Current News
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by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org Michael Sirotkin, the widower of Senator Sally Fox, has asked the Chittenden County Democratic Committee to consider him for his wife’s seat in the state Senate. Fox died on January 10.
Sirotkin, founder of Sirotkin and Necrason and a longtime lobbyist in the Vermont Statehouse, sent an email to committee members Tuesday night. The story was first reported Wednesday morning in Seven Days. The committee is set to make a decision Wednesday evening about who to recommend for the seat.
Sirotkin told the committee that Fox had wanted him to take her seat.
‘After much soul searching and encouragement from others, I decided I would welcome the opportunity if given such honor by your Committee and the Governor,’ Sirotkin wrote. ‘It is hard to imagine anyone filling Sally’s shoes with the grace, dignity and enthusiasm she displayed throughout her lifetime.’
He apologized for the ‘lateness of this request.’
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FairPoint Communications, Inc (Nasdaq: FRP), a leading provider of advanced communications in northern New England, completed broadband expansion work at the end of December, wrapping up a two-year project that will benefit nearly 4,000 locations in 20 target communities across Vermont.’
The target community areas include portions of Bethel, Bradford, Braintree, Brownington, Charleston, Chelsea, Corinth, Dummerston, Eden, Fairlee, Guilford, Johnson, Pittsfield, Putney, Readsboro, Thetford, Vershire, Washington, West Fairlee and Weston that previously lacked broadband availability. ‘
In 2012, the Vermont Public Service Board approved a plan that the Department of Public Service and FairPoint developed for FairPoint to invest service quality monies totaling more than $6.6 million from 2008, 2009 and 2010 and use them for a purpose that benefits Vermonters and serves the state’s larger goals. ‘
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Governor Peter Shumlin, Secretary of State Jim Condos, veterans’ advocates, lawmakers and others today highlighted programs to support Vermont’s troops, including a voluntary check-off box on the Vermont State tax form, IN 111, to donate a dollar to the Vermont Veterans Fund (VFF). ‘
The Veterans Fund was created in 2010 to provide financial assistance to organizations supporting veterans. Over the last three years, grants from the fund have supported homeless veteran transition programs, peer counseling, emergency assistance with rent and utilities, funeral honors for those who have passed on, and more. The fund has generated about $159,000 since its launch. ‘
‘This is a simple, effective way for Vermonters to thank our veterans and their families for the sacrifices they make in service to our state and our nation,’ said Shumlin. ‘
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by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org Schools, teachers, administrators and other stakeholders rekindled debate Tuesday over standards that Vermont’s independent schools must meet.
The discussion is round two for a controversial proposal to require independent schools to comply with the same standards public schools must meet for special education, teacher licensing, educational assessments, free meals and other conditions.
The Vermont Independent Schools Association and the School Boards Association have met on their own to hash out differences between the two organizations. Representatives from both groups reported some progress to the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday afternoon when legislators considered S.91.
If the groups come to terms, differences of opinion between the Vermont Council of Special Education Administrators, the Vermont-National Education Association and the Vermont Superintendents Association likely will remain.
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by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org More than $11 million from tobacco-related lawsuits will be used to plug holes in Vermont’s budget in fiscal year 2015 and the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Vermont is not happy about it.
Vermont expects to receive a roughly $3 million installment in April 2014 from a multistate agreement with tobacco companies that dates back to 1998. Technically, the money will go to the Tobacco Trust Fund, set up at the time to fund programs for smoking prevention and cessation. But it won’t stay there long, and it won’t be used for the fund’s intended purposes.
At a briefing on Gov. Peter Shumlin’s proposed budget Jan. 15, Secretary of Administration Jeb Spaulding said the money would be diverted to help pay for Medicaid obligations.
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AT&T has turned on its’ 4G LTE network in’ Burlington and Barre, bringing customers the latest generation of wireless network technology.
