Current News
by tim
Barry Lampke, the former Development and Communications Director for Smart Growth Vermont, has recently joined the Champlain Initiative as its Director. Created in 1996, the Champlain Initiative is a community partnership with the goal of strengthening the Champlain Valley as a healthy community over a 20-year period.
The former Marketing Project Manager with the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Lampke helped launch Efficiency Vermont, the nation's first energy efficiency utility. He was previously Executive Director of the Association of Vermont Recyclers and was a planner with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. In Washington, DC, Barry served as Project Director for OMB Watch's Toxics Project and was a contributing author of "The Poisoned Well," a groundwater protection book published by the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund.
by tim
Burlington VT, July 28, 2008: Lund Family Center is pleased to report three recent additions to the organization's Board of Trustees and the election of a new slate of officers.
Lund's new Officers are: Board Chair- Eileen Simollardes, Vice President- Barbara Lande Bronfman, Treasurer- Sherry Prehoda, Secretary- Lynn Brennan, and Member at Large- Paulette Thabault. Lund thanks Jeff Small, Eileen Simollardes, Mary Anne Murray, William A. Chip Mason, and Lynn Brennan as immediate past President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Member At Large respectively. And, Lund thanks retiring trustees Brian Smith and Linda Magoon for their stellar service.
Lund Family Center's welcomed the following trustees to its Board:
by tim
Agriculture Secretary Roger Allbee is inviting each state to participate in an Eat Local National Challenge during National Farmers Market Week August 3 - 9. The challenge has already been greeted with great enthusiasm and many states are on board with their commissioner or secretary of agriculture to choose a day to eat only foods grown locally. Many states are also conducting their own Eat Local Challenges.
"I would like to challenge all Vermonters, as well as people across the country, to eat local for a meal, a day or even the full week during National Farmers Market Week. When you buy local you can reduce energy costs and get food items that are harvested at the peak of freshness for better taste and nutrition," said Allbee. "Eating local gives you a chance to know the people who grow your food and how it is grown. It also keeps money in our local communities."
by tim
Fuel prices are on everyone's mind. Just last month, over 4,000 Vermonters joined me for a telephone Town Hall meeting on this issue. The price of fuel dominates the discussion at every "Congress in Your Community" I hold in towns across Vermont. And Vermonters are contacting my office in unprecedented numbers seeking assistance for the upcoming winter.
Vermonters are feeling the financial strain.
The impact of four dollar per gallon gasoline and, ominously, $5 per gallon home heating oil this winter is a crisis for Vermonters.
The truth is, we didn't get into this crisis overnight, and it's going to take a long-term strategy to get out of it. We can, however, take short-term steps now to provide relief.
by tim
BURLINGTON - July 21st, 2008 - Dedalus Wine Shop will kick off its latest series of in-store wine tastings in August at 95 College Street in Burlington. The summer series will begin on August 2nd. Our new Saturday format will provide our community with a casual outlet for wine exploration, appreciation, and tasting. A schedule for the series can be found below.
"There's real pleasure to be had finding good wine, exploring it, drinking it, and especially in sharing it with good friends. All these elements get wrapped up in a wine's story. That's what this new series is about - ways to explore wine in a social context, as the cornerstone of a dinner party or as a travel guide through an exotic countryside," says store owner Jason Zuliani.
Dedalus Wine Shop is here to tell wine's story. We're committed to building a wine community and to exploring great wine from around the world with our friends and customers.
by tim
Oil prices taxing for Vermonters
by Kevin Kelley
Vermonters have been whacked with the equivalent of a new $850 million tax as a result of the doubling of oil prices in the past year, said Tom Kavet, the State Legislature's economist. That hit - heavier than the total $622 million impact from personal income tax payments - is bound to stagger the Vermont economy as consumers cut back on discretionary spending in order to pay for heating fuel and gasoline, Kavet reckoned.
About 70 percent of the added charge for the 17 million barrels of oil consumed annually in Vermont is going overseas - to the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. "Almost none of it stays in-state," he said.
