Current News

The Bullrock Corporation located in Shelburne, Vermont, has announced a joint venture with Deutsche Eco USA Corp. with offices in Hoboken, New Jersey and Shelburne. This joint venture will operate under the name Bullrock - Deutsche Eco Solar Ventures. The new company will be offering an integrated approach to locating potential solar sites, providing land owners a total systems solution, as well as providing power companies an easier, fully-integrated solution to the development, RFP and EPC process.

Köthen Solar Park is a photovoltaic power station in Köthen, Germany. Deutsche Eco AG completed this 52-megawatt project on the grounds of the former military airport in 2011. A large solar farm in Vermont typically is 2.2 MW. Photo: Deutsche Eco AG

The Lake Champlain Basin Program has awarded 68 grants totaling $662,471 to communities and organizations in Vermont and New York that are implementing projects to improve the future of the Lake Champlain watershed. The grants support projects in four categories: Pollution Prevention and Habitat, Aquatic Invasive Species Spread Prevention, Education and Outreach, and Organizational Support.

Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, whose support was essential in securing the funds for the grants, said, "These grants to scores of communities, watershed groups and other organizations on both sides of the Lake are so important in promoting and protecting our 'Great Lake.' Supporting these crucial efforts at the local level is exactly why it's always among my highest priorities to bring funds to our Lake Champlain work."

City Market in Burlington congratulated their 2014 Co-op Patronage Seedling Grant recipients and offered almost $60,000 in grant funding to local food projects at a recent Grant Celebration that also launched the 2015 Co-op Patronage Seedling Grant process. City Market sent over $968,000 in Patronage Refunds to more than 10,000 Members in November 2014. As part of the Patronage Refund process, the Co-op offers Members the opportunity to donate their checks to strengthen Vermont’s food system. Members who receive Patronage Refunds support these donations by choosing not to cash their checks within the required 90 day time period. This year, uncashed Patronage Refund checks from Members are funding 5 local food projects from community organizations doing amazing work in Vermont.

The Lake Champlain Committee recently received a grant from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Ecosystem Restoration Program to provide design modifications for a stormwater pond in the Crosby Farms neighborhood of Vergennes. The pond has been identified as needing remediation by a stormwater mapping project conducted by Vermont DEC and in the City of Vergennes Municipal Plan. The existing pond receives stormwater runoff from the area around Bowman Road, Green Meadow Acres, and Booska Court, and can provide improved water quality treatment with some redesign.

The grant will cover initial project planning with the intention of seeking subsequent DEC funding for construction updates to the pond that will improve treatment of stormwater in the neighborhood and better manage local flooding issues. The initial grant of $10,430 will cover the initial design plan. Once that's complete LCC will apply for additional state funds to implement the project.

Vermont Gas Systems, based in South Burlington, has announced that its customers save almost $14 million a year by participating in the company’s award-winning energy efficiency programs, up nearly $1 million in 2014 alone. Almost 2,100 customers were added to the company’s efficiency program in 2014. In the two counties now served by Vermont Gas – Chittenden and Franklin – these customers will both save money and avoid climate-changing carbon emissions equivalent to the emissions from more than 1,000 cars.

The combination of efficiency programs and displacement of higher-emitting heating oil and propane makes natural gas a good environmental investment, Vermont Gas said in a statement.

The Vermont Housing & Conservation Board has committed $2.06 million in VHCB funds and $2,007,000 in federal HOME Program funds for the development of 85 new homes in Brattleboro and Milton and to preserve affordability and rehabilitate 151 homes in Colchester, Brattleboro, Randolph and Bennington.