Several of the benefits AT&T 4G LTE provides include:
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Pollard Banknote Limited (TSX: PBL) of Winnipeg has been named the primary supplier of instant ticket printing services for the Vermont Lottery Commission. Under this new agreement, Pollard Banknote will provide the Vermont Lottery with instant scratch tickets, game design, and related services. The three-year contract began January 15, 2014, and includes provisions for two additional one-year extensions. The estimated contract value is $6.3 million (USD) over the first three years.
This contract award marks Pollard Banknote's first opportunity to work with the Vermont Lottery. This new partnership allows the Lottery to take full advantage of Pollard Banknote's creative game concepts and designs that feature unequalled playability, expertise in creating sales-driving prize structures, as well as a number of innovative and propriety products, including the company's extraordinarily successful, Pollard PlayBook concept and Scratch FX games.
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On Monday, January 13, 2014, North Country Hospital was presented a $5,000 award from Vermont Information Technology Leaders (VITL) for the hospital Emergency Department’s participation in the VITLAccess Pilot Program. VITLAccess is a secure website that authorized health care providers and their staffs can use to search for and view information about their patients to improve the quality and efficiency of care. Information is available through the statewide Vermont Health Information Exchange (HIE), which is managed by VITL.
Robert Gibson, VP Marketing & Business Development for VITL, presents a
$5,000 check to North Country Hospital President & CEO, Claudio Fort Seated
with them is Dr. Kate McIntosh, VITL's Medical Director. ‘ Other project team
members standing L to R include Christine Sweeny, eHealth Specialist for
VITL, and North Country's Sharon Mallett, RN, Emergency Room Nurse Manager,
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by John Herrick vtdigger.org An effort to use Burlington Telecom’s high-speed bandwith to ‘develop public, non-commercial Internet applications’ has won a $35,000 charitable grant.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation awarded a Knight Prototype Fund grant to the Civic Cloud Collaborative, a group of eight local organizations, to build a ‘Civic Cloud’ on Burlington’s gigabit network, according to a news release.
The collaborative says the project will be a tool for community organizers, nonprofits and civic hackers to develop public, non-commercial Internet applications.
The Civic Cloud combines Burlington’s fiber-optic gigabit network and donated servers to build a public access Internet platform available to the community for non-commercial Internet applications and digital creative works, the release said.
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The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Department of Environmental Conservation has agreed to pay $12,000 in civil penalties and $6,000 to fund a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) under a proposed Final Judgment Order entered into with the Vermont Attorney General’s Office to settle claims that the Agency’s RA LaRosa Environmental Laboratory failed to make a hazardous waste determination prior to shipment, and failed to timely investigate and report on a hazardous waste shipment.
‘Like all other laboratories, the Agency is accountable for its non-compliance with environmental laws,’ said Attorney General William H Sorrell. ‘However, to its credit, the Agency self-reported these violations to our Office, cooperated fully with our investigation, and took responsibility for the incident,’ Sorrell added.
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by Morgan True vtdigger.org Ken Thorpe, a consultant who helped Vermont design its Catamount Health program, returned to Montpelier for the 2014 legislative session as a resource for lawmakers as the state continues to rapidly reshape its health care landscape.
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The Town of Stowe Electric Department (SED), a municipally-owned electric system serving Stowe, Vermont, announced today that it will soon apply a 3.5 percent uniform rate reduction to all current rates as well as issue approximately $125,000 in customer refunds retroactive to July 2013.’ While still subject to Public Service Board approval, the rate reduction will result in yearly savings to Stowe ratepayers of an estimated $400,000.
‘Maintaining a continued focus on cost containment, while ensuring the reliability of our system, has allowed us to pass savings on to our valued customers,’ said Ellen Burt, General Manager SED. ‘As a municipal utility, all efficiencies we achieve result in direct savings to our ratepayers; we are committed to pushing the envelope to provide the greatest possible value without compromising on reliability and customer service.’
Burt noted that refunds are expected to be issued in the spring of this year.