Current News

Four high schools in Vermont were awarded grants from the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) to help build public understanding and support for the Act 77 Legislation of 2013 designed to provide students with multiple pathways to graduation, the Agency announced today.

The four schools are: Otter Valley Union High School in Brandon; Twinfield Union School in Plainfield; Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg; and Colchester High School in Colchester.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with these schools to ensure that communities across Vermont fully understand the implications of the legislation. In an era of unprecedented societal change, our best shot at creating a prosperous future for Vermont and our students is to remodel our educational delivery system to meet their needs,” said Deputy Secretary John Fischer. “We need to spread that message far and wide.”

by John Herrick vtdigger.org The vast majority of Vermonters want to use less fossil fuel for their energy needs, but the cost to reduce one’s carbon footprint is a challenge, according to a survey the Energy Action Network released last week. The Energy Action Network is launching an initiative designed to promote ways residents can turn strongly held beliefs about climate change into action, the group says. Andrea Colnes, executive director of the network, said her organization will create a website designed to show Vermonters how shifting from fossil fuels and to cleaner energy is doable and affordable. This includes home retrofits that could save more heat, installing efficient electric heat pumps and making the switch to electric vehicles, among other solutions, she said.

by Tom Pelham Inevitably, violating principles of sustainable spending has both fiscal and political consequences. At its core, sustainable spending requires that growth in government spending reasonably equate to growth in the underlying economy supporting such spending, especially in relatively high tax states like Vermont. In recent years, our state leaders have wandered from these core principles and the consequences, both fiscal and soon political, are now unfolding.

Primary data on recent rates of change in Vermont’s economic and demographic profile are readily available.

For example:

-The U.S. Bureau of Economic Affairs recently reported that the growth in Vermont’s real gross domestic product (GDP) for 2013 was 1.9%. BEA GDP release

Merchants Bank ranked 18th on ABA Banking Journal’s 2013 list of top performing midsize banks, three places higher than their 21st place ranking in 2012. A common thread uniting this year’s group of “Top 25” performers was efficiency. “Like many of our Top 25 peers, Merchants Bank invested in technology and relied on process improvement to generate a positive impact throughout the year,” stated Mike Tuttle, President and CEO of Merchants Bank. “We are very proud to again be included in this group of exceptional banks, and are always looking for opportunities to improve that will benefit our customers, employees and shareholders over the long term.”

The US Army Corps of Engineers has granted Vermont Gas the final permit necessary to begin construction of Phase 1 of the Addison Rutland Natural Gas Project. “This final permit from the Army Corps of Engineers makes it possible for Vermont Gas to begin the work to bring the economic and environmental benefits of natural gas to more Vermont homeowners and businesses,” said Eileen Simollardes, vice president at Vermont Gas and director of the Addison Rutland Natural Gas Project. Vermont Gas plans to move forward with delivery of materials to its staging areas and the South Burlington-based natural gas utility plans to hold a groundbreaking ceremony in the near future.

The delay in receiving the permit had put of the start of the project from June 1. The Public Service Board had rejected a request from Vermont Gas to move ahead with the initial phase of the pipeline project before it had received the Army Corps permit.

Vermont’s business and government leaders are determined to do whatever they can to maintain employment at the IBM plant outside Burlington. If it were up to the Greater Burlington Industrial Corp, that would start with a $4.5 million cash payment to IBM or its successor, as soon as possible. IBM, ensconced in Essex Junction for decades and with satellite operations in Williston, is reportedly looking to unload its computer chip-making division. The potential sale likely would include the company’s Vermont facilities — and could jeopardize the jobs of an estimated 4,000 people who work there.

Since its formation in 1954 and successful recruitment of IBM to Vermont, the Greater Burlington Industrial Corp has worked with IBM executives and state and local leaders on growth, new investment and maintaining a competitive standing within IBM itself and across the world. Current IBM Vermont Operations directly affect the economic wellbeing of over 8,000 Vermonters. Moreover, many communities are positively impacted by IBM’s investments in people and innovation that have made the Burlington area and the State of Vermont a cluster of excellence in research, development, design and high-tech manufacturing.

The US Senate today confirmed the nomination of Geoffrey Crawford to the US District Court in Vermont by a vote of 95-0. Crawford is stepping down as a Vermont Supreme Court justice to take the position on the federal bench. US Senator Patrick Leahy, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, steered the nomination through the committee and through the Senate. Crawford was confirmed in less time than any judicial nominee in many years. Leahy, who also is President Pro Tempore of the Senate, presided over the Senate for the vote and announced the outcome.

“Justice Crawford came highly recommended, well qualified, and broadly experienced," Leahy said in a statement. "He’s a well-grounded Vermonter and a good fit for Vermont and our federal court. I appreciate the bipartisan cooperation that has helped me steer his nomination through this intricate process in pretty much record time. His prompt confirmation will ease the transition.”

by Morgan True vtdigger.org A new state health care law will require the administration to report on whether Vermont should prohibit insurers from paying independent physician practices less than hospitals for the same services. Lawmakers framed the need for the report as a discussion of whether Vermont should protect its private physician practices or encourage the current trend toward hospital employment. The number of full-time physician equivalents employed by Vermont’s hospitals grew 22 percent between 2007 and 2012, from 947 to 1,207, according to figures from the Green Mountain Care Board.

That’s a good thing according to the CEOs of the two largest hospital networks serving the region.

Governor Peter Shumlin today signed multifaceted legislation providing support for start-up, expansion and retention to high tech companies that offer good wages and a bright future in Vermont. In addition, the law creates the Vermont Strong Scholars Program to help families afford a college education for their children in the cutting edge employment fields. The law adds $500,000 in State General Funds to the $1 million in federal funds available to VEDA’s Vermont Entrepreneurial Lending Program. The program creates a loan-loss reserve to reduce the risk of lending to start-up tech and other companies in Vermont promoting high value jobs. The program is intended to help foster the next generation of successful, home-grown companies.

Vermont Public Radio has launched Traces, a statewide crowdsourcing project that aims to catalog how drug addiction affects us all. “Traces isn’t a project about statistics, policy, or crime – it’s about people,” said Digital Reporter Taylor Dobbs. “Whether they are addicts, parents, victims, or bystanders, many Vermonters have stories of addiction that go deeper than the speeches and treatment strategies that often make the news. The impacts of addiction are many, and Traces is an effort to explore those impacts and the way addiction shapes our communities.”

The project began with a story about a family struggling to move forward after losing one of its members to a heroin overdose. The Dekeersgieter family memorialized Brennan, their son and brother, with a bench at Oakledge Park in Burlington.

The leadership of Lund’s 50 Joy Drive Capital Campaign - Governor Jim Douglas, Commissioner Melinda Moulton, and State’s Attorney for Chittenden County TJ Donovan - will welcome guests Thursday to Lund’s new building at 50 Joy Drive in South Burlington for a ribbon cutting and official dedication of the facility as The Hoehl Family Building. The capital campaign facilitated the purchase and renovation of the building. Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott will also be present.

The 50 Joy Drive building is now home to Lund’s 5 STAR Early Childhood Program, New Horizons education program for pregnant and parenting teens, adoption department, parent child center services and business office. Governor Howard Dean who, with Governor Douglas, was an honorary co-chair of the campaign, refers to the new building as, “a huge step forward in making essential services more comprehensive, well organized, and more broadly available.”