Current News

NORTHFIELD, VT ‘ The Norwich University Alumni Association (NUAA) will honor Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC) and Fletcher Allen Health Care with a special award recognizing each as a Norwich ‘Employer of Distinction’ at an evening reception and dinner on Monday, Feb. 3, at 5 p.m.

The NUAA presents this award to employers across the country that recognize the value of hiring Norwich graduates for their operations. Together CVMC and Fletcher Allen employ nearly 100 graduates from a variety of Norwich University’s academic programs including nursing, biology, business administration and information security.

‘The mission of service that defines these two great medical centers aligns perfectly with the Norwich value of service before self,’ said Charlie O’Neil, president of the NUAA board of directors. ‘It’s a great honor to formally recognize both CVMC and Fletcher Allen as long-time partners of the university.’

Secretary of State Jim Condos announced that, in February of 2014, the Secretary of State’s Office will begin implementation of a new elections system that is made up of a suite of integrated software applications. These new applications will provide Vermonters with easier access to information, improve transparency, and strengthen the overall reliability of elections functions.
‘I am extremely pleased to make this announcement today ‘ this is a huge step forward for Vermont. Among the many benefits of the new elections system, the chief benefits are that it will enhance the security, accuracy, and integrity of our elections,’ remarked Secretary Condos.
The new elections system will support: Vermont’s voter registration checklist, absentee ballot tracking, election management, campaign finance reporting, and lobbyist disclosure.

The State of Vermont Working Lands Initiative Board announced over $400,000 in awards to Grantees representing sectors across agriculture, forestry, and forest products
Chris Brooks and Katie Adams, Mike Snyder, Chuck Ross
Vermont Wood Pellet Company, LLC received a $38,160 to fund new equipment to increase efficiencies in their manufacturing and wood pellet production volume. This round of grants is the first initiative of its kind that was approved in Vermont’s 2013 budget.

Comment of Senator Patrick Leahy on Vermont site no longer considered for East Coast missile defense site January 31, 2014.
‘The ground-based interceptors being contemplated for an East Coast missile defense site cost huge sums of money, without delivering reliable capability. I welcome the news that Vermont’s Camp Ethan Allen will not be considered as a site, and I continue to pursue redirecting those funds toward projects that have more proven and cost-effective success in keeping Americans safe.’

by Morgan True vtdigger.org The state pledged to make 90 percent of health care payments ‘value-based’ within five years, as part of its application for a $45 million state innovation grant.
Anya Rader Wallack, a consultant for the state who leads the team that is allocating the State Innovation Model grant award, said payments to providers must be in some way be tied to quality of care.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) praised Senate passage Thursday of legislation that would provide relief to homeowners subject to dramatic increases in flood insurance rates. The legislation would ensure that the Federal Emergency Management Agency completes a study on flood insurance affordability before new premiums take effect.
‘Tropical Storm Irene brought into sharp focus the importance of the National Flood Insurance Program for non-coastal states like Vermont. Efforts to strengthen the program were never intended to produce policies that put an unfair burden on homeowners. Conducting the affordability studies required by the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act before any such substantial premium increases were implemented is a prudent step that will provide relief to many Vermonters. I hope the House will consider this remedy soon to provide needed relief to homeowners already feeling the crunch of these often crippling new fees.’

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org State government needs to do more to help Vermont businesses expand, Representatives Paul Ralston, D-Middlebury, and Heidi Scheuermann, R-Stowe, believe. The two lawmakers are pitching an economic innovation bill, H736, that would encourage entrepreneurship and boost the state’s economy.
The strategy of attracting businesses through deep tax cuts and other incentives ‘ increasingly popular in New York, Texas and other states, however, is not an option for Vermont’s relatively small and rural population, Ralston and Scheuermann say.
The bipartisan pair Thursday proposed a multi-pronged approach to growing the economy by helping companies that are already here get started and scale up.

The US Green Building Council has awarded Hypertherm’s Heater Road Facility with a LEED Gold designation, Bread Loaf Corporation of Middlebury and Hypertherm Inc of Hanover, NH, have announced. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and represents the best in class green building practices measuring the design, construction, maintenance and operations of green buildings.
Hypertherm is the world leader in plasma cutting technology and the Heater Road facility in Lebanon is the newest of their seven facilities in the Upper Valley. The project transformed a previously disturbed 23 acre site along the Interstate into the 160,000 square foot research, manufacturing, training, and office building.

New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ: NHTB), the holding company for Lake Sunapee Bank, fsb has reported consolidated net income for the 12 months ended December 31, 2013, of $8.4 million, or $1.11 per common share, assuming dilution, compared to $7.8 million, or $1.20 per common share, assuming dilution, for same period in 2012, an increase of $655 thousand, or 8.44%. The weighted average numbers of common shares, assuming dilution, were 7,301,861 and 5,912,051 for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively. Common shares outstanding were 8,216,747 and 7,055,946 at December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively. For the quarter ended December 31, 2013, the Company reported consolidated net income of $2.0 million, or $0.24 per common share, assuming dilution, compared to $1.6 million, or $0.26 per common share, assuming dilution, for the quarter ended December 31, 2012, an increase of $360 thousand, or 22.02%.

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org If Vermonters continue bouncing checks at the rate they’re expected to in fiscal year 2015, the state government will have about $32,000 more in its coffers.
The revenue boost will come from a hike in the fee agencies can charge for overdrafts, from $13 to $20. The penalty would be applied to online ACH payments, not just paper checks.
The increase is just one of many that passed the Vermont House today as part of a an annual Miscellaneous Fee Bill.
The maximum entrance fee at state historic sites also might go up, from $8 to $12, though it’s only expected to increase at the Plymouth Notch State Historic
Site (Calvin Coolidge) for now.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org The Vermont House gave final approval of the net metering bill on a voice vote Thursday.
H.702 lifts the cap on how much renewable power utilities can accept from customers. The current limit is 4 percent of peak power demand; the new proposed cap will be 15 percent.
The legislation allows more homeowners to install solar systems and feed excess power to the grid.
Customers can avoid having to buy expensive solar batteries with a net metering system. Utilities get a boost from the locally distributed power and credit customers’ bills for the electricity.
On Wednesday, Democrats, Republicans, Progressives and independents overwhelmingly supported the proposal, 136-8, on second reading.
Rep. Tony Klein, D-E. Montpelier, said ‘net metering is one of Vermont’s most successful renewable energy programs’ because it has helped to avoid ‘hundreds of millions of dollars in costly transmission projects.’

Fletcher Allen Health Care has named MorrisSwitzer~Environments for Health as project architect for design work on the new inpatient bed replacement building, which is currently in the Certificate of Need (CON)-approved conceptual development phase. Fletcher Allen also selected The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company of Baltimore, MD, as the construction management firm to undertake the pre-construction planning work.
Initially, the total cost was expected to be at least $85 million. FAHC said in a statement that the actual cost will not be known until near the end of this conceptual development phase. At that point it will have all the pertinent information ready when it files the CON application to seek approval to construct the building.