Current News

The Department of Environmental Conservation’s Compliance and Enforcement Division (CED) announced that it has formally settled environmental violations involving the Town of Randolph. Randolph operates a wastewater treatment facility which discharges to the White River and is subject to a discharge permit.

In late November 2012 the Agency received an anonymous complaint of floatable material and solids being discharged from the wastewater treatment facility to the Third Branch of the White River. Agency personnel immediately responded to the complaint and observed toilet paper, human waste, and grease discharging from the facility’s outflow pipe. Follow up investigation revealed that one of the facility’s two aerators was inoperable, and that earlier in November, both of the facility’s aerators had been inoperable for over seven days.

The State Board of Education unanimously approved a statement concerning the proper and improper uses of standardized testing after a four-month review and study, the Board announced today. The five page statement and resolution notes that states are spending too much time on testing, and states do not receive enough new information to make it worth the added expense and loss of teaching time. The Board urges the federal government to reduce the number of grades in which testing is required. “The overreliance on high-stakes standardized testing in state and federal accountability systems is undermining educational quality and equity in the nation’s public schools,” the resolution states.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org State Auditor Doug Hoffer is going to put Vermont’s plans to correct ongoing problems with its health care exchange under the microscope, he said Monday. Thousands of Vermont Health Connect customers are still having trouble making changes to their coverage, fixing billing issues or editing personal information.

“Is the state taking the steps to get this right?” Hoffer said. “We’d like to try and help answer that question.”

There have been several reports from consulting firms detailing wide-ranging problems at Vermont Health Connect, he said, as well as making recommendations to correct them.

Hoffer said he wants to examine whether salient aspects of those recommendations have been followed.

Vermont is doing better than most, but a majority of states are not measuring up on legislative solutions that prevent and fight cancer, according to a new report released today by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). As the changing health care landscape presents new opportunities to prevent a disease that kills 1,600 people a day in this country, many state legislatures are failing to enact laws and policies that could not only generate new revenue and long-term health savings, but also save lives.

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org A new advocacy group for “socially responsible” small businesses in Vermont was announced Monday morning. Vermont’s Main Street Alliance, headed by Lindsay DesLauriers, will be part of a national network of state and local small business coalitions. The group will endorse initiatives for statewide single-payer health care and mandatory paid sick leave for Vermont employees. The group’s strategy is to recruit small business owners into advocacy coalitions organized around each topic.

“The Main Street Alliance will create an avenue for small business owners to speak for themselves through this coalition model,” DesLauriers said.

DesLauriers worked for Voices for Vermont’s Children in 2014 and led an unsuccessful legislative push for paid sick leave. She said the experience convinced her that a small business niche was not being met by other business organizations or issues groups.

A school-based health center at Barre City Elementary & Middle School is an extension of the Central Vermont Medical Center’s pediatric primary care practices. It will operate at the school on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30am to 12:30pm providing primary health care to students. Participation is voluntary and the goal is to keep kids healthy and in school, and as much as possible to maximize their learning potential.

“Kids spend a considerable part of their day in school so providing health care there makes good sense,” said Kathleen Bryant, FNP.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org Vermont signed a revised contract with the tech firm Optum that expands its role in Vermont Health Connect’s operations. Optum already had a contract worth $5.6 million for consulting work, and the latest deal, signed Aug. 15, is worth an additional $9.5 million for a total of $15.1 million. Lawrence Miller, chief of health care reform, said Optum’s contract is “open-to-buy” meaning its scope can broaden as needed.

“We’re pleased with the progress that’s been made, so we’re taking additional steps forward,” Miller added.

In the near-term the company will help the state prepare for open enrollment and make the transition away from CGI, but the two parties could eventually arrive at a “fixed cost” contract for Optum to complete the project, he said.

Brattleboro Retreat President and Chief Executive Officer Dr Robert E Simpson, Jr, has been named by Behavioral Healthcare magazine as a 2014 Behavioral Healthcare Champion along with four other leaders in the field of mental health from across the nation. The 2014 Champions were selected from outstanding nominees across the country who, according to the magazine, are making a difference in the development, delivery, and effectiveness of mental healthcare services.

“True leaders create lasting impact, and our 2014 Behavioral Healthcare Champions all have an eye on the future,” said Editor-in-Chief Julie Miller of Behavioral Healthcare magazine. “Their drive to find new and more effective ways to serve their clients is reflected not just in their own organizations’ success but also in the progress they’ve witnessed in their communities.”

Northfield Savings Bank Board Chair Nancy Pope announced today that Thomas S Leavitt will be the company's 14th President & Chief Executive Officer. Leavitt will succeed Thomas N Pelletier in the final quarter of 2014. Leavitt previously was a long-time executive at Merchants Bank. Pelletier is leaving the $750 million institution after more than 16 years at the helm. Leavitt has served two years as President & CEO of MountainOne Financial in North Adams, MA. He has led the advancement of MountainOne Bank along with its insurance and investment divisions. Prior to MountainOne, Leavitt was on the senior management team of Merchants Bank for 16 years. He has extensive non-banking experience, having performed in national leadership roles in the industrial distribution field. Leavitt earned a BS from the University of New Hampshire and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org This primary season there are two major write-in campaigns under way, and while town clerks will make results available within a week of the election, as required under state deadlines, it’s likely that the vote tallies won’t be ready in time for press reports on Tuesday night. Jim Condos, the Vermont Secretary of State, says while his office and town clerks will know the total number of write-in votes on Tuesday, the names that are written in have to be hand counted.

His office won’t start receiving results from towns until Wednesday afternoon. Some town clerks will send faxes and hard copies of the results on Thursday or Friday, Condos said, and it will be a week after the election — September 2 — before they have final results for write-in candidates.

“We will be working over the Labor Day weekend to work on finalizing everything,” Condos said.

The Vermont Retail and Grocers Association (VRGA) has announced the co-winners of the 2014 VRGA Person of the Year Award: Marcel Marquis, with Shaw’s Supermarkets, and Bonnie Hawley, owner of Hawley’s Florist in Rutland. According to Jim Harrison, President of VRGA, “Both Bonnie and Marcel have been active members and participants in the predecessor organizations (Vermont Grocers Association and Vermont Retail Association) and continue to be so with VRGA. Each has a long resume of service to their communities and to their associations.”

As the political season warms up as the nights cool down here in Vermont, the political parties are offering their takes on the state of the economy. Republicans and Democrats both released statements recently following the release of the July unemployment rate, which went up three-tenths to 3.7 percent, tied for fourth lowest in the nation. You may see a link to the original story below with related articles and the political responses below.

REPUBLICANS: Vermont’s Working Families Continue to Suffer While Shumlin Administration “Hopes” Conditions Will Improve