthiest in the state, while those Essex and Orleans are the least, according to a new study released today by the Vermont Department of Health. The results are detailed in the 2015 County Health Rankings released today by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps shows, county-by-county across the nation, what makes people sick or healthy, and what can be done to create healthier places to live, learn, work and play.

A $10,000 grant from the National Life Group Foundation to the Cross Vermont Trail Association will help provide a key link to the area’s recreation network. The money is earmarked to the association’s Build the Bridge project, which calls for construction of a bicycle/pedestrian bridge over the Winooski River east of Montpelier. That bridge will help to connect the trail that winds its way from Lake Champlain to the Connecticut River.

“We’re pleased that we can help make the community we call home even more attractive,” said Beth Rusnock, president of the National Life Group Foundation. “It’s an added bonus that the trail is also a healthy alternative to commuting to work by car, something that National Life employees wholeheartedly endorse.”

Vermont Gas issued the statement below following testimony Wednesday before the Vermont Public Service Board regarding the gas pipeline extension from Chittenden County to Addison County. Cost overruns have led VGS to cancel Phase 2 of the project, which would have extended the pipeline to the International Paper plant in Ticonderoga, NY. Because of the inflated cost, Vermont Gas had to go back to the regulator to continue Phase 1. The Vermont Department of Public Service recommended last year that Vermont Gas pay a $35,000 fine for violating board rule 5.409, which addresses cost overruns. Vermont Gas apparently will pay that fine and if so will become the first utility in the state to ever do so. The PSB ultimately will decide on the penalty and whether Phase 1 can proceed.

The University of Vermont Medical Center received the “2014 Governor’s Excellence in Worksite Wellness Award” today from the Vermont Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports for the company’s extensive efforts to improve employee health. The award recognizes successful programs at the UVM Medical Center that engaged 50 percent of its 7,300 employees. Key elements include biometric screenings, health coaching for lifestyle changes, online health assessments, and creative use of social media to engage the workforce. Wellness initiatives at the Medical Center have been recognized consistently by the State of Vermont for more than a decade.

BioTek Instruments, a global leader in microplate instrumentation technology, recently received the '2014 Supplier of the Year' award from Fisher Scientific, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific. The award was presented to BioTek in Phoenix, Arizona at Fisher Scientific’s annual meeting. Fisher Scientific annually presents this award to the supplier that best exemplifies outstanding overall performance and support in a number of categories including percent growth, marketing participation, new product development and on time delivery to help grow Fisher’s North American business.

This prestigious award was presented by David Koi, Senior Vice President, Global Portfolio Management and Lisa Witte, President, Research & Safety Division at Fisher Scientific.

by David Coates, KPMG (retired) I wish I had some encouraging news to share with you on the status of Vermont's liabilities for underfunded pensions and retiree health care benefits (OPEB), but I don't as these liabilities continue to grow despite positive, incremental changes that have been made over the last few years. Unfortunately, the changes only ended up nibbling around the edges; the size of the liabilities and the key underlying assumptions require significant structural reform.

Here is a look at the unfunded liabilities taken from the most recent Actuarial Reports:

2014 2010 2005

Pensions (State and Teachers) $1.5 Billion $1.0 Billion $0.2 Billion

Keurig Green Mountain, Inc (NASDAQ: GMCR) has announced the addition of Keurig K-Mug pods: pods that brew a large travel mug-size of your favorite beverage, offering more brewing options within the Keurig 2.0 brewing system. Keurig 2.0, which debuted in Fall 2014, is the most advanced hot beverage system ever made by Keurig and the first Keurig brewer with the ability to brew a single cup, a four-cup carafe, and now a travel mug size of coffee.

Available exclusively on Keurig.com, the new K-Mug pods are specially formulated to deliver the quality and strength of flavor that Keurig 2.0 brewer users expect when brewing 12-, 14-, and 16-ounce coffee and other beverages, accommodating both on-the-go lifestyles and those mornings that require more than a cup but less than a carafe.

PC Construction has completed construction of the 110,000-square-foot Virtue Field House, passing the baton to Middlebury College student-athletes at the varsity, club, intramural, and recreational levels, who now will be able to compete and play in the state-of-the-art sports facility.

Designed by Boston-based Sasaki Associates, with PC Construction of South Burlington serving as the general contractor, the $29 million construction contract was funded entirely by donors and built with sustainability as a top priority. In fact, Virtue Field House consumes less energy than its predecessor even though it’s almost twice as large.

It began with a vision: a place where seniors could remain a part of the Randolph community as they aged, and private patient hospital rooms to accommodate state-of-the-art medical care. This month Gifford Medical Center officially launched a $5 million campaign to fund a multi-phased project that makes the vision reality: a new Menig Nursing Home anchoring the Morgan Orchards Senior Living Community in Randolph Center, and 25 private patient rooms at the hospital.

The “Vision for the Future” committee, led by Dr Lou DiNicola and Lincoln Clark, has already raised 68 percent of the $5 million goal in the 18 months leading to the public launch: $3.4 million has been pledged, thanks to generous early support from members of Gifford’s volunteer Board of Trustees and Directors, medical staff, employees, and the hospital’s Auxiliary.

Dr Mark Yorra and Granite City Primary Care (GCPC) are now open in their new and expanded location in the Blanchard Block Building on Main Street in Barre. The practice is part of the University of Vermont Health Network- Central Vermont Medical Center (UVMHN-CVMA) group. Cutting the ribbon (L to R): Vice Chair UVMHN-CVMC Board of Trustees,