Current News

Vermont Business Magazine AHS Secretary Hal Cohen and DCF Commissioner Ken Schatz have announced that Vermont has been awarded approximately $18.4 million in federal funds for this year's Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) also known as Seasonal Fuel Assistance. These funds will help about 24,700 low-income Vermont households to heat their homes this winter by paying a portion of their home heating bills. "This program is essential in keeping our low-income Vermonters warm throughout the winter," said AHS Secretary Hal Cohen.

"Lower caseloads and significantly lower fuel prices have allowed us to maintain the same buying power for Vermonters without requiring significant State funds," said DCF Commissioner Ken Schatz.

Vermont Business Magazine Mayor Miro Weinberger today was joined by Senator Patrick Leahy, Governor Peter Shumlin, other State and City officials, waterfront stakeholders, and community members to celebrate the opening of the northern waterfront. The celebration marks the conclusion and ribbon-cutting of Waterfront Access North (WAN), the first major new waterfront public infrastructure investment since the creation of Waterfront Park in the early 1990s, and stands as a major step in the decades-long effort to reclaim the waterfront from its post-industrial history and convert it to modern use. Further, the extension and improvement of Lake Street and public utilities will support new uses of the northern waterfront.

Construction of the WAN project began in August 2014 and includes the following key improvements:

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin announced today that for the first time in Vermont history, the State House Christmas tree will come from federally managed land within the 400,000-acre Green Mountain National Forest (GMNF). The 32-foot balsam fir will be harvested Tuesday on public land in Hancock, Vermont from a wildlife habitat management area. A tree lighting ceremony will be held December 1 at 4:30 pm on the State House steps in Montpelier. The event is open to the public. There will be remarks from Governor Shumlin, a certificate of appreciation presentation, the official tree lighting and refreshments in the State House lobby.

by Mike Smith Evil can’t be contained. It can’t be subdued, reasoned or negotiated with. Evil has no regard for morality or life. Evil is only interested in growing stronger, and it will destroy anything or anybody that may get in its way. The only way to eliminate evil is to defeat it. Evil exists in many forms. But the evil we are trying to come to grips with, in light of Paris, manifests itself in an organization called ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

by Mike Polhamus vtdigger.org Vermont must build future renewable power sources on a scale that fits with the character of Vermont towns, Governor Peter Shumlin said last week. Developers shouldn’t burden small towns with large energy projects, he said. Instead, smaller-scale production sources will ensure Vermonters profit most from the state’s renewable energy push, he said. Shumlin delivered his comments the day after Green Mountain Power released a map showing certain regions of the state produce renewable energy at a rate disproportionate to what they consume.

by Governor Peter Shumlin For most of the last two decades, Vermont’s prison inmate population has been rising. Between 1997 and 2008, it grew by 86 percent. Projections made in 2007 said that Vermont’s inmate population would grow to 2,619 by November 2015. After years of work to reform Vermont’s criminal justice system that trend has been reversed, and today Vermont has 1,734 inmates, 885 less than projected.

When I first ran for Governor I made reforming the criminal justice system a priority because it is the right thing to do. I also said doing so would save us money and allow us to invest in things early childhood education, which we know to reduce the likelihood that someone will land in jail later in life.

by Simeon Chapin, Director of Community & Social Development at VSECU Vermont has more than 6,000 charitable organizations, all with important missions that help better the lives of our neighbors and improve our communities. For organizations that rely on charitable giving to sustain their missions, we are entering a very important time of year for fundraising. With 18% of all donations occurring in December, it is by far the most popular month of the year for giving.

Vermont Business Magazine Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice (CVHHH) is excited to kick off its 2015 Fall Solicitation with writer and beloved New England storyteller Willem Lange as Honorary Campaign Chair. “Nearly 10 years ago, Will chaired a campaign for CVHHH that helped raise over $50,000 in donations to support what was then our new telemonitor program,” says Daniel L. Pudvah, CVHHH’s Director of Development. “We are grateful for Will’s service again as our Honorary Chair this fall.”

Vermont Business Magazine The People’s United Community Foundation, the philanthropic arm of People’s United Bank, announced today that it has awarded $2,500 to the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust, Inc. (WWHT). Windham & Windsor Housing Trust’s mission is to strengthen the communities of southeast Vermont through the development and stewardship of permanently affordable housing and ongoing support and advocacy for its residents. The grant from People’s United Community Foundation will support WWHT’s Homeownership Center, which offers education and financial coaching to prospective homeowners and provides resources such as down payment assistance grants and home repair loans.

by Mike Polhamus vtdigger.org Harold Deering and his father raise just under 200 dairy cows on one of about 2,500 small farms that must comply with new rules the state is drafting to protect Vermont’s water bodies from excess phosphorus. Joining nearly 100 other farmers gathered in Middlebury last Thursday to review the new rules, Deering said he and his father had been preparing for them for years. Like several others at the meeting, Deering said he hopes Vermonters understand that farmers want clean water as much as anyone else.

“The public needs to know that we’re out – the farmers – are out not to add it to the lake, they’re already trying to keep it contained and monitored in levels that benefit them the most, because it is beneficial to everybody to keep it in the soil, in the crops, to help grow your dairy cows, to make milk, to make vegetables,” he said. “We’re not just out there dumping it into the lake.”

by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Last Thursday, the US House of Representatives voted to make it almost impossible for people from Syria and Iraq, fleeing the brutality of ISIS and Bashar al-Assad, to find refuge in the United States. It is worth reflecting on what this means for our country. Just a few weeks ago the world came together, stunned and heartbroken over the image of a three-year-old Syrian child’s lifeless body washed up on a Turkish beach. His tragic death focused our attention on the desperate plight of so many Syrians who have fled the horror of ISIS and Assad’s army. We called it the humanitarian issue of our day. We called forth images of the Statue of Liberty and our proud history as a safe haven for those fleeing persecution and war.

Just days later, we hear calls to slam the door. To shut down our borders. To ignore that great symbol of refuge standing in New York Harbor.

Vermont Business Magazine The People’s United Community Foundation, the philanthropic arm of People’s United Bank, announced Friday that it has awarded $3,500 to Rutland Area Farm and Food Link (RAFFL). Since 2004, the Rutland Area Farm and Food Link has worked to expand availability and access to locally produced foods, bolster the greater Rutland region’s agricultural economy, and increase community appreciation and understanding of the positive impact of farms and farmers on the Rutland region. Through its programs, RAFFL, in collaboration with statewide partners, is helping to conserve Vermont’s working landscapes for future generations.