Current News

The Vermont State Police participated in a national enforcement campaign, Operation Combined Accident Reduction Effort (Operation CARE) during this past 4th of July holiday weekend. The goal was to reduce serious injury and fatal motor vehicle crashes. The Fourth of July is one of the deadliest holidays of the year due to drunk-driving crashes. State Police results indicate that DUI and speeding incidents were down this year from the holiday weekend last year.

Vermont Business Magazine New unemployment claims in Vermont last week increased slightly and broke 800 as claims outpaced those from a year ago. For the week of June 28, 2014, there were 815 new, regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont. This is an increase of 20 from the previous week's total, and 163 more than they were a year ago. Claims in 2014 had been running significantly lower than those in 2013.

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org Vermont’s official unemployment rate may be approaching pre-recessionary lows, but when part-time and other marginally attached workers are factored in, the rate has been slower to budge. At 3.3 percent, the state’s official jobless rate remained second lowest in the nation in May, the most recent month for which estimates are available. The official rates from the Vermont Department of Labor only include jobseekers who have been looking for work for a four-week period. Averaged annually, the official rate in Vermont was 4.3 percent in 2013.

But discouraged and underemployed workers don’t show up in official rates. A more inclusive measure of “labor underutilization” averaged 9.3 percent last year.

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org The owner of a Newport building says a purchase and sales deal that is part of a massive Northeast Kingdom redevelopment project has two weeks to close. The sale of the former JJ Newberry department store building on Main Street was supposed to be finalized on June 15. It is the third time the closing has been put off. The deadline has been extended again, now to July 15, owner Tony Pomerleau said. “If it’s not closed by July 15, the deal’s off,” Pomerleau said. Jay Peak president Bill Stenger said his team has made a down payment of $100,000, and closing documents are being drafted and reviewed by attorneys. The total sale price is not public at this time.

PC Construction of South Burlington has been awarded a $58 million contract to build the next phase of Stowe Mountain Resort. Upon completion, the project will significantly expand family amenities and services at the internationally renowned year-round destination. Spruce Peak Realty has once again tapped PC Construction, which has completed several other significant projects at the resort, to construct the 125,000-square-foot children’s Adventure Center and Alpine Club. The facilities will feature a ski/ride school, year-round daycare facilities and children’s activity center, retail shops, restaurants, food markets, ski valet space and 19 luxury condominium residences. The project, designed by Bull Stockwell Allen, also includes amenities such as an 85,000-square-foot below-grade parking structure, an outdoor ice skating rink, a community pavilion and an outdoor plaza.

The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) placed on public notice the draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) discharge permit for the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon. The public notice period will run from July 3 through August 3 of this year. A public hearing will be held mid-August in Vernon. ANR, acting upon Vermont Yankee’s September 30, 2006 application, proposed a renewal permit that will run through December 31, 2015. As Vermont Yankee intends to close its facility in December 2014, the renewal term allows Vermont Yankee to establish a post-closure operation regime and provides ANR time to evaluate and permit the facility’s post-closure discharge.

As part of his Solar Summer Tour in Morrisville on Wednesday, Governor Peter Shumlin announced progress on a new Thermal Energy Finance Pilot Program through the Department of Public Service to help Vermonters improve efficiency in their homes. The program builds on the Efficiency Excellence Network (EEN) of fuel dealers established by Vermont Fuel Dealers and Efficiency Vermont. The governor said that through additional funding, the Vermont Public Service Department can now offer up to $770,000 to support innovative energy efficiency financing.

by John Herrick vtdigger.org Landowners affected by Vermont Gas’ pipeline extension through Addison County occupied the natural gas utility’s South Burlington headquarters Wednesday. One Monkton resident was arrested for trespassing. The landowners are calling on the utility, a subsidiary of Gaz Metro, to publicly admit that land agents trespassed on private property. The landowners are also demanding that the company drop prosecution of protesters and negotiate fair right of way agreements. Jane Palmer, Maren Vasatka and Claire Broughton, residents of Monkton, and Mary Martin of Cornwall own residences in the path of the proposed pipeline extension. The company has begun staging for the construction of the first phase of pipeline. South Burlington Detective Ron Bliss said Palmer was arrested for trespassing. He said the other residents left after receiving a trespass notice Wednesday afternoon.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont continues to lead the United States in maple production by a wide margin, producing 42 percent nation's maple syrup, according to data released by the US Department of Agriculture in June. Nationally, maple syrup production in 2014 totaled 3.17 million gallons, down 10 percent from 2013. Vermont was down 10.8 percent. In 2014, cold temperatures decreased season length. The number of taps in the US is estimated at 11.4 million, down slightly from the 2013 total. Yield per tap is estimated to be 0.279 gallons, down 10 percent from the previous season’s yield. All states with the exception of Pennsylvania showed a decrease in production from the previous year. Cold temperatures contributed to a shorter season of sap flow than last year. However, production, helped by new technology like vacuum taps and reverse osmosis to reduce boiling, has increased production greatly over the years.

by John Herrick vtdigger.org A new invasive species is on its way to Lake Champlain, scientists say, and this non-native, shrimp-like organism could be here to stay. The fast-spreading spiny water flea, which can disrupt the lake’s food chain and biodiversity, has been found in the Glen Falls Feeder Canal, according to a research institute. Tim Mihuc, director of the Lake Champlain Research Institute, says the organism is “on its way into the lake, if it’s not already there.” The spiny water flea, or Bythotrephes longimanus, which measures less than 1 inch in length, eat the food that other fish eat in their early stages of development. By feeding on the lake’s plankton, this invasive can impoverish the food chain for young walleye, perch and many other species of fish. The organism can reproduce asexually, and their numbers can increase 10-fold in about two weeks.

As part of a regional low sulfur strategy developed by northeast and mid-Atlantic states, Vermont will limit the sulfur content in No. 2 fuel oil sold in the state to 0.05 percent by weight. The new regulation began July 1, 2014. Reducing sulfur in fuel oils will have significant health, environmental, and economic benefits, and each state in the region has committed to adopt and implement the new limits to comply with the Clean Air Act and reduce regional haze. In the eastern United States, the dominant contributor to haze is sulfate formed from sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions.

The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has prepared for Environmental Protection Agency approval the 2014 listing of impaired waters in Vermont. This list, also known as the 303(d) Impaired Waters List, is issued every two years in compliance with the Federal Clean Water Act. “Impaired” streams and lakes are those that do not meet Vermont’s stringent water quality standards, and are legally designated as polluted. Impaired waters are scheduled for the development of a clean-up or remediation plan sufficient to restore water quality.