Current News
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by Morgan True vtdigger.org The first glimpse of a substantive proposal to finance Vermont’s planned universal health care system came Thursday at a sparsely attended meeting of the Senate Republican Caucus.
Peter Galbraith and John Campbell from 2012. vtdigger pic.
The caucus invited Sen. Peter Galbraith, D-Windham, to speak about his proposal, laid out in two separate bills, S.252 and S.254, to pay for Green Mountain Care, the public entity that will administer the state’s single-payer system.
S.252 would create a tax structure to pay for the reformed health care system.
The lion’s share of revenue, $1.45 billion, would be raised through a payroll tax at a rate of 11 percent on employers and 2 percent on employees.
‘Unlike any other tax, the payroll tax on employers is a deductible business expense, and therefore the federal government picks up a third of the cost,’ Galbraith said.
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Vermont dropped to 33rd place in the nation with a D+ in the 2014 American College of Emergency Physicians’ (ACEP) state-by-state report card on America’s emergency care environment. A lack of statewide planning and policies in the category of Disaster Preparedness contributed to this drop. In 2009, Vermont received an overall C grade and ranked 21st in the nation.’ The US overall also dropped to D+.
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Adirondacks ACO has been selected as one of 123 new Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) in Medicare, providing approximately 1.5 million more Medicare beneficiaries with access to high‐quality, coordinated care across the United States, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today.
Doctors, hospitals and health care providers establish ACOs in order to work together to provide higher‐quality coordinated care to their patients, while helping to slow health care cost growth. Since passage of the Affordable Care Act, more than 360 (ACOs) have been established, serving over 5.3 million Americans with Medicare. Beneficiaries seeing health care providers in ACOs always have the freedom to choose doctors inside or outside of the ACO. ACOs share with Medicare any savings generated from lowering the growth in health care costs when they meet standards for high quality care.
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by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org Next year doesn’t look too bad for Vermont’s economy, according to the state’s economists. Jeff Carr and Tom Kavet on Thursday delivered an optimistic revenue forecast for fiscal year 2015, which starts July 1.’
Governor Shumlin looks over an employment chart. Photos by Vermont Business Magazine.
Carr, who serves Governor Peter Shumlin, and Kavet, who reports to the joint fiscal committees of the Legislature, together maintain a projection of tax revenues the state can expect each year. The consensus revenue forecast, as adopted by the Emergency Board, is the projected income on which the state budget is based.
Because revenues leading up to Thursday’s meeting had come in very close to projections, very little was changed in the existing forecast for FY15 and beyond.
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Darn Tough Vermont, American manufacturer of the fastest growing collection of performance socks, reports that 2013 sales and profitability were the best yet in its, and parent company Cabot Hosiery’s, 35-year history with 2013 revenue up 78 percent over 2012.
‘We ended 2013 with a strong quarter that was 38 percent over plan, and are extremely proud of our continued growth in a highly competitive industry,’ says Ric Cabot, president and CEO of Darn Tough Vermont.
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by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org The Vermont Senate passed a campaign finance bill on Thursday that Democrats and Republicans alike openly questioned. After an hourlong debate, in which the legislation was characterized as a necessary stopgap, senators held their noses and passed the legislation 20-8.
The legislation, S.82, now awaits the governor’s signature.
The state’s previous campaign finance law was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2006. Vermont has, in effect, had no legal rules in place since that time. In the meantime, the courts have struck down laws that would limit independent expenditures made on behalf of candidates for mass media buys.
The bill, which was originally conceived of as a vehicle for reform of the current system, was seen by many as a step backward. Nevertheless, a majority of Democrats, who dominate the Senate and stand to gain the most from the bill, supported it.
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The Vermont Mayors Coalition today announced its 2014 legislative session goals and its commitment to collaborate on and advocate for these areas of common interest to their cities and towns.’ At a news conference in the State Capitol’s Cedar Creek Room, the Coalition released its Legislative Policy Summary for the 2014 legislative session, including calls for:’
‘·’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Mental health system reform;
‘·’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Statewide property tax reform to promote education cost containment;
‘·’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Addiction prevention, treatment, and enforcement initiatives;
‘·’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Strengthening Vermont’s downtowns; and
‘·’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Waterway protection from stormwater run-off .’
The Vermont Mayors Coalition was created last year by Vermont’s eight mayors and includes:’ ‘
‘·’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Bill Benton, Vergennes;
‘·’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Liz Gamache, St. Albans;
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People's United Financial, Inc (NASDAQ: PBCT) today reported net income of’ $59.3 million, or’ $0.20’ per share, for the fourth quarter of 2013, compared to’ $61.2 million, or’ $0.18’ per share, for the fourth quarter of 2012, and’ $58.5 million, or’ $0.19’ per share, for the third quarter of 2013. ‘ Operating earnings were’ $60.0 million, or’ $0.20’ per share, for the fourth quarter of 2013, compared to’ $63.2 million, or’ $0.19’ per share, for the fourth quarter of 2012, and’ $60.8 million, or’ $0.20’ per share, for the third quarter of 2013.
For the year ended’ December 31, 2013, net income totaled’ $232.4 million, or’ $0.74’ per share, compared to’ $245.3 million, or’ $0.72’ per share, for 2012.’ Operating earnings were’ $241.1 million, or’ $0.77’ per share, for 2013, compared to$253.9 million, or’ $0.75’ per share, for 2012.
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by John Herrick vtdigger.org
A hearing on Vermont Yankee Tuesday evening drew some pointed criticism over the state’s agreement with Entergy on the plant’s upcoming closure and proposed decommissioning.
At the same time, others testifying before the quasi-judicial Public Service Board (PSB) argued the state’s agreement provides the best deal possible for when the 41-year-old plant closes at the end of 2014.
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Union Bankshares, Inc (NASDAQ - UNB) has announced net income for the year-end 2013 was $7.1 million, which represents a 4.3 percent increase over net income for the year-end 2012 of $6.8 million. ‘ Earnings per share as of December 31, 2013 increased to $1.60 per share, compared to $1.54 per share, for 2012. ‘ Results for 2013 reflect a year to year increase in net interest income of $345 thousand, or 1.6 percent, a decrease in the provision for loan losses of $355 thousand, or 53.8 percent, a decrease in noninterest expenses of $1.8 million, or 7.9 percent. ‘
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The’ Spates Block in Downtown Newport - Bill Stenger and Ariel Quiros now own the Spates Block on Main Street and plans are moving forward for the new commercial space soon to be’ called the Renaissance Block. Demolition and’ construction will begin’ this summer on the’ $50 million EB-5 project.’ Newport City planners are involved with the architectural design of the Renaissance Block and the permit’ process.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
Jay Peak Resort
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Moody’s announced Wednesday an improvement in Burlington International Airport’s revenue bond outlook from Ba1 negative to Ba1 stable on the City of Burlington's $43.16 million revenue bonds. This improved outlook is the result of a variety of reasons which are outlined below.
Gene Richards, left, listens as Mayor Miro Weinberger speaks during the announcement last November that Allegiant Air would be offering seasonal, direct service to Orlando.
BTV’s Director of Aviation, Gene Richards, said, ‘The improvement in the bond rating demonstrates the bright future ahead for the airport and shows the hard work of the BTV Team, through the direction of the Mayor, in ensuring that BTV remains financially strong for many years to come.’’