Current News

by Morgan True vtdigger.org A letter sent this week from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to the Brattleboro Retreat psychiatric hospital sheds more light on the process that is expected to allow the facility to keep its federal certification. The letter from CMS Associate Regional Administrator William Roberson confirms that the latest survey of the Retreat, conducted Oct. 1 by state investigators acting on CMS’ behalf, identified “deficiencies” that “posed immediate jeopardy” to patient health and safety. However, the letter also states that the cause of that immediate jeopardy was removed the same day.

Retreat officials did not immediately respond to VTDigger’s questions about what conditions posed the immediate jeopardy.

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org Developers of a proposed high-voltage transmission line bringing Canadian hydropower through Vermont presented their vision at a three-hour symposium in Burlington on Thursday morning. Transmission Developers Inc is seeking approval to build a 154-mile line from the Canadian border at Alburgh, southward under Lake Champlain, and then across central Vermont to a converter station in Ludlow using existing rights-of-way. The power would then be released to the New England grid. The line would carry 1,000 megawatts of DC power, enough to provide electricity to a million homes, according to the developers. The plan for a $1.2 billion, privately financed New England Clean Power Line was presented at the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center.

On Monday, the Clerk/Treasurer’s Office notified the public about an error on the Vermont General Election Ballot, where the names of five Republican candidates for Justice of the Peace inadvertently were omitted from the November ballot. The City had suspended early voting until corrected ballots were printed. The corrected ballots now have been printed and will be mailed today, along with a copy of the attached letter, to the 422 early and absentee voters, who already had requested and been provided with ballots. Additionally, beginning the week of October 20th, the Clerk/Treasurer’s Office will be calling individuals who voted the incorrect ballot, but have not yet returned the new, corrected ballot to ensure they are aware of the error and opportunity to vote the new ballot. Early voting resumed today.

by Tom Brown vtdigger.org The Vermont Public Service Board on Friday decided to allow Phase One of Vermont Gas’ pipeline expansion to proceed without further review. The regulatory body said in its decision that a 40 percent increase in the estimated cost of the natural gas project through Addison County was not enough to require a re-examination of the company’s certificate of public good. “Having carefully considered the record developed at the hearing we convened on September 26, 2014, as well as the briefs subsequently filed by the parties, we have concluded that the new cost information is not of such a material and controlling nature so as to change our previous determination that approval of the Project pursuant to the criteria of 30 V.S.A. § 248 will promote the general good of Vermont,” the decision reads.

Phil Scott is asking Vermonters to spare those tires no longer in use by donating them to the tenth annual Wheels for Warmth tire recycle and resale event. In nine years, Wheels for Warmth has raised more than $213,000 for emergency fuel assistance, sold more than 11,000 safe, donated tires, and recycled almost 18,000 unsafe, unusable tires.

Established by Phil Scott in 2005, Wheels for Warmth’s three goals are to:

• Raise funds for emergency fuel assistance;
• Create a resource of DMV-inspected tires that are deemed safe for at least one season of use, for sale at no more than $25 per tire;
• Reduce the number of tires being discarded in rivers and along the roadside, by providing a convenient, inexpensive way to dispose of unwanted tires.

Tires will be collected through Friday, October 17, from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the following locations:

In an emailed letter dated October 6, 2014, the owners of the Golden Eagle Resort on the Mountain Road in Stowe announced that they had sold the resort and that it was now part of Linchris Hotel Corporation, which is a hotel management company based in Hanover, Massachusetts. In a twitter feed September 26, @linchrishotelco , said, "Please join us in welcoming the Golden Eagle Resort-Stowe, VT to the Linchris family!" The Hillman and Van Dyke families thanked guests and friends and said that after 50 years in the hospitality business that they didn't have "the energy to proceed into the future."

LETTER:

"Dear Guests and long time friends of the Golden Eagle,

Uber, the car service that allows riders to have a car pick them up through an online/mobile application, arrived in Burlington Thursday. Uber connects riders with the closest available driver in town. Riders see a photo of the driver, the driver's vehicle make and license plate number, and can even watch the driver on the app's map come towards them.

Uber has been controversial in places because of concerns that it will undermine the local taxi industry, while not meeting the same regulatory requirements that cabbies and their companies must adhere to.

Five universities that make up the National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium (NCPC) will blend their cyber terrorism and incident response education programs in order to provide nationwide critical infrastructure protection training. Norwich University Applied Research Institutes (NUARI) has been awarded $2.3 million by the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help better prepare the country to defend itself against continuous cyberattacks and intrusions.

For the project, NUARI has partnered with the Criminal Justice Institute of the University of Arkansas System, the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, the University of Memphis and the Center for Infrastructure Assurance & Security at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

NUARI and its partners will develop numerous training products on cybersecurity over the next three years.

The Working Lands Enterprise Board (WLEB) announced Thursday the availability of $1 million in grant funds for essential, catalytic investments in Vermont’s farm and forest economy, from individual enterprises to service providers to supply chain partnerships. These grants will fund projects that enhance Vermont’s economy, culture, and communities. This year, funds for local food market development projects, previously solicited through a separate request for proposals (the Local Food Market Development Program) will be allocated through the WLEB grant process. Links to the requests for proposals and applications can be found online at http://workinglands.vermont.gov/apply/rfp. Applicant Information Sessions are scheduled for October 7th, 9th, and 14th.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Thursday announced that five Vermont organizations have been awarded more than $5 million in federal grants to support victims of crime in Vermont. The funding from the US Department of Justice includes seven grants from the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) totaling $3.6 million. The grants will help strengthen services for victims of domestic and sexual violence, including programs in Vermont’s most rural regions. Three grants from the Office for Victims of Crimes, totaling $1.6 million, will support victims compensation programs.

According to a report by Vermont Gas Systems, a record number of Vermont residents and business owners chose to heat their homes and businesses in 2014 with natural gas and nearly 99 percent of the company’s customers say the South Burlington company is easy to work with. For the fiscal year that ended September 30, Vermont Gas installed 1,524 new natural gas meters, beating its previous annual record of 1,503 that was set in 2008.

“Vermonters continue to choose cleaner, more affordable natural gas service because it can help the typical customer save up to 50 percent on their home-heating costs and lower their carbon emissions by about 25 percent,” said Don Gilbert, president of Vermont Gas. “Coupled with our award-winning energy efficiency program, Vermonters can save even more while helping to reduce their emissions in the Champlain Valley.”

A $1 million gift commitment from University of Vermont alumnus Richard W. Barrett, class of 1966, and his wife, Elaine, is the first major private gift to the largest capital project in the university’s history. Barrett, president and owner of Union Leasing Corporation, based in Boulder, Colo., is a long-time donor to the university’s College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences through the family’s Barrett Foundation, also based in Boulder.

This latest gift will be allocated to design and construction costs for UVM’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) facility, a state-of-the-art complex of labs, classrooms and research facilities that will transform the central UVM campus and fulfill a promising new academic and economic development vision for UVM.

Total cost of the project is estimated at $104 million, of which $26 million must be raised from non-debt sources.