Current News

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org The Brattleboro Retreat is in hot water with the federal government again. The state’s psychiatric hospital has lost its “deemed status” with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. The retreat must make safety upgrades and improve treatment protocols in order to restore its standing with the federal agency. Federal funding for the retreat will end on October 6 unless the hospital can show it has met federal standards. CMS sent the funding termination letter to the hospital on July 8. The retreat has since filed a plan of correction with the state to address the deficiencies. That information was shared with state officials and lawmakers.

Retreat officials neglected to mention the funding termination letter to lawmakers at the Mental Health Oversight Committee on July 22.

Rep. Anne Donahue, R-Northfield, says the omission is significant.

National Life Group executives have signed an agreement to boost its recruitment of military veterans, and to make their work experience at the Montpelier-based company even more fulfilling. “We’re proud that we already have an active group of military veterans among our employees and we look forward to welcoming even more as our company continues to grow,” said Mehran Assadi, president and CEO of National Life Group. “Veterans are a natural fit with our company, which is committed to the corporate values to Do good. Be good. Make good.”

Under the terms of a charter signed by Assadi, other National Life Group executives and state and federal labor officials, the company committed “to create an organization of employee Veterans who will help to carry out and oversee the implementation of a robust and comprehensive program to widen recruitment, improve new hire integration and strengthen the military community at National Life Group.”

Crystal Hathaway-Therrien, age 31, of Bradford, Vermont, was convicted on August 5, 2014, in the Windsor Criminal Division of the Vermont Superior Court, of five misdemeanor counts of False Pretenses. The convictions stemmed from Ms. Hathaway-Therrien’s submission of false timesheets in order to obtain payment for services that were not provided to a child enrolled in the Children’s Personal Care program, a Vermont Medicaid program. Hathaway-Therrien signed and submitted the timesheets in her capacity as the employer-of-record and received the proceeds.

Northern Power Systems Corp. (TSX: NPS), based in Barre, Vermont, a next generation renewable energy technology company and maker of wind turbines, has announced financial results for its three and six month periods ended June 30, 2014. Revenues have tripled while the net loss has fallen. "Our second quarter financial results demonstrated continued strong year-over-year revenue growth. With our next generation distributed turbine ready for the market and our capital raise concluded, we are planning our targeted expansion strategy to enter new regions and market sectors," said Troy Patton, president and chief executive officer. "We also continue to be very pleased with the scope of our strategic partnership with WEG Industries. WEG's production and delivery of 2MW turbines leveraging our licensed technology platform continues on pace to fill its current Brazilian orders of greater than 150 MW.

Vermont Fish & Wildlife has reopened the cliffs closed to hiking and access earlier this spring to protect nesting peregrine falcons. “The young peregrines have fledged, and nesting data suggest the species had a good year due, in part, to cooperation from hikers and rock climbers during this critical nesting period,” said Fish and Wildlife’s migratory bird biologist John Buck. “Peregrine nesting success is also helped by the nearly 40 volunteers who monitor the nest sites from March to the end of July.”

Looking to boost activity on the northern side of the waterfront, while upgrading infrastructure for even more development, especially the re-development of the moribund Moran building, Mayor Miro Weinberger Tuesday was joined by Senator Patrick Leahy, Commissioner Noelle MacKay of the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development, other State and City officials, waterfront stakeholders, and community members for the Waterfront Access North (WAN) project ground-breaking event. The $9.1 million WAN represents the first major new waterfront public infrastructure investment since the creation of Waterfront Park in the early 1990s.

The project includes the following key improvements:

· Realigning, widening, and rebuilding the currently decayed and disjointed section of the Burlington bike path immediately north of Waterfront Park to better accommodate path users and other activities on the northern waterfront;

After months of construction, Governor Peter Shumlin today gathered with local officials to celebrate the official reopening of the Morrisville-Stowe State Airport. The governor also announced an exciting public/private partnership to bring additional investment to the airport, including a new air charter company with service to and from cities such as New York, Boston, Toronto and Washington, DC.

New York Attorney General Eric T Schneiderman and Casella Waste Systems Inc of Rutland, Vermont, have settled a dispute concerning Casella’s contracting practices in New York State. The NY AG stated that combined with Casella's market dominance and pattern of acquisitions of smaller competitors, it unlawfully restrained competition in the North Country and Southern Tier. The settlement requires Casella to change its contracts to reduce the legal and financial obstacles faced by customers that wish to switch to competing providers. The AG said these changes are expected to rejuvenate competition by reducing customers’ switching costs and facilitating new market entry. The settlement, announced in July, also requires Casella to report certain future acquisitions of competitors to the Attorney General’s office, and to make a monetary payment of $100,000 to the State.

Compressed natural gas (CNG) is now paving the streets in the center of Rutland, running the largest commercial laundry in the state, as well as heating the local hospital. The gas is being delivered by NG Advantage and what it calls a "virtual pipeline," consisting of a fleet of high-tech tractor/trailers, as the region waits for the natural gas pipeline to be extended from northern Vermont by 2020.

Rutland’s Mayor Chris Lourassaid, “A significant number of local employers currently use large amounts of #2 and #6 fuel oil to produce heat. This is inefficient, expensive, and not an environmentally sound practice for the long term.

The Mad River Food Hub, the CAE Vermont Food Venture Center and the Vermont Community Loan Fund are pleased to announce a new equipment leasing program for food businesses and entrepreneurs.

The Vermont Value-Added Producer Equipment Access Program will help emerging food business by creating access to specialized equipment that will help them increase production and enhance product quality. Participants will have worked with a food business incubator for at least 3 months, have annual revenue of over $20,000, be planning to use the equipment in Vermont and directly or indirectly source ingredients from Vermont farms and producers.

The Equipment Access Program has been made possible by philanthropic support, in particular from the Castanea Foundation, High Meadows Fund, the Surdna Foundation, the John Merck Fund and the State of Vermont’s Working Lands Enterprise Initiative.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org Is it legal for the Shumlin administration to keep financing plans for the single payer health care system a secret? Even when those plans have been shared with House legislative leadership? Those are the questions at the heart of a lawsuit brought by Representative Cynthia Browning, D-Arlington, against the state of Vermont. Governor Peter Shumlin has used executive privilege, a legal doctrine that protects his decision-making process, to keep the deliberations of the Business Advisory Council on Health Care Reform and the Consumer Advisory Council on Health Care Reform out of the public purview. Browning believes Shumlin has applied the doctrine too broadly in order to prevent public access to information about his plans for single payer. She said her request does not breach executive privilege.

Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) has chosen Mark Curran, Founder and Co-Owner of Black River Produce, as the 2014 recipient of the Terry Ehrich Award for Excellence in Socially Responsible Business. Named for the late owner of Hemmings Motor News and a founding member of VBSR, the award is given to a VBSR member who best exemplifies Terry Ehrich’s commitment to the environment, workplace, progressive public policy and community.