Current News

by Thomas P Salmon In 1958, when I moved from Boston to Bellows Falls, Vermont was something of an economic and political backwater. The economy was stagnant and political loyalties were virtually unchanged since the Civil War. More people moved out than moved in. Not until 1963 did the human population exceed the bovine.

Construction on the Interstate Highway began in 1957. Many visitors followed the freeway north to the ski resorts, lakes and woodlands of “Vermont: The Beckoning Country,” so styled by Governor Phil Hoff and his tourism expert, Al Moulton. Of course many loved what they saw and stayed. With them came fresh energy, ideas, and human and financial capital.

With the growing popularity of electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, Vermont is seeing rapid growth in the installation of both residential and commercial charging stations. On December 13, Vermont Tech will host a free electric vehicle charging station installation-training course for licensed electricians and electrical students. Drive Electric Vermont and the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation are sponsoring the training course, which will be held at Vermont Tech’s Williston campus in the CEWD classroom. Experienced electricians from DK Power, a Rhode Island-based electric contractor, will be facilitating the training.

Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) Mobile Home Program has received a $25,000 grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency to build strong mobile home park communities. In addition a $5,000 state match through the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development. CVOEO has partnered with University of Vermont, Department of Community Development & Applied Economics to carry out this work.

The goal of the collaboration is to increase the resilience of mobile home park communities by empowering residents to plan for emergencies through capacity building and technical assistance.

Vermont Information Consortium (VIC), the eGovernment partner for the State of Vermont, announced this week the launch of their 80th no-cost website for the state: www.floodready.vermont.gov. A joint effort between VIC, the state’s Agency of Natural Resources, and the Department of Innovation and Information, the website is hosted in VIC’s content management system, which also hosts 79 other state government websites, including those for the Departments of Motor Vehicles, Human Resources, Children & Families, and the Governor.

“We are excited about the launch of this valuable public service website and reaching the important milestone of 80 government websites launched through our partnership with the state,” said Jamie Gage, general manager of VIC. “Our goal is to continue to work together with our partners to make government more accessible and efficient for everyone.”

Environmental faculty and student editors of the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law have announced publication of their annual “Vermont Law Top 10 Environmental Watch List,” highlighting critical law and policy issues they believe will intensify in 2015. The list, in its fifth year, features articles co-authored by students and faculty of Vermont Law School on topics ranging from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan to Vermont’s new labeling law for genetically engineered foods (GMOs).

Burlington Electric Department customers can now report any BED-related problems through SeeClickFix, an online and mobile interface that allows residents to document and report issues such as a flickering or nonworking streetlight, a utility hole that is improperly secured, or any other issue causing a problem. Along with reporting the problem, a customer can also take a photo to better illustrate the problem.

The City of Burlington has provided this service to its residents since 2012 for reporting city issues; now, issues related to electric service can also be submitted through the city’s app.

BED’s General Manager Neale Lunderville said, “BED is happy to be moving toward a more seamless way for our customers to report problems. SeeClickFix makes reporting very easy and should reduce response time.”

The Vermont Association of Snow Travelers (VAST) is looking forward to a great snowmobiling season as a Nor’easter descends on us this week. In order to have trails ready to ride, there should be at least four inches of packed snow and frozen ground. The VAST snowmobile season runs from December 16 to April 15 of each year. Please respect our landowners and volunteers by not going riding on the VAST trail system until opening day, and only when clubs have gone through with a groomer. When you do ride, stay on the trail to help us maintain great relationships with landowners. The more everyone follows the rules landowners will provide us the land to continue to ride.

VAST is offering Early Bird TMA stickers for sale until December 15, so hurry up and get your sticker by then and save money. TMAs’ are sold by all of your 128 clubs, as well as some vendors in and outside of Vermont. After December 15, TMAs are sold at our regular seasonal rate.

The South Burlington Energy Committee has been selected as the winner of the 2014 Energy Committee Leadership Award as “Best Overall Energy Committee” by the Vermont Energy & Climate Action Network (VECAN), a network of statewide environmental organizations. The award is given each year to the committee that embodies the spirit and determination of grassroots energy action. It was presented at the annual Community Energy Conference on December 6. The South Burlington Energy Committee won the award for “its strong history of tackling clean energy initiatives, including undertaking projects ranging from LED streetlight upgrades to solar installations, from residential lighting efficiency campaigns to clean energy financing solutions and far more.”

Today Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable (VBR) and Jeffrey Carr, President, Economic & Policy Resources (EPR), announced the 3rd Quarter results of their joint initiative, the VBR-EPR Business Conditions Survey. The survey, which is conducted quarterly, takes a look back at the economic conditions of the previous quarter and provides a predictive index going forward.

The economic indicator, constructed as a Diffusion Index, is designed to follow economic sentiments of Roundtable members over time, and serve as a tool for analyzing and presenting insight into the Vermont economic outlook as a leading economic indicator.

The 3rd Quarter survey achieved a response rate of 68 percent overall and included a 50 percent or greater response rate from all but one sector within the membership. The survey asked eight questions about the economic outlook, demand, capital spending, and employment. Survey results show that:

The Public Service Department Wednesday announced the availability of the final report from its two-year “Total Energy Study” (or “TES”). This study examines how Vermont can achieve its greenhouse gas emission reduction and renewable energy goals through modeled combinations of technology deployment and novel policy structures. The report concludes that these goals are both achievable and affordable.

“I am pleased that this very thorough study shows we can meet both our climate and energy goals while not only keeping Vermont’s economy strong, but also while enhancing the segment of our economy that is deploying renewable resources throughout the state” said Christopher Recchia, Commissioner of the Vermont Public Service Department. “It shows we are on the right track with our policy of advancing Vermont-based efficiency and renewable resources for our energy security, economy and our environment” he added.

The Office of Health Care Reform today released the second in a series of videos designed to raise awareness about the current health care financing system in Vermont. The video shows how for some Vermonters, monthly health care premium costs can eat up over 10 percent of their yearly income. And that’s before co-pays, deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs are taken into account.

“Health care is expensive and the way we currently fund it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” said Lawrence Miller, Chief of Health Care Reform. “Over the coming weeks we look forward to having a conversation about some of the adverse consequences of the current funding system and how we can do better.”

Source: State of Vermont 12.10.2014

Vermont Business Magazine The board of directors of the Vermont-NEA, the state’s largest union, has authorized a donation of $12,200 to the unions representing 2,000 Fairpoint Communications workers in northern New England who have been on strike for nearly two months. FairPoint has implemented a plan to realign benefit packages with non-union workers and to give itself the ability to hire non-union workers under certain conditions. The unions have agreed to some benefit concessions. Non-binding arbitration in November failed to resolve the issue or move it closer to a resolution. Political pressure also has been unsuccessful. The contract with unionized workers expired last summer.