Current News
by tim
Governor Peter Shumlin announced today that he will appoint his Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs Louis Porter to replace Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Patrick Berry when Berry leaves his post in May.
Louis Porter, right, with Governor Shumlin in 2012. vtdigger file photo.
Berry, who has been the head of Fish & Wildlife for the length of the Shumlin administration, is leaving to work for the Vermont Community Foundation as Vice President for Philanthropy near his East Middlebury home.
"It has been the greatest honor of my career to serve as commissioner of the department," Berry said. "I am humbled by the commitment of the staff and their tireless efforts to protect and conserve Vermont’s fish, wildlife, and plant resources."
by tim
US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Monday recommended Vermont Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Crawford to President Obama, to be the next judge on Vermont’s US District Court. He was appointed to Vermont's highest court last September.
Justice Crawford was one of two finalists suggested by the nine-member, nonpartisan Vermont Judicial Nominating Commission, to fill the upcoming vacancy on the court when Judge William Sessions takes senior status. Leahy interviewed the finalists in Vermont earlier this month.
Leahy said, “Justice Crawford is an experienced and well-respected jurist. In the finest Vermont tradition, he is known for his modesty and humanity, for his warmth, for his pragmatism, and for his unwavering commitment to the highest standards of public service.”
by tim
Related Company: Saint Michael's CollegeThis year’s commencement at Saint Michael’s will be an immersive experience. The college is proud to announce that Dr Sylvia A Earle, a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and world-renowned oceanographer, explorer, author and lecturer, will be the guest speaker at the 2014 Commencement exercises on Sunday, May 11 at the Ross Sports Center starting at 10 am.
by ayla
The state of Vermont ranks fifth nationwide in statewide graduation rates for its four-year public higher education institutions. The state also ranks fifth when students who begin school at a Vermont four-year public university or college but graduate elsewhere are taken into account.
The data was compiled by the National Student Clearinghouse and tracks six-year graduation rates in every state.
In Vermont 73.9 percent of students who began college in 2007 graduated in 2013, 61.5 percent from their original institution and 12.4 percent from a different school.
The University of Vermont’s six-year graduation rate is 76 percent (not including students who start at the university but graduated elsewhere), 18 percentage points higher than the national average for U.S. public doctoral/research universities. Its four-year rate of 65 percent is 36 percentage points higher than the average in that category.
Source: University Communications, March 24, 2014.
by tim
by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org A Vermont House panel has overwhelmingly approved a bill that would create sweeping changes to the way Vermont schools are governed. H.883 would reduce the total number of municipal school districts from 282 to 45 by 2020.
If the legislation is successful (it has to pass the House and the Senate), it will be the first time the state’s home rule structure has changed since 1892 when the state went from 2,500 local school boards to a total of 300.
by tim
With the Highway Trust Fund projected to become insolvent this year, the National Lieutenant Governors Association unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution, cosponsored by Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott (R-Vermont) and Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam (D-VA), calling on Congress to “develop a shared, long term vision for surface transportation.”
“Secretary Brian Searles and Congressman Peter Welch were instrumental in bringing this matter to the attention of the Vermont House and Senate Transportation Committees, which prompted the resolution,” Scott said. “In addition, Congressman Welch continues to lead roundtable discussions and meetings with key transportation leaders from both parties to bring attention to the issue and develop strategies for the future.”
by tim
Related Company: Vermont Federal Credit UnionThe Federal Reserve Bank of Boston announced today the appointment of four new members to the First District Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC), including Vermont Federal Credit Union CEO Bernie P Isabelle.
The entire list of new members follows:
· David Bruce – President/CEO, Lee Bank, Lee, MA
· Bernie P. Isabelle – President/ CEO, Vermont Federal Credit Union, Burlington, VT
· Mark J. Meiklejohn – President/CEO, Bank Rhode Island, Providence, RI
· Richard Wallis – President/CEO, Piscataqua Savings Bank, Portsmouth, NH
Standing members of the Council include:
· James W. Blake – President/CEO, HarborOne Bank, Brockton, MA
· Donna Boulanger – President/CEO, North Brookfield Savings Bank, North Brookfield, MA
· Edward Danek, Jr. – President/CEO, Hartford Federal Credit Union, Hartford, CT
by tim
Related Company: Chittenden County Transportation Authorityby Anne Galloway vtdigger.org
The bus drivers’ union, Teamsters Local 597, and the Chittenden County Transit Authority failed to come to an agreement after seven hours of negotiations on Saturday.
The Burlington area bus strike will continue into a second week.
CCTA officials say union representatives walked out of talks with federal mediators. The company says the remaining issues include wages, part-time drivers, work hours and cameras on buses.
“Union demands continue to be out of line with CCTA’s obligation to operate a safe, affordable and reliable public transportation system,” Bill Watterson, general manager of CCTA said in a statement.
The union identified two major issues, which the company was unwilling to address, according to Tony St. Hilaire, a business agent for the Teamsters.
by tim
by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org Budget-writers have finalized a fiscal year 2015 spending plan for state government. The House Appropriations Committee, in a painstaking process of elimination, has scrubbed Gov. Peter Shumlin’s budget and come up with $8.8 million in reductions to the state spending proposal. Another $900,000 is available in other savings. That leaves a $4.4 million gap the House could address by raising a tax on cigarettes or eliminating a tax exemption on soda or supplements. All three proposals are on the table.
The governor’s $1.444 billion budget for next year represents a 5 percent increase over the fiscal year 2014 budget and banks on $30 million in one-time funding.
In addition, Shumlin’s budget includes $14 million in new revenues from a “claims assessment,” a fee assessed on every health insurance claim.
by tim
by John Herrick vtdigger.org Vermont has agreed to work with other states to bring large amounts of Canadian hydroelectric power to the region to meet growing energy needs. Environmentalists say that prospect could harm ratepayers and the environment.
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by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org Outnumbering the opposition more than 6 to 1, proponents of raising the state’s minimum wage told story after story of economic hardship Thursday at a public hearing convened by the House Committee on General Services and Military Affairs.
The four opponents of the measure stressed the negative blow-back a minimum wage increase would have for businesses and the state’s economy — including the individuals it’s designed to help.
Only a few legislators, aside from committee members and sponsors of the bill, attended the hearing.
H.552 was granted an extension on the crossover deadline of March 14. Most bills that didn’t make crossover were effectively dead for the rest of the session.
by ayla
The Comcast Foundation, founded in 1999 to provide charitable support to its local communities and to empower and enrich lives, has awarded 14 Vermont high school seniors scholarships through its annual Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship Program awards. The program, one of the Comcast Foundation's signature community investment programs, recognizes students' leadership skills, academic achievement and commitment to community service.
Comcast, joined by Governor Peter Shumlin, recognized the students at a special event held at the Vermont State House today. The fourteen recipients each received $1,000 scholarships. One student, Marissa Farbman, a resident of Killington and student at Woodstock High School, was selected to receive an additional$9,000 Comcast Founders Scholarship - instituted in honor of Ralph J. Roberts, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Comcast Corporation. In total, Comcast awarded $23,000 worth of scholarships in Vermont this year.