Current News

The Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB) announced today a $1,134,000 grant award from The Corporation for National and Community Service. The funding will allow VHCB to sponsor nearly 100 AmeriCorps members over three years to serve at more than 20 non-profit organizations throughout Vermont, addressing community needs in the areas of housing and homelessness, energy savings, and environmental protection.
Governor Peter Shumlin said, ‘In 2010 the VHCB AmeriCorps Program was honored as one of the most innovative AmeriCorps programs in the United States. This grant renewal funding reaffirms the value of this important program to our communities. I congratulate the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board for receiving this grant and thank all those who have answered the call to service by joining AmeriCorps.’

On August 3, 2011 the Best Western Windjammer Inn and Conference Center in South Burlington, Vermont earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR certification, which signifies that the building performs in the top 25% of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency and meets strict energy efficiency performance levels set by the EPA.
‘Earning the EPA ENERGY STAR certification displays the Best Western Windjammer Inn’s commitment to lowering energy usage and their overall carbon footprint, said Alan Hebert, Planning and Development Manager for Restaurants, Lodging and Ski Areas at Efficiency Vermont. ‘The hotel has proven that it is a leader within Vermont’s tourism industry by being the first hotel in Vermont to earn this designation.’

There were 625 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, an increase of 43 from the week before. Altogether 7,090 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 66 from a week ago and 2,085 fewer than a year earlier. The Department also processed 1,596 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 5 fewer than a week ago. In addition, there were 760 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program, which is an increase of 7 from the week before. The Unemployment Weekly Report can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/. Previously released Unemployment Weekly Reports and other UI reports can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/lmipub.htm#uc
Vermont's unemployment rate increased one-tenth in June to 5.5 percent. See story HERE.

In a ceremony earlier today, Governor Peter Shumlin offered praise for the Vermont & the New Hampshire Valley American Red Cross on two fronts. First, as a sense of normalcy has returned in the wake of several disasters, the governor took the opportunity to commend the hard work and service provided by the Red Cross during April’s Brooks House fire in Brattleboro and the spring flooding that occurred across the state. He took particular note of the role of Red Cross volunteers in carrying out the organization’s humanitarian mission.

Seventy-five years ago, tire manufacturing pioneer Nokian Tyres, Inc invented the Hakkapeliitta, the world’s first tire designed specifically for passenger cars to handle the snow and ice of winter roads. On Saturday, the company will mark this milestone in Vermont with an all-day picnic that also honors employee contributions to the company’s continuous spirit of innovation.
The 75th Anniversary celebration will be held Saturday, August 13 at the Nokian Tyres North American Headquarters, 1945 Main Street in Colchester, VT, from 11 amuntil 6 pm
Over 150 employees and their families from Vermont and across the US and Canada will enjoy music, games, kids’ play structures, and a huge BBQ buffet.
Nokian Tyres moved its North American headquarters from Nashville, Tennessee, to Colchester, Vermont, in 2009 to take advantage of the snowier New England road conditions where the company’s innovative winter tires thrive. The facility employs 57 people.

Shawn Calley, Executive Chef of Amuse at the Essex Resort & Spa was named Top Chef of the Champlain Valley at CVAA's benefit to support Meals on Wheels. Calley went head to head against Donnell Collins of Leunig’s Bistro (2010 Top Chef winner) and Matt Birong of 3 Squares Cafe. Calley’s winning appetizer and entrée were a carrot bisque with local balsamic vinegar reduction and rabbit quenelle (Vt. Quality rabbit done in fricassee style, lightly sautéed rabbit liver, kohlrabi julienne slaw, ravioli of greens on a pistachio and reduced local balsamic).
According to Calley ‘It’s really an honor to be voted Top Chef, and I’m very proud of my teammates Master Chef Arnd Sievers and Chef Jean-Luc Matecat for doing such a phenomenal job. I wanted to create something that not only shows my passion for food but also reflects what we’re bringing to the area with Amuse. Burlington has never seen a restaurant like this before; it’s going to be a lot of fun.’

