Current News
by tim
[NOTE: high-resolution photo from the Milk Toast is available at this link:]
http://leahy.senate.gov/images/2008Events/052208MILCToast/052208MILCToas...
(photo by Senate Photographer)
'Got MILC' Across The Finish Line
Vermont Delegation Performs Traditional 'Milk Toast'
As Renewal Of The MILC Program's Charter Finally Becomes Law
Senate Joins House In Overriding
President's Veto Of The Farm Bill
WASHINGTON (Thursday Afternoon, May 22) - Capping months of effort by the Vermont Congressional Delegation, the MILC Program - the basic safety net for dairy farmers when milk prices plummet - became law Thursday afternoon when the US Senate joined the US House of Representatives in overriding President Bushs veto of a new 5-year Farm Bill.
by tim
$10 Million Transportation Bonding Plan Approved
MONTPELIER - A special committee of the Vermont Legislature May 21 unanimously approved a $10 million transportation bonding plan that is the first phase of a five-year, $80 million transportation plan Governor Douglas presented in his economic stimulus package.
The bonding approval not only adds $10 million in state funds to the Vermont Agency of Transportation's fiscal year 2009 budget, but also allows the Agency to leverage an additional $4 million in federal dollars, raising the total amount of the transportation stimulus package to $14 million.
The Agency plans to put $12 million to work immediately on paving and bridge projects that will take place this spring, summer and fall. The remaining $2 million will be used to expedite engineering so additional bridge repairs can happen as quickly as 2009.
by tim
POULTNEY, VT On Saturday, May 17, Green Mountain College celebrated its first class of graduates from the masters degree program in sustainable business.
GMC President John F. Brennan awarded the MBA degrees to ten students during a 10 a.m. ceremony on the lawn outside the Griswold Library. Vermont Governor James Douglas was the commencement speaker for the event, at which the schools undergraduate students also received degrees.
Our MBA students represent the next generation of business leaders, said GMC President John F. Brennan. The College is honored to graduate this talented group, all of whom have shown great dedication and promise.
This years class represents much of the U.S.A., with students from locations such as California, Colorado, New York, Wisconsin and Washington.
by tim
Symquest wins Deane Davis Business of the Year Award
South Burlington (May 21, 2008) - Vermont Governor James Douglas announced this morning at the kick-off of the Vermont Business & Industry Expo that SymQuest Group, Inc, of South Burlington is the winner of the coveted Deane C Davis Outstanding Vermont Business Award.
by tim
Douglas, Welch decry White House interference in tailpipe emission waiver
MONTPELIER, Vt. - Governor Jim Douglas said May 20, 2008, that the Bush administration must stop standing in the way of state efforts to limit tailpipe emissions.
Douglas was reacting to reports that after meeting with White House officials Stephen Johnson, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), reversed his initial support for a waiver - which Vermont and 13 of other states including California has signed on to - allowing states to establish higher tailpipe emissions standards.
"It is unacceptable that the White House acted to reverse Administrator Johnson's decision to grant the emissions waiver," Douglas said. "Vermont's economy and way of life are rooted in our pristine environment and I will press on with our legal challenges to this inappropriate interference to safeguard our future."
by tim
WiFi Takes Off at Vermont's Visitor Centers
Visitors and Vermonters who travel the interstate system are connected better than ever before to work, friends and family as they travel through Vermont. A stop at many of Vermont's visitor centers now allows travelers to access the Internet via a fast and reliable broadband connection.
On November 14, 2007, Governor Douglas inaugurated free WiFi service at state visitor centers announcing that "Travelers using our major roadways can now use wireless Internet service free of charge. This advancement of my E-State Initiative will make this resource more valuable for business people, tourists and all those who use our highways."
Since May 2007 the State has seen a 1298% increase in WiFi usage by travelers.
by tim
groSolar Brings Solar Hot Water to Fenway Park
May 19, 2008 - White River Junction, VT --- Boston Red Sox's Fenway Park now has more green than just their field and their 37 foot, two inch left field wall, nicknamed the Green Monster. The major league baseball stadium has been undergoing an environmentally friendly makeover that includes the installation of a solar hot water system by groSolar, North America's premier distributor, installer and integrator of solar power solutions for homes and businesses.
The solar hot-water system is part of the Solar Boston program, a 2-year, $600,000 initiative to increase the city's solar energy output 50-fold by 2015. Solar Boston will help the city respond to climate change, rising fuel price and the need for energy independence by supporting the development of clean, alternative sources of energy citywide.
by tim
Small improvement in April jobs and employment numbers
The Vermont Department of Labor has announced that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April 2008 was 4.5 percent, down one-tenth of a point or essentially unchanged from March and up four-tenths of a point from a year ago.
"The combination of a small improvement in both Vermont's unemployment rate and job counts may indicate some stability in Vermont's labor market even in this period of economic slowdown." said Patricia Moulton Powden, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Labor. "This is especially good news for Vermont, because the national economy continued to lose jobs in April."
by tim
Montpelier -- The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) announced today that it has hired Netaka White as its new Biofuels Director. White was formerly the co-founder and Executive Director of the Vermont Biofuels Association (VBA), which recently merged with Renewable Energy Vermont.
"We are very pleased that Netaka has joined the VSJF staff," said the Funds Executive Director, Ellen Kahler. "He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the biofuels arena as well as program management to the Jobs Fund." Kahler went on to say that "had it not been for the efforts of Netaka White and the Board of the VBA, there would not be a growing biofuels industry in Vermont today. He has provided important technical assistance, education and outreach to help Vermonters learn about the use of biofuels and has taken the lead on many important market development projects in this arena, with an emphasis on sustainable production for local use."
by tim
Brookfield Floating Bridge Restricted to Pedestrian Use
MONTPELIER - The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) announced May 15, 2008, that the Brookfield Floating Bridge along Route 65 over Sunset Lake will be closed to all but pedestrian traffic for the foreseeable future.
VTrans closes the bridge to vehicular traffic each winter. When the Agency went to reopen the wooden bridge this spring, it showed a loss of buoyancy and settling into the water. The Agency determined it to be unsafe for vehicular traffic, but can remain open to pedestrian use.
The 330-foot bridge, which uses 380 flotation devices to remain on top of the water, was last reconstructed in 1978 using a combination of new wood as well as material from the preexisting structure, which dated back to 1936.
by tim
National Life Group Announces Major Solar Project
Montpelier, Vermont - National Life Group has announced that it will install 240 solar panels on the roof of its Montpelier headquarters in what will be one of the largest, if not the largest, solar electric installations in the state of Vermont.
The $500,000 project calls for the installation of 240 300-watt solar panels on the roof of the financial services company. The 77 kW photovoltaic (PV) system will generate enough electricity to power 13 average Vermont homes.
The project will be financed in part through a $200,000 grant from the state of Vermont's Clean Energy Development Fund, administered by the state Department of Public Service.
Thomas H. MacLeay, National Life's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said the project is a critical element of the company's years-long green initiative.
by tim
Secretary of Administration Smith retiring, Lunderville to take over