Current News

For the 6th year Vermont surpassed the 40 new captives licensed mark with 41 new captive insurance companies in 2011 bringing the total number of licenses to 952, according to data released by the Vermont Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration (BISHCA).
Thirty were single parent captives, with six risk retention groups (RRG), three sponsored, one industrial insured, and one association. 2011’s new captive insurance licensees brings Vermont overall total to 952 with 590 active captive insurance companies.
‘One of the most exciting aspects of 2011 and a perennial key to our success is the high quality of companies that we are privileged to work with,’ said David Provost, Vermont’s Deputy Commissioner of Captive Insurance. ‘We’re also seeing the State’s continued investment in staff helping us continue to provide outstanding customer service. That’s very much a part of what keeps Vermont the Gold Standard.’

Larry Sudbay, President and Chief Executive Officer of SymQuest® Group, the region’s leading provider of network and document technology solutions and services cut the ribbon on their new 2,800 sf Network Operations Center (NOC) today.
The NOC is the control center for SymQuest’s 25 top-level engineers who monitor their clients’ networks to manage and remediate both proactive and reactive service requests. Sudbay spoke about the sheer volume of requests that come in to the company on a daily and yearly basis.
‘Today we commemorate the unification of our employees in the service fulfillment of technology requests from our new and secure headquarters location at Technology Park, South Burlington, Vermont,’ said Sudbay prior to cutting the ribbon. He then went on to detail the support the company provides to their 2500 clients spanning from the Adirondacks of New York to the Seacoast of Maine.

Application due January 20, 2012
Applications are now being accepted for the 2012 Governor's Awards for Environmental Excellence. The annual awards honor the actions taken by Vermonters to conserve and protect natural resources, prevent pollution and promote sustainability.
Applications are encouraged from:

Business, Industry, and Trade or Professional Organizations
Environmental, Community, and Non-Profit Organizations
Individual Citizens
Institutions (such as schools, hospitals, and municipalities)
Teachers and Students
Public Agencies

Seeking to recover costs resulting from Vermont Yankee cooling tower failures in 2007 and 2008, the state's two largest distribution utilities have filed a lawsuit against Entergy-Vermont Yankee (Entergy) in Vermont Superior Court in Windham County.
"This case arises out of Entergy's breach of its contractual obligation to use 'Good Utility Practice' in its management and operation of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Station," Central Vermont Public Service and Green Mountain Power said in a joint statement today. "Entergy's failure to implement and exercise sound practices with respect to the maintenance, repair and improvements of the facility's cooling towers caused tower failures in August 2007 and July 2008. The failures resulted in significantly reduced power output, which in turn deprived us of power due to us and our customers at specified, below-market prices."

WageWorks Inc, a leading on-demand provider of tax-advantaged programs for consumer-directed health, commuter and other employee spending account benefits from California, today announced that it has acquired the operating assets of Choice Strategies, a pre-eminent administrator in the tax-advantaged, consumer-driven health care space based in Waterbury Center. A purchase price was not divulged. Choice Strategies reported 2011 revenues of $12.4 million in the January 2012 issue of Vermont Business Magazine's Vermont 100+ (LINK). Choice Strategies services more than 5,000 employers primarily in the New England,New York,New Jerseyand Mid-Atlantic regions.

Vermont Technical CollegePresident Philip A. Conroy has announced that former Vermont Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets,Roger N Allbee, has been named consultant and advisor to the President and the College. In this position, Allbee will assist in helping the Institution position itself to address the technical and applied knowledge skills important to students interested in agriculture and related food systems.
‘We’re excited that Roger will be putting his expertise to work at Vermont Tech,’ said Dr. Conroy. ‘One of the college’s areas of growth is diversified agriculture; with Roger’s broad and deep interest in the field, he’s well equipped to help VTC respond to new developments in the industry.’

Governor Peter Shumlin today announced the appointment of attorney Barry D. Peterson of Fletcher as Magistrate Judge of the Family Division of Vermont’s Superior Courts. Peterson has held the post in an acting capacity in Chittenden, Lamoille, and Franklin counties as needed in recent years.
‘Barry’s broad experience, both in law and in his community, make him the perfect fit for Family Division Magistrate,’ Shumlin said. ‘He has already served in this role in an acting capacity, so he’ll hit the ground running.’
Peterson, whose office is in Jericho, joined his wife, Lori J Ruple, to start the law firm Peterson & Ruple in 1988. There he has focused on family law and represented clients in real estate, bankruptcy, small business and personal injury matters.

Local foods and producers will take center stage at the Farm Show on the night of Wednesday, January 25th, thanks to the all-new ‘Buy Local Market.’ Forty-two producers will be on-hand offering consumers the opportunity to taste, learn about, and purchase Vermont agricultural products.
The Buy Local Market will be held as part of the Farm Show’s Consumer Night, a fun-filled evening aimed at engaging the general public in agricultural exploration.
‘Vermonters are passionate about local foods and appreciate the ways in which they enrich our landscape and communities. The Buy Local Market will provide an ideal opportunity to connect with the farmers and producers who drive our agricultural economy,’ said Chuck Ross, Secretary of the Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets. ‘It’s a chance to eat some delicious food, take home some great products, and meet your local farmers and producers.’

National and regional economists will explore the 2012 economic environment in the coming year with a focus on what shape the national and state economic recovery will take this year and beyond.
The 21st annual Vermont Economic Conference will be held on Friday, January 13, 2012 at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel and Conference Center and is hosted by The Vermont Economy Newsletter and sponsored by TD Bank, KPMG, and Entergy Vermont. The times and topics for the speakers follow:
9:10 a.m. Governor Peter Shumlin. Governor Shumlin will outline his budget and policy priorities for the coming legislative session.

Big Brother Big Sisters of Windham County recently received $3,000 from People’s United Bank to sponsor the 31st Annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake fundraising event.
The event will be held on April 7th and teams will bowl and raise money to help provide a high quality mentoring program in Windham County for many wonderful kids who need and want a mentor. The money raised at Bowl For Kids Sake will go to support every aspect of the program: recruiting, screening, training and supporting mentors; learning about Littles so a good match is made with a great Big; supporting the Littles and their parents; providing fun activities for Bigs and Littles to attend, and other administrative expenses.

Vermont saw the single largest appreciation in home values in November of any state and was one of only nine states to see an increase over the last 12 months. CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), a leading provider of information, analytics and business services, today released its November Home Price Index (HPI®) report, the most timely and comprehensive source of home prices available today, which shows that home prices in the US decreased 1.4 percent on a month-over-month basis, the fourth consecutive monthly decline.

On Labor Day weekend in 1971, a group of area residents formed Historic Windsor, Inc. to save the Windsor House from demolition. In the intervening 40 years, this organization has made a big and far reaching impact by: rehabilitating Windsor House, managing it for over 33 years, and returning it to provide ownership in 2005. They also operated the Vermont State Craft Center at Windsor Housing and the Gerard Room Gallery for 19 years showcasing the work of hundreds of Vermont artists and craftspeople and conducted craft education for thousands of people. At The Preservation Education Institute, they have offered hundreds of innovative preservation education programs from Vermont to Oregon since 1983 and provide technical assistance to property owners and others for the care of historic buildings.