The 2011 Volunteering in America report lists the Burlington area 8th among 75 comparable cities in the area of volunteerism. The Volunteering In America report is a partnership between the Corporation for National and Community Service, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the Bureau for Labor Statistics to collect volunteering data annually through the Current Population Survey’s (CPS) Supplement on Volunteering.
The Volunteering in America research, released by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), is part of the most comprehensive national study conducted on volunteerism. Nationally, volunteers served nearly 8.1 billion hours in their communities ‘ valued at nearly $173 billion. The report covers 2007-2010 and shows the Burlington area with a Volunteer Rate of 37.7%, compared to 36.5% nationally, and 42 volunteer hours per resident annually, compared to 34.1 hours nationally.

An effort by Entergy Corporation to cancel its $40 million guarantee of the decommissioning of the Entergy Vermont Yankee nuclear power station in Vernon has been stalled by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Entergy notified the NRC that it was cancelling the financial obligation because the NRC had approved the relicensing of the plant. With the relicensing for another 20 years, Entergy maintains that earnings from the plant during that period will cover the cost of decommissioning and therefore the guarantee would be unnecessary.
However, the NRC is saying in a letter sent to Entergy Vermont Yankee that cancellation is "premature" at this time because operation of the plant for another 20 years after March 2012 is not guaranteed, given the uncerainty of ongoing legal action. The NRC says that Entergy may resubmit its request to cancel the guarantee after the issues with the state and in federal court are resolved.

Secretary of Administration Jeb Spaulding has released the July 2011 General Fund (GF) Revenue results. July is the first month of fiscal year 2012. General Fund revenues totaled $86.27 million for July 2011, and were -$4.89 million or -5.36 percent below the $91.16 million consensus revenue forecast for the month.
Spaulding explained, ‘While we always prefer to meet or exceed our targets, I would caution anyone from using this one month’s performance as a barometer for the future. July is a notoriously bad predictor of how revenue will trend for the fiscal year in total. For example, July 2010 GF revenue was short of the monthly target by -1.6 percent, but the full year ended up12.9 percent above target.’

By Kevin Kelly
No laws or university policies were violated as a result of the romantic relationship between the wife of UVM’s president and a vice president at the school, according to a Board of Trustees report released today.
University officials clearly hope that the review will put an end to an embarrassing episode that forced Dan Fogel to move up the date of his resignation after nine years as UVM’s president. Board of Trustees chairman Robert Cioffi expressed confidence in an interview following release of the report that Fogel’s accomplishments, rather than the awkward circumstances of his departure, will come to define his legacy.

Mace Security International, known primarily for its pepper spray and other personal defense products, has announced that it has completed a multimillion dollar financing led by The Ancora Group in Cleveland, Ohio. After the financing, Ancora and its investment partnership, Merlin Partners LLC will have achieved an approximate 35 percent ownership in Mace. Mace Personal Defense Products division is based in Bennington, Vermont.
At the same time Cleveland businessman, Richard Barone, Chairman of The Ancora Group, has been elected Chairman of Mace. Other Clevelanders elected to the board include Denis Amato, Chief Investment Officer at Ancora and Larry Pollock, Managing Partner of Lucky Star Partners and former President of Cole National.

By TOM PELHAM. Vermonters need to see beyond Washington’s double talk and understand the budget fight is not about compromise, but about holding partisan ground gained over the last decade. The Republicans don’t favor taxes and with President Bush taking the lead, income taxes dropped from 9.7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2000 to 6.2% in 2010. Total federal revenues dropped from 20.6% of GDP to 14.9%. In the other direction, Democrats favor expanded government and as a percent of GDP, federal spending grew from 18.5% of GDP in 2000 to 23.8% in 2010. Spending has increased across the board with discretionary spending up from 6.3% of GDP in 2000 to 9.3% in 2010 and ‘mandatory’ spending up from 10.5% to 14.4%.