It's largely because of that drain that Kavet expects a "severe" recession to occur in Vermont.
by tim
Program Director Jody Evans Leaving Vermont Public Radio
COLCHESTER, Vt. -- July 25, 2008 -- Jody Evans, director of programming for Vermont Public Radio (VPR), will leave the station in August to become program director at KUT Radio in Austin, Texas.
Evans joined VPR in 1998, and was named Director of Programming in 1999. Her oversight of multiple program schedules, marketing, on-air fundraising, website, and all aspects of VPR's broadcast services helped VPR become one of the most listened-to public radio networks in the country. KUT is a large station serving a growing community, including one of the largest university systems in the country. The station has a contemporary music-focused format combined with a strong lineup of National Public Radio (NPR) programming.
by tim
Governor Douglas Announces $1 Million in Grants for Economic Development, Housing, Home Heating Projects
ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (July 24, 2008)- Governor Jim Douglas has announced the award of more than $1 million in community development grants to five communities that will create new jobs by helping an employer lower their energy costs; rehabilitate and build new affordable housing; and help low-income Vermonters heat their homes this winter.
At a ceremony at Weidmann Electrical Technology Inc. today the governor announced that the largest Vermont Community Development Program award - $460,000 - will help St. Johnsbury develop, build, and lease a high voltage substation to supply the company with lower cost electric power.
"As a result WETI will lower its overall electrical costs, create 12 jobs, and further secure its future in St. Johnsbury," Douglas said. "This is an investment in a company and jobs that are critical to this area and this state."v
by tim
During their annual in Philadelphia last week, the nation's governors decided to send a letter to Congress calling for at least a 5-year extension of the renewable energy tax credit, including the clean renewable energy bonds.
The letter, signed by 51 of the nation's governors, including Govenror Douglas, encourages Congress to develop incentives for programs that help families and businesses use energy-efficient building techniques, materials and equipment. Governors also urge Congress to partner with states to pass this bipartisan legislation this year.
Letter
July 23, 2008
The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Minority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable John Boehner
by tim
Vermonters live in a place where the mountains, as well as the businesses and employees behind them, embody the "green" in the Green Mountain State. Now, Vermont's official seasonal guidebooks will reflect our lodging facilities' environmental commitment.
Beginning with the 2009 Winter Vacation Guide, Vermont's designated "Green Hotels," who also participate in the seasonal guides published by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing, have another opportunity to market their stewardship by taking advantage of a new initiative that allows for a green leaf symbol next to their guidebook listing.
by tim
Winooski River Rapid Impeded by Bridge Debris
MONTPELIER - Debris associated with the Route 2 bridge span that toppled into the Winooski River earlier this week has been lodged in a nearby river rapid and poses a danger to paddlers using the Winooski.
Canoeists, kayakers and others recreating in this section of the Winooski should exercise caution when paddling the river as the debris has the potential to be dangerous if a boater were to be swept into it.
Junkyard Rapid, the first major river feature below the Route 2 bridge being demolished on the Middlesex/Moretown line, has collected some debris from the structure that fell into the Winooski River due to high water. Junkyard Rapid is located behind the auto salvage yard along Route 2 between Waterbury and Middlesex, and can be seen from the road. Anyone boating this stretch of river below the bridge demolition project should use extreme caution.
by tim
Report: State Could Improve Policy, Offset Oil Costs
NRDC Report Says Transportation Planning Can Buffer Automotive Fuel Costs
Vermont could be doing more to protect its citizens from the high costs
of fuel oil for our cars and trucks, according to a new report released
by the Natural Resources Defense Council, a national environmental
group.
States that adopt laws to promote clean and efficient vehicles, prevent
sprawl, and invest in public transit, are helping protect their citizens
from high oil prices, according to the report, "Fighting Oil Addiction:
Ranking States' Oil Vulnerability and Solutions for Change."
"Based on this report, the results for Vermont are mixed," said Brian
Shupe, the sustainable communities director and energy co-director for
the Vermont Natural Resources Council. "Despite our green image and
reputation for forward-thinking policy, this report shows that Vermont