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Related Company: National Life GroupJudd Levine, a special education teacher at U-32 High School in East Montpelier was recognized Wednesday as a national LifeChanger of the Year during a surprise ceremony in front of his colleagues. Levine was selected as one of ten 2013-14 national LifeChangers out of more than 435 nominees for teachers, administrators and school district employees from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
“This award would never even be considered without all the colleagues that I work with and everyone in this building,” Levine said. “I thank my colleagues for letting me be the educator that I am.”
Judd Levine, with his family, received the LifeChanger award at U-32 Wednesday.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org
The Vermont House approved a provision Wednesday that will allow the University of Vermont to lower out-of-state tuition rates for graduate school courses and create flat rates for online graduate school courses.
Since 1959, the state has required the quasi-public university to charge Vermont students no more than 40 percent of the out-of-state tuition rate for a graduate level course of study. If the Senate approves H.876, that protection for Vermont graduate level students will go away, and UVM officials say they will be able to bring down the out-of-state tuition rates for graduate level courses without having to drop the in-state price. Under current law, the College of Medicine at UVM has an exemption from the 40 percent rule.

Related Company: Zowa OpticsZowa Optics LLC of Shelburne, Vermont, has announced a significant advancement in motocross eye protection. Its new line of motocross eyewear, Visor Goggles, were designed specifically to be worn with a motocross helmet.
Zowa’s Visor Goggles offer an alternative to traditional goggles by sealing under the rider’s eyes and on the brim and sides of the helmet instead of the user’s forehead. This approach offers riders a wide field-of-view, eliminating tunnel vision and improving comfort.
Visor Goggles were designed to maximize vision for motocross riders. To maintain this goal, Zowa is also launching Ultra-View Tearoffs (patent pending). Zowa’s tearoffs are secured at the sides of the Visor Goggles' frame keeping the lens clear, and maximizing the range-of-view for the rider.
ZOWA’s Visor Goggles offer:
· Improved field-of-view
· Anti-fog coating
· Comfort foam
· Flow-through ventilation

Related Company: Vermont Technical CollegeVermont Technical College President Phil Conroy is retiring in a surprise announcement made Tuesday by Vermont State Colleges Chancellor Tim Donovan. VTC has been suffering through budget deficits in recent years. Conroy will be paid through his contract which ends in November, but will step down immediately. Dan Smith, who currently has a senior position in the chancellor's office, was named acting president. Conroy was named president in 2011.
VSC Chancellor Tim Donovan issued this statement:

by John Herrick vtdigger.org
A Senate committee Wednesday approved a bill to allow the state’s energy efficiency utility to subsidize residential electric heat pumps.
The bill, S.202, allows Efficiency Vermont to cover part of the cost to install efficient air-source heat pumps in residences that meet certain thermal efficiency standards. The Vermont Public Service Board, the state’s utility regulator, will work with the company to ensure the installations do not raise electricity rates.
The company collects money from ratepayers’ utility bills to subsidize thermal and electrical efficiency projects. The energy efficiency charge is designed to save ratepayers more money than they pay into the fund by reducing the need to upgrade the state’s electrical transmission infrastructure – a cost passed on to ratepayers.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org Representative Heidi Scheuermann, a Republican from Stowe, says she is considering a run for governor. The former staffer for Senator James Jeffords says she is concerned about the direction the state is headed.
“I think that I have some ideas and thoughts that would resonate with Vermonters and would move the state forward in a positive direction and that’s why I want to consider it,” Scheuermann said in an interview.
The Vermont GOP has not yet backed a candidate for the 2014 gubernatorial race, and Scheuermann is the first Republican to make her interest in the race public. Former state senator Randy Brock, who ran against Gov. Peter Shumlin in 2012, is also said to be considering another run.
Rep. Heidi Scheuermann, R-Stowe. Photo by Anne Galloway

Scheuermann, 42, is a four-term representative who has never run for statewide office.

