Current News

The Vermont Department of Labor will be holding an information and sign up session Wednesday, January 15 for the laid-off workers from IBM and Huber+Suhner who have been certified by the USDOL as ‘Trade Adjusted.’
On December 3, 2013, the USDOL Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) responded to the Vermont Department of Labor’s petition on behalf of the laid-off workers from IBM (and its contractors listed below), and on December 17, 2013 for the workers from Huber+Suhner. The USDOL determined that workers of IBM Corporation in Williston, and all of the workers of Huber+Suhner, are eligible to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance under Chapter 2 of Title II of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. ‘ The Vermont Department of Labor is inviting any employee who may be part of these specific displaced worker groups to the meeting.’ Affected employees have been individually contacted earlier this month by the Department to advise them of this informational session.’ ‘

At its 27th’ Annual Membership Meeting held at The Essex Resort and Spa, the Vermont Business Roundtable elected five new directors to their first three-year term, including:Jill Berry Bowen, CEO of Northwestern Medical Center in St Albans; Geoff Glaspie, Plant Manager of Husky Injection Molding in Milton; Brian Murphy, Managing Partner of Dinse Knapp McAndrew in Burlington; Bill Shouldice IV, CEO of Vermont Teddy Bear of Shelburne; and, John Wilking, CEO of Neville Companies of South Burlington.
Elected to their second three-year term were the following directors:’ Tim Donovan, Chancellor of Vermont State Colleges and Don George, CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont.

by Hilary Niles VTDigger.org It’s the day before Q Burke Mountain opens for the winter, and Ary Quiros could just as well be preparing for battle as for business. The new CEO is opening the ski resort for the first time since he started at the mountain the previous winter, and he’s amped. If Quiros, 36, can turn this chronically failing but beloved ski area into a stable business, he will succeed where prior, much wealthier, owners have failed.
The arc of history and local expectations give him long odds. But Quiros ‘ and his staff ‘ are determined.
Ary Quiros served in the Army’s 101st Airborne Division in Iraq and held other posts in Afghanistan and South Korea before taking over as CEO of Q Burke Mountain ski area in Vermont. Photo by Hilary Niles/VTDigger.

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org Ariel Quiros is the entrepreneurial force behind Jay Peak ski resort and the $600 million Northeast Kingdom Economic Development Initiative ‘ one of the largest development projects ever attempted in Vermont. Though the project is high profile, Quiros is not. The international tycoon, though sometimes seen, is seldom heard.
The first generation American stands out at press conferences for his mystique: When he’s not got the ear of the governor, Quiros is most often seen standing uncomfortably before a crowd with pursed lips, staring silently and expressionless, at nothing in particular, through ice blue eyes.
Ariel Quiros whispers to Governor Peter Shumlin.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2014 Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence.’ The awards recognize the actions taken by individuals and organizations to conserve and protect natural resources, prevent pollution, and promoted sustainability. The Vermont Governor’s Awards were established in 1993, and to date more than 200 award winning efforts have been recognized.’

by Morgan True vtdigger.org The Obama administration has decided not to renew its contract with CGI, the Canadian tech giant that built Vermont’s troubled health care exchange website, and one of the many contractors working on HealthCare.gov, the federal exchange site.

The Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA) announced Tuesday that in order to provide clarity and ensure the smoothest possible transition for small businesses that have yet to enroll in a 2014 Vermont Health Connect (VHC) plan, all small businesses that must transition to a VHC plan by April 1, 2014 will directly enroll with either Blue Cross Blue Shield of VT or MVP Health Care. While small business premium processing testing of the VHC website continues, uncertainty remains about the timing of these functions, leading DVHA to recommend direct enrollment for all small businesses that must sign up by the end of March.’

Attorneys’ Elizabeth R Wohl of the Brattleboro Office and Mary K Parent of the St. Johnsbury Office have been elected as directors and owners of the northern New England law firm Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC. As well, DRM Directors John H Marshall of St Johnsbury and Elizabeth K Rattigan of the Lebanon Office have assumed new leadership roles at the firm.’ The election of the new members took place at the firm’s annual meeting in December.’ ‘ ‘
Clockwise from upper left: Mary Parent, Elizabeth Wohl, John Marshall and
Elizabeth Rattigan.
‘Elizabeth and Mary are among our brightest stars, both in their legal work, their leadership within the firm and in their community involvement,’ said DRM Managing Partner Paul H Ode, Jr.’ ‘I am delighted that they, along with John and Beth, will play new and important roles in the decisions we make as a firm.’’

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org A shrinking labor force ‘ meaning fewer people working or looking for work ‘ is the greatest concern for Vermont’s economy, according to Art Woolf, editor of the Vermont Economy Newsletter. And the decline appears to be worse news for women than for men.
At the newsletter’s 23rd annual presentation and state economic forecast on Friday in Burlington, Woolf said the state’s already tepid recovery from the recession is being cooled by downward population trends.
‘The $64,000 question, looking forward, is how to get more jobs out of a shrinking labor force,’ Woolf said. ‘Even more problematic is the state’s shrinking pool of people in working age years.’
Dick Heaps, Gus Faucher, NPR’s Adam Davidson and Art Woolf stand together after their presentations at the Vermont Economy Newsletter’s 23rd annual conference, held in Burlington. Photo by Hilary Niles/VTDigger

by Morgan True vtdigger.org A new report says growing income inequality will have a negative impact on the health of Vermont’s children.’ Childhood poverty in the state has increased 25 percent since 2007, according to an annual report compiled by Voices for Vermont’s Children.
‘Even in the healthiest state, we are not all equally healthy,’ the authors wrote.The report, ‘The State of Our Children: KIDS COUNT,’ was issued Friday and is part of a national initiative by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a private charitable organization ‘dedicated to helping build better futures for disadvantaged children in the United States.’
Childhood poverty has lasting impacts on physical and social-emotional health and can result in long-term health complications, including stunted growth, obesity and a host of developmental issues, according to the report.
Despite the sobering growth in childhood poverty, the report makes a number of positive findings too.

Robert De Cormier, who founded the VSO Chorus in 1993, is retiring after serving as its director for the past 20 years.

Mayor Miro Weinberger announced Monday the slate of Public Investment Action Plan (PIAP) projects for the Waterfront Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District that will strengthen existing waterfront resources, resolve the uncertainty surrounding the future of Moran, and increase public access and use of the waterfront.’
In an Open Letter to the People of Burlington, the mayor shared his selection of the following six PIAP projects in support of which the City plans to invest $9.6 million in TIF funds to leverage an additional $33 million of direct investmen.