Current News

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) today announced that he will file an amendment to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that will repeal the health insurance and medical malpractice insurance industries’ exemption from federal antitrust laws.
Leahy introduced the Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act in September. Leahy chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which held a hearing about the legislation in October. The bill is cosponsored by 18 senators, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who testified before the Judiciary Committee.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont has been ranked as the top commercial health plan in Vermont for the second consecutive year. The rankings, released in the December 2009 issue of US News and World Report, are based on quality review information from the National Committee Quality Assurance (NCQA).
“This confirms Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont’s long tradition of providing high quality care to its members,” noted Don George, President and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont. “The rankings are based on the quality of the care our members received and how well we managed to continuously improve health care for those members.”

TransUnion.com released today the results of its analysis of trends in the auto lending industry for the third quarter of 2009. The national 60-day auto delinquency rate (the ratio of auto loan borrowers 60 or more days past due) rose between the second and third quarters of 2009 (from 0.73 percent to 0.81 percent). The year-over-year delinquency rate at the national level increased by 1.25 percent in the third quarter.
Auto loan delinquency was highest in Mississippi and California at 1.53 percent and 1.33, respectively. The lowest auto loan delinquency rates were found in the District of Columbia (0.26 percent), North Dakota (0.35 percent) and South Dakota (0.37 percent). The largest improvements in delinquency from the previous quarter were found in South Dakota (38.33 percent decrease from 0.60 percent) and the District of Columbia (38.10 percent decrease from 0.42 percent).

Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Inc of Emeryville, CA, announced yesterday that it has upped its bid for Diedrich Coffee Inc another 50 cents per share to the equivalent of $32.50 in cash and stock. Peet's was first to make a proposal to buy the southern California coffee company, but Green Mountain Coffee Roasters of Waterbury, Vermont, has twice matched Peet's offer in all cash, which the Diedrich's board of directors has stated was a superior offer to Peet's offer.

Ledyard National Bank is pleased to announce that Michael W Quinn has joined their office at 38 South Main Street in Hanover as Vice President and Commercial Lender. Prior to joining Ledyard, Mike was the Commissioner of Economic Development for the State of Vermont, where he was responsible for retaining, expanding and recruiting Vermont businesses. From 1991 through 2003, he worked for Banknorth in Burlington, Vermont as the Commercial Lending Team Leader and Senior Vice President. He also worked at the Bank of Vermont as the Vice President of Commercial Loans. He has thirty years of commercial banking experience.
Mike earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He held Treasurer, Director, and Allocations Committee Chair positions for the United Way.
Mike will be relocating to the Upper Valley from Essex Junction, Vermont.

Commissioner Patricia Moulton Powden has announced that the Department of Labor has begun notifying individuals potentially eligible for additional Emergency Unemployment Compensation authorized under the Workers Assistance Act signed by President Obama earlier this month.
The Act added another potential week to the second tier of Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) Program, as well as adding a third tier for those states with a total unemployment rate of 6.5% or more. This means individuals who qualify will be eligible for up to 47 weeks of Emergency benefits. The week ending November 14, 2009 is the first week payable under the new Act.

VSECU has become the first credit union in Vermont approved to serve anyone who lives or works anywhere in the state. The decision came from the Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration (BISHCA). Steven Post, chief executive of VSECU, commented that, “our long-term vision has been to make VSECU a true alternative to for-profit banks and to be available to all Vermonters.”
We now have that opportunity, he said.
“This development is especially significant as consumers try to make sense of the bailouts, investment decisions and shortcomings in the country’s banking system. The acquisition and merging of regional and state banks also have left Vermonters with less consumer choice and the loss of local control and servicing,” Post said.
“We like being a local credit union, we like working with a Vermont regulator and we like being inclusive,” Post said.

The Vermont Agency of Transportation has chosen Kubricky Construction, of Glens Falls, NY, to do the Vermont land work associated with the new, temporary ferry service at the Crown Point Bridge location. Kubricky has already begun mobilizing equipment and staking out ground in preparation for full-scale construction to begin on Monday. The New York Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has also engaged a contractor for similar work on the New York side of the lake. Construction in New York began late last week.
Work being done on land to construct approach roads to the lake are a precursor to the in-water construction of the new ferry docks. Both VTrans and NYSDOT are finalizing construction plans for the docks, and in-water construction is expected to begin in early December.

The Task Force was created earlier this year to examine the Vermont State Colleges and University of Vermont systems to determine what academic and administrative efficiencies and improvements could be achieved through their close coordination or consolidation. While the Task Force has already notified the governor that it recommends against merging the University of Vermont and the Vermont State Colleges, it does recommend in this final report "a greater commitment by policymakers to achieving seamless transitions between high school and post secondary education, and it urged support for a system of Pre-K through 16 public education that is characterized by equitable and adequate public funding at all levels."

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston (the Bank) has awarded $3.0 million in the form of grants, loans, and interest-rate subsidies through its Affordable Housing Program (AHP). These funds will be used to finance 79 units of affordable rental and ownership housing for households earning at or below 80 percent of area median income in three New England states. Of that amount, $2.6 million will be awarded as a grant or subsidy.
"This marks the twentieth consecutive year the Bank has awarded grants and subsidies under the AHP," said Edward A. Hjerpe III, the Bank's president and CEO. "The funds committed -- more than $186 million -- have led to more than 22,300 housing units for very low-, low-, and moderate-income households, and have helped stimulate economic development throughout New England."

There were 1,310 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, an increase of 67 from the week before. Altogether 11,410 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 482 from a week ago and 1,918 more than a year earlier. The Department also processed 4,525 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 144 fewer than a week ago. In addition, there were 1,503 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program, which is an increase of 141 from the week before. The Unemployment Weekly Report can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/. Previously released Unemployment Weekly Reports and other UI reports can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/lmipub.htm#uc

Senate President Peter Shumlin announced today that thanks to the tremendous generosity of Vermonters, Operation Holiday Homecoming has been successful and we will be bringing all Vermont National Guard troops home for the holidays.
“I am pleased to report that through the fundraising efforts of Vermonters across the state we have reached our goal and raised the funds necessary to bring home our troops for the holidays,” said Senator Shumlin. “It has been wonderful to see Vermonters from diverse income levels, ages, backgrounds and political parties step up and show that they support our troops.”