Current News

by Alan Panebaker vtdigger.org March 23, 2012The show goes on at Vermont Yankee, and not just the power plant.
More than 1,000 people turned up in Brattleboro Thursday to march the 3.5 miles from the town commons to Entergy’s offices. Dozens trespassed on the the company’s property and were arrested.
It was a monumental day for residents of the tri-state area near the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.
Forty years after the plant opened, its license expired Wednesday, but the plant continued to operate pursuant to a federal court order.
Long-time opponents of nuclear power, like Scott Nielsen from Quaker City, N.H., converged on Brattleboro’s town green to create a hoopla of music, colors and civil disobedience.
Nielsen, 82, donned a sign reading ‘THE 1% OWN ENTERGY CONGRESS FEDERAL COURTS NRC.’ Next to him, Jenny Wright wore a sign reading ‘BUT THEY DON’T OWN US FIGHT LIKE HELL.’

Champlain College will confer three honorary degrees during its 134th Commencement on Saturday, May 5, celebrating the accomplishments of a Dublin scholar, a Burlington physician, and a Burlington performing arts center founder and director. Some 450 seniors are expected to receive their bachelor and associate degree diplomas during the ceremony at Memorial Auditorium.
Champlain’s Commencement speaker will be Patrick Masterson of Dublin, Ireland, the former president of University College of Dublin and the European University Institute. He will receive an honorary degree of humane letters.
Dr. John ‘Jack’ Heisse, Jr., of Shelburne, is a Champlain College Trustee Emeritus and retired Burlington physician who specialized in otolaryngology and taught at the University of Vermont School of Medicine. He served on the Champlain Board of Trustees from 1970-1980. He will receive an honorary degree of public service.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org March 22, 2012Lawmakers faced a much smaller gap between tax revenues and expenditures on government operations ‘ about $50 million this year, or a half to a third of the amount they’ve had to find in previous years through budget cuts, efficiencies and one-time spending since the advent of the Great Recession.
The reprieve from axe-wielding mode, however, didn’t lighten the workload of the House Appropriations Committee. Two issues have dominated lawmakers’ attention this session: The financial impact of repairing the damage from Tropical Storm Irene to critical state infrastructure, including highways, bridges, the state office complex and the Vermont State Hospital; and finding a way to reserve funds to cover anticipated federal cuts of $12 million to state programs that will begin to take effect in fiscal year 2014.

From vtdigger.org The Vermont Public Service Board held its first technical hearings Wednesday on a proposed merger of the state’s two largest utilities.
The PSB, the Department of Public Service and intervenors questioned the heads of Green Mountain Power and Central Vermont Public Service on the gritty details of the monumental merger the utilities propose. The two utilities, which make up the lion’s share of the state utility market, would be owned by Canadian utility Gaz Metro, which already owns Green Mountain Power and Vermont Gas Systems.
GMP CEO Mary Powell testifies at a technical hearing on the merger of Green Mountain Power and Central Vermont Public Service. VTD/Alan Panebaker

Weekly unemployment claims in Vermont decreased for the second straight week, as March results remained slightly higher than February. Last week there were 884 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont last week. This is a decrease of 75 from the week before and are 39 more than last year's total.

Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) voted today against the so-called Jobs Bill, which nonetheless easily passed the US Senate. They say the legislation loosens regulations that protect investors. The Senate voted 73-26.
Senator Leahy said in a statement: ‘The toppriority of Congressshould be creating new jobs to help Vermonters get back to work, not reopening loopholes infederallawthat led to catastrophic scandals like Enron, WorldCom and Bernie Madoff.

A Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) line worker sustained a fatal injury on Wednesday afternoon while working on an electric utility line on the Sawmill Road in Essex, Vermont. Bruce Lamb (56), a VEC line worker with more than thirty years of experience, died at the scene of the incident where he was conducting routine maintenance work with another VEC line worker.
VEC CEO David Hallquist reported to the scene immediately upon hearing of the incident and an investigation is underway. ‘It is critically important for us to determine the factors which led to this tragic outcome. At this point it is too early to draw final conclusions,’ said Hallquist. Further information will be reported as details become available.
‘The Vermont Electric Cooperative family grieves today for the loss of a beloved co-worker,’ continued Hallquist. ‘Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Bruce Lamb.’
VEC 3.22.2012

The Manor, a residential care and short term rehabilitation facility in Morrisville, VT, was recently ratedDeficiency Freein a federal recertification survey conducted earlier this year by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Both federal and state survey visits are opportunities for the government to review a nursing facility's operations at all levels of the organization to ensure that services provided meet the regulatory and licensing requirements.
The Manor staff was delighted to learn of their ranking as it is rare to be awarded a deficiency-free survey. The rating, based on a review of medical, nursing and rehabilitative care; dietary and nutritional services; activities and social participation; and sanitation, safety, infection control and the physical environment, is an outstanding accomplishment for the facility and staff that are committed to a standard of excellence performance in short term rehabilitation and long term care.

At a ceremony held on campus today, the University of Vermont announced it was only the fifth school in the nation, and the first large university east of California, to sign on to a program launched last fall called the Real Food Campus Commitment. UVM students were instrumental in advocating for UVM’s participation.
By signing the commitment, UVM pledges to serve 20 percent ‘real food’ at all its campus food outlets by 2020. Real food is defined as that which is locally grown, fair trade, of low environmental impact, and/or humanely produced.

The March 2012 edition of Captive Review features their ranking of the 50 ‘most influential people in the captive industry’ and according to those contributing to the international poll Vermont has some considerable influence.

Vermont’s chief regulator, David Provost, Deputy Commissioner of the Captive Insurance Division is the highest rated US regulator and number three in the overall world ranking.
‘David would be the first to tell you that it’s really a testimony to the hard work of our entire team at the State ‘ they help make him look influential,’ said Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin. "We are excited that his contributions to the industry have been recognized. Congratulations David.’
Six of the seven captive insurance companies ranked on the list are domiciled in Vermont, and the Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) was ranked 21st overall.

Power 50 List

by Michele Ollie, co-founder and President ofThe Center for Cartoon Studies.I founded the Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) in 2005 on a very simple belief: the medium of comics was as potent and deserving of serious exploration as painting, sculpture, and poetry. Most of our students see comics as a calling as much as a career, a vehicle for personal expression. Although there is a deep reverence for the printed page, it would be wrong to assume we don’t embrace new technologies. In the school’s production lab, the old school screen-printing shares the same space as wireless state-of-the-art color laser printers and digital tablets. Students still dip steel nibs into inkwells while laying out their comics in Adobe InDesign.

TheVermontHouse of Representatives passed a major energy bill today to expandVermont’s use of renewable energy, decrease its greenhouse gas emissions, and increase its energy independence. Opponents of the bill maintain that it will increase electric costs to Vermont customers, while moving the renewable energy credits to other New England states.
The bill,H 468,sets out a target of renewable energy to be 75 percent of the state’s total power portfolio by 2032.The Department of Public Service estimates the bill will bring in more than half a billion dollars in capital investment in energy generation projects to the state.
‘Vermont’s energy portfolio is already made up of 59 percent renewables. This bill will continue the development of the state’s renewable power market by encouraging energy entrepreneurship,’ said Speaker Shap Smith. ‘It’s good for our environment, createsVermontjobs, and ultimately it’s good for our economy.’