Current News

The Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities & Health Care Administration (BISHCA) has imposed a penalty of $250,000 on the UnitedHealth Insurance Company, part of a negotiated resolution of administrative charges that alleged improper advertising practices by the insurer. ‘With the receipt of United’s payment today this matter has been successfully concluded,’ said BISHCA Commissioner Steve Kimbell.

Green Works/Vermont Nursery and Landscape Association is pleased to announce the winners of the 2011 Industry Award Program. A panel of industry professionals and landscape architects met in Janaury. Projects were judged according to difficulty, proper horticultural practices, craftsmanship, and contributions to the quality of sustainability to the environment. The awards are as follows:
Grand Honor Award
Julie Moir Messervy
Julie Moir Messervy Design Studio, Saxton River, VT
Inspiration Garden Project - Commercial Design
Grand Honor Award
Charlie Proutt and Larry Ratta
Distinctive Landscaping, Charlotte, VT
Corlear Bay Project - Large Scale Residential Build

Exceeds Excellence Award
Caroline Dudek
Landshapes, Richmond, VT
Business Park Indoor Oasis Project - Special Projects

Vermont placed in the top ten states with its graduates participating in AP and scoring a 3 or higher on an AP Exam (21.4 percent). Maryland once again led the nation with the highest percentage. While the national percentage of high school graduates who participated and succeeded in AP is 18.1 percent, 19 states exceeded that national average. The full list of the top 10 states is:

Maryland(27.9 percent )
New York(26.5 percent)
Virginia(25.6 percent)
Massachusetts(25.5 percent)
Connecticut(25.3 percent)
Florida(23.9 percent)
California(23.4 percent)
Colorado(22.3 percent)
Vermont(21.4 percent)
Utah(20.7 percent)

Vermont also achieved one of the top 10 largest positive changes in the percentage of high school graduates participating and succeeding since 2001:

The University of Vermont became the thirty-fourth college in the nation this week to commit to the Sustainable Endowment Institute’s Billion Dollar Green Challenge, agreeing to establish a revolving fund to finance on-campus energy efficiency improvements.

And what a commitment it was.

Thanks to a resolution by the university’s Board of Trustees that passed Saturday, UVM will earmark $13 million for the fund, making it the largest challenge to date. Harvard’s $12 million green energy revolving fund had been the largest.

The Billion Dollar Green Challenge was launched in Oct. 2011 by the Sustainable Endowments Institute and 15 partners. The program invites colleges to invest a total of one billion dollars in energy efficiency upgrades delivered through self-managed revolving funds. To date, colleges have committed nearly $80 million in total.

Gifford Medical Center’s nursing home, the Menig Extended Care Facility in Randolph, has been named among the nation’s 39 best nursing homes.

U.S. News and World Report on Tuesday released a list of its ‘2012 Honor Roll’ nursing homes. The 39 listed were the only out of more than 15,500 reviewed nationally to receive four straight quarters of perfect five-star ratings from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in all three areas that CMS evaluates - health inspections, nurse staffing and quality of care.

Menig, repeatedly recognized in Vermont with quality awards and included among the U.S. News and World Reports ‘2011 Best Nursing Homes’ listing, is the only Vermont nursing home on the 2012 top 39 ‘Honor Roll’ listing.

Saint Michael’s College has been named a Fair Trade College, the first in Vermont, and will be granted that official status at a Fair Trade Café ceremony as sanctioned by Fair Trade Universities onThursday, Feb. 23, from4 p.m. to 5 p.m. inSt. Edmund’s Hall Farrell Room (#315).The community is invited to the Café which includes a forum of speakers, a sampling of Fair Trade products and the signing of the Fair Trade College certificate by President Jack Neuhauser.

Participants in the Fair Trade Café forum include:

·Sandy Wynne’Burlington Fair Trade Network and SMC Alum
·Rob Michalak’Ben and Jerry’s Global Director of Social Mission
·Gabriela Ochoa Brenneman’Peace and Justice Center Program Director and Burlington Fair Trade Network
·Andrew Driscoll’Equal Exchange and SMC Alum

Fair Trade accepted by students, faculty and administration

Governor Peter Shumlin today appointed Jill Krowinski of Burlington to replace outgoing state Representative Rachel Weston for the seat representing Ward 3.
‘Jill has worked hard to get young people involved in the political process and registered to vote,’ Shumlin said. ‘She also knows how the House and Senate operate from her time working as assistant to former House Speaker Gaye Symington, so she’ll hit the ground running.’
"I want to thank Governor Shumlin for giving me this incredible opportunity to represent Burlington in the House of Representatives,’ Krowinski said. ‘I'm ready to get to work with a great group of legislators from Burlington and excited to work for a great community."

People’s United Community Foundation, the philanthropic arm of People’s United Bank, announced today that it has awarded $22,500 in grants to nonprofit organizations in Vermont during the first quarter of 2012. The organizations and programs supported include:

Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, Inc. - The WARMTH Support Program addresses the immediate need of low income Vermont households that are in danger of losing their heat and/or utilities due to their inability to pay.
Special Olympics Vermont ‘ The School Unified Bocce and Track Program helps to build meaningful relationships on and off the field and helps students appreciate each others differences, as hundreds of athletes and partners compete side-by-side, instilling camaraderie and acceptance among classmates.

Registration for the 28th annual Vermont Chamber Business and Industry EXPO is underway and booths are filling up fast! Any business or non-profit wanting to gain exposure and make connections can register for a booth by going to www.vtexpo.com.
The exposition will be held on May 23 & 24, 2012, at the Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center in Burlington, Vermont. EXPO is the region’s largest business-to-business trade show, hosting nearly 200 exhibitors, as well as a wide array of special events and seminars. The 3,000 business leaders who attend EXPO are provided with valuable educational and networking opportunities.

A celebration of entrepreneurship in Vermont featuring the announcement of the winners of the annual high school poster contest and a Governor’s Proclamation will be held Thursday, February 9th at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier from 10:30 am to 1 pm.
The event is part of the national Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education’s (http://www.nationaleweek.org ) week-long activities. Beginning at 10:00 a.m., in the Governor’s Ballroom of the Capital Plaza there will be a 30-minute workshop on starting your own business, followed by entrepreneur presentations, and an opportunity to network with entrepreneurial students, entrepreneurs and technical assistance providers.

by Colin EllisGovernor Peter Shumlin addressed the issues of school funding and quality of education at a recent chamber legislation meeting. He urged voters around the state to level fund school budgets to try to keep property taxes down. He also wants school choice at the high school level.
‘If you don’t want your property taxes to go up at a time when our student count continues to drop and our costs continue to rise, there’s only one way to solve that problem. We all need to go out together and defeat school budgets that aren’t sensible,’ he said.

On Wednesday, February 8th, Vermont AFL-CIO, Teamsters, and Building Trades will recognize former Governor Howard Dean with the first annual John Murphy Labor Award. The event will be held in the Montpelier Room at the Capital Plaza Hotel from 5:00-8:00 pm. Governor Peter Shumlin will speak at the event.
Howard Dean has a long record of supporting Vermont’s organized labor community. From standing with the nurses at Fletcher Allen, who organized their union almost a decade ago, to remaining a strong and ceaseless advocate for the early educators building Vermont Early Educators United-AFT today, Dean has consistently demonstrated leadership in standing up for working people in Vermont.