Current News

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org Activists, legislators and ice cream magnates Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield gathered in the Statehouse on Tuesday afternoon to call on Vermont lawmakers to pass paid sick leave and minimum wage legislation.
Ben Cohen, left, and Jerry Greenfield. vtdigger photo.
The media event followed a half-hour ice cream social at which the Ben & Jerry’s founders scooped up Americone Dream. It also came on the heels of reports that House Speaker Shap Smith, D-Morrisville, won’t bring the paid sick days bill to the House floor for a vote, despite his support for the mandate.
Political observers have speculated that both instituting paid sick leave and raising the minimum wage is not politically feasible this session.
The skepticism is fueled by the wake of mammoth changes to health insurance, with still more to come as Gov. Peter Shumlin leverages capital to finance the nation’s first single-payer health care system.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org Vermonters care deeply about local schools and that passion was on display Tuesday night, as dozens of people testified in the House Chamber on a proposal that would have a profound effect on their relationship to local schools.
Parents, superintendents, teachers, district business managers and school boards spoke about why they support or oppose the Legislature’s long-range plan to eliminate some 282 local school board districts and replace the current system with 30 to 60 districts statewide.

Related Company: Keurig Green Mountain IncAs part of its focus on water stewardship, Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR), a leader in specialty coffee, coffee makers, teas and other beverages with its innovative brewing technology, today announced a multi-faceted effort to address the long-term, interconnected challenges of the water crisis, starting with a commitment of $11 million to support leading nonprofit organizations working domestically and internationally to promote water security.

Related Company: Vermont Creamery, IncVermont Creamery, one of the country’s premier producers of goat cheese and cultured butter, has earned certification as a B Corporation, an acknowledgment of the company’s commitment to social and environmental ethics, transparency and accountability. Vermont Creamery joins nearly 1000 Certified B Corporations globally – including 17 others in Vermont-- that have met the rigorous standards that measure a company’s impact on its employees, suppliers, community, and the environment.
“For 30 years, our mission has been to produce the highest quality cheese and butter available,” said Vermont Creamery co-founder Allison Hooper. “But right from the start, it has been equally important that our company be socially responsible and an upstanding member of the Vermont community. Becoming a Certified B Corporation validates our commitment to our employees and farmers, our local community, and Vermont’s working landscape.”

Related Company: Goddard CollegeRobert Kenny has been appointed interim president of Goddard College. The Goddard Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the hiring of Kenny, according to Board Chair Avram Patt. Kenny officially begins work April 30.
Kenny, a native of Vermont, returns to Goddard after serving as vice president of finance and administration at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, NJ. He had overseen finance and administration as well as academic affairs while at Goddard from 2008 to 2011. Prior to that he served in administrative roles and as a professor of business at St Michael’s College in Colchester.
“We are gratified and excited that Bob accepted our offer to serve the college again,’’ Patt said. “Bob understands Goddard’s unique history and strengths and we look forward to his leadership.”
Kenny graduated from the University of Vermont in 1972 and earned his Master's in Business Administration from UVM in 1981.

Related Company: Goddard CollegeGoddard College is the recipient of a $30,000 Cultural Facilities Grant from the Vermont Arts Council. With this award, Goddard plans to increase the comfort, accessibility, safety, and functionality of the Haybarn Theatre, which is currently a venue for national and international performers, community members, and students.
Specifically, this grant money will renovate the Haybarn’s foyer bathrooms, making them ADA accessible, and add assistive listening devices for the hearing-impaired, energy-efficient LED theatre lighting, and a permanent sound system and acoustic treatment.
“We are overjoyed to have the opportunity to bring much needed improvements to this essential community and student venue,” said Goddard College Event Manager Meg Hammond.

Related Company: Merchants BankStrolling of the Heifers has announced that Merchants Bank will continue as Presenting Sponsor of the upcoming Strolling of the Heifers Weekend, Slow Living Summit and Tour de Heifer.
Stroll Weekend takes place June 6-8, with the world-famous Strolling of the Heifers Parade as its centerpiece on Saturday, June 7, followed by the all-day, 11-acre Slow Living Expo, all taking place in downtown Brattleboro.
The Slow Living Summit, a conference on mindful, artful living and connected, resilient communities, takes place just before the weekend on June 4-6, while the Tour de Heifer, a set of 15, 30 and 60-mile farm-to-farm cycling tours, happens on Sunday, June 8.

Related Company: OpenTempo, Inc.OpenTempo, a healthcare IT company that helps medical practices create efficient staff schedules, has been awarded a bronze-level Governor’s Worksite Wellness Award for 2013.The awards will be presented by the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports and the Vermont Department of Health on Thursday, March 27, 2014, at the Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center in South Burlington. They are part of a day-long event focused on worksite wellness, taking place from 7:30 am to 4 pm.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org With the exception of Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott, no Republicans or Progressives have raised money for statewide office races. Meanwhile, a conservative SuperPac has more than $100,000 banked for the next election cycle.
March 17 was the deadline for filing the first campaign finance reports for this election season. Only incumbent Democrats who now hold statewide seats have filed reports, which are now posted on the Vermont Secretary of State’s website.
Governor Peter Shumlin reported $320,000 in new contributions since July 16, 2013. He has more than $1 million in cash for the 2014 election, and at this point, the two-term incumbent has no challenger. In 2011-2012, the governor spent $345,000 to win re-election in a bid against Republican challenger Randy Brock, a former state senator who spent more than double that amount.

by Laura Krantz vtdigger.org About three years ago, staff at the Burlington Boys & Girls Club realized how bad the drug problem had become. Teens were afraid to walk home at night, afraid to cross the park, afraid of being assaulted by someone on drugs.
Staff heard from 13-year-olds asked to sell drugs, 15-year-old girls offered money from drug dealers for sex. They heard about guns and gang affiliations.
“These messages are coming from all different kinds of kids — rich, poor, middle class, from natives of Vermont, from places far away,” Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Mary Alice McKenzie told US Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, on Monday afternoon in Rutland.

Mary Alice McKenzie, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Burlington and Col. Tom L’Esperance, director of the Vermont State Police, participate in a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on opiate addiction in Rutland. Photo by Laura Krantz/VTDigger

Skiers and riders rejoiced over major March snowstorm Vulcan last week, but they aren’t the only ones that benefit from snowfall and cold weather in Vermont’s green mountains. Even those that are dreaming of summer in Vermont reap the economic benefits of our official state sports, as they bring in major spenders from surrounding states and generate hundreds of millions of tax revenue dollars.
Vermont’s ski and snowboard industry draws over $700 million in statewide spending each winter season. Think that money just gets spent at the mountains? Think again. Two-thirds of that spending occurs off-mountain in surrounding villages and towns, supporting many local businesses with the ski economy running deep throughout our communities. Those significant winter traveler expenditures generate another $700 million in indirect spending, totaling nearly $1.5 billion in economic benefit for Vermont’s economy.

A landmark clinical trial that studies the effectiveness of the most common spine surgeries has received the ultimate honor in orthopaedics: the 2014 Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation’s (OREF) Clinical Research Award.
The award recipients were Dr. James N. Weinstein, principal investigator for the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT), and the D-H physicians, researchers, patient coordinators, and analysts who have conducted the study. The award was announced March 12 at the 2014 annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in New Orleans.
“This is an incredible honor”, said Weinstein, who is CEO and President of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health system and a spine surgeon. “In selecting SPORT, the Foundation has recognized the great work of my colleagues here at D-H and the 12 other participating centers across the country, as well as the contributions of the thousands of patients who agreed to be part of the trial.”