Current News

Governor Peter Shumlin issued the following statement after the House gave preliminary approval to H187, earned sick leave legislation. The Vermont House approved the Earned Paid Leave bill, in a vote of 72-63, last Thursday night.

“I want to thank Reps. Tristan Toleno, Sarah Copeland-Hanzas, Helen Head, and Speaker Shap Smith for their leadership on this important measure. Most Vermonters agree that if you’re sick you shouldn’t be faced with the decision to either go to work and put others at risk or miss work, sacrifice your paycheck, and potentially lose your job. Many employers already provide fair earned leave policies. But some do not and that puts many Vermonters in a difficult and unfair situation. In the past, I have been skeptical of proposals that did not do enough to recognize the costs and burdens to businesses this legislation might create. This bill addresses those concerns in a balanced and thoughtful way to provide this important benefit to Vermonters.”

In what will be the highest volume customer for compressed natural gas in the nation, NG Advantage LLC – a Clean Energy company (NASDAQ: CLNE) - announced today that it has signed a contract to work with International Paper (NYSE: IP) to deliver compressed natural gas (CNG) to International Paper’s Ticonderoga, NY, mill. NG Advantage will deliver CNG to the mill using its "virtual pipeline," which consists of compressor stations located on natural gas pipelines, a fleet of specially designed carbon fiber CNG trailers, and off-loading and monitoring equipment which NG Advantage is installing at the mill. Deliveries will begin in May 2015. Terms of the deal were not released.

Eric Lipton, longtime reporter for the New York Times and a graduate of UVM’s Class of 1987, is among this year’s recipients of the Pulitzer Prize, which were announced on April 20. The Times won the prize for investigative reporting for Lipton’s series on aggressive efforts by lobbyists and lawyers to push state attorneys general to drop investigations, change policies, negotiate favorable settlements or pressure federal regulators to benefit their clients.

Photo by Sally McCay, UVM

The Rutland City Board of Aldermen has approved a request from College of St Joseph to waive a substantial initial water allocation fee and to stabilize the college’s water and sewer bill over the first five years of the college’s expanded usage. The Community and Economic Development Committee unanimously voted earlier in the month to recommend that the Aldermen approve the deal.

“We are grateful Rutland Redevelopment Authority and the Board of Aldermen are supportive of CSJ and our anticipated growth and expansion,” said CSJ President Richard Lloyd.

Over 110,000 Vermonters may be eligible for a refund of Sirius XM satellite radio charges from between July 28, 2008, and December 4, 2014, if they file a complaint by May 1, 2015. The average consumer refund is $95. Consumers must file the complaint forms found here, showing a loss that has not already been resolved by Sirius XM. Complaints should be sent to: Sirius XM, PO Box 33059, Detroit MI 48232-5059. Consumers are advised to keep a copy of their completed complaint forms.

Registration is now open for Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility’s (VBSR) Annual Spring Conference: 25 Years of Changemaking in Action. VBSR’s largest event of the year, and Vermont’s largest gathering of socially responsible business professionals, will be held Wednesday, May 13 from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM at the University of Vermont’s LEED Certified Davis Center in Burlington. Event features include a keynote from Ben & Jerry’s Homemade CEO Jostein Solheim, plus 15 workshops, 40 exhibitors, 300+ attendees, several networking sessions, a localvore menu underwritten by Black River Produce, a Vermont-themed cocktail party, closing remarks from the Honorable Governor Peter Shumlin, and “Creating a Thriving Vermont Business,” a plenary session comprised of local leaders from The Alchemist, Cx Associates, Vermont Woodworking School, and Green Mountain Power.

The Vermont Natural Resources Council is accepting nominations for the 2015 Arthur Gibb Award for Individual Leadership. "Every year, VNRC honors the legacy of Art Gibb – his commitment to safeguarding Vermont’s values and unique landscape, along with his leadership, vision and dedication to building consensus,” said Kate McCarthy, VNRC’s Sustainable Communities Program Director. She said this year VNRC seeks to honor an individual whose leadership at the state level has brought about positive and lasting change in the way communities across Vermont integrate growth and conservation. Individuals who have demonstrated similar leadership at the local level will be honored in alternating years, she said.

Castleton State College has announced that former Vermont State Colleges chancellor Tim Donovan will give the address at the college’s 2015 commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 9 at 11 am in the Castleton Pavilion. Donovan recently retired from a career in higher education that spanned four decades, culminating in five years as the Chancellor of the Vermont State Colleges. His entire career was in service to Vermont’s five public comprehensive, technical and community colleges.

Marking Earth Day, Governor Peter Shumlin announced the expansion of the Heat Saver Loan program. He said it will help Vermonters increase the efficiency of their homes and save money on their energy bills while creating jobs and reducing greenhouse emissions.

Mortgage data from February indicate that Vermont, like the rest of the nation, continues to see a drop in home foreclosures and delinquent mortgage loans. Vermont fell to 6.9 percent of all mortgages (third lowest in the East among states) while the national rate also fell to 6.9 percent. Vermont's "bad mortgage" rate has fallen 15.4 percent from a year ago. As "short sales" and bank-owned properties continue to lessen, home prices should continue to rise, with the caveat that the economy continues to grow and interest rates continue to stay low.

by Governor Peter Shumlin The millions of Americans who gathered in communities across the nation for the first Earth Day in 1970 succeeded in making progress on the major environmental challenges of that time. That sense of common purpose in protecting our air, water, wildlife, and lands spurred action that led to the creation of the EPA and strong bi-partisan support for new landmark clean air, clean water, and environmental protection laws.

As Vermonters celebrate Earth Day 2015 (April 22), we do so knowing that we face our own environmental challenges that present enormous risks for our state, nation, and world. But we also know that if we play a leadership role in addressing those challenges there are enormous opportunities to create good jobs that will keep young Vermonters in this state and save money on our energy bills all while doing the right thing for our planet and future generations.

by Public Assets Institute More than 1,200 Vermonters left the unemployment lines so far this year, but they didn’t all go back to work. In the first three months of 2015, employment — including self-employment — rose by 687, to 335,006. Meanwhile, the labor force — people working or seeking work—shrank by 577. During the same period, Vermont employers reported adding 1,900 non-farm payroll jobs.

The legacy of two recessions

In the first decade of this century, two recessions wiped out many more jobs than Vermont’s private sector could create. For the last few years, Vermont has seen more gains than losses. But despite state and federal tax breaks intended to stimulate employment, private employers are still not matching the job growth of the 1990s.