Current News
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by Deb Markowitz, Secretary, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and Dorothy Allard, Chair, Vermont Endangered Species Committee A little over 40 years ago, the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) was passed into law. In Vermont, it is common to see osprey and loons, so it is hard to believe that merely a few decades ago, these birds were vanishingly rare in our state. These species, as well as hundreds of species of plants and animals from around the country, have been saved from extinction in large part because of the ESA and comparable state legislation like our own endangered species law.
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by John Herrick vtdigger.org
Montpelier hopes to become the nation’s first state capital to be powered entirely by renewable energy. City officials announced a plan to turn Montpelier into a net zero city at a news conference at City Hall Monday. The city is counting on myriad efficiency and renewable energy generation projects to help transition off fossil fuels by 2030.
“We can no longer wait for the federal government or international organizations to address the urgent problem of climate change,” said Montpelier Mayor John Hollar. “It’s the responsibility of each of us – acting individually and acting through our communities – to take action to address this problem that we face as a society.”
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The Vermont Agency of Education announced a collaborative partnership with three regional professional development organizations, collectively known as the Vermont Professional Learning Network (PLN). Our shared goal is to provide statewide access to high quality professional learning.
The focus of the PLN is Common Core State Standards (CCSS) implementation and instructional leadership. “We’ve brought on board someone who has strong ties to Vermont, Dr. Judy Carr,” said Lauren Wooden, co-director of the Vermont PLN. Carr is known for her work in education and leading statewide projects, including the Vermont Middle Grades Initiative. Carr is leading three major PLN projects with the goal of helping school districts to create systems that support productive and engaging classroom instruction and learning.
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by John Herrick vtdigger.org Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, joined more than two dozen Senate Democrats to bring attention to the issue of climate change in a 15-hour all-night talkathon on the Senate floor Monday night.
The “crisis” of climate change, Sanders said, is an issue the nation must confront.
“The scientific community has been extremely clear. Climate change is real. Climate change is man-made,” Sanders said in a statement. “And climate change is already causing severe damage in terms of drought, floods, forest fires, rising sea levels and extreme weather disturbances.”
This comes after Sanders announced a potential bid for president in 2016; climate change, he told The Nation last week, is a problem for the nation.
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Flags to be lowered to half staff per order of Governor Peter Shumlin in honor of Franklin S Billings Jr.
Where the flags will be lowered:
The Vermont State House, all Federal and State Facilities around the state and public buildings and grounds around the state.
Which flags will be lowered:
The Vermont State flag
Date the flags are to be lowered: (at sunrise):
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Date flags are to return to full staff: (at sunset):
Friday, March 21, 2014
Name of person being honored/Reason to Lower Flag:
In honor of Franklin S. Billings, Jr, former Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont, Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court and Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives.
Billings passed away on Sunday, March 9, 2014 at the age of 91.
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The US District Court in Vermont is at full strength with two active judges currently serving, but Judge William Sessions’ decision to take senior status will soon create a vacancy.
The nine-member, nonpartisan Vermont Judicial Nominating Commission consists of three commissioners named by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), three by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), and three by the Vermont Bar Association. The merit commission continues a tradition that the late Senator Robert Stafford (R-Vermont) and Leahy developed and used, and that has been used since then.
By longstanding practice, the senior senator of the President’s party then recommends the final candidate for each judicial vacancy to the president. Leahy is Vermont’s senior senator as well as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which first considers judicial nominations in the Senate.
Following is Leahy’s comment on Wednesday:
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Governor Peter Shumlin and Green Mountain Care Board Chair Al Gobeille announced today the launch of two new “shared savings programs” for Vermont health care providers. The programs will help Vermont move away from the fee-for-service model, and instead provide incentives for groups of providers to work together, improve outcomes for patients and reduce health care cost growth. These changes are central to Vermont’s efforts to usher in Green Mountain Care, a value-based system where every Vermonter has health care simply because they are a resident of the Green Mountain State. Shumlin hopes to have this universal health care plan operating in 2017.
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Vermont State Police: Interstate 89 in Georgia has re-opened. Thursday morning (8:57 am) VSP closed Interstate 89, southbound near mile 107 as it is blocked due to a tractor-trailer crash. The southbound lane will be closed from exit 19 (St Albans) to exit 18 (Georgia) while the crash is investigated and cleared.
Further details on the crash will be released when available. Any motorists should expect delays or will need to take alternate routes.
On Wednesday afternoon, Vermont State Police annonced that I89 SB in the area of MM 105 has now been open again and traffic is moving. Due to the snow and ice on the roadways please use extreme caution when driving.
I-89 southbound was closed in the area of mile marker 105 due to an accident and road conditions. Traffic is being diverted off of the interstate at Exit 18 southbound (Georgia). Will update when the roadway is back open again.
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by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org
The mad dash is on. It’s crossover week and lawmakers are in no mood to dilly-dally. After weeks of testimony, discussion and drafting, bills are suddenly getting the go-ahead or the kibosh with unusual resoluteness. That’s because by Friday any bill that hasn’t been vetted by committee will be dead for the rest of this biennium and won’t be taken up until 2015 and 2016. Lawmakers have one more week to get any money bills through either the Senate or House committees.
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by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org
Two Republican lawmakers have started a petition to repeal Act 60 and Act 68, the education finance laws that established Vermont’s public school funding structure.
Representatives Heidi Scheuermann, R-Stowe, and Patti Komline, R-Dorset, have proposed the repeal Acts 60 and 68. They want to retire the funding structure by July 1, 2016. A new funding mechanism would be hashed out in the next year or so, potentially for implementation in the 2016-17 school year, they say.
Rep. Patti Komline, R-Dorset. Photo by Roger Crowley/for VTDigger
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Governor Shumlin and Vermont legislative leaders are calling for Vermont to heed President Obama's call to raise the minimum wage in Vermont. It is $8.73 right now, third highest; the federal minimum wage currently is $7.25. Washington state has the highest at $9.32, followed by Oregon at $9.10.
Joined by several business owners, Governor Shumlin on Monday called on lawmakers to approve a phased-in increase in Vermont’s minimum wage to $10.10 by 2017. The governor, President Obama and several regional governors had issued a similar appeal for an increase at the national level, and are supporting an increase in the wage in their respective states.
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by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org
Almost all workers laid off from IBM’s Vermont plant since June 2013 are now eligible for extended unemployment benefits and support for job retraining, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, announced Tuesday.
The federal Trade Adjustment Assistance program is available for people displaced from their work as a result of foreign trade.
The Vermont Department of Labor petitioned for the federal benefits immediately after 419 workers were laid off from the high-tech manufacturing plant last summer. But the U.S. Department of Labor only certified the petition for about 115 of the workers who worked in the plant’s Williston facility.