Current News

CIVCO Medical Solutions and Ascension Technology Corporation, based in Burlington, have announced a new biopsy needle localization and guidance system for minimally invasive medical procedures.
When integrated with 3D ultrasound visualization tools it enables accurate, percutaneous targeting to lesions without radiation or open surgery. The companies will show live demonstrations of the system at SIR 2009, San Diego, CA, March 7 - 12, 2009.
Ascension developed the world's smallest six degrees-of-freedom (DOF) sensor, 0.9mm in diameter, for the application. Key advantages include: inconspicuous guidance of surgical instruments, metallic immunity, and fast, simultaneous tracking of multiple sensors.

Governor Jim Douglas has announced the creation of the Office of Economic Stimulus and Recovery (ESR) to coordinate the State s use of federal funds authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Governor has tapped former Vermont Transportation Secretary and high tech entrepreneur Tom Evslin to head the Office as Chief Recovery Officer. The Office will be located in the Agency of Administration and report to Administration Secretary Neale Lunderville.
The Vermont Federal Recovery Office, which was established in January before the recovery bill became law, has been fully incorporated into ESR. Jim Bush will continue to serve in a leadership role as Director of Physical Infrastructure, responsible for oversight and delivery of the nearly $200 million in new state and local infrastructure projects.

Berlin Don George, a Barre native with more than 20 years experience in health care and health financing, has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) and its affiliate HMO, The Vermont Health Plan (TVHP). The appointment to lead BCBSVT, which has been named by US News and World Report as one of Americas Top 50 Health Plans is effective immediately.
Mr. George, 51, had served as interim President and CEO of the state s largest health plan since the retirement of William R. Milnes, Jr., last November. He joined BCBSVT in 1993 and has held various and increasing levels of responsibility during his career with the plan. Most recently, he was Vice President of the company s Managed Health Systems division and Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of TVHP.

Many banks have been hearing a common question from Vermont business owners over the past several months: Are you still lending? And the answer from many Vermont financial institutions is a resounding Yes!
By reading recent news headlines, it is understandable why business owners are asking about available financing. But while some banks might have scaled back their lending efforts, many continue to support local businesses by actively lending and providing lines of credit. And some banks, including TD Banknorth, remain financially strong and stable, enabling them to maintain lending.

Indulge me for a moment while I share with you one of the best Town Meeting Day stories ever written. Dorothy Canfield Fisher told the story in her 1953 tribute to Vermont, called Vermont Tradition. Fisher (1879-1958) was one of the country s most popular novelists, but her heart was deeply rooted in Arlington. This story the story of Patrick Thompson s speech at an Arlington Town Meeting is one of the great Vermont classics.
From Vermont Tradition: This was no academic discussion group debating the abstract proposition: Resolved that every child has the right to four years schooling beyond the eighth grade. This was a fight over action to be taken now going into debt for an ideal, an ideal which is almost the only primal urge for which humanity need never blush sacrifice by the old, to give the children a better chance.

Springfield Hospital was awarded $1.3 million to become Vermont’s eighth Federally Qualified Health Center providing primary care for residents of southeastern Vermont, Senator Bernie Sanders announced today.
“This is a great day for the advance of health care access in Windsor and Windham counties,” said Sanders (I-Vt.). “As a result of this designation for the Springfield Hospital, residents of the area will now be able to receive excellent quality primary health care regardless of income.”
In addition, the grant will enable the hospital to expand services to provide access to affordable dental care, mental health counseling and the lowest-cost prescription drugs available in America.
It is expected that the two-year grant will make Springfield Hospital the largest Federally Qualified Health Center in Vermont. Six years ago, there were two centers in Vermont. With the addition of Springfield, there will be eight centers.

The Vermont Teddy Bear Company, a leading provider of direct-to-consumer gifts, today announced that John Gilbert, 52, has been named president and chief executive officer.
John Gilbert most recently served as executive vice president and chief marketing officer for The TJX Companies, Inc., where he was responsible for marketing functions worldwide including brand management, advertising, and comprehensive consumer strategies. Mr. Gilbert has extensive experience in the consumer product industries, having held senior marketing positions with such companies as Dunkin' Donuts, YUM ! Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, and PepsiCo, Inc.

Cortera, a premier provider of collections and credit insight for commercial enterprises, today released compelling data that assesses the overall economic health of a region based on how well companies are paying their suppliers. Cortera's database tracks 18 million public and private companies in the United States based on thousands of trade payment contributors and contains over $250 billion in accounts receivable information. This analysis, which can be accessed at http://www.cortera.com/stats, revealed the following:
Top 10 Best States (% of A/R Past Due)

Montana
Vermont
Wyoming
New Hampshire
Maine
South Dakota
West Virginia
Louisiana
North Dakota
Oklahoma

Top 10 Worst States (% of A/R Past Due)

Nevada
California
Arizona
Minnesota
Colorado
Idaho
Wisconsin
Michigan
Oregon
Illinois

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today announced a $5 million grant for the Vermont National Guard that could result in the largest solar energy project in the state and one of the largest in New England.
“This project will not only help the Vermont National Guard reduce its electric bill and carbon footprint, but will be a major step forward in moving our state toward a greener economy which relies more and more on sustainable energy,” Sanders said.
“There is little doubt in my mind that in the years to come the energy mix in this state will be very different than it is today – with a far greater reliance on sustainable energy. I hope that this project becomes a model for what can be done and a catalyst for further action,” he added.
Sanders is the chairman of the new Senate Subcommittee on Green Jobs and New Economy. He secured the $5 million in the 2009 Department of Defense appropriations bill.

Brutal economic times spur resourcefulness and innovation, two attributes that aptly describe Smart Business, a new commuting program from the Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA) that delivers savings incentives to savvy employers and their employees.
Through the Transportation Equity Act (TEA-21), the federal government provides financial incentives to encourage more workers to commute with public transportation, through programs like Smart Business.

Susan Murray of Langrock, Sperry & Wool has been named as the first ever Burlington Family Lawyer of the Year. She received this honor from Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer review publication in the legal profession, because her fellow attorneys in the area of family law consistently rate her at the top of the field. Murray, a graduate of Smith College and the New York University School of Law, has been with Langrock for 25 years. In addition to her work in the areas of family law and estate planning, she is well known for her role in the Baker v. Vermont case involving same-sex marriage and has an active practice in gay and lesbian family law. Murray lives in Ferrisburgh.
[email protected]
Additional Information
Bio: http://www.langrock.com/attorney_profiles/susan_murray.php

Vermont Law School, known for its top-ranked environmental law program, is pleased to announce that James Gustave Speth, currently dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, will be joining its faculty as of July 1, 2010.
Speth has served as dean and professor at Yale since 1999. Prior to his time at Yale, he served as administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and chair of the UN Development Group. Earlier, he was founder and president of the World Resources Institute; professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center; chairman of the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality; and senior attorney and cofounder of the Natural Resources Defense Council.