Current News

by Morgan True vtdigger.org In the wake of further revelations about the extent of problems with Vermont Health Connect this week, Governor Peter Shumlin called the situation “unacceptable” and said it’s his responsibility to fix. “There’s been nothing more frustrating for me in my tenure as governor than the Vermont Health Connect website,” Shumlin told reporters at a news conference last week in Barre. Thousands of Vermonters have had difficulty verifying that they are covered because the website won’t allow users to fix mistakes in the information they enter or make changes to their coverage.

Many people aren’t finding out that there is a problem until they go to the pharmacy or visit the doctor. Others are seeing their payments lost in the system or receiving the wrong invoices.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital's Birthing Center, the Windham County Breastfeeding Coalition, and the BMH Ten-Step Committee to Empower Mothers and Nurture Babies are joining forces to celebrate the 2014 World Breastfeeding Week during the first week of August.

This year's theme, as established by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), is "Breastfeeding: A Winning Goal - for Life!"

According to WABA Chairperson Dr. Felicity Savage, “Breastfeeding has been shown repeatedly to be the single most effective way to prevent infant death; it plays a major role in children’s health and development, and significantly benefits the health of mothers.”

The Vermont Community Loan Fund has awarded $64,770 in the most recent round of Building Bright Futures Facilities Grants to nine child care programs throughout Vermont. Building Bright Futures Facilities Grants (BBFFG) are funded by a consortium of private foundations, legislative appropriations, donations and sales of special issue BBFFG license plates. VCLF administers the grants on behalf of the Department of Children and Families’ Child Development Division, to promote facility improvements in physical environments for children and youth in Vermont.

BBFFG was established to assist child care business owners with real estate purchases, construction and renovations, with the ultimate goal of increasing the quantity and quality of child care programs in Vermont.

Susan L Donegan, commissioner of the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR), announced today that the department will again conduct a confidential survey of Vermonters asking about health insurance practices beginning in early August. The Vermont Household Health Insurance Survey will be completed in November with preliminary results expected in early 2015. Representatives from a survey company called Market Decisions of Portland, Maine, will make random phone calls to Vermonters on behalf of DFR and will ask questions pertaining to their health insurance needs, frequency of doctor visits and what may or may not influence their decision in seeking health care.

By getting the word out ahead of time, Donegan said she wants to make sure Vermonters know what to expect if they receive a call. Callers will ask for first names only, which will be kept confidential, and they will never ask for Social Security numbers, bank or credit card information.

The Windham County Economic Development Program is up and running and looking for applications with creative ideas that will help Windham County grow jobs and bolster the region’s economy. Applications are due September 23, 2014. On July 28 the Agency of Commerce and Community Development released a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and the application for the first round ($2 million) of the funding made available by an agreement between the State of Vermont and Entergy. The funds will be distributed to projects that benefit Windham County. Eligible applicants for the grant program include municipalities, non-profit organizations and governmental agencies.

Vermont Law School on Monday announced the death of well-known and well-regarded Professor Cheryl Hanna. She is perhaps best known to the public for her Vermont Public Radio commentaries. Hanna died Sunday. The cause of death has not been released. She was 48. The entire VLS statement follows: "It is with the most profound sorrow that we announce the untimely death of our dear colleague Professor Cheryl Hanna. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Professor Hanna was an expert in constitutional law, the United States Supreme Court, and women and the law. Her scholarship has been published in leading journals, including the Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, and Michigan Journal of Gender and the Law. Professor Hanna was also a frequent media commentator, including on Vermont Public Radio and WCAX-TV 3.

Green Mountain Power is expanding its groundbreaking heat pump pilot program to Montpelier as part of the city’s major initiative focused on making Montpelier the first net zero capital city in the country. Green Mountain Power has been running what is believed to be the first utility-sponsored heat pump rental program in the country today, a pilot effort centered in Rutland and intended to save customers money and demonstrate the comfort air-source heat pumps can provide in a cold-weather climate.

“We are so pleased to be able to offer Montpelier residents the opportunity to heat their homes with air-source heat pumps, which will save them thousands of dollars each year and help Montpelier reach its goal of reducing the use of fossil fuels in the city,” said Mary Powell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Green Mountain Power.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Vermont HITEC have announced that the two institutions have registered over 725 New Hampshire and Vermont candidates to attend one of two information orientation sessions scheduled on Monday, July 28th. Attending an orientation session is the first step in the applicant selection process to becoming one of 20 medical assistants or 10 pharmacy technicians to work at Dartmouth-Hitchcock.

MEDIA ADVISORY

What

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Assistant / Pharmacy Technician Workforce Readiness Program Information Session

Who

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Speakers and Guests

· John Malanowski, Chief Human Resources Officer

· Dr. Ethan Berke, Director Primary Care & Population Health

· Marva Williams-Lowe, Director Inpatient Pharmacy

· Linda Sawyer, Manager Outpatient Pharmacy

PC Construction, based in South Burlington, has been awarded a $61.2 million contract to build and modernize facilities at Bath Iron Works in Maine. The expansion at the historic shipyard on the banks of the Kennebec River marks the third major contract with General Dynamics Bath Iron Works for PC Construction, which also has offices in Portland, ME. The project includes the construction of an outfitting hall measuring 311 feet long, 165 feet wide, and 110 feet high; a state-of-the-art blast and paint facility; and a new boiler building designed to increase energy efficiency.

The expansion will employ hundreds of workers from various trades over the course of the multi-building project. With more than 5,600 workers, Bath Iron Works already ranks as one of Maine’s largest private employers.

A delegation from PC Construction was on hand in April when the USS Zumwalt, the Navy’s newest and most technologically advanced destroyer – was christened at Bath Iron Works.

by Anne Galloway and Hilary Niles vtdigger.org A group of immigrant EB-5 investors are incensed that Bill Stenger, president and CEO of Jay Peak Resort, seized ownership of the Tram Haus Lodge and turned their half-million dollar equity stakes in the property into IOUs. Investors had no knowledge of Stenger’s actions until five months after they were executed. Stenger and his partner at Jay Peak, Miami-based Ariel Quiros, dissolved the company on Aug. 31, 2013, turned the investments into unsecured loans and “waived” investors’ legal rights, according to documents obtained by VTDigger. Stenger says he sent an email to investors with the promissory note on Jan. 24 of this year, but he did not mail official, paper copies until May.

by John Herrick vtdigger.org The Vermont Public Service Board late Friday ordered Vermont Gas to halt construction of its natural gas pipeline extension along certain sections of the proposed route until the company submits a soil management plan.

Pipeline opponents say construction in the VELCO transmission line corridor will release a “hazardous” chemical lodged in the soil. The wood preservative used to treat utility poles, pentachlorophenol (PCP), has already appeared in one Monkton resident’s water well near the pipeline route.

About 20 miles of the company’s proposed pipeline extension through Addison County is located in the VELCO corridor. The company has begun staging construction for the 41-mile project to connect its service areas in Chittenden and Franklin counties to Middlebury.

The House on Friday unanimously passed bipartisan legislation that would restore the ability of consumers to more easily transfer their cell phones to other wireless carriers, just one week after the Senate approved the same measure. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) coordinated with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) on the issue. The lawmakers praised Congress’s action to pass the pro-consumer bill, which now goes to the White House for signature.