Current News

by John Herrick vtdigger.org Vermont’s water bodies need cleaning up, but so far funding for the effort remains murky. The state is under pressure from the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up Lake Champlain. In response, the House Committee on Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources is drafting a 50-page bill designed to restore and preserve the state’s water quality. Water runoff from agricultural and urban landscapes is blamed as the chief cause of water pollution.
The bill includes strategies to prevent pollution runoff, including new standards for agriculture and livestock practices, construction guidelines for roads and bridges, and stormwater management tools.
The committee has identified a funding source for cleanup costs that aligns with Gov. Peter Shumlin’s no new broad-based taxes pledge, according to Rep. David L. Deen, D-Putney, chair of the committee.

by John Herrick vtdigger.org
Midwest farmers used four times as much propane to dry their crops last fall than the year before, and Vermont fuel dealers and customers are feeling the heat. A wet fall has led to a shortage in supply that has driven residential prices to record highs across the country this year. Dealers have to travel further to find enough propane to serve their customers, Vermont dealers say.
The average price for residential propane in Vermont has increased from $3.75 per gallon in December to $4.22 per gallon on Feb. 3, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
‘It hasn’t been a whole lot fun out there,’ said Peter Bourne, owner of the heating fuel dealer Bourne’s Energy, which serves the northern half of the state.
He said his company will not leave customers cold, but traveling long distances in search of fuel has driven up propane prices this winter.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org
The omnibus Farm Bill just passed by Congress Tuesday will hurt the food stamps program. The bill includes $8.6 billion in cuts over the next 10 years in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. U.S. House Republicans had initially sought $40 billion in reductions.
Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, says he is disappointed by the cuts; he characterized the reductions as ‘both morally and economically wrong to cut assistance to families in a very difficult economy.’
SEE FARM BILL STORY
For all practical purposes, the new bill eliminates what is known as the ‘heat and eat’ program in northern states. It requires 17 states to come up with additional monies to fund food stamps for people who are eligible for the Low Income Heating Assistance Program.
Only Vermont has said it will consider making up the difference in fiscal year 2015.

The Vermont Community Loan Fund is now accepting applications for Building Bright Futures Grant (BBFG) funding. BBFG grants can be used for assistance in starting, relocating, expanding, or improving a child care program’s physical facility and accessibility, for real estate purchase, facility construction, facility renovation and pre-development costs. Grant requests may not exceed $25,000, or 25% of the total project cost, whichever is less. Keep in mind that the application process for these funds is very competitive, and funds are limited. Applications must be received at VCLF by no later than 3:00 pm on March 28, 2014 to be considered.
Priority will be given to full-day, full-year operations and comprehensive operations that integrate services with other programs and services, and operations where 25% or more of total enrollment capacity is or will be filled by child care financial assistance-eligible children.

Vermont’s Mt Philo Inn was recently designated a Fodor’s Choice Hotel, a ‘best of the best’ list of properties that Fodor editors have chosen for ‘providing a remarkable experience in their price range or category.’
Originally built as an inn in 1896, the property has until recently functioned as long-term apartment rentals. Innkeepers and owners David and Jane Garbose opened the Mt. Philo Inn to overnight guests in August, the first time in 50 years, after a major three-year renovation.
The Mt. Philo Inn exudes ‘the ideal blend of historical and contemporary boutique décor,’ wrote the Fodor’s reviewer who stayed at the Inn in the fall. In their renovations and redesign, the Garbose’s preserved the inn’s original woodwork, sourced local building materials, commissioned artwork from local artisans, and decorated with a minimalist and eclectic style.

The largest bargaining unit in the Vermont State Employees Association has ratified a contract calling for 2.5 percent pay increases in each of the next two years.
The non-management unit, which represents 5,000 state employees, and the Defender General unit, which represents about 20 workers, voted overwhelmingly in favor of the contract with the administration that runs July 1, 2014, to June 30, 2016, VSEA President Shelley Martin said in a news release.
‘VSEA is extremely pleased that our members belonging to the union’s Defender General and Non-Management Units have voted in large numbers to ratify new contracts with the State,’ Martin said. ‘The NMU vote is especially gratifying because this Unit is VSEA’s largest, representing a very diverse group of workers across Vermont, many of whom have competing interests or different priorities.’

Montpelier ‘ The Vermont Arts Council (VAC) will award grants of up to $30,000 to assist Vermont nonprofit organizations and municipalities to enhance existing buildings. The deadline for grant applications is Thursday, May 1, 2014.
The council will host free informational Cultural Facilities Grant Seeker Workshops on February 18 and 19 and March 5. Vermont non-profit organizations and municipalities interested in applying for Cultural Facilities Grants are urged to attend one of the workshops.
All workshops will be held from 1:00 ‘ 4:00 PM, and will take place on the following dates:

by Hilary Niles vtidgger.org
At the same time Vermont lawmakers are scrutinizing Governor Peter Shumlin’s plan to shore up a $51 million revenue shortfall in fiscal year 2015, they’re also eyeing the state’s parched Rainy Day Fund.
With an optimistic rainy day balance estimated at 1 percent of the prior year’s appropriations, the buffer is much thinner than it’s meant to be ‘ and nowhere near new recommendations from public policy think tanks around the country.

The US Senate Tuesday passed a long-awaited Farm Bill, in a vote of 68 to 32. The House passed the five-year Farm Bill (HR 2642) agreement last week, and the bill now goes to the President Obama’s desk. Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, says the President will sign it. Proponents of the nearly $1 trillion piece of legislation say it will benefit farmers and help nutrition programs for low-income Americans while saving about $23 billion for taxpayers. The bill had farm-state congressmen, regardless of party, pitted against urban Democrats and Tea Party Republicans.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock and its Center for Telehealth have been awarded two telemedicine grants totaling $998,356 from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to deploy telemedicine equipment and services across six counties in rural New Hampshire and seven counties in rural Vermont. The grants, awarded through USDA Rural Development’s Rural Utilities Service, were announced today by the USDA.
‘These grants will give some of the most rural communities in New Hampshire and Vermont access to world class health care usually only found in larger metropolitan areas,’ said USDA RD Vermont and New Hampshire State Director Ted Brady. ‘Too often rural Americans are forced to travel long distances to access health care. In some cases, these distances prevent timely access to routine health care that can turn a minor problem into a life threatening problem.’

by Morgan True vtdigger.org
Republicans nationwide are hoping to capitalize on states’ struggles to implement the Affordable Care Act as a political tool to leverage their candidates in the midterm elections, and Vermont is not immune.
Senate Minority Leader Joe Benning, R-Caledonia, is hopeful the rocky rollout of Vermont Health Connect will make voters question Democrats’ ability to overhaul the health care system, he said.
Vermont State Republican Committee Chair David Sunderland, as well, questioned Democrats’ competence.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org
The number of people having difficulty completing their enrollment in Vermont Health Connect is dropping, but the problems are taking longer to solve, state officials say.About 2,500 people who sought to have coverage effective January 1 remain stuck in the enrollment process.
The main culprit in the delay is that the ‘change of circumstance’ function ‘ if a user needs to update their information ‘ is still not functional and must be done manually.