Current News
by tim
Mayor Miro Weinberger today invited all City department heads and other mayoral appointees to reapply for their appointments and share with him their priorities for the next year. At an all-department heads meeting this morning at City Hall, Weinberger provided each city official with a letter stating his goal of assembling a top-notch team ready to tackle the tough, but surmountable, challenges facing our City. In the letter, Weinberger requested that all directors state their intentions regarding continued City service no later than April 30, 2012.
Weinbergerâ s letter stated in its entirety:
â Thank you for your service to the City of Burlington. I decided to take on the challenge of leading this city based on my long-held commitment to public service. I value the role City employees play in making Burlington a strong, vibrant, and well-functioning place to live and work.
by tim
by Anne Galloway vtdigger.orgItâ s bill swap time in the Legislature. All those legislative proposals that passed out of the House are now going to the Senate, and vice versa.
And as per usual this time of the session, the House is way ahead of the ball game. Thatâ s because representatives are obliged to tackle the big stuff first ‘the budget, the miscellaneous tax bill, the capital adjustment expenditures and the transportation budget ‘and then move on to the smaller bills.
That tsunami of money proposals will now hit the Senate with some force and for the next three and a half weeks the Green Room will play catch-up.
by tim
The chief executives of Vermontâ s leading businesses demonstrated increasing optimism in their economic forecasts for the coming six months, improving on results from the previous survey. The survey, which was completed between March 9 and March 23, was released today by Vermont Business Roundtable Chair Steve Voigt, CEO, King Arthur Flour and President Lisa Ventriss.
Key findings from the first quarter of 2012 over the fourth quarter of 2011 include:
An expected three percent increase in company sales;
An expected three percent increase in capital spending;
An expected six percent increase in stable employment levels
6 Months Forecast
2012 Q1
Increase
2012 Q1
No Change
2012 Q1
Decrease
Quarterly % Change
Increase
2011 Q4
Increase
2011 Q4
No Change
2011 Q4
Decrease
Sales
67%
25%
9%
3%
64%
27%
by tim
Vermont saw a decrease in non-current mortgages in February from 9.0 percent to 8.7 percent, as foreclosures held steady and delinquencies fell, but the state still fell from 14th best in the nation to 16th best. Nationally, the mortgage market is getting better as foreclosures work their way through the system. The latest Mortgage Monitor report released by Lender Processing Services, Inc (NYSE: LPS) shows that February foreclosure starts and sales reversed course, declining on a month-over-month basis after January's sharp increase in activity.
Foreclosure starts were down 15 percent from the month prior nationally, with sales down 19 percent for the same period. Foreclosure sales decreased in both judicial and non-judicial foreclosure states, dropping 22 and 19 percent month-over-month respectively in February.
by tim
by Alan Panebaker vtdigger.orgSome lawmakers say a proposal by the Shumlin administration and the stateâ s two largest utilities to create an efficiency fund is a shell game.
On March 26, the Vermont Department of Public Service, Green Mountain Power and Central Vermont Public Service Corp. proposed a memorandum of understanding that would allow the utilities to invest money in measures including weatherization as part of a windfall sharing mechanism.
The idea was to fulfill a requirement that utilities who got bailed out by ratepayers in the 1990s share profits with ratepayers if they are bought for above book value. The $700-million proposed merger meets that threshold.
Rep. Oliver Olsen, a Republican from Jamaica, said the only problem with the deal is the money being invested doesnâ t come from the utilities at all. It comes from ratepayers.
by tim
New Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger was sworn in on Monday and delivered his first "State of the City" address Monday evening. While noting that a page has been turned in city politics (he's the first Democrat in 30 years to hold the post), he said he's looking ahead with optimism to meet several challenges facing the city: serious financial problems, not only budgetary but with the city-owned Burlington Telecom; infrastructure repairs; municipal projects, like the Moran plant redevelopment; still-expensive housing, even through the recession; economic opportunities for all; and rebuilding trust between the mayor's office, the City Council and the public, which was frayed most obviously by the problems with BT.
