Current News

by John Herrick vtdigger.org Two protesters were arrested Tuesday during an attempt to block construction of a natural gas pipeline extension. The demonstrators sat on pipes being laid in a ditch with their necks locked together at the construction site along Redmond Road in Williston, halting construction for more than an hour.

Vermont Business Magazine Twenty-five Vermont companies were honored Monday night for their success over the last five year during the 2014 5x5x5 Growth Awards. Governor Peter Shumlin presented the awards to the companies who represented five different industry categories. The event is sponsored by KeyBank Vermont and Vermont Business Magazine. KeyBank and VBM started the growth awards in 2003 to create an opportunity to celebrate and recognize the success and contributions that Vermont businesses make to the Vermont economy. Governor Shumlin joined in presenting the awards and Bill Stenger, President and CEO of Jay Peak Resort, was the keynote speaker. Perhaps the biggest winner of the night, however, was Burlington-based COTS, the Committee on Temporary Shelter, which received a donation of $2,000. Rita Markley, executive director, accepted the award for COTS.

Vermont Business Magazine The Shumlin administration today announced that Vermont Health Connect has shut down its website temporarily to complete ongoing operational, technical, performance and security improvements necessary for a well-functioning customer experience when the next open enrollment period begins in November. The site is scheduled to be offline until November 15. The state made the decision to take down the website after consultation with its federal partners at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The state has engaged its new Vermont Health Connect vendor, Optum, to implement site improvements. Optum has deep experience assisting states and the federal government with exchange website improvements.

The Rutland Regional Planning Commission is sponsoring a groundbreaking campaign to spur economic development in the area with locally-led, regional efforts. Finding the Sweet Spot: New Approaches to Economic Development in the Rutland Region, kicks off the evening of October 1, 2014 with an economic development summit at the Franklin Conference Center in Rutland. The event is open to the public. Erik Pages from EntreWorks Consulting, an economic development and policy development firm, will lead the discussion on New Approaches to Economic Development in the Rutland Region. Pages’ specialty is helping communities support local innovators and nurture new drivers of local wealth creation; in other words, their entrepreneurial potential.

To be part of the conversation about new approaches to broadening the area’s economic development by focusing on local efforts join us:

Scott Milne, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, has recently cited two polls as evidence that he is gaining on Governor Peter Shumlin, a Democrat. A New York Times/CBS/YouGov.com opt-in, online poll of 430 Vermonters conducted Aug. 18-Sept. 2 shows a 11 percentage point gap between Milne and Shumlin. In the survey, 41 percent of Vermonters supported Shumlin, and 30 percent backed Milne. Fifteen percent of the respondents said they were undecided. A previous robo call survey by Rasmussen Report, also conducted in August, gave Shumlin a 12 percent lead over Milne.

Eric Davis, a retired professor of political science from Middlebury College, questions the methodology of both polls.

On September 14th, Make-A-Wish Vermont celebrated past, present, and future wish children at the 11th annual Walk For Wishes at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, VT, and over $130,000 was raised to grant wishes! Hundreds of people joined together to help raise awareness and funds for Vermont children living with life-threatening medical conditions, and local businesses and volunteers donated goods and services to the event. Donations since the event concluded have pushed the total to $150,000.

The Walk For Wishes is a short loop on the beautiful grounds of Shelburne Museum that focuses on celebrating hope. This year, a new scavenger hunt component was added for extra fun. Other highlights included a speech by a wish kid, Hyperfocus face painting, and activities for the whole family provided by The Big Blue Trunk.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org State regulators approved a 3.1 percent overall increase in hospital revenue for the coming year, budgeting a combined $2.2 billion for Vermont’s 14 hospitals. The Green Mountain Care Board approved the six remaining hospital budgets at its Thursday meeting, though the revenue figures won’t be final until hospitals receive signed orders Monday. The hospital budget year begins October 1. The overall increase is worth $67.8 million, and is larger than the approved increase from last year of $57.9 million. The lion’s share of that increase, 57 percent or $38.7 million, will go to the state’s largest hospital and only academic medical center, Fletcher Allen Health Care.

The Kelly Brush Century Ride Powered by VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations drew more than 700 riders who raised $320,00 for adaptive athletic equipment for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and to improve ski racing safety. Riding as teams and individuals, 724 cyclists, including 28 handcyclists, rolled out from Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont on September 6 raising a record amount for the Kelly Brush Foundation’s mission to conquer the challenges of paralysis through love of sport and to raise awareness about and raise the bar for ski racing safety. The fundraising ride is Vermont’s largest.

by John McClaughry Once again Vermonters are preparing to go to the polls, and there are plenty of issues on their plate. For the one third of voters who must pay the school homestead property tax, the Big Issue is likely to be “why am I staring at yet another, bigger school property tax bill? Where does this end?”

The legislature and governor have increased the homestead school property tax rate in each of the past four years – and they are almost certainly going to do it again in 2015. The rate has climbed from 86 cents per $100 Fair Market Value (in 2011) to 98 cents (in 2014) – even as the number of public school pupils has dropped by a thousand in each of those years.

For the second year in row, Vermont is one of only four states to exceed the Healthy People 2020 breastfeeding goals established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A 2014 Breastfeeding Report Card published by CDC in August showed Vermont women breastfeed their babies at birth, three months and six months at a rate well above the national average. Vermont exceeded the national goals in five categories including rates of exclusive breastfeeding at three and six months.

“Vermont hospitals and our breastfeeding support community have done a phenomenal job,” said Breena Holmes, MD, director of maternal and child health for the Health Department. “Breastfeeding is the most protective and nutritious way to way to feed your baby. It contributes to brain development and acts as a protection against obesity and chronic disease later in life.”

Four Vermont citizens and environmental leaders -- Bruce Post, Curt McCormack, Charles W. Johnson, and Kevin B Jones -- filed a petition Monday with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate what they claim are deceptive trade practices of Green Mountain Power in the marketing of renewable energy to Vermont consumers. The petition was filed by the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic at Vermont Law School. The petition documents that, pursuant to Vermont’s Sustainably Priced Energy Enterprise Development (SPEED) law, GMP has represented to its customers and to the public that it provides electricity from renewable sources, thereby reducing the customer’s carbon footprint and protecting the environment.

Lake Champlain Transportation Company, which operates ship repair and painting facilities in Burlington and Shelburne will take actions to minimize air emissions and protect air quality. In addition, under the settlement, Lake Champlain Transportation Company will pay $100,000 in penalties to resolve EPA claims that the company violated both federal and state clean air regulations. The company, which operates ferry boat services for passengers and vehicles between Vermont and New York, performs maintenance on its ferry boats at the facilities, including coating operations with the use of paint spray guns.