Current News

Vermont Business Magazine ANEW Place homeless shelter in Burlington’s Old North End has received a $30,000 gift from the Hoehl Family Foundation. This gift will support ANEW Place’s 4-Phase process, which is designed to address the root causes of homelessness, helping homeless individuals to build a strong foundation with the tools needed to start ANEW life. ANEW Place, formerly Burlington Emergency Shelter, has expanded programs and services over the last few years to focus on long-term solutions. The goal of their programming is to foster personal long-term growth, so that each person can make a successful, sustainable transition toward wellness and independence. They aim to see lives changed and to see an end to the cycle of homelessness in which so many adults find themselves trapped.

by Mike Faher vtdigger.org Federal officials issued formal notification on Thursday that Vermont Yankee emergency operations can be drastically scaled back due to a “significantly lower” risk of radiological accidents at the shutdown Vernon plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s approval of plant owner Entergy’s requested regulatory exemptions – previously signaled in a filing obtained by VTDigger – means that the plant’s 10-mile emergency planning zone will disappear next year, as will millions in state and municipal funding that goes with it. Additionally, the NRC exemptions and an accompanying license amendment pave the way for the next big round of staff reductions at Vermont Yankee, where about 300 people are still employed. The changes will take effect in April 2016.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont's weekly unemployment claims, which have been steadily increasing since the end of the summer, rose only slightly last week, but pushed ahead of last year's totals. Generally, claims in 2015 have been running below last year's totals. For the week of December 5, 2015, there were 1,273 claims, an increase of 16 from the previous week's total and 203 more than they were a year ago. By industry, claims more than doubled for Construction, typical for this time of year. As has been the trend, Services led all categories with 40 percent of all claims, but were down significantly from last week.

Altogether 6,489 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 1,809 from a week ago, and 659 fewer than a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine FirstLight Fiber, a facilities-based telecommunications service provider operating in Upstate New York and Northern New England, announced today that The Vermont Teddy Bear Co., the largest handcrafter of teddy bears in North America, has selected FirstLight’s fiber-based, high-speed Internet services for its corporate headquarters in Shelburne. FirstLight’s dedicated 100 Mbps connection will support The Vermont Teddy Bear Company’s business operations and represents a significant upgrade to the company’s prior Internet service provider.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center Board of Trustees, based in Berlin, elected Mike Dellipriscoli as the new chair during their annual meeting on Wednesday. He will be joined on the board by two new trustees, Sandy Rousse and Marilyn White. Dellipriscoli has been on the CVMC board since 2012 and succeeds Greg Voorheis as chair. Dellipriscoli is Assistant Vice President – Strategic Analysis at the National Life Group in Montpelier. He joined National Life Group in 1988 and has over 35 years of experience in the financial services industry. A native of Philadelphia, Dellipriscoli graduated from Villanova University with a degree in mathematics and earned his MBA in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Vermont Business Magazine In the country’s annual health checkup, Vermont ranks #2 this year when compared with other states – according to United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings Annual Report. Hawaii was first; Louisiana was last. Vermont scored high rankings for its low violent crime rate, low infant mortality rate and low percentage of uninsured residents; the study said it faces challenges related to its disparity in health status by education levels, high prevalence of excessive drinking and high incidence of pertussis. Vermont joins other Northeast states in “Top 10” – Massachusetts (#3), New Hampshire (#5) and Connecticut (#6). Vermont was first in 2007, and again in 2009-2011 and has been second since. The state was #20 in 1990, the first year of the report.

Vermont Business Magazine Through a grant provided from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) has launched a multi-pronged outreach effort focused on improving water quality in compliance with the Vermont Clean Water Act (VCWA) which was made law this past spring. The CCRPC will work with municipal staff and boards to provide information about the requirements for municipalities triggered by the VCWA and also work with them on options such as stronger municipal protections against flood hazards and river corridor erosion, stormwater master planning, and other town plan or zoning changes to improve water quality. CCRPC staff will also update fluvial erosion hazard/river corridor maps for the towns and assist them with compiling existing information to use in developing implementation plans under the municipal roads stormwater general permit.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, US Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) called on the US Department of the Interior to provide robust federal funding to support the protection of the diverse plant, fish, and wildlife species in the Silvio O Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. In a letter to Secretary Sally Jewell of the Department of the Interior, the senators urged the Department to continue funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and to prioritize the Conte Refuge – which is of great environmental and recreational importance but is in need of more than $14 million for necessary upkeep and improvement projects. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) did not sign the letter.

Vermont Business Magazine Mayor Miro Weinberger today announced the appointment of Fire Chief Steven Locke as the City’s next Chief Engineer of the Burlington Fire Department. Chief Locke comes to the City of Burlington following more than 20 years of service with the Hartford, Vermont Fire Department, including seven years as Fire Chief, three years as the President of the Vermont Career Fire Chiefs Association, and currently five months of experience serving as Interim Town Manager of Hartford. Mayor Weinberger will request the City Council’s approval of this appointment at its December 21, 2015 meeting. If approved, Chief Locke will start his service for Burlington on February 1, 2016. Deputy Chief Peter Brown is currently serving as the Interim Fire Chief following former Chief Seth Lasker’s retirement on October 31, 2015, and will continue until February 1.

by Mike Faher/The Commons By their own admission, members of the four-state Connecticut River Valley Flood Control Commission aren’t used to having visitors or lengthy discussions at their meetings. So their December 4 meeting was an anomaly as the commission’s tiny boardroom in Greenfield, Mass., was packed with three Townshend residents and two state lawmakers concerned about chronically low tax-loss payments and perilously low water levels at Townshend Dam. There was some good news for the Vermont visitors: The commissioners agreed to call in the US Army Corps of Engineers, which operates Townshend Dam, to discuss Townshend Lake maintenance issues and other questions.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Police is reporting that at approximately 8:20 pm on December 9, 2015, the Northfield Police Department received a report of some type of explosion at a residence on the corner of North St and Maple Ave in the town of Northfield. Further reports indicated that there were injuries, and the explosion occurred within a multiple-unit apartment building. The Northfield Police and Fire Departments responded, as did Troopers from the Middlesex barracks. Neighboring homes were evacuated and the Vermont State Police Bomb Squad was called to assist and render the area safe. Upon initial investigation, a homemade explosive device was discovered. The Vermont State Police bomb squad rendered the device safe, and after a sweep of the scene, declared the area clear of any further danger. At that time, evacuated residents were contacted and advised that they could return home.

by Deb Markowitz, Secretary, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources The last time I was in Paris, the temperature was unbearable. The country was suffering through a record-setting heat wave that caused the deaths of over 100 people. Needless to say, our visit to this beautiful and historic city was cut short, but strong memories of the trip stayed with me. Such deadly heat waves, as well as floods, fires and droughts, have become common across the globe. The impacts of climate change are already here, and cities, states, and countries are struggling to address the consequences.

VT Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Deb Markowitz, second from the left, participates in COP21. Courtesy photo