Current News

The only way to properly honor Silent Cal Coolidge is with a party. The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation will host Plymouth Old Home Day at the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site on Saturday August 1, 10:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) today announced a second quarternet loss from continuing operations attributable to Key of $236 million, or $.69 per common share. Per share results for the current quarter are after cash and deemed preferred stock dividends of $164 million, or $.28 per common share. These dividends include a noncash deemed dividend of $114 million related to the exchange of Key common shares for Key s Series A Preferred Stock as part of the company s efforts to raise an additional $1.8 billion of Tier 1 common equity, and a cash dividend payment of $31 million made to the U.S. Treasury Department under the Capital Purchase Program. Results for the current quarter compare to a net loss from continuing operations of $1.128 billion, or $2.71 per common share, for the second quarter of 2008.

Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin sent a letter to the Department of Health today urging the immediate release of the Vermont Yankee off-site radiation calculations for 2008. In addition, the Senator sent a letter to the Public Service Board (PSB) requesting that they delay the schedule of review for docket #7530, which relates to a request by Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee to move their perimeter fence outward toward the Vernon School.
I am concerned that the Vermont Department of Health has failed to release the off-site radiological calculations for 2008, said Senator Shumlin. Vermonters are understandably anxious about the off-site dosage and have a right to know the calculations.

National Life Group has announced today that it has received a Silver Certification in Leadership in the Energy and Environmental Design, Existing Building (LEED-EB) program, sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council. National Life is both the largest and the oldest building in Vermont to receive LEED certification of any kind is the second existing commercial building in Vermont to receive a silver LEED-EB certification.
Located in Montpelier, Vermont, the three-building campus was certified LEED-EB Silver based upon a review of documented best practices that met and exceeded high-performance and environmental requirements. Across the nation, LEED-EB is a benchmark for environmentally responsible, energy efficient operations and maintenance in existing buildings. The LEED Green Building Rating System is consensus-based standard for the development of high-performance buildings, and is fully voluntary.

BioTek Instruments and their Green Team have been recognized by the Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD) as winners of the 2009 Waste Reduction Award. This annual award was presented to BioTek for their company-wide efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle including:

Reuse of shipping materials when shipping parts to vendors and repaired units to customers.
Purchasing nearly 100% post-consumer recycled content paper for office paper supplies.
Reducing waste through a composting program for paper goods and food scraps.

Efficiency Vermont has officially launched a new Refrigerator/Freezer Recycling Program today. Through the program, Efficiency Vermont offers $30 incentive payments to Vermont electric utility customers in exchange for their old refrigerators and freezers. Efficiency Vermont will also haul away the old units for free.
According to a survey prepared by the Vermont Department of Public Service, Vermont would experience a healthy decrease in energy consumption if residents agreed to recycle their old refrigerators and freezers. Many Vermont homes still contain units manufactured before 1990, which consume three times more electricity than newer appliances. By removing an old, inefficient refrigerator, home owners could save up to $150 a year on their electric bills.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) invited the President of Jay Peak Resort, Bill Stenger, to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing that took place Wednesday. The hearing focused on the importance of a key foreign investor program, the EB-5 Regional Center Program. Stenger testified about the success of Vermont's Regional Center program, of which Jay Peak Resort is an active participant. Since its establishment in 1997, Vermont's Regional Center projects have drawn business and tourism to the state, fueling local economies and creating jobs.

For those on the move in 2009, the Western region has maintained its position as a popular destination, while many states in the Great Lakes region continue outbound moving trends. The findings are among the results of the United Van Lines 2009 mid-year migration study, which tracks where its customers moved from and their most popular destinations. Vermont ranked 23rd, behind only Massachusetts (20th) for Northeastern states.
United has tracked shipment patterns annually on a state-by-state basis since 1977. The findings are based on 60,520 interstate household moves handled by United among the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C., from January through June 2009. United classifies the states as high inbound (55% or more of moves going into a state), high outbound (55% or more of moves going out of a state) or balanced.

The Vermont House and Senate Agriculture Chairs today sent a letter to the Vermont Milk Commission urging them to take action during their upcoming meeting to aid Vermont s dairy farmers through the latest dairy crisis. The Vermont Milk Commission is scheduled to meet on July 23, 2009. Senator Kittell, Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee and Representative Partridge, Chair of the House Agriculture Committee commended the Commission for meeting in a timely fashion and urged them to address the fluctuation in milk prices and take action to help our struggling dairy farmers. Vermont s farmers are receiving approximately $13.81 per one hundred weight, compared to roughly $20 cwt a year ago. At the same time as the price of milk has fallen, the price of fuel, feed and sawdust have all skyrocketed, placing our dairy farmers in a dire situation.

Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas officially became chair of the National Governors Association (NGA) during the closing plenary session of the NGA's Annual Meeting today. West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin was named NGA Vice Chair. In his first act as NGA Chair, Gov. Douglas announced his chair's initiative titled Rx for Health Reform: Affordable, Accessible, Accountable. The initiative focuses on the critical need for health reform to reduce health care costs, ensure Americans get the highest quality of care and provide coverage for those who lack health insurance.
"As the nation stands poised to reform its health care system, the time is right for governors to define their roles in creating a more coordinated and efficient system," said Gov. Douglas. "My initiative will build on the successes and innovations of states including our efforts in Vermont to create a blueprint for comprehensive health reform while implementing possible new federal initiatives."

An initiative launched last winter to provide warm socks to needy Vermont children has received a national award for its community service from the America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) Foundation.
The Blue Socks for Kids project was recognized by the AHIP Foundation during its 2009 Community Leadership Awards. Blue Socks for Kids was praised as a creative project that drew upon the successful collaboration between several Vermont organizations, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, Northfield sock manufacturer Cabot Hosiery Mills Inc., and the state's community action agencies and homeless shelters.

Vermont Secretary of State Deb Markowitz has returned from the National Civics Summit in Minneapolis where she addressed national leaders in civics education and secretaries of state from around the country. Markowitz released a report titled The Impact of Civics Education on the Attitudes, Behaviors and Disposition of Youth. The report analyzes the effect of mock election programs on young people s attitudes about government, politics and their own ability to be engaged and active citizens.
Markowitz said, The report shows that the newest generation of Vermont adults will be more active and engaged than the ones before it. It also affirms the value of civic education programs and, in particular, mock election programs that teach kids the importance of voting.