Gus Seelig, Executive Director of VHCB, said, “A recent housing needs study commissioned by the state points to the continuing need for quality affordable housing across the state. These investments will add new homes to the market in Milton and Brattleboro and refinance, rehabilitate and secure the long term affordability of existing housing in Randolph and Colchester. Housing in historic downtown buildings in Bennington and Brattleboro will be rehabilitated with energy efficiency upgrades and a mobile home park in Randolph will be acquired and redeveloped. New construction in Brattleboro will replace housing flooded during Tropical Storm Irene. “

Senior executives at National Life Group challenged their peers at other companies in the region to follow their lead and volunteer at area nonprofits. National Life’s top executives will spend the morning on Friday volunteering at the Vermont Foodbank to demonstrate their commitment to the company’s corporate values and to the goals of the Foodbank.

They expect to be packing and sorting food that will be distributed to senior centers, local food shelves or other hunger-relief agencies.

“We believe passionately in our values to Do good. Be good. Make good,” said National Life Group President and CEO Mehran Assadi. “Volunteering in the community, just like hundreds of our employees do throughout the year, is just one more way of giving back.”

National Life gives its employees 40 hours per year of paid time to volunteer at local nonprofits, the program that will be highlighted by the executive team on Friday.

by Deb Markowitz, Secretary, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources As I’ve been traveling around the State talking with Vermonters about the new Universal Recycling Law, I have met many impressive individuals on the front lines of implementation. Trevor Mance, founder of TAM Waste Management, is one example. Trevor got his start in the solid waste business when he was a student at Mount Anthony High School working at the Shaftsbury landfill on weekends. Pretty soon he had bought himself an old one-ton truck and was hauling waste for customers in and around Bennington. By 2007, Trevor had constructed a recycling and transfer station, allowing him to keep costs down by recycling as much as possible.

WCAX is honored to accept the 2015 Governor’s SMART Award presented by the Vermont Travel Industry Conference. WCAX accepted the award Tuesday, March 31, at the Sheraton Hotel in South Burlington. The annual award is given to a company that finds creative ways of using social media.

While the world was snapping “selfies,” WCAX asked its viewers, followers and fans to turn the camera around and take “leafies” last fall. “We paused to see the natural beauty in our region during foliage season,” said WCAX News Director Anson Tebbetts. “The public soaked up this colorful, whimsical and simple way to showcase the region’s landscape,” said Tebbetts.

The Vermont House gave preliminary approval today to H361 (88-55), legislation to reduce school spending, improve educational quality, and help control rising property taxes. The central piece of the legislation would force school district consolidation of districts with fewer than 1,100 students by 2018. This by itself would not close small schools, but the reorganized school boards and local townspeople could take that next step. There has been widespread recognition that school spending, and thus property taxes, is too high in Vermont. There has also been general agreement that very small schools are fiscally inefficient and the number of school boards across the state redundant. However, townspeople and elected officials have not been willing to change the status quo in any meaningful way in large part because of a loss of local control and the specter of closing local schools.

Today, the Vermont Senate passed S29, which allows all eligible Vermonters the opportunity to register to vote up until as well as on Election Day. The current law has a registration deadline of the Wednesday before the election. Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos released the following response: "I am extremely grateful to the Senate for taking up and passing Election Day Voter Registration with overwhelming support. The Senate’s endorsement, shown by the floor vote, indicates that they appreciate that this is truly a voter rights issue.

"Every year, my Elections Division receives phone calls from citizens who missed the deadline but are otherwise completely eligible to vote. I am sure that there are many Town Offices that have received similar calls. Right now my office has no reasonable answer for these Vermonters as to why the law does not allow them to register up until and on Election Day.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) achieved the highest possible ranking in four important service measures in 2014, retaining its distinction as the number one BCBS plan in America in overall service to its members, BCBSVT President and CEO Don George announced today. BCBSVT, an independent Vermont company, also achieved the number one ranking among the nation’s BCBS plans – which generally are known for service excellence -- in 2013.

“The focus of our company is on our members’ experience, and that commitment continues to be our guiding principle in everything that we do.” he said. “Our entire company is focused on putting our members’ experience first, which contributed to this remarkable achievement.”