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Vermont Business Magazine Flanked by Vermont college students and graduates who are deep in debt, US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) said today he will introduce legislation to help students earn college credits in high school in order to cut the cost of earning a college diploma. Meanwhile, Governor Peter Shumlin was praising the Vermont Legislature for passing the Vermont Strong Scholars Program, which will help families pay for college and provide more internship and workplace options for students. In combination with two other programs passed in the first half of the biennium that ended Saturday, the Governor noted that eligible Vermont students can now attend up to two years of college at a Vermont institution for free.

With Governor Shumlin signing H112, the law requiring the labeling of foods produced with genetic engineering, Attorney General William Sorrell has begun the process of drafting rules that will facilitate implementation of the law. Over the next several weeks, the Attorney General will begin soliciting input from the public and those who will be affected by the rules, including food processors, grocers and other retailers, the agricultural community, and consumers.

While the AGO will solicit comments on a proposed draft rule later this year, individuals are welcome to provide input by contacting the Attorney General via email at [email protected].

Rutland’s first community solar array will be officially presented to the public Tuesday May 13th at noon on Hillside Road in Rutland. The ribbon cutting ceremony, facilitated by the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce, will celebrate a solar array shared by 50 Rutland residents and businesses. The Community Solar Array is made possible by a partnership between NRG Residential Solar Solutions (NYSE: NRG) and Green Mountain Power (GMP). The agreement, which is one of the first of its kind between a utility and solar developer, gives customers solar power at no upfront cost and a credit on their GMP bills for the energy produced by the array.

The community is invited to share in this exciting event along with the Community Solar customers, Mayor Christopher Louras, President of the Board of Alderman David Allaire, and executives from GMP, NRG and groSolar. Guests will have the opportunity to view live data reporting of the array and enjoy catering from The Bakery.

The University of Vermont will celebrate its 213th commencement Saturday, May 17 and Sunday, May 18. The main commencement ceremony, where the president will confer baccalaureate degree by college/school, will take place on Sunday, May 18 on the University Green. The ceremony begins with the procession at 8:20 a.m. Tickets are not required if the event is outdoors. The Graduate College commencement ceremony, where master and doctoral students will be hooded and presented with their diploma, will take place on Saturday, May 17 in Patrick Gymnasium at 12:30 pm. Tickets are not required for this ceremony.

The College of Medicine commencement ceremony, where graduates will take their professional oath, will take place on Sunday, May 18 in Ira Allen Chapel at 2:30 pm. This ceremony is ticketed.

Champlain College sent nearly 150 members of its staff and faculty out into the community on May 7 to participate in a range of community service projects as part of the College’s annual year-end retreat and awards day. After a morning of announcements and recognition of campus endeavors to encompass the strategic plan, Champlainers grabbed lunch, their gloves and went out to clean up beaches, prepare gardens and help organizations get ready for their summer programs.

Seven Days, the weekly newspaper based in Burlington, has announced that $13,178.64 — $6,578.64 more than last year — will be donated to the Vermont Foodbank as a result of its 5th annual Vermont Restaurant Week and a new partnership with the Vermont Community Foundation’s Food and Farm Initiative. This popular event was presented by the Vermont Federal Credit Union and organized by Seven Days, publisher of 7 Nights, the statewide guide to Vermont’s restaurants and bars.

by Governor Peter Shumlin (The Vermont Legislature completed its work and the session concluded at 7:20 pm Saturday night. Governor Shumlin issued the following commentary to wrap up the 2013-2014 biennium.) This legislative session has created greater economic security, more opportunity, and a better quality of life for all Vermonters. We came together to make progress for those who elected us to serve. And together we made this biennium one of the most productive and successful in recent memory.

All over Vermont we are seeing the results of the work we’ve done together.

Vermont now has the second lowest unemployment rate in America, and we’ve created nearly 11,000 jobs since 2011.

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org Vermont’s state revenue and spending plans were finalized late Friday night after days of wrangling over property tax rates, policy incentives, sales taxes and budget line items. The deal includes about $5.79 million in new taxes. That’s the amount final negotiations boiled down to after a day of closed-door meetings punctuated by public displays of agreement and optimism. The budget totals $5.5 billion — $1.4 billion from the state’s General Fund and $1.5 from the Education Fund. Almost $2 billion is expected in federal funding.

The extra money is needed to fund a gap created by a agreement between the Shumlin administration and the newly formed home health care union. Lawmakers scrambled to find a way to pay for a $2.2 million tentative contract with home health care workers two weeks ago.

Windham County resident Stephan Morse has agreed to serve as interim Executive Director of the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC). The interim position is the result of the announcement that current Executive Director Pat Moulton would be departing to serve as Secretary of Commerce for the Shumlin Administration. Morse, a lifelong resident and SeVEDS board member, is currently the Chair of the State Board of Education and is a former past Speaker of the Vermont House and President of the Windham Foundation.

Morse was a former Republican Speaker of the House and long-time president of the Windham Foundation in Grafton.

“We feel fortunate that someone with Stephan’s leadership experience was willing to step up and serve in this interim capacity,” note BDCC President Dan Normandeau. “Stephan will provide the type of support our talented staff needs to keep all of our projects moving forward.”

Norwich University will celebrate commencement and commissioning with ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday, May 10-11, in Shapiro Field House. Both events are free and open to the public. At 2 pm Saturday, former National Security Agency Director Gen. Keith Alexander will address roughly 500 students matriculating from 33 undergraduate programs and one master’s program. This is the largest graduating class since President Richard Schneider became Norwich’s 23rd president in July 1992.

The New England Association of Schools & Colleges gave the University of Vermont’s five-year interim report, a key touchpoint in the process of higher education accreditation, high marks on a wide range of fronts. Interim reports are meant to apprise accrediting bodies -- NEASC is one of six regional groups that accredit American colleges and universities -- of the progress an institution is making toward goals set forth during its formal reaccreditation, a process that takes place every 10 years. UVM was last reaccredited in 2009.

“This was a uniformly positive evaluation of the significant steps we’ve taken in a wide range of areas over the last five years,” said UVM president Tom Sullivan. “It’s a strong indication that we’re moving in the right direction and doing so vigorously. I’d like to thank members of the university community for their creativity, hard work and dedication, which laid the groundwork and provided the substance for this strong report.”

With a $1,473,017 grant from HUD, the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB) will continue the statewide HIV/AIDS housing and supportive services program, HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS). VHCB provides HOPWA funding to Vermont's regional AIDS service organizations, collaborating with the Vermont Committee for AIDS Resources, Education and Service (VT Cares), the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont, the Vermont State Housing Authority, and the HIV/HCV Resource Center to integrate housing, health care, and supportive services for Vermonters living with HIV/AIDs.