Current News

Recent proposed changes to Vermont’s educational system are unlikely to produce projected results, according to a new policy brief released by Penn State’s Center on Rural Education and Communities. In the brief, Vermont Educational Reform: A Balanced Approach to Equity and Funding, co-authors Ian Burfoot-Rochford and Daniella Hall, both doctoral students in Educational Leadership at Penn State, investigate proposed legislative reforms to Vermont’s educational system. Their "path forward," however, does not have a clear-cut plan (such as, eliminate nearly all supervisory unions) and will likely not please angry Vermont property tax payers or their elected officials. It does, on the other hand, oppose the widespread belief that simple small-school consolidation will solve the problem.

Vermont PBS’ Outdoor Journal, celebrating outdoor recreation in the northeast, enters its teen years this month, as the venerable program premieres its 13^th season on Tuesday, January 27, at 7:30 pm. Winner of numerous regional and national awards, Outdoor Journal raises awareness of Vermont’s natural landscape and the region’s wondrous array of outdoor recreational opportunities.

The program welcomes back hosts Lawrence Pyne and Gina Bullard as they lead us on a variety of outdoor activities and local conservation efforts. A new weekly segment this season, My Outdoor Journal, features stories brought to us by some of our dedicated viewers, highlighting some of their favorite outdoor pursuits.

by John McClaughry In his earnestly delivered January 15 budget message, Gov. Peter Shumlin addressed many of the pressing issues left out of his inaugural address the week before. The coming year’s budget, Shumlin said, was “the toughest budget that I’ve put together.” Not much argument there. The flood of federal cash has reduced to a trickle, revenues are coming in well below projections, and the FY2016 General Fund faces at least a $94 million deficit. At this crucial time, he said, the legislature must “curb state spending to bring the cost of state services in line with revenue growth.”

The governor also appealed to overburdened taxpayers by declaring that “tax raising won’t work” to solve the deficit. Before he was done, however, he was back into tax raising (terminating the income tax deduction for state and local taxes paid, which will extract $15.5 million more from taxpayers who itemize).

A new national certification program is helping transportation companies nationwide reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve vehicle energy efficiency and save money. The eRating certification program, which recently completed its inaugural vehicle certification cycle, was developed by the University of Vermont Extension Certification for Sustainable Transportation (CST) program.

"The eRating certification program is the first of its kind to provide eco-certification for the passenger transportation sector," explains CST Director David Kestenbaum. "Just like an Energy Star label might help a consumer identify the most efficient appliance for their kitchen, the eRating program helps them choose the most sustainable vehicles and way to travel."

American motorists will see something happen this week that has not occurred since March 25, 2009: The US average price of gasoline will slip below $2 per gallon. Meanwhile, Vermont gas is in the neighborhood of $2.40, but with some stations in southeastern Vermont boasting prices near or at $2.10.

Vermont Student Assistance Corp once again has earned the US Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR certification, which signifies that its headquarters building performs among the top facilities nationwide for energy efficiency and meets strict energy efficiency performance levels set by the EPA. "VSAC is pleased to accept EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification in recognition of our energy efficiency efforts,” said Mike Stuart, VSAC vice president and CFO. "This is the fifth year we have received the award and our 87 score means our building scores in the top 13 percent of all similar buildings in the program across the country.”

Commercial buildings that earn EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Fifteen years ago, Nordic enthusiast Martha Robertson, of Peru, Vermont, combined her passion for skiing with her passion for helping others in need to create “Ski for Heat.” What started out as a local “ski-a-thon” in southwestern Vermont to raise $100 to help one family with heating fuel assistance has broadened its scope to aid low-income Vermonters throughout the state.

Today, Ski for Heat is a series of winter events that include alpine skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing fundraisers at participating Vermont ski resorts and Nordic centers. While fundraising takes place through the season, Sunday, January 25^th is this year’s designated Ski for Heat day, with activities scheduled at a number of ski areas around Vermont (details can be found at www.skiforheat.org).

The Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation is pleased to announce that Commissioner Michael Snyder has adopted a set of voluntary harvesting guidelines for private landowners to help ensure long-term forest health and sustainability. In 2013 the Vermont General Assembly passed Act 24, requiring the Commissioner of Forests, Parks, and Recreation to “develop voluntary harvesting guidelines that may be used by private landowners to help ensure long-term forest health and sustainability.”

Mayor Miro Weinberger and Burlington Telecom General Manager Stephen Barraclough today reintroduced BT to the Burlington community, highlighting: BT’s ability to offer up to 1 Gigabit (1,000 MB) of Internet speed to its customers, a speed that is 100 times faster than the nation’s basic broadband speeds; and BT’s industry-leading customer satisfaction survey results. BT also unveiled its new logo, launched a new and improved Web site, and renewed its commitment to unbeatable customer service.

US Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Representatives Peter Welch (D-Vermont) and Annie Kuster (D-NH) are calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to assess the ability of FairPoint Communications to operate emergency communications networks in New Hampshire and Vermont. In a letter to Tom Wheeler, Chairman of the FCC, the lawmakers specifically cited concerns about outages in both New Hampshire and Vermont that have caused lapses in emergency communications services, including a six-hour outage of Vermont’s E-911 system and a four-hour outage of Portsmouth, New Hampshire 911 services. A majority of Fairpoint Communications workers have been on strike since October 17, 2014.

by Lawrence Miller, Chief of Health Care Reform As someone who for the past 25 years has owned, advised or worked closely with a Vermont business, I know firsthand how confusing our health care system is for employers. But here’s the most confusing aspect of all: Over the past three years, hospital budget growth has been kept at 3 percent, the lowest rate in 40 years. However, many private insurance premiums have risen way beyond that rate over that same time period. How can that be? The answer is the cost shift.

Vermont Business Magazine The ski industry has changed profoundly, but the long-term leases intended to boost this vital Vermont economic engine have not changed with it. Vermont State Auditor Doug Hoffer has released the findings of an investigation into the state’s land leases with seven ski resorts. The central aim of the inquiry was to evaluate the direct financial return to the public of the state leasing these unique land assets.