Current News

by Patricia Moulton, the Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development The Agency of Commerce is compelled to correct several inaccurate allegations that VTDigger published in the October 5 story “VTDigger Exclusive: EB-5 Investors Question State’s Watchdog Role.” The article (which subsequntly ran on vermontbiz.com) incorrectly alleges that the state should have demanded quarterly reports from Jay Peak Resorts, but did not, thus not adequately monitoring the project.

Green Mountain Power is looking to help eight non-profit groups capture the sun to lower their energy costs and generate more clean, renewable energy for Vermont. Green Mountain Power today announced that it is once again sponsoring a program to help eight non-profits construct solar arrays. The Vermont Public Service Board approved a GMP proposal to award eight matching grants of up to $20,000 each to non-profit groups all across Vermont, and GMP is encouraging organizations to apply.

Mary Powell speaks at the Stafford Hill solar project in Rutland in August. Courtesy photo.

FirstLight Fiber, a facilities-based telecommunications service provider operating fiber optic networks in Upstate New York and Northern New England with connectivity to Canada, announced today that it has completed its acquisition of substantially all of the assets of New Hampshire-based G4 Communications, including G4's customer base and data center located at 77 Sundial in Manchester, New Hampshire. FirstLight's local headquarters is in Williston, Vermont.

Two leading statewide associations representing Vermont’s Designated and Specialized Service Agencies have formed a partnership to better serve Vermonters affected by developmental disabilities, mental health conditions and substance use disorders. The Vermont Council of Developmental and Mental Health Services and the Vermont Care Network (formerly Behavioral Health Network of Vermont) have come together under the partnership of Vermont Care Partners to provide statewide leadership for an integrated, high quality system of comprehensive services and supports.

The two organizations have launched a new, joint website. (www.VermontCarePartners.org).

by Morgan True vtdigger.org A provision of the Affordable Care Act precluding health insurers or companies in the “same controlled group of corporations” as a health insurer from holding exchange contracts raises questions about Optum working on Vermont Health Connect. Concerns regarding Optum were raised at the federal level by Senators Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the ranking members of the Finance and Judiciary committees respectively.

The Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) and the Vermont Attorney General’s Office are aware of a mailing that has been distributed to homeowners in Vermont offering an insurance-type product that covers water service line protection for their property. The product is in the form of a service contract that pays for certain claims in the event outside water and sewer lines that service a home are damaged. All companies that sell or issue service contracts to Vermonters, or cover property located in Vermont, are required to register with DFR.

Governor Peter Shumlin announced Monday that he will appoint Judge Harold “Duke” Eaton, Jr, to serve on the Vermont Supreme Court. Eaton fills the seat left open by Justice Geoffrey Crawford’s appointment to the federal district court. He is the first Vermont Law School graduate to sit on the Vermont Supreme Court. Judge Eaton has served as a trial court judge since 2004, when he was appointed by former Governor Jim Douglas. Previously, he was in private practice for 21 years, where he handled a variety of civil matters, including commercial litigation, insurance defense, and workers compensation cases. He began his legal career as a deputy state’s attorney in Chittenden County. After leaving the state’s attorney’s office and practicing in Rutland, he and his law partner started the firm Eaton & Hayes in Eaton’s hometown of Woodstock.

The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) on Monday issued the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) thermal discharge permit for Vermont Yankee in Vernon, ensuring that water quality and fisheries in the Connecticut River are protected as the company enters its final phase of operation. ANR, acting on Vermont Yankee’s September 30, 2005 application, permitted Vermont Yankee’s thermal discharge through December 31, 2015. The two-year permit addresses the discharge from the facility while it is generating power, allows the company time to establish a post-closure operation regime, and allows ANR time to evaluate and permit the facility’s post-closure discharge. Vermont Yankee is scheduled to cease operatioins by the end of this year.

“In issuing this permit, the Agency’s responsibility to address Vermont Yankee’s thermal discharge has been met,” said Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Deb Markowitz.

Attorney General William Sorrell will hold three public meetings this month to introduce the draft rules to implement Act 120, the law requiring the labeling of food produced with genetic engineering (GMO). The meetings will be held the week of October 20, 2014 in Burlington, Montpelier, and Brattleboro.

The Attorney General is responsible for promulgating the rules that will implement Act 120. These rules will provide clarity on the scope and reach of the law with the goal of both providing information and minimizing burdens on the regulated community. While the Attorney General will later solicit official public comments on the proposed draft rule, these public meetings will serve as an important opportunity for obtaining feedback from producers, retailers, and consumers.

New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ: NHTB), the holding company for Lake Sunapee Bank, fsb, with 16 offices in Vermont, has reported consolidated net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 of $7.2 million, or $0.85 diluted earnings per common share, compared to $6.4 million, or $0.87 diluted earnings per common share, for same period in 2013, an increase of $770 thousand, or 12%. For the quarter ended September 30, 2014, we reported consolidated net income of $2.7 million, or $0.32 diluted earnings per common share, compared to $2.6 million, or $0.35 diluted earnings per common share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, an increase of $132 thousand, or 5.13%.

The AutoSaver Group will help drive awareness for the American Cancer Society to benefit the organization’s Making Strides Campaign for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month by matching donations made in the month of October up to $25,000. At the end of the month, AutoSaver Group partners – Ronney Lyster and Abel Toll – will match the donations with a goal for total donations to equal or exceed $50,000.

AutoSaver Group employees, customers and community members will be encouraged to make donations at any of the company’s 12-dealership locations. A ‘Wall of Hope’ will be setup at every dealership in the service and parts areas as well as the in the showrooms. Individuals who donate will have an opportunity to sign a card with their name and add it to the ‘Wall of Hope’ to show their support for the American Cancer Society and the Making Strides Campaign.

A long-awaited gathering place for University of Vermont graduates is another step closer to reality after a groundbreaking ceremony for the Alumni House on Saturday morning. The university’s first Alumni House, located at 61 Summit Street, will open in the fall of 2015 after undergoing extensive renovations, including an added pavilion to be used for university and community events.

“This Alumni House project truly has been a University-wide source of excitement for us since we first acquired the Delta Psi fraternity House, originally the Edward Wells House, back in 2007,’’ UVM President Tom Sullivan told a crowd assembled for the groundbreaking Saturday morning. “Not only will it be the long hoped-for venue for alumni events and the day-to-day operations of the Alumni Association, but it is expected to be a popular spot for community gatherings such as wedding receptions and other private functions.”