Current News

After a careful review, EPA has disapproved Vermont’s 2002 water quality plan that set phosphorus targets for discharges into Lake Champlain. Following this action, EPA intends to work closely and collaboratively with the State to develop a new plan for reductions in phosphorus from sources in Vermont. Elevated levels of phosphorus cause algae blooms and other water quality problems in Lake Champlain. Today’s action follows EPA’s reconsideration and withdrawal of its 2002 approval of the plan. The Conservation Law Foundation had challenged that approval in federal court.

During a visit to Champlain Oil Company in South Burlington Monday, U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy announced that he and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) this week will introduce a bill making permanent a now-expired federal pilot program allowing heavy trucks to use the Interstate system in Maine and Vermont. Leahy was joined by Vermont legislative leaders, trucking advocates, state officials and business leaders in pointing to the economic, environmental and safety benefits of moving heavy truck traffic from Vermont’s state highway system to Vermont’s Interstate system.

Highway safety advocates today released the 2011 Roadmap Report, the eighth annual report card grading all 50 states and the District of Columbia on their performance when it comes to adopting 15 basic traffic safety laws. This year the report's publishers, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates), focused on the state budgetary impact of highway safety gaps. Vermont moved up to a grade of "yellow," mostly for its addition of a text-messaging prohibition.
"As states debate about keeping their treasuries solvent, lawmakers and governors in many states are blind to obvious legislative actions that will help with the budget crisis," said Judith Lee Stone, president of Advocates. "The 2011 Roadmap To State Highway Safety Laws shows that adoption of effective state traffic safety laws saves lives and saves taxpayer dollars."

Merchants Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBVT), the parent company of Merchants Bank, announced that its Board of Directors declared on January 20, 2011, a dividend of 28 cents per share, payable February 17, 2011, to shareholders of record as of February 3, 2011. Merchants plans to release earnings on or about January 26, 2011.

Governor Peter Shumlin today announced the appointments of three new members of the Vermont House of Representatives, filling seats that were vacated due to resignations. The three Representatives will likely be sworn into office early next week.
Matt Trieber, a Selectboard member from Rockingham, has been tapped to serve the Windham 4 District, replacing long-time former Rep. Michael Obuchowski. Obuchowski stepped down to become Vermont’s Commissioner of Buildings and General Services.
Trieber, an environmental consultant with Atkinson Street Environmental in Bellows Falls, is a member of the Bellows Falls Rotary Club, the Rockingham Certified Local Government Board, and a founding member of Bellows Falls Young Professionals.

Using an innovative approach, Green Mountain Power has been able to cut electricity costs by 16.5 percent at its Colchester facility over the past year and a half -- saving energy and ultimately saving customers money. GMP worked with Shelburne-based Kilawatt Technologies on the project.
According to Rebecca Towne, Administration Manager, most of the savings resulted from fine-tuning and synchronizing the building's existing heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. No new capital investment was required.
"When we started working with Kilawatt Technologies, we already had extremely efficient heating and cooling equipment in place. However, electricity use -- especially in the Information Technology data room -- continued to increase," said Towne. "Kilawatt Technologies helped us make better use of the building automation system that regulates temperature and airflow, and identified other opportunities for significant energy savings."

The groundwater monitoring process at Vermont Yankee continues with a total of 32 monitoring wells being sampled for tritium. Although the monitoring wells with tritium have shown a gradual overall reduction in concentration as the groundwater in that area has been pumped to the surface, this week Vermont Yankee received positive indications for tritium in a previously unaffected monitoring well located about 150 feet to the north of the area affected by the leak that was identified in January 2010.
The new positive level is at 9,200 pico curies per liter, a low level that is, in fact, well below regulatory reporting requirements.
However, Governor Peter Shumlin was not comforted by that fact and issued this statement: "Vermont Yankee notified my administration today of the new results, and the Department of Health is posting information on its website to help the public understand the situation. I am very concerned about this change at the Vermont Yankee site.

Amy Goodman, the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, will be the commencement speaker at Vermont Law School’s 36th graduation ceremony on May 21.
Goodman is the first journalist to receive the Right Livelihood Award, known as the ‘alternative Nobel Prize,’ for ‘developing an innovative model of truly independent grassroots political journalism that brings to millions of people the alternative voices that are often excluded by the mainstream media.’ She is the author of four New York Times bestsellers, most recently Breaking the Sound Barrier.

US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced that 6,244 Medicare beneficiaries in Vermont, and three million people nationwide, have received prescription drug cost relief through the Affordable Care Act. To date, three million eligible beneficiaries who fell into the drug coverage gap known as the ‘donut hole’ during 2010 have been mailed a one-time, tax-free $250 rebate check.
‘For too long, many seniors and people with disabilities have been forced to make impossible choices between paying for needed prescription medication and necessities like food and rent,’ said Secretary Sebelius. ‘The Affordable Care Act offers long overdue relief by lowering prescription drug costs each year until the donut hole is closed.’

The Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company (VFC) announced today that they have signed a partnership agreement with Sheila Marie Imports (SMI) of Boston, MA. This agreement encompasses an exclusive distribution arrangement through 2012. SMI will expedite the expansion of VFC's marketing reach throughout the New England and Mid-Atlantic states that SMI services. SMI is a subsidiary of Atlanta Foods International (AFI), a leading national distributor of specialty foods, based in Georgia.
This agreement will accelerate product placement and allow VFC to develop a greater portfolio of Vermont farmstead cheeses. With seamless communication through SMI directly to retailers and consumers, VFC will be better able to respond to consumer's needs and changing market conditions. Cheese making begins Monday, January 17 with product launch in May of 2011.

(WILLISTON, VT) ‘ January 12, 2011 - For more than 35 years, the American Cancer Society has been sharing hope for a world free from cancer with Daffodil Days®, a beloved program to welcome spring and help raise funds and awareness to fight cancer and to create a world with more birthdays. Volunteers are needed now to assist with 2011 event planning.

Daffodil Days involves offering daffodils to donors every spring in appreciation for their contributions. It is about more than just giving beautiful flowers; it is an opportunity to share hope for a world where cancer never steals another year from anyone’s life.

People's United Financial, Inc. (Nasdaq: PBCT), the holding company for People's United Bank, and Danvers Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: DNBK), of Danvers, Massachusetts, the holding company for Danversbank, announced yesterday a definitive agreement pursuant to which People's United Financial will acquire Danvers Bancorp, in a 55% stock and 45% cash transaction valued at approximately $493 million. Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approval and the approval of Danvers Bancorp's shareholders.