Current News

WCAX-TV, Vermont Public Television and Vermont Public Radio will all present live coverage of Peter Shumlin’s inauguration as governor of Vermont and his address to the joint assembly at the Statehouse in Montpelier. Coverage will begin at 1:30 pm on Thursday, January 6th on WCAX-TV’s primary channel. Kristin Kelly and Darren Perron will anchor from their studios on Joy Drive in South Burlington with Kristin Carlson reporting live from the Statehouse in Montpelier. The inauguration will also be streamed live to the website, www.wcax.com.
‘WCAX News has a long tradition of covering the critical issues facing Vermonters from the State House. Broadcasting the inaugural from the State House will give the public a first look into how Peter Shumlin and other leaders will govern Vermont,’ stated Anson Tebbetts, WCAX-TV News Director.

The Vermont Attorney General’s Office has entered into a Judgment with DIRECTV that will result in consumer refunds and a payment of $185,000.00 to the State of Vermont. Because DIRECTV made attractive offers that did not indicate that consumers would have to extend their contracts and be subjected to cancellation fees or additional costs, it will now have to offer refunds to Vermonter consumers. ‘Businesses that fail to fully disclose all the terms of their offers will have to pay consumers as well as the State,’ said Attorney General William H. Sorrell. ‘DIRECTV’s customers will now get money back, full disclosure of all programming and pricing, and better service.’

Governor-elect Shumlin today announced that Commissioner Andrew Pallito will remain in his post as Commissioner of Corrections.
"There is no question addressing the challenge of corrections, which is the second largest area of growth in our state's budget, is ambitious," said Shumlin. "Vermonters can no longer afford to spend more on corrections than on higher education. In order to realize the cost efficiencies we anticipate through justice reinvestment, it is extremely important that we have someone with Andy's experience. Andy has both the vision and the experience necessary to ensure that we will reduce recidivism and achieve cost savings in our corrections system."

After a year of monitoring, The Putney School’s net-zero Field House has
used 48,374 kWh of electricity while the sun-tracking photovoltaic cells
that enervate it have produced 51,371 kWh. That’s nearly 3,000 more
kilowatt hours produced than the building used.
Designed by Maclay Architects in Waitsfield and built by DEW
Construction Corp from Williston, the Field House was opened for use in November of
2010. The first negative power bill, created because the photovoltaics
continue to produce electricity regardless of the building’s needs, came
in April. At the end of the year, all of the usage and production numbers
came together to make a zero (plus a little extra). Thus, a net-zero
building.
The even better news, according to Business Manager Randy Smith, is that
the differential in cost between what the building drew from the grid and

Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced Wednesday that the counties of Chittenden, Franklin and Lamoille will receive federal disaster funds in response to damage caused by severe storms in early December.
The funds were triggered for release by a disaster declaration issued today by President Obama. The delegation wrote the President in the aftermath of the storm asking for this declaration, arguing that the scope of the damage was such that it merited federal assistance. The storm, which included winds of up to ninety miles per hour, caused severe damage to buildings, property and infrastructure and left nearly 40,000 Vermont homes and business without power. You can read the letter the delegation sent to President Obama here.

by Kevin Kelley Vermont Business Magazine Faced with multiple uncertainties some they can affect, some they cannot Vermont health care reformers are waiting to see whether state and federal initiatives will advance the cause of providing all Vermonters with access to high-quality, affordable treatment.

The uncertainties also come in long-term and short-term varieties.

Close on the horizon, and within Vermonters' control, are decisions relating to a report due in January from a consultant team that's weighing three options for overhauling the state's health-care system.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: BHLB), which does business as Berkshire Bank with offices in southwestern Vermont, and Legacy Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEGC) announced today that they have signed a definitive merger agreement under which Berkshire will acquire Legacy and its subsidiary, Legacy Banks, in a transaction valued at approximately $108 million.
The merger of Legacy into Berkshire will create a combined institution with $4 billion in assets. This in-market merger will create efficiencies and market share benefits for the combined banks, which both have branches in Western Massachusetts and Northeastern New York. Including Berkshire's pending merger with Rome Bancorp, the combined bank will have more than 60 offices serving Berkshire County, the Pioneer Valley, New York, and Southern Vermont.

