Current News

A half-million-dollar gift to support the Alumni House project at the University of Vermont is giving a name to a room with one of the best lake views in town.
Davis Ballroom will be named in recognition of a gift from alumnus William Davis ‘71 and his father Robert Davis ‘41 toward renovating the historic Queen Anne home at 61 Summit Street in Burlington, Vt., that will become the university’s Alumni House.
The third-floor ballroom in the stately old home commands a sweeping view of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks. It was once the setting for the social gatherings of Burlington’s most prominent citizens and will host a variety of alumni and other campus functions when renovations are complete.

Governor Peter Shumlin and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick spearheaded a bipartisan call on Congress from 15 Governors to urge level-funding for LIHEAP, the low-income home heating program that faces up to a 50 percent reduction in Washington.
In a letter signed by Governors from primarily cold-weather states, the group said "time is of the essence. Winter has already begun in our states, and distributing meaningful benefit levels to households in need is critically important."　
"Vermonters are facing a devastating cut in heating assistance this winter unless the White House and Congress approve the funding to ensure every family can afford to stay warm," Gov. Shumlin said. "No one should be forced to choose between heat, food, medications and other vital necessities. Today I join other Governors and leaders in urging Washington to stand up for Americans with winter approaching and provide the funding necessary to guarantee a warm home for all."

Todd Moore, vice president of Revenue Cycle for the past four years, has been named senior vice president of Managed Care and Revenue Strategy at Fletcher Allen Health Care, a new position within the organization.
Moore has also been named president, Vermont Managed Care, a physician hospital organization (PHO), a wholly owned subsidiary of Fletcher Allen. These organizations are management service organizations in which the partners are physicians and hospitals. PHO organizations contract with insurance companies for physician and hospital services.
During his time as the vice president of Revenue Cycle, Moore helped to negotiate contracts with key insurance companies and helped to lead strategic planning that has enabled Fletcher Allen to navigate the emerging dynamic managed care environment.

US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has won House and Senate negotiators' approval of a 20-year extension of a pilot program in Vermont to move heavy trucks off state secondary roads and onto the state’s Interstate highways. It bill still needs full congressionial approval and the president's signature.

There were 1,094 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week. This is an increase of 212 from the week before, as new claims increased again to levels not seen since the immediate aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene. In looking at the table below, you will see that the summer's historically low claims came to an abrupt end with the storm. The numbers then dropped signifcantly in the following weeks, but in the last few weeks there has been a steady increase in the number of new claims. The latest numbers are more than double the initial claims observed in July and August. Altogether 6,370 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 424 from a week ago, but 2,125 fewer than a year ago. The Department also processed 1,530 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 34 more than a week ago.

By US Senator Bernie Sanders: As a result of the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior on Wall Street, Americans have experienced the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Millions have lost their jobs, homes, life savings and the ability to send their kids to college. Wages as a share of national income are now at the lowest level since the 1930s, and the number of Americans living in poverty is at an all-time high.
Even as small-business owners in Vermont and elsewhere were being turned down for loans at private banks and millions of Americans were being kicked out of their homes, the Federal Reserve gave the largest taxpayer-financed bailout in the history of the world to Wall Street and the too-big-to-fail institutions with virtually no strings attached.

The US Department of State is delaying its decision on a controversial pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to Texas. In a statement issued today, it said that it needed more time to review the environmental implications, especially those in Nebraska. Vermont's congressional delegation has been opposed to the pipeline, which would bring "tar sands" oil into the United States for refining.
Representative Peter Welch (D-VT) issued the below statement following the announcement by the State Department that it will delay a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline.
‘The State Department today raised the correct concerns, but reached the wrong conclusion. The catastrophic environmental risks of this proposed pipeline dictate the project be rejected, not delayed. I look forward to a swift and thorough investigation by the inspector general into the State Department’s review process.’

Entergy has promoted Vermont Yankee Plant Manager Chris Wamser to its VY site vice president position replacing Michael Colomb, who has served as the nuclear plant's top executive since October 2008. Colomb has been named site vice president for the James A Fitzpatrick plant near Oswego, NY. The Vermont plant is located in Vernon, with executive offices in Brattleboro.

The Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce held their 113th Annual Meeting on November 7th. Pierre Masuy, Plant Manager, OMYA, Inc.’s Florence Verpol Plant was named the 2011 Business Person of the Year. In his remarks RRCC EVP/CEO Tom Donahue noted noted the importance of the OMYA facility.
The plant is the third largest in OMYA’s worldwide system, employing a staff of 175 workers. The plant is also the largest customer of Vermont Railway. Masuy oversaw construction of the plant’s multimillion-dollar dewatering facility that came online in 2009, recycling 750,000 gallons of water a day from the calcium carbonate manufacturing process.

The Village Revitalization Initiative’a cooperative effort among Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the Preservation Trust of Vermont, and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) ‘ drew national recognition Thursday in garnering the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s (ACHP) Chairman’s Award for Achievement in Historic Preservation.
‘This creative and important initiative demonstrates how effective partnerships can use relatively modest funding to accomplish important local projects that create jobs, preserve our heritage, and improve the vitality of communities,’ said Milford Wayne Donaldson, FAIA, ACHP chairman. ‘It is a great model for other elected officials and preservation organizations to emulate across the country.’

When Vermont Public Television held its fall fundraising campaign, people who gave to VPT also helped those suffering the effects of Tropical Storm Irene.
Any contribution to VPT supported Vermont’s statewide public television network and sparked a donation from People’s United Bank to the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund. The fund was set up in September to provide long-term relief to Vermonters after natural disasters.
As a result of the televised campaign, People’s United Bank donated $15,000 to the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund.
George Hauenstein, chief development officer of Vermont Public Television, Michael Seaver, president of People's United Bank, and David Coates, chairman of the Vermont Long Term Disaster Recovery Group.
People’s United Bank-VPT. 11.9.2011

Governor Peter Shumlin has announced that the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) received a $352,900 grant from the Federal Transit Administration to develop software and Internet services that will help US veterans and their families access public transportation services that are specific to their needs.
The money will be used for several purposes, including development of a website that provides veterans specific information about their eligibility for a host of transit services. Those include on-demand rides, the purchase and instillation of software that will allow the Disabled American Veterans’ and the Veterans Administration’s independent transportation system be incorporated into the same dispatch system used by all public transit providers in Vermont, and installing GPS location devices in various public transit vehicles ‘ such as vans operated by Disabled American Veterans ‘ so that more efficient dispatch decisions can be made.