Current News

ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, has received a $7,300 grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program. The funding will support changing one of ECHO’s tanks in our lobby to show 6 animal and 4 plant invasive species. The project, “Aquatic Invasives tank and Interpretation,”will allow ECHO to update its current schooling tank to open in late summer this year.

This new feature will help ECHO continue in its mission of educating to create a healthier Lake Champlain by offering hands-on interactions with both native and invasive species in the science center and beyond.

“Invasive species are a significant problem in Lake Champlain. The past year saw the 51st non-native species arrive in Lake Champlain through human transport,” said ECHO Executive Director Phelan Fretz. “By presenting invasive species in Lake Champlain and how we all can help stop more from being introduced, we will help to maintain this critical ecological system.”

Advocates appeared before the Legislature Wednesday to oppose a $1.65 million budget cut targeting families on Reach Up who have household member with a disability. The Administration proposal would count $125 of an adult SSI beneficiary’s income against the rest of the household’s Reach Up grant. Children receiving SSI would be exempt from the proposal. The proposal would affect approximately 1,100 Reach Up households with adult SSI beneficiaries. The hearing was for advocates and the public for comments on Vermont’s budget before the House Appropriations Committee.

A new position has become available on Vermont Electric Cooperative’s (VEC) Board of Directors. The position represents the towns of Alburgh, Grand Isle, Isle La Motte, North Hero, and South Hero. Members who are interested in running for this position, which will open in May of 2015, should contact VEC at 802.730.1172 to request director candidate materials.

VEC's twelve-member board is responsible for setting policy for the member-owned electric distribution utility, which serves approximately 32,000 members in northern Vermont. Board members are democratically elected by VEC members in their district or zone and are expected to represent the interests of these members.

With a growing number of communities having experienced water main breaks over the past week and other communities reporting frozen underground water pipes affecting a number of individual customers, Vermont state agencies are ready to provide assistance to communities that may need resources, Governor Peter Shumlin and Public Safety officials have announced.

Communities that need resources in dealing with a water emergency or any other emergency should call the Vermont Division of Emergency Management & Homeland Security (DEMHS) Watch Officer at 800-347-0488. The line is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If needed, DEMHS can work with towns to coordinate state agency support from the Agency of Transportation, the Agency of Human Services, the Department of Health or the Agency of Natural Resources.

In an effort to promote youth hunting in Vermont, youth hunters are encouraged to sign up for the Third Annual Governor's Youth Turkey Hunt this spring. The young hunters will be treated to a luncheon on Sunday, April 19, at the Waterbury Fish & Game Club, where they will take part in a discussion on the importance of the hunting tradition in Vermont.

The following weekend, the young hunters will take part in a guided turkey hunt to coincide with Vermont's youth turkey hunting weekend onApril 25-26.

by Adam Hergenrother Vermont has historically been considered an excellent place for entrepreneurs to start a business. As recently as the summer of 2013, Vermont was named the second most entrepreneurial state in the nation by CNN Money. While we may be a very entrepreneurial state, we fall far short of being a business-friendly one.

In 2014, Forbes named Vermont one of the 10 worst states to do business in, ranking 43rd. Business costs are 13 percent above the national average and the state's job outlook is projected to be the third worst in the country over the next five years. So while Vermont has a culture of entrepreneurship, it fails to provide a corporate environment in which businesses can thrive – creating jobs and growing the local economy. Starting a business in Vermont may be relatively easy, but keeping one open, running, profitable, and thriving is another story, a story riddled with angry protagonists and questionable agendas.

by Elizabeth Hewitt vtdigger.org Nearly two dozen advocates sounded off to House lawmakers about underfunding for programs and services in the Shumlin administration’s proposed budget on Tuesday. One by one, advocates from an array of backgrounds around Vermont, voiced concern to members of the House Appropriations Committee about levels of funding for housing, heating and health programs, many of which are run by community-based organizations and funded by grants from the state.

More than 30 grants across the Agency of Human Services face reductions if Governor Peter Shumlin’s budget goes through as proposed, with more than a dozen of those being eliminated entirely.

Governor Peter Shumlin and Chittenden County State’s Attorney TJ Donovan announced on Wednesday a pilot Driver Restoration Day to be held in Burlington on March 20 to help Vermonters in Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, and Washington counties who have had their licenses suspended for failure to pay traffic tickets get their driving privileges reinstated. The effort is aimed at ensuring lower-income Vermonters are not forced to make choices between paying for overdue tickets or daily necessities and increasing public safety.

Governor Shumlin speaks at the event Wednesday in Burlington. TJ Donovan is the the red tie. Attorney General Sorrell is on the far right. Courtesy photo.

The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) assisted Essex Junction, Jericho, and Underhill in developing flood resiliency language for their town plans. This work operates under the State’s 604 B water quality program and a resultant Department of Environmental Conservation grant in the amount of $3,636 to the Lamoille County Planning Commission. The CCRPC operated as the subcontractor for this project.

Effective July 2014, all municipal plans are required to have a flood resiliency element. This particular effort developed varying language for the three municipalities that tied existing flood resiliency efforts into the municipal plans and identified further efforts needed. Essex Junction and Jericho’s Plans are adopted, while Underhill’s is in draft form.

This work will also serve to inform the CCRPC’s work in 2015 to update the Town Multi-Jurisdictional All Hazards Mitigation Plan due by August 2016.

US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), a member of the Senate energy and environment committees, issued the following statement today after President Barack Obama vetoed a bill to allow construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

“I applaud the president for vetoing the Keystone pipeline bill. This veto tells the world that our nation takes seriously the planetary crisis of global warming and that we will not support legislation that would let a Canadian oil company ship some of the dirtiest oil on the planet across the United States.

“Climate change is real, it is caused by human activity and it is already causing devastating problems. Our job now is to aggressively transform our energy system away from fossil fuels into energy efficiency and sustainable energy. I urge my Senate colleagues to sustain the president’s veto.”

Vermont home sellers had a rough month in January, as total sales were down, and, even worse, median prices were also well off from a year ago, according to RE/MAX of New England. The one bit of good news is that pending sales are well ahead, suggesting that February could reveal much better results.

For the region as a whole, the data shows that Vermont had similar to rest of New England. Year-over-year sales decreased by -3.0 percent according to The RE/MAX of New England January Monthly Housing Report. Pending sales were up 9.4 percent over January 2014, but down -2.3 percent over December 2014. Across the region, homes are staying on the market an average of two days less than this time last year and pricing remains flat.

Norwich University announced today that former US Senator Elizabeth Dole will deliver its 2015 commencement address to graduating seniors on Saturday, May 9. Senator Dole will receive an honorary degree from Norwich University, located in Northfield, Vermont.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Duke University, Elizabeth Dole earned both a law degree and a master of arts in teaching from Harvard University. She worked in the Johnson Administration and later served in the Nixon White House as Deputy to the Special Assistant for Consumer Affairs, an appointment that sparked a career-long interest in public safety and humanitarian work. President Nixon also appointed her to the Federal Trade Commission, where she served as a commissioner for five years.