Current News

American and Vermont manufacturers are experiencing a renaissance. Numerous manufacturers are bringing outsourced jobs back home. There is a market opportunity to build upon and grow Vermont’s manufacturing economy with the Vermont value proposition: quality, ingenuity and innovation. In 2012, the manufacturing industry in Vermont accounted for $3.15 billion, or 11.5% of the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) and made up almost two-thirds of all Vermont exports. In 2013, manufacturing employed over 32,000 Vermonters.

The Lake Champlain Byway is pleased to issue its Draft Lake Champlain Byway Interpretation Coordination Plan for public comment. In particular, the byway is looking for feedback from residents, tourism-related businesses and intrinsic resource site managers from the 22 Vermont towns that comprise the byway. The draft plan and instructions for comments can be viewed at www.lakechamplainbyway.com. This is the first interpretation coordination plan for the Lake Champlain Byway. The goals of the plan are to build awareness among managers of the different sites along the byway about each other’s sites and programs; to identify areas of overlap where collaboration may be possible; and to assist with the development of consistent messaging among the sites and for the Byway itself.

Following the abrupt closure of the Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Agency of Education announced today that it has chosen Nine East Network to provide school-based and parent/infant programs for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

“It is critical that we ensure a smooth transition for these children and families,” said Director of Special Education Cindy Moran. “Susan Kimmerly of Nine East Network has stepped up to the plate at a critical time for these students, in order to ensure little interruption of expected and required educationally related consultation services.”

The announcement comes following the closure of the Austine School in Brattleboro, which also hosted the Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (VCDHH). The VCDHH Board held an emergency meeting and voted to close on September 12. Once the Agency was notified, staff convened a group of stakeholders to develop a plan for continuation of these services.

Joined by state officials, substance abuse experts, medical staff and others, Governor Peter Shumlin today outlined Vermont’s progress in the battle against opiate addiction since January. The group highlighted expanded addiction treatment across the state, a new regional and national focus on the crisis promoted by Vermont’s leadership, an increased number of counties launching pre-trial risk assessment programs to move more Vermonters into treatment rather than prison, and more.

Richard M Nelson, a dairy farmer in Coventry, Vermont, has admitted to violations of Vermont’s water pollution law and agricultural practice regulations and has agreed to pay $33,000.00 in civil penalties for the violations. “Vermont’s laws and regulations relating to agricultural water quality help keep our state waterways clean,” said Attorney General William H Sorrell. “Farmers should know that when those requirements are not met, the State will pursue enforcement claims in State court.”

by Don George, President and CEO, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) is an independent, not-for-profit Vermont company, governed and managed locally, and our sole focus is Vermont. One of our guiding principles is to put our members first, and at times it is important to advocate on their behalf. It is from that perspective that I offer this opinion.

The current health care system unfairly burdens Vermont businesses and individuals who pay health insurance premiums by requiring them to subsidize the services that government programs (Medicaid and Medicare) provide but don’t fully pay for.

There is $20,000 in funding available through an award competition launched by the Vermont Developmental Disabilities Council. VTDDC welcomes applications for projects that will engage individuals and organizations in advocacy activities that bring people together to educate and inform policy makers about the needs of people with developmental disabilities and their family members. Project grant awards may be made for up to $10,000 with potential for second year funding. The deadline is October 20, 2014.

VTDDC is a state-wide Board, and 63% of its members are people with developmental disabilities or family members appointed by the Governor. VTDDC also welcomes applications for membership and makes funding available year-round for individuals with developmental disabilities and family members to attend conferences and trainings, as well as for small grants supporting innovative projects.

RunVermont introduced People’s United Bank Monday as the new title sponsor for the Vermont City Marathon. Beginning immediately, the marathon will be known as the People’s United Bank Vermont City Marathon. KeyBank had been the title sponsor of the Burlington marathon for several years. The first race under the People's banner will be held Sunday, May 24, 2015. The Burlington marathon, which winds along Lake Champlain, was first run in 1989.

“RunVermont is excited to be partnering with People’s United Bank as we look to the future,” says RunVermont Board Chair Kevin Dwyer. “We think the partnership is a strong fit with the marathon’s demographic footprint, the shared commitment to community, and the enthusiasm to create a healthy lifestyle. This partnership will leverage the network of People’s United Bank throughout the northeast states and also bring the awareness of the event to a new level within the region.”

by Morgan True vtdigger.org Two teenagers have attempted suicide in the past five months at the Brattleboro Retreat. One of the patients who attempted suicide later died, and her parents say it was a “direct result” of her injuries at the hospital. The two cases and a recent sexual assault on the same adolescent ward could jeopardize federal funding for the psychiatric hospital. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is reviewing the Retreat’s certification, and the state is scrambling to help the hospital ensure patient safety and compliance with federal rules. The Retreat is home to the only child and adolescent inpatient psychiatric unit in Vermont and holds several contracts with the Agency of Human Services to provide substance abuse programs and mental health services for state patients.

He’s not very big, and not very fast.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital has been selected by the Vermont AARP Driver Safety Program as the 2014 Host of the Year. According to David Peters, the Vermont State program coordinator, BMH "has hosted our classes for 20 years and the staff has always provided a level of support and cooperation that is exceptional. I hope that, working together, we have been able to have an impact upon highway safety in Vermont."

The award will be presented at AARP's Annual State Meeting on October 29, 2014, at Vermont Technical College in Randolph.

The AARP Smart Driver Course, offered by AARP Driver Safety, is the nation’s largest classroom and online driver safety course and is designed especially for drivers age 50 and older. Over 15 million participants have gone through AARP Driver Safety classroom and online courses, taught by more than 4,000 AARP Driver Safety volunteers.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org Many people with chronic health conditions who are covered through Vermont’s exchange are finding it difficult to pay out-of-pocket costs for care, a consumer advocate says. Trinka Kerr, who leads Legal Aid’s Office of Health Care Advocate, told lawmakers this week that the problem is the way health plans offered through Vermont Health Connect are designed. People with chronic conditions that require frequent treatment, such as diabetes or heart disease, and who formerly qualified for a subsidized state program, are now liable for copays under the exchange.