Current News

For the first time, Martin’s Point Health Care is offering in-person customer service to military families in the Burlington area. Denise Luck, health benefits specialist, will now be available to counsel local military beneficiaries on their health care options. Denise is a Registered Professional Nurse and brings with her more than 13 years of experience in assisting military members and their families with their TRICARE benefits.

Vermont’s independent colleges and universities annually pump nearly $1.4 billion into the state economy and attract 14,000 out-of-state students who spend their college savings in Vermont, according to a recent study by the Association of Vermont Independent Colleges (AVIC).
‘Vermont would be poorer without its private colleges ‘ more than a billion dollars poorer,’ said Susan Stitely, president of AVIC. ‘Our additional benefit is the first-rate education delivered to students served by these schools and the high number of degrees that are relevant to the needs of Vermont employers.’
Conferring more than half the degrees in Vermont, independent higher education also provides nearly 6,300 campus-based jobs throughout the state. These jobs account for $314 million in wages and benefits paid annually to employees and place private higher education among the top ten employers for Vermont.

US Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded public housing authorities in Vermont $1.9 million in funding that will be used to make major large-scale improvements to their public housing units.
See below for a complete list of housing authorities in Vermont that will receive this funding.
Today’s grants are provided through HUD’sCapital Fund Program,which provides annual funding to all public housing authorities to build, repair, renovate and/or modernize the public housing in their communities. This funding can be used to make large-scale improvements such as new roofs and to make energy-efficient upgrades to replace old plumbing and electrical systems.

Healthy Living Market and Café is excited to announce plans to open their second location in the bustling community of Saratoga Springs, NY.
The natural foods market, located in South Burlington, grew carefully over 26 years, from a small store with around 25 customers a day to Vermont’s largest independently owned natural and organic food retailer. Now, Healthy Living is ready to expand and grow again.
After careful research and analyzing potential markets, Healthy Living’s CEO Katy Lesser found Saratoga Springs to be a similar dynamic to that of Vermont: a vibrant, growing community with a passion for good food and a certain quality life, and support for local business and agriculture.

By Ed Barna Vermont Business MagazineThose who believe the economic slump is moderating could cite the 2011 bankruptcy filings in support.According to figures provided by Thomas Hart, the clerk of Vermont’s federal bankruptcy court in Rutland, there were 1,127 filings last year, an improvement of nearly 31 percent from 2010’s total of 1,626. Though the current downturn is said to have begun in 2008, the full effects of the shock weren’t felt until then; 2009 totaled 1,541 filings, and 2008 had 1,208.
Those figures include both personal and business bankruptcies. Looking just at the business figures, which include those for Chapter 7 (liquidation), Chapter 11 (reorganization), Chapter 12 (family farms) and Chapter 13 (some repayment of debts), the picture is even better. Only in 2006 was that total lower.
The sums were: 33 in 2006, 64 in 2007, 48 in 2008, 60 in 2009, 67 in 2010, and 46 in 2011. The 2011 number was an improvement of a little over 31 percent.

By Anne Galloway vtdigger.org The Senate rejected an amendment to the Budget Adjustment Act that would have required the state to put revenue surplus money toward a gap in the Education Fund transfer from the General Fund.
Sen. Randy Brock, R-Franklin-Grand Isle, and Sen. Peg Flory, R-Rutland, proposed the amendment, which was similar to a plan the House passed. The provision would have required the state to funnel half of future surplus funds toward the $27.5 million gap in the General Fund transfer to the Education Fund that was created last year when lawmakers agreed to ‘rebase’ the transfer amount to 2008 levels.
The General Fund transfer amount, with inflationary increases, would have been $309 million in fiscal year 2012. The new rebased amount is $282 million.
Brock, who is the Republican candidate for governor, proposed the amendment because he said, ‘I believe we should adhere to our commitment to Act 68. This in effect raises property taxes.’

A study conducted at the University of Vermont/Fletcher Allen Health Care and three other sites and published in the February 1 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found significant variability ‘ by both surgeon and institution ‘ in the rates of follow-up surgeries for women who underwent a partial mastectomy for treatment of breast cancer. The research determined that these differences could not be explained by a patient’s medical or treatment history, and hypothesized that they could affect both cancer recurrence and overall survival rates.

Governor Peter Shumlin today signed into law the ‘I Am Vermont Strong’ license plate bill, authorizing Vermonters to purchase the $25 plate and affix it to the front of their vehicles. Money raised by the sales will go to the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund to help people impacted by Tropical Storm Irene, as well as the Vermont Foodbank.
‘Although the Vermont Strong ethic has enabled our state to make huge strides toward recovery following Irene, there is still enormous need remaining,’ the governor said. ‘The ‘I Am Vermont Strong’ plate is a symbol of our commitment -- financial and personal -- to help every family find permanent housing and every Vermonter get back to work.’

Vermont’s local renewable energy industry ‘ made up of manufacturers, construction contractors, installers, developers, and suppliers’ announced today "the industry is equipped to help make 'Vermont energy strong' in the 21st Century."
The industry, which ranges from local fabricators assembling electrical boards and contractors that specialize in hot water, solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and biomass heating installations to regional and international manufacturers of innovative renewable energy technologies, held a press conference on pending policy issues today in Montpelier.

Anne Galloway, award-winning journalist and founder/editor of VTDigger.org, will be the keynote speaker at Vermont Communities in a Digital Age. This all-day workshop, presented by the e-Vermont Community Broadband Project, takes place February 16 at Vermont Technical College in Randolph Center. Galloway will discuss the importance of online journalism for reporting community news in Vermont.
e-Vermont is working across the state to help communities solve local issues with 21st century tools. This workshop will highlight some of the projects taking place and bring leaders and learners together to share what they have discovered so far. Topics include mobilizing community resources during emergencies, a hands-on lab about digital tools for business, a showcase of how technology is expanding the classroom for 4-6th graders, and a preview of how town meetings can reach a wider audience.

Vermont Attorney General William H Sorrell today formally joined a landmark $25 billion joint state-federal settlement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers over foreclosure abuses and unacceptable nationwide mortgage servicing practices. The settlement addresses future mortgage loan servicing practices, affords an estimated $3.1 million in financial relief to Vermonters, and provides approximately $3.6 million to the State. The state funds may be used for housing-related or other purposes.
Vermont's share is relatively modest because the state had far fewer mortgage-related problems, including foreclosures, than most other states. The final deal was struck when large states with relatively high ratios of problem mortgages - California, Florida, New York - joined the settlement.

by Alan Panebaker vtdigger.org As the Vermont Public Service Board considers allowing the state’s two largest utilities to merge, the fate of millions of dollars is still undecided.
Green Mountain Power plans to return $144 million in savings to ratepayers in the first 10 years after the merger. In what form remains to be decided.
The state’s largest utility, CVPS, is obligated to repay $21 million to ratepayers as a result of a bailout in the 1990s in which utilities were allowed to raise rates in order to avoid bankruptcy. Green Mountain Power and CVPS claim this debt will be satisfied through reductions in operational costs over a decade. The utilities say the savings will be passed on to ratepayers.