Current News

Vermont Attorney General William H Sorrell is preparing to continue the State’s battle with alleged patent troll MPHJ Technology Investments, LLC, as the federal district court turned away MPHJ’s latest effort to avoid Vermont courts. MPHJ had sought, for a second time, to move Vermont’s enforcement action to federal court. Echoing his earlier ruling in 2014, Judge William K Sessions III held that MPHJ’s second removal effort was “untimely” and ordered that the “case must again be remanded to state court.” Attorney General Sorrell observed that MPHJ’s litigation tactics have not deterred him from pushing forward with this important consumer-protection litigation. “MPHJ has repeatedly delayed this case with unwarranted procedural maneuvers, but we are ready to move forward now in state court to prove our case and ask the court to sanction MPHJ’s conduct,” he said.

The Vermont Department of Taxes has published lists of the 100 individual taxpayers and 100 business taxpayers with the highest amounts of unpaid tax debt on January 12, 2015. Advance publicity and contacts regarding the lists have already garnered over $730,000 for the state. The list is copied below. The public may also view the lists by accessing a link titled “Top 100 Delinquent Vermont Taxpayers” on the homepage of its website at www.tax.vermont.gov.

In June 2014, the Vermont General Assembly enacted a new law, Act 174, granting Vermont’s commissioner of taxes the ability to compile and publish these lists as a way to obtain compliance from taxpayers. Vermont joins more than 28 states that publish lists of delinquent taxpayers and report that the lists have proven to be an effective compliance tool.

The USDA on Monday announced that 582 Vermont dairy farms – 67 percent of Vermont’s registered dairy farms -- and more than 23,000 of the nation's dairy operations, or more than half of the country’s dairy farms, have enrolled in the new Margin Protection Program (MPP) that was created by the 2014 Farm Bill. The voluntary program offers financial assistance to participating farmers when the margin -- the difference between the price of milk and national average feed costs -- falls below the coverage levels selected by individual farmers. Vermont’s congressional delegation – Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I) and Representative Peter Welch (D) – applauded the program. An additional 28 Vermont dairy farmers signed up for the Livestock Gross Margin Insurance program which offers protection based on the margin between the cost of feed and the average dairy income.

Celebrated author Salman Rushdie will visit the University of Vermont for a sold-out talk on the power of storytelling on Wednesday, January 14. Rushdie’s lecture, which will be live-streamed online, will occur at UVM’s Ira Allen Chapel at 5 pm. His talk, titled “What’s The Use Of Stories That Aren't Even True?,” will include questions submitted from UVM students, and a book signing by the author.

The event is presented by UVM and the Vermont Humanities Council (VHC), which recently picked Rushdie’s 1990 children’s book, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, for its statewide Vermont Reads program.

The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, in collaboration with the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, has announced that Northfield will receive a $43,000 brownfields area-wide planning grant. “Development in our communities can be hampered by past contamination,” said Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner David Mears. “By working together, breaking down the government silos and combining the funding and technical expertise of our two state agencies, we can better coordinate and leverage multiple programs. Our goal is to reduce public health and environmental risks and support community planning and revitalization efforts.”

Governor Peter Shumlin joined by administration officials, leadership from St Albans City and ReArch today opened the new state office building on Federal Street in the city’s ever-evolving downtown. The opening of the new facility caps a major redevelopment project in St Albans that continues to foster economic development, downtown revitalization and job growth.

The project saw Mylan Technologies purchase from the State of Vermont a facility on Houghton Street to accommodate future job growth and expansion in St Albans. Nearly 140 State employees from several different agencies who previously worked in Houghton Street facility will now move into the new Federal Street facility celebrated today, buttressing an already thriving downtown.

Bad mortgages in Vermont continue to fall slightly faster than the rest of the nation. Vermont non-current mortgages were 7.4 percent in November 2014, down 14.4 percent from a year ago. The US average was 7.7 percent, down 13.8 percent. The Data and Analytics division of Black Knight Financial Services released its latest Mortgage Monitor Report, based on data as of the end of November 2014.

Blake Hill Preserves, specialist producer of chutneys, preserves and marmalades in Grafton, Vermont, announced that its “Cranberry & Orange” chutney is a 2015 Good Food Awards Winner. Blake Hill is the 1st producer to have a chutney win in consecutive years, and its “Moroccan Plum & Fennel” chutney was also the 1st chutney to win the Good Food Awards last year. The nation’s Good Food Awards sets the standard for “”taste, authenticity and social responsibility.”

Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger gave the following speech at Democratic Nominating Caucus and Miro for Mayor re-election campaign kick-off from Sunday at the Sustainability Academy elementary school in Burlington.

Miro Weinberger Speech

Welcome. Thank you for joining us today.

Thank you Governor Kunin for those warm words, your decisive support three years ago, and your support again today. More importantly, thank you for your service to this City, State, and country, and all that you have continued to do since leaving office, writing important books and energizing a generation of women, including some here today, to run for office through your work on Emerge Vermont. You continue to be an inspiration to all of us.

by Bruce Lisman I believe that economic growth and shared prosperity is the best way forward for Vermonters. A dynamic and broad-based economy offers a cure for issues of poverty, hunger, and upward mobility. It can provide the resources to protect and enhance our environment and improve our infrastructure. Vermont can be an economic powerhouse of its own definition.

Vermont’s economy is stagnant. The demographics of our state are broadly known and are negative. Those demographics have already impacted our public education system, our state college system, our work force, and the half of our counties experiencing population declines. It isn’t pretty and can get worse unless we do things differently.

Phil Scott delivered the following remarks Thursday morning after taking the Oath of Office for his third term as Vermont’s lieutenant governor. He made the remarks in the Senate Chamber where he presides as Senate President.

Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott Speech

Good morning. I’m sure you’ve all had a pretty easy, relaxing day so far.

Vermont ski and snowboard resorts celebrate the month of January, designated by the National Ski Areas Association as National Safety Awareness Month. It is a time for educating skiers and snowboarders about slope safety awareness with special promotions, activities and information. Vermont’s Killington Resort and Pico Mountain support and promote Your Responsibility Code – the seven point code that outlines responsible slope behavior for skiers and riders, and Smart Style – a five-point safety message about the use and progression of freestyle terrain. Know the Code and Smart Style stickers and cards will be available for guests during the month of January. Mountain Ambassadors will trade their signature red jackets for bright yellow jackets that display important safety awareness messages based on Your Responsibility Code.