Weinberger said he looks forward to rolling up his sleeves and getting to work. Below is the full text of his speech.
Mayor Miro Weinberger State of the City Address ‘April 2, 2012
"Good Evening.
by tim
In the twelve months before July 1, 2011, 154 manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, biologics, and medical devices spent approximately $5.6 million in direct payments to Vermont doctors, hospitals, universities and others. That figure represents an overall spending increase of 17% from the $4.8 million reported the previous fiscal year. In particular, the amount spent on pharmaceutical marketing ($2.2 million) is about 22% higher than the $1.8 million reported in the previous fiscal year.
‘Vermonters have a right to know about the financial relationships between their doctors and drug companies,’ said Attorney General William H. Sorrell. ‘The public can view the disclosure data that sheds light on those relationships on my office’s website.’
by tim
As winter closes and mud season arrives, signs of Spring are starting to pop up everywhere, and many Vermonters are already thinking about spring cleaning their homes, offices, barns, garages, and attics. As you sort through the leavings of winter, remember that Vermont’s electronic waste law bans the disposal of certain electronic devices in the regular trash. However, if you are a Vermont household, charity, school district or small business that employs 10 or fewer individuals (covered entities), now is the time to start fresh by taking your old computers, monitors, printers, computer peripherals and televisions (covered devices) to any one of the free recycling locations across the state. To date, the program has collected over 3.4 million pounds of recyclable electronic devices.
by tim
Whistling Man Schooner Company, aBurlington,Vermontbased Lake Champlain Sailing Tour Company has been acquired by Crowsnest Sailing Solutions, LLC, ofHinesburg. The business will continue to operate on the waterfront inBurlington and service the many tourists who visitBurlingtonduring the summer months.
This transaction was managed by Kim Wichert, an Associate with Country Business, Inc. CBI isNew England’s largest privately held business brokerage firm.The sale of small and mid-sized businesses is the firm’s principal activity. Since 1976 the company has valued or managed the sale of over 1000 businesses, with sales prices ranging from a few hundred thousand dollars to $10 million.
4.2.2012.
by tim
Fletcher Allen Health Care today announced that on February 22 it successfully performed its first two patient implants in the Medtronic CoreValveUS Pivotal Trial.Fletcher Allen Health Care is one of 45 sites in the United States participating in an important clinical study evaluating the safety and effectiveness of a new technology that enables aortic valve replacement without traditional open-heart surgery.
Many patients with severe aortic stenosis are unable to receive surgical valve therapy. For patients at high-risk for open-heart surgery, this trial will study the efficacy of a less-invasive, percutaneous treatment option. Every high risk patient who is considered for the clinical trial will be evaluated by a comprehensive Heart Team including interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons.
by tim
Berkshire Bank and its charitable arms, Berkshire Bank Foundation Inc and Berkshire Bank Foundation ‘ Legacy Region, contributed $8,478to United Way organizations in the Southern Vermont through its 2012 United Way workplace campaign. The money raised includes a corporate matching donation from the Foundation of $4,239 and employee contributions of $4,239.
The matching contribution from the bank’s charitable Foundation was a new effort in 2012 to help increase employee participation in the campaign while also recognizing the tremendous work United Way does in the community. Three different United Ways received support from Berkshire Bank in Southern Vermontincluding the United Way of Bennington County, Granite United Way, and the United Way of Rutland County.
by tim
The US Small Business Administration is reminding small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes thatApril 25is the filing deadline for federal economic injury disaster loans available inAddison,Bennington,ChittendenandRutlandcounties in Vermontas a result of excessive rain, flooding and cooler than normal temperatures that occurred from March 1 through June 1, 2011.
"These counties are eligible because they are contiguous to one or more primary counties inNew York. The Small Business Administration recognizes that disasters do not usually stop at county or state lines. For that reason, counties adjacent to primary counties named in the declaration are included," saidFrank Skaggs, director of SBA's Field Operations Center East inAtlanta.