The Department of Labor announced the state minimum wage will be increasing to
$8.15 per hour from $8.06 per hour on January 1, 2011. Vermont’s minimum wage increases at the same
rate as the Consumer Price Index (CPI), as calculated in August, for the preceding year. This August, the
CPI increased by one and one tenth percent (1.1%).
Addit ionally, the basic wage rate for ‘service and tipped’ employees is tied to the CPI. As such, the basic
wage for such employees will be increasing to $3.95 per hour from $3.91. Service or tipped employees are
individuals working in hotels, motels, tourist places, and restaurants who customarily and regularly receive
more than $120.00 a month in tips for direct and personal service.
Tipped employees’, like other workers, total earnings during a pay period must equal or exceed $8.15 per
hour. If a combination of tips and the basic wage do not meet that requirement, the employer must make

Governor Jim Douglas today announced that $857,000 in Vermont Community Development Program grants are being awarded to four communities ‘ Bethel, Randolph, Vergennes and Rochester. He made the announcement at a ceremony at the Bethel Town Hall, highlighting an affordable housing project in specially targeted for seniors and the disabled.
‘Senior housing and housing for disabled Vermonters is a critical part of keeping our communities vibrant,’ Governor Douglas said. ‘This allows them to live close to family, friends, services and support systems that help them remain independent and active.’

The Vermont Teddy Bear Company of Shelburne today announced that 2010 holiday sales are up more than 20 percent over a year ago, due to dramatic revenue increases in its PajamaGram business unit.
Skyrocketing sales of PajamaGram's wildly popular "Hoodie-Footie" pajamas have forced the company to add a third shift during the week leading up to Christmas, while phone lines are lit-up as the company responds to the avalanche of orders.
"American consumers are back, and they're saying 'I want my Hoodie-Footie,'" said John Gilbert, CEO of Vermont Teddy Bear. "We've sold more Hoodie-Footies in the past week than any single pajama product in the last 5 years. The Hoodie-Footie is just on fire."
The Vermont Teddy Bear Company is one of America's leading gift companies, and includes the PajamaGram Company (www.PajamaGram.com) and Calyx Flowers (www.CalyxFlowers.com ).

After 37 summers, the Vermont Mozart Festival will be closing its doors on or before January 15th. Since 1974, the Festival featured world-class performances in beautiful and historic locations around the state. Countless generations of family and friends came together for three weeks each summer to enjoy enchanting classical music under the stars. In recent years, though, the organization began to incur debt from which it simply could not recover.
‘In spite of the fact that public support has increased dramatically over the past six years, we have not seen a continuing interest in programming,’ said Executive Director Timothy R. Riddle. ‘The audience has been steadily decreasing. We engaged a wonderful new artistic director to revamp programming, in the hopes of increasing ticket sales. Unfortunately, due to lack of financing, the Festival was unable to continue to move forward with these plans long enough to allow these changes to have an impact.’

The Vermont Department of Labor (VDOL) is providing information today on the recent passage of the Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation 2008 (EUC 08) program.
Congress passed legislation last week to retroactively extend the Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) program. Based on the passage of this legislation Vermont is now authorized to establish entitlement under the EUC08 program for eligible claimants. Vermont currently qualifies for the first two Tiers of the EUC08 program. Tier 1 provides up to 20 weeks and Tier 2 provides up to 14 weeks of additional benefits. Claimants can file up to 26 weeks of state benefits before shifting to the extended federal program which in Vermont consists of up to 34 weeks of emergency compensation. The maximum number of weeks currently available in Vermont is 60 weeks.