Current News

FirstLight Fiber, a facilities-based telecommunications service provider operating fiber optic networks in Upstate New York and Northern New England with connectivity to Canada, announced today that it will provide data center and connectivity services to SymQuest, a design, installation, and support business that handles the information flow of electronic communications over the cloud in addition to its other managed services.

FirstLight’s Vermont data center, served by its own geographically diverse fiber optic systems, offers the reliable, secure facility that SymQuest needs as the company further develops its growing retail cloud division. In addition to utilizing FirstLight’s data center services to accommodate its retail-based cloud service offering, SymQuest will also utilize FirstLight’s Ethernet and Internet solutions, which will enable SymQuest to continue to provide high quality and reliable copier and network services for area businesses.

Vermont resorts will expand the efficiency, quality and coverage of their already superior snowmaking systems for the 2014-15 season as part of a nearly $15 million upgrade in partnership with Efficiency Vermont. Efficiency Vermont’s Great Snow Gun Roundup supports the purchase of approximately 2300 new low energy snow guns for the upcoming season, and in return the resorts will donate 1800 older model snow guns to scrap.

Green Mountain Power today announced that special guests have made their home in the company’s Middlebury hydro facility and they are welcome to stay. GMP is now providing shelter to a colony of state endangered little brown bats. State biologists believe that the colony has chosen the more than 100 year-old hydro building because of its proximity to the Otter Creek and the warmth inside the building created by the power generation.

“It’s so great that in addition to generating clean energy, our hydro facility is home to the Little Brown bats, an endangered bats species,” said GMP spokesperson Kristin Carlson. “Whether it’s osprey, bears or loons, GMP has a strong commitment to Vermont’s environment and wildlife and this is only the latest in our work to support Vermont’s treasured natural environment. We are thrilled to be able to do our part to help protect this endangered species as it tries to recover in Vermont.”

Gov. Peter Shumlin and Joe Flynn, Director of Vermont Emergency Management and Homeland Security, today urged communities to prepare for new criteria related to state disaster relief funding that will go into effect in October.

Flooding is the most common and costly hazard faced by Vermont communities. After a federally-declared disaster, 75 percent of qualified public losses may be reimbursed by FEMA’s federal Public Assistance program. In Vermont, the Emergency Relief and Assistance Fund (ERAF) also contributes to help cover repair costs. Communities that take four specific actions to prepare for and mitigate flood damage will qualify for higher percentages of state support after declared disasters.

The four basic municipal actions needed to qualify for 12.5 percent state share are:

• Participate in the National Flood Insurance Program – or have applied.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) says two Vermont farms will receive a total of $185,865 in grants under a program that encourages value-added American agricultural products. The awards, under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Value-Added Producer Grant program, will be used to expand natural meat production and to develop nutritional labels, among other projects.

Orientation Weekend includes Convocation, Activities and Special Events for Largest Class Ever

The Champlain College Class of 2018 will arrive Friday for an information-packed, fun-filled, three-day orientation. The incoming class of 662 students represents 36 states and six countries.

Residential move-in begins Friday morning followed by a lunch for parents, students and friends. Champlain College’s new president, Donald J. Laackman, will welcome the students and parents on Aiken Lawn after a campus barbecue.

by Chris Graff On Monday, June 4, 2001 US Senator Jim Jeffords walked out of his DC office holding a fresh-off-the-press copy of Newsweek magazine with his photo on the cover and the headline “Mr Jeffords Blows Up Washington.”

He grinned at me and asked, “Can you believe it?”

I could not.

Jim Jeffords, one of the most unassuming members of the US House and US Senate, had done what no one had ever done, switching the majority power in the Senate outside of an election.

Mayor Miro Weinberger today launched the City Green Employee Bikeshare Program, now available to all City of Burlington employees. The program was fully funded by a wellness grant from the City’s health insurance carrier, BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont (BCBSVT), as part of BCBSVT’s efforts to reduce healthcare costs by encouraging active, healthy employee lifestyles. The City’s Wellness Committee organized the bikeshare program. The program, currently with a fleet of 15 bicycles, allows all employees to use bicycles for work-related and recreational use during the workday. Employee bikesharing encourages physical activity and employee wellness, reduces the City’s carbon footprint, frees up downtown parking for shoppers and visitors, and is typically faster than a car or bus for short trips.

Gov. Peter Shumlin announced today the appointment of a new leadership team for the Vermont Department of Human Resources.

Maribeth Spellman, currently Director of Policy, Outreach, and Legislative Affairs at the Vermont Department of Taxes, will become Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Human Resources, effective September 2, 2014. Prior to joining the Tax Department, Spellman spent over ten years working for the federal government in the areas of personnel, labor, and employment law, including six years providing legal advice and policy development services at the Pentagon.

Company Also Awarded Top Rankings in National Network Study for Overall Performance, Reliability, Speed, Data and Call Performance

RootMetrics today released its second U.S. State RootScore^® Reports and Verizon Wireless received the highest award for overall network performance in Vermont.

In addition to receiving the top award for overall network performance in Vermont, Verizon Wireless also scored highest in the Speed and Data categories and shared the highest score for Reliability and Text. Verizon Wireless won or tied for the RootScore Overall Network Performance Award in 47 other states, and won more awards than any other provider for Overall Performance and in the categories of Reliability, Speed, Data, and Call performance.

Preservation, protection and education lead the list of initiatives that six Vermont towns will soon embark upon due to federal grants recently received. The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation have awarded Certified Local Government (CLG) matching grants totaling $41,000 to support community-based preservation initiatives.

“Vermont’s towns and cities care about historic preservation, and the most successful preservation projects are initiated at the local level,” Housing and Community Development Commissioner Noelle MacKay said. “It is always exciting to see how these grants are being creatively leveraged by communities to broaden their impact.”

Vermont Business Magazine and Morgan True, vtdigger.org Health insurance premiums for Vermont state employees are high compared to other states, according to a report released by the Pew Charitable Trust, and the workers themselves pay a relatively high amount for total health insurance. While the overall national average for the split in employer-employee contribution is the same 20 percent, the average premium paid in the US for a state worker is $963, while in Vermont it is $1,307. This means that the average Vermont employee pays $261.40 per month for health insurance, while the national average is $192.60.