Current News

President Obama offered his State of the Union address Tuesday night and Vermont's highest elected officials had general praise for it, especially the idea of revitalizing the economy of middle class earners. The president also called for paid sick leave, which Vermont's delegation and state Democratic leadership, have also called for. Leahy, who is very involved with normalizing diplomatic relations with Cuba, spent most of his remarks on that subject.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont)

Vermont Business Magazine We all knew that a steep drop in gasoline prices would put more money in our pockets and help stimulate the economy. What we didn’t know is how profound that impact could be until today. Economists Jeff Carr and Tom Kavet briefed the state’s Emergency Board on current and expected tax revenues at the State House this afternoon. Governor Shumlin’s administration has already proposed $14 million in cuts to the current budget and the economists projected that that should be more than enough to cover what they see as a shortfall in the fiscal year 2015 revenue projections of $10 million.

Carr, on behalf of the administration, and Kavet, on behalf of the Legislature, offer their projections twice a year so the governor and lawmakers have a guide on how to budget. The E-Board is comprised of Shumlin and the chairmen of the four money committees in the Legislature.

BioTek Instruments will be recognized for their efforts in worksite wellness by the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports and Vermont Department of Health on March 25, 2015 at the Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center in Burlington from 7:30 a.m. to 4 pm. BioTek is one of 92 businesses that will receive an award for 2014. This is the fourth year the company has been honored.

“Worksites that promote healthy eating, physical activity, tobacco use cessation, and breastfeeding, contribute to the overall health and wellness of all Vermonters, and they are one of the key reasons we are routinely rated the nation’s healthiest state,” said Health Commissioner Harry Chen, MD.

Governor Peter Shumlin on Tuesday announced the resignation of Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA) Commissioner Mark Larson, who will be stepping down in March after helping transition his deputy Lori Collins to Interim Commissioner. A search for a permanent replacement is underway. Much of the weight of Vermont Health Connect - its struggles, successes and blame - fell onto Larson's shoulders since its inception less than 18 months ago.

FINRA, a national research organization, reports that 62% of Vermont households lack a rainy day fund to cover unexpected emergencies like loss of income or major car repair. Merchants Bank is making a $5,000 grant to the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity’s Growing Money Program to address just such vulnerability. The grant will help Growing Money staff to continue to deliver financial classes and personal financial coaching in Vermont’s four Northwest counties.

House Speaker Shap Smith today asked Vermonters, employers, policy makers and stakeholders to submit proposals for economic development and job growth strategies for consideration in the legislative biennium. “On the first day of the session, I called on lawmakers to work together as we strive to create an atmosphere of opportunity across Vermont. It is in this spirit that we are asking for public input on state economic development strategies,” announced Speaker Smith.

The Speaker’s Office launched a similar initiative in December, requesting public input for education system reforms. Vermonters responded by submitting over 85 education proposals. Speaker Smith shared the feedback with the House Education Committee for review and incorporation into its agenda. Similarly, public proposals on economic development will be shared with the Commerce and Economic Development Committee for consideration.

David Silverman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank, announced today that Jonathan J Gould has been selected as the Bank’s new Senior Vice President and Senior Commercial Loan Officer. Gould joins the Bank on January 20, and is responsible for leading the commercial lending team, growing and managing the commercial loan portfolio, coordinating commercial lending activities, and promoting the Bank’s commercial lending services and products in northern Vermont and New Hampshire. He will serve on the Bank’s senior management team and the ALM committee.

The cofounders of Seven Days, Vermont’s free, independent weekly newspaper, have been chosen as two of this year’s inductees into the New England Newspaper Hall of Fame. Pamela Polston and Paula Routly will be honored at a ceremony during the New England Newspaper and Press Association conference in February. According to the NENPA website, the Hall of Fame recognizes “industry heroes whose talent, hard work, and exceptional accomplishments provide inspiration to all New England journalists.” NENPA’s board of directors chooses inductees annually.

by Rick Adams, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Seeing and liking alcohol advertising on television among underage youths was associated with the onset of drinking, binge drinking and hazardous drinking, according to a study by researchers at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC) and Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (CHaD) published online by JAMA Pediatrics.

The Vermont community has donated $110,000 for WARMTH, and coupled with the Merchants Bank matching grant of $40,000, a total of $150,000 was raised in the month of December alone to prevent Vermonters in need from going without heat. Merchants Bank partnered with the Champlain Valley of Office Economic Opportunity (CVOEO), the agency who administers the WARMTH Program, and offered a dollar-for-dollar match toward all donations raised for WARMTH during December, up to a total of $40,000. And just in time as temperatures plummeted after the holidays and CVOEO’s office in Burlington filled with people looking for help.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org A network of private physician practices plans to withdraw from a Medicare management program because its incentive payments are too difficult to attain. Healthfirst Inc (healthfirst.org) is an association of about 40 independent physician practices that co-owns an Accountable Care Organization for its members. For more than two years, Healthfirst participated in a Medicare shared-savings program. The program sets a benchmark for what it should cost to treat a Medicare beneficiary and if the ACO’s participants can treat them for less, while meeting care quality standards, the provider splits the savings with the federal government.

Vermont Business Magazine Darn Tough Vermont, American manufacturer of the fastest growing collection of performance socks, based in Northfield, reported a surge in sales revenue, with 62 percent topline growth in 2014. This puts the brand 16 percent above forecasted growth for 2014.

“Our customers take notice of the ways we strive to create a better product, starting with making all of our socks right here in Vermont,” says Ric Cabot, president and CEO of Darn Tough Vermont (Cabot Hosiery Mills). “Twelve years ago we committed ourselves to making the best outdoor performance socks on the market, and our customers continue to endorse that commitment. There’s a banner in our mill that reads ‘No one ever outsourced anything for quality,’ and we live by that spirit.”