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Vermont will receive $70,000 as part of a coordinated settlement with Skechers, the maker of rocker-bottom athletic shoes, including Shape-Ups, Tone-Ups, and the Skechers Resistance Runner.  The settlement will also pay up to $40 million nationally to refund consumers who purchased the shoes. 

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org This legislative session, two judicial issues captured the headlines — the death with dignity bill and a proposal to allow police access to the state’s prescription drug database. Both attempts at sweeping reforms failed.

The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) has announced today that US ski areas tallied an estimated 51 million skier and snowboarder visits during the 2011/12 season. This preliminary report shows a 15 percent decrease from last season. According to the preliminary 2011/12 Kottke End of Season Survey, the US ski industry experienced its most challenging season since 1991/92, when 50.8 million visits were recorded. In the 1980/81 season the industry experienced a 17.6 percent drop in visits, the biggest year‐over‐year decline on record.    

The Green Mountains offer more than just snow covered hills for winter thrills.  Ski resorts statewide also offer an authentic Vermont experience during the summer. Whether guests want to connect with nature and family, seek an adrenaline rush, or both, resorts are ready to deliver.

The next shoe has fallen in the takeover of Burlington’s Dwight Asset Management by Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Employees who are being let go signed their separation agreements to assure severance packages Monday and enjoyed their last day on the job Tuesday, according to one of those employees. The employee also said the office space at 100 Bank Street overlooking Lake Champlain will also shrink to accommodate fewer employees. Dwight now has the top two floors but will only occupy one going forward, he said.

The six Vermont nonprofits in the running for a $2,000 donation from FairPoint Communications’ “Heroes in Our Community” from Vermonters’ Facebook vote-off are: 

Kids VT, Vermont’s free monthly parenting magazine, took home top prizes for both writing and design at the spring Parenting Media Association conference in San Antonio, TX.

Vermont Castings and Huntington gas grills took the top spots in the medium and large categories in Consumer Reports' latest tests, beating out models from larger, more well-known brands such as Char-Broil and Weber. Consumer Reports' June issue features test results for 85 large, medium and small gas grill models.

The University of Vermont will celebrate its 209th commencement on Sunday, May 20. The ceremony begins at 9 a.m. on the University Green. Tickets are not required.

May marks the completion of three years of Vermont’s Housing Acquisition & Rehabilitation Program (HARP)—a program that has helped renovate 55 homes as of March 31, 2012.   Under the HARP program, VHFA works with Champlain Housing Trust and four other HomeOwnership Centers throughout Vermont to acquire, rehabilitate and re-market foreclosed homes.   

by Taylor Dobbs vtdigger.org Rutland City Treasurer Wendy Wilton set her sights on statewide office Monday morning as she launched her campaign to become Vermont’s treasurer. Wilton has spent the last five years as the treasurer of Rutland where she says she turned the city’s disorganized finances into a well-structured, transparent system. She issues monthly reports to the Board of Aldermen and posts reports quarterly on the city’s website.

Vermont General Fund revenues totaled $179.52 million for April 2012, and were +$10.60 million or +6.27% above the $168.92 million consensus revenue forecast for the month. Year to date, General Fund revenues were $1,017.63 million, and +$3.89 million or +0.38% above the target of $1,013.70 million for FY 2012. The FY 2012 results through April also exceed the same period for the prior fiscal year (FY 2011) by 2.83%. April is the tenth month of fiscal year (FY) 2012.

In Jay, 4,117 Vermont Electric Cooperative members cast ballots during the annual election completed on Saturday, May 12, 2012.  Results for 7 ballot items and three director elections were announced on Saturday morning at the 74th annual meeting of the VEC membership which was held at Jay Peak Resort in Jay, Vermont.  

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org In the first half of the legislative biennium, the newly elected Democratic governor held sway in the General Assembly on nearly every issue. After all, the majority of lawmakers, now predominantly Democrats, had spent the previous eight years in a long-running battle with Republican Gov. James Douglas over the budget, taxes, gay marriage, health care reforms and renewable energy.

The public will get a chance tonight to hear from the US Air Force about its new fighter jet called the F-35A. The Burlington Air Guard Station, located at the Burlington International Airport, is one of two preferred alternatives as the jets' future home. If Burlington is selected, the F-35A would essentially replace the current fleet of F-16s now flown by the Guard. There has been local concern that the new jets will be louder. The Air Force will address those concerns and other issues at the meeting at South Burlington High School on Ddorset Street.

Vermontivate, an intertown energy conservation challenge, is launching Monday, May 14.  Set to run until June 15, this frolicsome on-line/real-world competition&nbs

Central Vermont Public Service’s Forestry Department has been honored by the National Arbor Day Foundation for the 10th time for demonstrating best practices in the electric industry. 

Four companies that charged hundreds of local consumers and businesses on their telephone bills for services, that many of the affected Vermonters say they did not authorize, have entered into settlements with the Vermont Attorney General’s Office. This brings to 21 the number of such settlements since mid-March of 2011.

Weekly unemployment claims in Vermont fell significantly for the first time since mid-winter last week. For the week there were 714 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont. This is a decrease of 384 claims from the week before, and 256 fewer than last year's total.

Today, executives from Encore Redevelopment were joined by Mayor Miro Weinberger and other city officials at Burlington High School to launch a solar project that will produce renewable energy at two local schools, and will provide an estimated $300,000 in direct economic benefit to the city of Burlington. This project, located at Burlington High School and CP Smith Elementary School, is the largest roof-mounted solar panel array in the state of Vermont, and will produce a total of 228kW of locally generated energy.

by Alan Panebaker vtdigger.org The most prominent energy issues in the Vermont Legislature this year seem to be the ones that didn’t happen. For what seemed like half the session, lawmakers quibbled over whether to intervene in a Public Service Board docket to require utilities to give $21 million in windfall money to ratepayers. That legislation never came to fruition.

The Vermont Department of Taxes is proud to announce the creation of the Vermont Tax Advisory Board. The purpose of the Vermont Tax Advisory Board (VTAB) is threefold: 

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released the statewide performance results from the 2011 assessment in Science for grade 8 students today. 

by Alan Panebaker vtdigger.org  Lawmakers this session wrestled with tough choices that will affect health care for Vermonters for the foreseeable future. From how to set up an online health insurance marketplace to whether to allow parents to opt out of childhood vaccinations for philosophical reasons, health care legislation was often at the center of serious, and sometimes contentious, debate.

Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), based in Bennington, has launched a foundation and tapped a senior college official, Carolanne Marquis, as its executive director and David Newell, the president of Wills Insurance, as the chairman of its board of directors. The Southwestern Vermont Health Care Foundation takes over the health system’s fundraising activities, which had been operated as a department of SVHC.

Verizon Wireless announced today it will introduce the nation’s largest 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in Burlington, and more than 30 additional communities throughout northern Vermont, on May 17.  Verizon Wireless customers with compatible 4G LTE smartphones, modems, tablets and mobile hotspots will be able to wirelessly share music and photos, surf the Web, and download files up to 10 times faster than customers on 3G networks.