Current News

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

The Brattleboro Retreat’s 5^th Annual Ride for Heroes, held on Saturday August 16^th, exceeded all previous attendance and fundraising records by attracting 287 participants and raising more than $20,000 for the hospital’s Uniformed Service Program.

The ride, with an escort from the Windham County Sheriff’s department, began on the Retreat’s campus and continued on a 70-mile tour through Wilmington, Whitingham, and Searsburg, before returning to the Retreat for a barbeque lunch.

The day began with Retreat employee, Donny Richard, welcoming the riders and speaking about the needs of uniformed professionals everywhere who have experienced trauma in their public service.

Keurig Green Mountain, Inc (NASDAQ: GMCR), based in Waterbury, Vermont, continues to change the way consumers in the United States and Canada brew coffee at home with the release of the new Keurig 2.0 hot beverage brewing system. This weekend, Keurig 2.0 made its debut on Keurig.com and national retailers' websites, as well as at the flagship Keurig Store in Burlington, MA., where consumers can be among the first to experience the new system in person. Roll-out at retail partners nationwide will follow in the coming weeks.

Sugarbush Resort has invested over $4.5 million on improvements this summer in preparation for the upcoming winter. The resort has invested $1.8 million in snowmaking equipment, completing a five-year, $5 million capital project that delivered upgrades in snowmaking at both Lincoln Peak and Mt Ellen including the purchase of over 500 low-energy snowguns. This latest investment includes the purchase and installation of 351 new Snow Logic, HKD, and Ratnik snowguns, as well as significant improvements to infrastructure, with the replacement of a variety of pipes, pumps, valves, and compressors. The new snowguns are expected to help reduce statewide energy consumption by saving an estimated 1,998,256 kWh of electricity and 2,324,392 pounds of carbon emissions per year.

by Rob Roper Over 85 percent of Vermonters agree that employees should have the right to decide, without force or penalty, whether to join or leave a labor union. That number is slightly higher than the national average of 83 percent, according to new polling released in conjunction with National Employee Freedom Week. (500 Vermonters were polled as part of the study).

This reflects first and foremost a sense of fairness. We live in a free country, and the freedom to join, not to join, or leave any association or organization without paying a fine or a fee or losing one’s job should be considered a basic, inviolable right. Unfortunately, Right to Work laws, which guarantee workers the right to not join unions as a condition of employment and which prohibit the coercive collection of dues from workers who choose not to join, exist only in twenty-four states. Vermont isn’t one of them.

by John Herrick vtdigger.org State regulators on Thursday questioned whether to postpone review of Vermont Gas’ proposed pipeline extension from Middlebury to New York. The South Burlington natural gas utility must obtain a federal regulatory waiver before the state has the authority to approve the pipeline project that crosses state lines to the International Paper mill in Ticonderoga, New York. But first Vermont Gas must submit an application for a section of the project to New York regulators for approval.

Steve Wark, the spokesman for Vermont Gas, said Friday the company won’t file an application until December.

Without this application, federal regulators may not decide on the waiver. Until Vermont Gas obtains the waiver, the state does not have full authority to permit the pipeline.

Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable (VBR) and Jeffrey Carr, President, Economic & Policy Resources (EPR), have announced the 2nd Quarter results of their joint initiative, the VBR-EPR Business Conditions Survey. The survey, which is conducted quarterly, provides a predictive index going forward. The most recent survey indicated a mildly optimistic to neutral outlook. The new economic indicator, constructed as a Diffusion Index, is designed to follow economic sentiments of Roundtable members over time, and serve as a tool for analyzing and presenting insight into the Vermont economic outlook, as a leading economic indicator.

The 2nd Quarter survey, which achieved a response rate of 73 percent overall, included a 50 percent or greater response rate from all sectors within the membership. The survey asked eight questions about the economic outlook, demand, capital spending, and employment. Survey results show that: