Current News

The National Life Group Charitable Foundation is deeply woven into the fabric of the Central Vermont community where the state’s oldest and largest LEED certified building resides. The National Life Building houses National Life Group and its corporate giving non-profit organization, the National Life Group Charitable Foundation. In 2010, the two collectively provided financial, infrastructural, and community enhancement support totaling over $500,000.

A major contribution to Central Vermont Medical Center’s now named National Life Cancer Treatment Center completed a radiation center providing Central Vermont residents with new access to local radiation therapy instead of driving to Burlington or Hanover.

The House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development on Friday voted out its jobs bill with a favorable vote of 9-1-1. The bill assembles two dozen initiatives and focuses on the urgency of supporting business expansion and job creation in Vermont. It places special emphasis on enhancing the manufacturing and value-added agricultural sectors in Vermont.
‘This bill sets forth a clear strategy for economic development and job growth,’ said Representative Bill Botzow, Chair of the Commerce Committee. ‘These are real, concrete programs we can employ even in times of constrained resources.’

The Stowe Rotary has donated $2,500 to Copley Hospital toward the purchase of telemetry equipment. Telemetry is used to monitor and record a variety of patient parameters, such as an EKG, from a remote location. This means that the patient’s vital signs may be monitored less intrusively 24 hours a day both at the bedside and at Copley’s Nurses Station. As changes or notable fluctuations occur, nurses are immediately notified. The data is also easily incorporated into an Electronic Health Record and is useful to establish baselines and track progress over time.
‘We are grateful to the Stowe Rotary for their assistance in purchasing additional telemetry units,’ says Patashnick. ‘Telemetry provides a great benefit to patients with the improved care and safety provided by 24 hour electronic monitoring in addition to traditional ‘hands on’ nursing. The Stowe Rotary again demonstrates that they share Copley’s commitment to improving the health of our community.’

With energy prices on the rise, Vermont Yankee’s license expiring in 2012, and recent instability in the Middle East, Williston-based AllEarth Renewables is hosting an energy series in five local communities this March.
The ‘Smart About Solar’ series, which will focus how Vermonters can protect themselves against the rising cost of energy, will be held in Chittenden County and northern Addison County communities throughout the month of March.
The events begin at 7 pm and will be held in Charlotte, Shelburne, Hinesburg, Vergennes and Starksboro. They are free, open to the public, and include refreshments.
The solar series events are:
Charlotte: Wednesday, March 2nd at 7:00 p.m. - Charlotte Central School Library, 408 Hinesburg Road, Charlotte with presenter David Blittersdorf, president/CEO of AllEarth Renewables
Shelburne: Tuesday, March 15th at 7:00 p.m. - Shelburne Town Offices, 5420 Shelburne Road, Shelburne

Middlebury College and the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies, one of the state’s leading backers of emerging high-tech businesses, have agreed to a deal that will provide the organization with a beachhead in Middlebury.
The Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET), which currently maintains a facility on the campus of the University of Vermont in Burlington, has agreed to purchase the Old Courthouse at 5 Court Street in downtown Middlebury from the college for $2 million. Middlebury will then lease back most of the Courthouse space from VCET. The building will continue to house staff members from the Office of College Advancement, Middlebury’s fundraising operation, which also occupies Painter House, directly across Court Street from the Courthouse.
The purchase and sale agreement was signed by Middlebury College and VCET officials on February 18, and a closing is expected in early March.

by Anne Galloway, vtdigger.org
A single-payer health care system would likely save money in the first few years of implementation, but over time costs would likely outstrip revenues, according to Steve Klein, director of the Vermont Joint Fiscal Office.
The House Health Care Committee asked Klein to evaluate the financial implications of the Hsaio single-payer report on Thursday.
‘The good news is, if we take on this whole system â ¦ in the first two years we’ll see cost savings,’ Klein said.
The bad news? Klein said in countries that use single-payer systems, the long-term, economic trends show an underlying financial dynamic in which health care costs ‘rise faster than revenues.’
Klein also warned that building a system will entail making difficult choices regarding benefit levels and revenue sources for the system. On the federal level, he anticipates there will be fewer resources available.

by Anne Galloway www.vtdigger.org
What does $190 million in tax breaks for Vermont’s wealthiest residents have to do with the state’s yawning budget deficit of $176 million? Not much at the moment, but if two Progressives in the Legislature have their way, income-earners who are in the top tax brackets will have an opportunity make a personal contribution to the budget-gap reduction effort.

CORRECTION: The top income-earners in Vermont will save $190 million in 2011 alone, not over a two-year period as previously reported.
In January, the Public Assets Institute issued a report showing that 5 percent of Vermonters ‘ those who earn more than $200,000 a year ‘ stand to save $190 million under the extension of President George W. Bush’s tax cuts. The top 1 percent of Vermont income-earners will see a $100 million reduction in their taxes in 2011, according to the Montpelier-based Institute.

The Vermont Agency of Transportation announced today that it will begin testing a TowPlow as part of its ongoing effort to explore new technologies to improve winter maintenance operations during heavy snow events. The new equipment test will take place during the next few storm events along I-89, northbound and southbound, between Brookfield (mile marker 35) and Berlin (mile marker 50).

‘The Agency is looking forward to seeing the results of testing this equipment during a storm’ noted Scott Rogers, Director of Operations for VTrans. ‘We are always looking to improve our service for Vermonters and are focused on becoming more effective and efficient. We hope new technology such as this can help us better achieve our goals.’
If the results of an initial test are positive, the Agency may look to test the equipment in other parts of the state for the remainder of the winter season.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced today that he will bring the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to Vermont for a hearing on Monday, March 7, to look at ways to protect and promote Vermont’s unique brand.
Leahy is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and he has set the hearing, titled ‘Strategies to Protect and Promote Vermont Brands,’ for 10:00 a.m. on Monday, March 7, in the Ross Gymnasium at St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vt.
‘Vermont’s name has come to define the high quality of the products made in our state,’ said Leahy. ‘Efforts to strengthen and protect our state’s brand have always been the product of a partnership between the private and public sectors. This hearing will give us an opportunity to find ways to build on that partnership and discover ways to protect and improve the quality brands that have come to define Vermont’s foods and products.’

With turmoil spreading across the Middle East, light sweet crude oil spiking above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2008, and summer driving season fast approaching, Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and two House colleagues have asked President Obama to reprise a tactic used by the last three presidents and consider using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve [SPR] to reduce prices in the short-term for American consumers and businesses.
‘As we approach the summer driving season, we must carefully consider all immediate options in order to prevent the runaway increase in prices that we saw in the summer of 2008,’ write Reps. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.). ‘We therefore urge you to consider leveraging the SPR to respond to these supply disruptions and combat the rapid price escalations resulting from rampant speculation in the oil markets.’

Stephen P Marsh, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Community Bancorp and Community National Bank is pleased to announce the recent appointment of James (Jake) G Wheeler, Jr as a Director to Community Bancorp’s Board.
Jake has practiced law with Downs Rachlin Martin, PLLC since 1974 and has been a member of the firm since 1978. His practice focuses principally in the areas of corporate governance, transactions, and financing; complex real estate acquisitions and financing; and trusts and estates. Jake graduated from Harvard University (B.A., cum laude, 1970) and Boston University School of Law (J.D., 1974). He is a member of the Caledonia County, Vermont, and American Bar Associations and the American College of Real Estate Lawyers.

Hundreds of young cross-country skiers from Vermont and all over New England will arrive in Ripton this weekend for two days of games, races and fun on snow.
Rikert Ski Touring Center on Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf campus and the Frost Mountain Nordic Ski Club are hosting the annual TD Bank Bill Koch Festival. Cross-country skiers age 5-13 will participate in two days of competitive and non-competitive events.
Events include opening ceremony and parade at 10 a.m. on Saturday, relay races on Saturday and individual races and a lollipop race on Sunday.
Bill Koch League is a youth cross-country ski program of the New England Nordic Ski Association. Organized in local clubs across New England, Bill Koch League provides coaching, races and events for skiers age 5-13. Bill Koch from Brattleboro, Vt. was the first American to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing, when he won a silver medal in the 1976 Olympics.