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Famous for his deadpan television commercials, the Vermont Lottery Commission has announced that longtime Executive Director Alan Yandow would not seek another biannual appointment to theposition. After nearly 14 years as Executive Director, and working with threegovernors, Yandow will leave state service.
Yandow said, ‘I step down from one of the most interesting positions in state government. It hasbeen an honor and pleasure to serve the State of Vermont and lottery players over the lastfourteen years’.
Governor Peter Shumlin stated, ‘I am grateful to Alan Yandow for his 14 years of service toVermont. As all profits from the state lottery go to the Education Fund, an efficient and effectivestate lottery provides crucial resources for educating Vermont’s students, and I thank Alan forhis dedication over those many years’.

Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. (VITL) has exceeded its target for signing up Vermont primary care practitioners to receive assistance with implementing electronic health records (EHR) systems. More than 85 percent of Vermont’s primary care providers are now working with VITL to either install an EHR or to use their existing system to further improve patient care.
VITL is an independent non-profit organization that assists Vermont health care providers with health information technology. VITL has been designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a regional extension center for health information technology, the only such center serving Vermont. VITL receives federal and state funding to assist Vermont primary care providers with EHRs.

One Studio of Waterbury is now a non-profit calledGreen Mountain Performing Arts
(February 24, 2012) ‘ One Studio Dance of Waterbury has finalized its conversion to a 501c (3) non profit with the new name Green Mountain Performing Arts. The move, which was under consideration for over a year, was made more necessary following the devastating floods that rocked the town of Waterbury in the wake of Hurricane Irene.
The studio, which was located in a building in an area hard-hit by the floods, was completely unusable. Studio owner Laurie Flaherty was not sure the business would be able to survive the impact. But the community of Waterbury came together to ensure the studio’s 300+ students would not be without the opportunity to dance. Classes were rescheduled for spaces throughout the town, talk of the non profit began to take shape, several major funders came forward, a new space was located and soon, Green Mountain Performing Arts began to take shape.

by Alan Panebaker vtdigger.orgThe state plans to eliminate the positions of 80 Vermont State Hospital workers in mid-April. The reduction in force is the largest layoff since the beginning of the Great Recession when the Douglas administration and the Vermont Legislature reduced state government by 660 workers, or roughly 10 percent.
The Shumlin administration says the large number of layoffs now under way is necessary six months after the closure of the state hospital in Waterbury when floodwaters from Tropical Storm Irene swept through the facility on Aug. 28.
Since then, Vermont State Hospital workers have been scattered across the state in private facilities, including the Brattleboro Retreat and Rutland Regional Medical Center.
This week, about 120 workers will receive reduction-in-force notices; in all about 240 employees, including a number of temporary workers were part of the Vermont State Hospital staff.

President and CEO Mary Burns announced NorthCountry Federal Credit Union as the Greater Burlington YMCA’s lead Community Partner for 2012. NorthCountry’s financial support of $100,000 will help underwrite early education programs, after school programs, and special events throughout the calendar year. President Burns made the announcement February 9 while addressing nearly 100 volunteers assembled at the 2012 ‘Y FOR ALL’ Annual Campaign Kick-Off.
In her prepared remarks, Burns said, ‘I am excited to welcome NorthCountry Federal Credit Union into the Y family. This is a relationship I know will benefit the Y and NorthCountry because our values are so closely linked. Community and service brought us together and the community at large will be the direct beneficiary of our partnership.’

At a press conference Friday, Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss, along with a group of community and business leaders, voiced his support for the Downtown TIF (Tax Increment Financing) question on Burlington’s March 6 Town Meeting Day Ballot. Kiss was joined by City Council President Bill Keogh; Tom Torti, President of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce; Yves Bradley of the Planning Commission and local real estate agent; Melinda Moulton, CEO of Main Street Landing; Brenda Torpy, CEO of the Champlain Housing Trust; Melinda White-Bronson representing Vermont Interfaith Action; CEDO Director Larry Kupferman; and Charles Gionnani, Burlington resident and member of the Ward 2/3 Neighborhood Planning Assembly (NPA).

Laurel Bongiorno, director of Champlain College’s Masters of Education Program, recently attended ‘The Association for the Study of Play’ (TASP) Conference in Albuquerque, NM Feb. 15-18 and presented a paper on parents’ perceptions of preschool children’s learning through play, the topic of her dissertation.

She will attend the Massachusetts AEYC (Association for Education of Young Children) Conference in Westford, Mass., on March 16-17 (www.massaeyc.com/events.html) with Champlain College M.Ed. student ambassador, Charlene Chillson.

In mid-April, Bongiorno will present at the New Hampshire AEYC Conference in Plymouth, N.H. (www.nhaeyc.org), accompanied by Champlain College M.Ed. student ambassador, Amy Brooks.

Weekly unemployment claims in Vermont are still in a slow decline and are at their lowest levels since the first week of October, or just before the effects of layoffs due to Tropical Storm Irene hit the Vermont Department of Labor. A second spike around New Year's, where they reached 2,000 new claims, has subsided. By comparison, new claims last summer were running under 500. There were 716 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont last week. This is a decrease of 76 from the week before and are 170 fewer than last year's total.

by Alan Panebaker vtdigger.orgAs the issue of shuttering the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant heads to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, legal experts say the case may affect areas of the law beyond regulation of nuclear energy.
The Vermont Attorney General announced Saturday that the state would appeal federal district court Judge J. Garvan Murtha’s decision in favor of Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee.
The judge’s lengthy decision, which focused heavily on legislative discussions of radiological safety, could have ramifications for many state legislatures, Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell said Tuesday. Judge Murtha found that Act 160, a law that would allow the power plant’s license to expire if the state did not act, was pre-empted by the Atomic Energy Act because the state was attempting to regulate radiological safety.

by Alan Panebaker vtdigger.orgLast-ditch efforts to change a health care reform bill in the House failed on the floor Thursday.
For most of the day, state representatives lobbed ideas back and forth over where Vermonters should buy their health insurance starting in 2014.
H. 559, which lays the groundwork for the state’s health benefit exchange, will require individuals and small businesses to purchase health insurance in this online marketplace.
Under the federal Affordable Care Act, participation in health insurance exchanges is voluntary, but the current bill would make it mandatory for some. House Republicans offered two amendments, both of which would have the state put the brakes on that idea.

Vermont high school seniors posted a strong showing on the 2011 College Board Advanced Placement (AP) exams, the department announced today.
The AP program offers high school students college-level courses in a variety of subject areas. In all, 2,062 Vermont students who graduated in 2011 participated in the AP program and took the exams. More students succeeded on the exam (1,361) than participated in AP 10 years ago (1,176). (SEE CHART BELOW)
‘Vermont students should take pride in their accomplishments on these exams,’ said Commissioner Vilaseca. ‘Advanced Placement classes are rigorous, high-level college courses. These strong results demonstrate that students who are taught the subject matter, who are exposed to these challenges, and who see the value in the course and the assessment, can excel.’

An ongoing $2.4 million rebuild of the FreePressMedia printing press in Burlington is one piece of a 2012 "Triple Crown" that also involves a new format for the printed edition and a new, content-based subscription plan for Free Press platforms, President and Publisher Jim Fogler announced today.
"We are making a significant investment in our press and making a tangible commitment to our community. We are not only here to stay, we are here to grow. Our print and digital FreePressMedia platforms, including the Burlington Free Press and burlingtonfreepress.com, will continue to deliver high value and quality. For our local business partners who advertise in our printed edition, it’s a reinvented medium designed to deliver added impact."
Fogler said the full scope of FreePressMedia’s enhancements includes: