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March 12, 2016
Nurses union still on attack as labor claims are withdrawn By Lou Varricchio lou@addison-eagle.com MIDDLEBURY Ñ Ò Patient care is crumbling at Porter Medical Center as nurses are laid off,Ó at least thatÕ s what the nursesÕ union, Porter Federation of Nurses and Health Care Professionals claimed in a news release March 2. According to Alice Leo, R.N., president Porter Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, the union is on the side of patients; she is demanding that Porter Ò put patients first.” Members of the union have called upon Addison County residents to get more involved in the hospitalÕ s direction as well as its labor concerns. Ò ...We have been forced to file arbitrations and ULPs (unfair labor practices) to protect our members and patient care. We are organizing to preserve health insurance for part-time employees, allow nurses to continue to work 8-hour shifts, which is proven to mean more alert, focused care, and to respect nursesÕ schedules which leads to lower turnover and more experienced nurses at the beside,Ó Leo claimed. Porter Medical Center spokesman Ron Hallman responded to Leo and the unionÕ s latest news release CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
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Happy 225th birthday, Vermont! By Tanya Marshall WINDSOR Ñ Many would argue that the Vermont 1777 Constitution gave birth to this beautiful state we all call home. Despite being claimed by both New York and New Hampshire and not being recognized by the Continental Congress as a jurisdiction separate from New York, those residing within VermontÕ s borders asserted their right to Ò promote the general happiness of the people of this State.Ó Originally called New Connecticut, the name Vermont was ultimately chosen and in July 1777, a convention of 72 representatives of the Ò freemen of VermontÓ met in a tavern in Windsor, Vt., and adopted the stateÕ s constitution. Innovative for its time, the 1777 Vermont Constitution1 was the first written constitution in all of North America. The Articles of CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
TIME CAPSULE — Dennis Sparling, along with dozens of out-of-state artists, moved to Vermont during the 1970s to create the foundation of today’s Green Mountain art scene. He purchased an abandoned limestone quarry and rock-crushing mill complex in New Haven and quickly transformed it into a sculpture studio and artist’s retreat. Known for his UVM campus catamount statue and downtown Burlington’s whimsical “Leapfroggers” bronze, Sparling recently completed work on a large-than-life Leonardo Da Vinci statue; he has also created a Da Vinci-inspired Renaissance art school model.
Shumlin divestment could affect captive insurance companies By Michael Bielawski Vermont Watchdog Report
Some observers say Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin’s attack on fossil fuel companies could boomerang back on the state’s captive insurance industry. Eagle photo
MONTPELIER — Vermont’s divestment fight has focused on the wisdom of shuffling assets in the state’s pension fund, but some observers say Gov. Peter ShumlinÕ s agenda could have consequences for VermontÕ s captive insurance industry as well. Since his State of the State address in January, Gov. Peter Shumlin has pushed to strip the stateÕ s pension fund of Exxon Mobil and other fossil fuel-related stocks. While the governor argues Vermont has a Ò moral responsibility” to fight climate change, critics, including State Treasurer Beth Pearce, say fund managers should focus on fiduciary responsibility toward retirees, not global warming politics. But some observers have begun expressing another concern, namely that ShumlinÕ s attack on fossil fuel companies could boomerang back on the stateÕ s captive insurance companies. The Green Mountain State is domicile for more than
1,000 licensed captive insurance companies, including 48 Fortune 100 businesses and 18 Dow 30 companies. Captive insurance companies are created and wholly owned by other companies to insure the risks of the owners. Exxon MobilÕ s captive insurance company, Ancon Insurance Co., is one of those. Ò If weÕ re going to make a statement about Exxon Mobil, then I guess you ought to say we want to divest from Exxon Mobil and we would like to have the captive insurance company leave this state,Ó said state Rep. Bob Bancroft, R-Westford. Ò IÕ ve been told they generate somewhere between $200,000 and $300,000 in fees to the State of Vermont. This is a real boon, and there is virtually no cost to the state for managing these companies.Ó Losing any captive insurance companies would be a blemish on VermontÕ s reputation. In 2014, Captive Review Magazine named Vermont the top U.S. domicile for captive insurance for the second straight year. CONTINUED ON PAGE 12