Related Company: Casella Waste Systems Incby John Herrick vtdigger.org
The state’s largest waste hauler opposes a fee increase that would be used help small recycling centers retool for impending changes in solid waste disposal.
On Tuesday, Casella Waste Systems asked the Senate Finance Committee to strip a provision designed to raise money for smaller recycling businesses that will need to make capital investments in their facilities.
The full Senate will take up a bill designed to subsidize the capital costs of collecting and processing materials that will soon be banned from the state’s landfill under the state’s new recycling law. The bill, S.208, proposes raising the franchise fee haulers pay to bring trash to the state’s landfill by $1 to kick start the new system.

Ocean State Job Lot made a delivery of 18 pallets or 37,500 pounds of food to the Vermont Foodbank. This donation was part of a larger donation that benefited food banks throughout the region including Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine and New York.
The Three Square Meal program is the largest food assistance program of its kind in the Northeast, providing 600,000 pounds of food to food banks. Funds used to purchase the food direct from brand-name manufacturers were donated at the register by Ocean State Job Lots customers in seven states over the 2013 holiday season and matched by Job Lot.
“The Three Squares Meals program is intended to bring attention to and help alleviate the growing food crisis in our region,” said Matt Stilson, Store Manager of the St. Johnsbury Job Lot. “Like the Foodbank, Job Lot wants to ensure that no one in Vermont goes hungry.”

Related Company: Northfield Savings BankThursday, March 13 marked the eighth annual St. Patrick’s Day “Feast Against Famine” fundraising event to benefit the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf (CEFS). Created in 2006 by a dedicated group of Northfield Savings Bank employees, the event has since become the largest annual fundraiser for the Food Shelf.
This year’s event consisted of an extensive silent auction featuring items donated by Vermont businesses, a live auction of two Montreal Canadiens tickets donated by Justin Molson, and a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner. The dinner and auction raised over $37,000 with a collective amount of $244,741 since the event’s inception. All funds go directly to the Food Shelf.
The Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf works to alleviate hunger by feeding people and cultivating opportunities. As the largest direct service emergency food provider in Vermont, CEFS serves over 12,000 people each year.

Related Company: Burlington Telecom Department of City of BurlingtonBurlington Mayor Miro Weinberger Wednesday night announced that the City of Burlington has reached a key milestone set forth in last month’s Burlington Telecom (BT) Mediated Settlement Agreement. The City has agreed to terms with local business person, Trey Pecor, President of Lake Champlain Transportation, and Vermont-based Merchants Bank, regarding $6 million of bridge financing for BT. The bridge financing is critical to the City’s ability to complete the Settlement Agreement and thereby dismiss Citibank’s $33+ million claim against Burlington. The City Council voted unanimously to accept the terms of the proposed Pecor/Merchants bridge financing agreement.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine A new report on the cost of renting a two-bedroom apartment has ranked Vermont 14th highest in the nation. The state not only ranks high in that cost measure, but because Vermont has high rents and average wages, it takes nearly two full-time workers to afford such a place.
According to Out of Reach 2014, a report released Tuesday by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, an individual needs to earn $18.92 an hour to afford a two-bedroom rental unit at Fair Market Rent in the United States. In Vermont, however, it's $19.36. This figure is referred to as the “Housing Wage.” Today’s national average Housing Wage is more than two-and-a-half times the federal minimum wage, and 52 percent higher than it was in 2000.

The Vermont State Board of Education passed a motion at its monthly meeting Tuesday night (March 25) to support the legislative language in H883 regarding the establishment of expanded prekindergarten through grade 12 education districts.
The legislation would, as of Jul 1, 2020, eliminate all supervisory unions and reduce the number of school districts to between 45 and 55. Currently there are 46 supervisory unions and 283 districts. The two interstate school districts will not be affected.
“I think it’s the most important piece of educational legislation we have seen in some time,” said State Board of Education Chair Stephan Morse. “We must provide educational opportunities to all children statewide, and this is an essential change to our educational governance system.”
Student Representative and Co-Vice Chair Lachlan Francis made a motion, seconded by Board Member Mark Perrin, that: