Current News
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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.
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by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org
A legislative panel resoundingly rejected legislation on Tuesday that would have increased the minimum age for buying tobacco products from 18 to 21.
The House Human Services Committee voted 10-1 and 11-0 to kill two related proposals, the first would have raised the minimum age, the other would have exempted military personnel from the age limit.
The committee took testimony from the Vermont Grocers Association, the Vermont Department of Health and the Vermont State Colleges.
Rep. Ann Pugh, D-S. Burlington, said raising the minimum age for purchasing cigarettes is not one of the strategies recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. Secondhand smoke is a much more serious issue, she said. A bill that was overwhelmingly passed in the House before the Town Meeting Day break prohibits adults from smoking in cars when children are present.
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Today Keurig Green Mountain, Inc (NASDAQ: GMCR) launched its ninth annual Sustainability Report. In addition to communicating progress on 2013 initiatives, the 2013 Sustainability Report announces Keurig Green Mountain's ambitious new 2020 targets, which strive to take the Company's performance to the next level as a leader in sustainability and global corporate citizenship. The report focuses on three main practice areas of the Company's sustainability strategy: Resilient Supply Chain, Sustainable Products, and Thriving People and Communities.
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by Laura Krantz vtdigger.org
The Senate Tuesday passed a bill expanding the number of medical marijuana dispensaries in the state from four to six.
The bill, S.247, passed on a voice vote. It now heads to the House.
Medical marijuana was legalized in Vermont in 2004. The fourth dispensary opened several weeks ago in Brattleboro.
So far, 1,156 patients statewide have registered to receive medical marijuana, according to the Vermont Department of Public Safety. The number of registrations is up from 1,017 last month, according to a figure DPS provided the Senate Finance Committee in February.
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RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc. today announced a new round of Bank Better enhancements for Citizens Bank and Charter One customers: technology upgrades enhancing the customer experience across multiple banking channels including branches, ATMs and mobile devices.