Current News

In the first quarter of 2014, the Vermont Community Loan Fund (VCLF) loaned $907,500 to Vermont's small businesses, developers of affordable housing and child care programs. The loans have resulted in the creation and preservation of local jobs, affordable homes, and quality early care and education for Vermont children.

Commenting on the busy lending quarter, VCLF Executive Director Will Belongia said “The Loan Fund continues to reach out to borrowers in every corner of our state, with lending capital and other support for those whose hard work, energy and ideas are bringing jobs, homes, quality care and vital services to Vermont communities.”

Projects financed include:

Bella Farm, Monkton

by Morgan True vtdigger.org Press reports about a supposed “Plan B” that would replace Governor Peter Shumlin’s universal health care proposal has stirred controversy again this week in the State House.

But a memo from a legislative consultant outlining a watered down version of single-payer doesn’t appear to have backing from lawmakers – or at least not publicly.

The Legislature hired consultant Ken Thorpe to help lawmakers sort through the complexities of developing a universal health care system. Thorpe has consulted for Vermont in the past and helped design its Blueprint for Health and the Catamount Health Plan.

Vermont Business Magazine The Working Lands Enterprise Board announces this year’s grant recipients from its “Enterprise Investment” area awarding just under $300,000 of $1.2 million available to 19 grantees in 11 counties of the state representing the agriculture, forestry and forest products sectors, (3 forestry projects and 16 agriculture projects), leveraging over $350,000 in matching funds.

Last year’s investment reached over $1 million into 37 agriculture and forestry projects touching every county in the State and leveraging an additional $1.3 million in matching funds (funded 25 ag projects and 12 forestry projects proportionate to the total number of applications received by each sector). This year, the program further invests in job creation, innovation, sustainability, and increased income.

by Secretaries Deb Markowitz, Brian Searles, Chuck Ross and Lawrence Miller This Earth Day, we can take pride that Vermonters are working together – farmers, loggers, businesses, citizens, and local, state and federal officials in every corner of the state – to ensure that we protect and restore Lake Champlain and all of the state’s waters. Not only is this necessary to continue our tradition of protecting our environment and quality of life, but it is essential if we are to continue to enjoy swimming, fishing, boating, and viewing wildlife on our beautiful lake, as well as using it for drinking. Those of us who have been charged with overseeing the agencies of state government know that we can clean up the lake and also have a vibrant working landscape of forests and farms, a modern, reliable transportation system, and a thriving, prosperous economy. Indeed, Vermont’s future prosperity depends on our success.

2013-2014 snowmobile season concludes! The 2013-2014 snowmobile season came to an end on April 15th. The Vermont Association of Snow Travelers (VAST) is reporting another great season that saw some of the best statewide riding conditions experienced in years. The VAST grooming fleet was able to groom approximately 130,000 miles on the 4,700 miles of snowmobile trails that make up the Statewide Snowmobile Trail System. The Statewide Snowmobile Trail System stretches from Lake Champlain to the New Hampshire Border and from the Massachusetts Border to Canada and is enjoyed by 25,000 snowmobilers from all over the country each season.

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org State government spent more than $16.7 million on temporary employees in fiscal year 2013. The Vermont State Employees Association says too much state money is used to support long-term temporary positions.

VSEA, the state employees’ union, has made the issue of temporary employees a priority this year, and has launched an “invisible workforce” advertising campaign to draw the public’s attention to the issue.

The Shumlin administration and the VSEA have negotiated a lower number of hours per year that an employee can work as a “temp” before the position is converted to permanent status. Now the VSEA wants to obtain earned sick leave benefits for temporary employees.

Green Mountain National Forest (GMNF) officials announced Thursday that they, in partnership with local fire departments, are planning to use prescribed fire to treat approximately 300 to 400 acres of the more than 400,000-acre national forest. The Forest Service says that it will use prescribed fire as a management tool to reduce heavy accumulations of brush to restore critical wildlife habitat, regenerate early successional growth, and improve overall watershed conditions on the national forest in Vermont.

by John Herrick vtdigger.org The House on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to a bill designed to improve the state’s waterways. But even the lead sponsor of H.586, Rep. David Deen, says the water quality legislation is too weak.

“Until the Legislature and the administration finally commit themselves to taking action, H.586 will remain a hollow promise,” Rep. David Deen, D-Putney, told lawmakers Wednesday. “We call on the administration to show leadership and help meet the challenges of clean water.”

The legislation creates certification and training programs designed to help farmers and towns limit wastewater runoff into the watershed. Revenue to support cleanup efforts was originally included in the bill, but the proposal never gained traction or the administration’s support.

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org When Governor Peter Shumlin on Monday announced a new scheme to induce a company in dire circumstances to stay in Vermont, he left little doubt that IBM would be a prime and likely candidate for the plan. He acknowledged as much Wednesday.

“I have read the same information that you have in the press about IBM,” Shumlin responded after a press conference.

A recent Wall Street Journal article predicts the likely sale of the company’s chip-making division will include the firm’s Essex Junction plant.

With at least 4,000 on the facility’s payroll there, IBM remains the state’s largest private employer, despite a series of deep cuts to its ranks over the years and still more pending.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Principals’ Association will honor seven distinguished educational leaders at the VPA Leadership Academy awards banquet on August 5th at Killington’s Grand Hotel.

Nominated by their peers and from the public at large, each of the seven principals listed below was selected recently by a committee of the VPA Executive Council and past award winners for outstanding building and educational leadership. William Olsen, Principal of Rutland High School, Steve Cone of Riverside Middle School in Springfield and William Anton of Dover Elementary School and will also travel to Washington DC at various times during the 2014-15 school year to be honored with other distinguished principals in their category from across the country.

National Geographic Traveler Magazine selected "Dig Into Vermont's Edible Landscape" “as one of its ‘50 Tours of a Lifetime”, according to Carrie McDougall, owner ofCultural Crossroads, a Vermont-based tour company.

by Laura Krantz vtdigger.org Vermont’s homeless population grew by 9 percent this year, according to a report released Wednesday by two anti-homelessness groups.

The 2014 Point-in-Time survey counted 1,556 homeless Vermonters the night of Jan. 28, including 227 people who said they were victims of domestic violence and 371 children.

Formerly homeless people and those who help the homeless Wednesday said the actual number of homeless people in the state is likely much higher.

Federal budget cuts slashed the number of Section 8 vouchers in Vermont and contributed to the rise in homelessness this year, said Jeanne Montross, co-chairwoman of the Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness.

“We lost a lot of Section 8 vouchers due to sequestration,” Montross said.