Current News

Surveys are now arriving in mailboxes around the nation to help identify all active farms in the United States. The National Agricultural Classification Survey (NACS), which asks landowners whether or not they are farming and for basic farm information, is one of the most important early steps used to determine who should receive a 2012 Census of Agriculture report form. The Census of Agriculture, conducted every five years by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them.

‘We are asking everyone who receives the NACS to respond even if they are not farming so that we build the most accurate and comprehensive mailing list to account for all of U.S. agriculture in the Census,’ said NASS’s Census and Survey Director, Renee Picanso.

In response to Vermonters’ continued call to clean up Lake Champlain and the rest of the state’s rivers and lakes, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VTDEC) retooled the former Vermont Center for Clean and Clear in 2011 to form the Ecosystem Restoration Program. The Program released its annual report this week, which describes continued efforts on the part of VTDEC, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, Agency of Transportation, and the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation to address unregulated nonpoint source water pollution. The 2011 report can be found at this link: http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/waterq/erp/docs/erp_2011annualreport.pdf

Representative Peter Welch today unveiled bipartisan legislation to create a nationwide energy efficiency program that will create jobs, save homeowners money and reduce carbon emissions.

The Home Owner Managing Energy Savings (HOMES) Act will provide rebates to homeowners who invest in energy efficiency improvements. Homeowners who demonstrate a 20 percent energy savings will receive a $2,000 rebate. For every 5 percent in additional energy savings, they can receive additonal $1,000 ‘ up to a total of $8,000 or 50 percent of the project’s cost.

‘Vermont has led the nation in energy efficiency.This legislation will bring the Vermont model to the rest of the country to save homeowners money, put contractors back to work and improve the environment,’ Welch said. ‘And, in an era of partisan gridlock, energy efficiency is a practical, common sense idea where lawmakers can find common ground.’

Today, Fletcher Allen Partners named John R. Brumsted, M.D., as president and chief executive officer, Fletcher Allen Health Care, effective immediately. Dr Brumsted has been serving as the organization’s interim president and chief executive officer since the departure of Melinda Estes, MD, this past August. Dr Brumsted, 59, will also serve as the president and chief executive officer of Fletcher Allen Partners. Fletcher Allen Partners is an integrated delivery system comprising Fletcher Allen Health Care and Central Vermont Medical Center.
The national search for a new CEO began last August and concluded with the decision last Friday afternoon.

Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources Climate Change Team today released ‘Lessons from Irene: Building Resiliency as We Rebuild,’ an interdisciplinary look at Irene’s many impacts and challenges. Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, Deb Markowitz said, ‘Climate data shows that Vermont is experiencing more extreme rain events, and because of this we can expect to see more frequent flooding. This is why it is so important for us to learn from Irene so that our communities can be better prepared for future floods.’

by Ed BarnaLooking at all the medical services grouped under the holding company Rutland Regional Health Services’including the state’s second-largest hospital’it’s hard to imagine conditions back in 1896 when the state’s second hospital began operations.
It took six years for an invalid’s charitable bequest to go from vision to reality, for lack of the $5,000 to build one. The first location was a donated home, which had been a nursing home; four doctors ran the 10-room facility, which had one telephone and one bathroom.
It wasn’t until 1956 that the original in-town location was succeeded by a four-story, 155-bed structure, on outlying farmland. The transition to today’s comprehensive range of services might be said to have come in the early 1980s, when the hospital’s board of directors renamed it the Rutland Regional Medical Center and set up the holding company.

by Pat Parenteau, Vermont Law School I’ve been on the fence about whether Vermont should appeal Judge Murtha’s decision by the Feb. 21 deadline. Even though there are plenty of reasons to question the decision, there is no guarantee Vermont could win an appeal and there is some risk of making a bad situation worse from the state’s point of view.
Vermont did win an important victory when Judge Murtha rejected Entergy’s show-stopper claim that the Federal Power Act preempts any form of state regulation over merchant power plants and that the Public Service Board (PSB) lacks any power to require a new certificate of public good (CPG).

Vermont and 10 other states sued in federal court today to force the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to adopt more protective national air quality standards for fine particulate matter, also known as "soot" or "PM 2.5," pollution.The Clean Air Act and a 2009 federal court order require EPA to adopt more protective soot standards.
"Although EPA has taken steps to address air pollution in recent years, Vermont can not overlook its failure to adopt more protective standards for fine particulate matter or soot," said Attorney General William H. Sorrell. "It is well-established that this pollution is especially harmful to children, senior citizens, and people with existing lung and heart conditions. It is clear that exposure to fine particulates can cause serious health problems, including chronic respiratory illness, decreased lung function, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and premature death."

The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) has closed the historic Scott Bridge in the Town of Townshend. A recent inspection led to the recommendation that the covered bridge be closed to all traffic, including pedestrians. Primarily a tourist destination since Tropical Storm Irene, the bridge has been used as a school bus drop-off point and pedestrian crossing due to the closure of the nearby Townshend Dam Road.
‘We understand the disruption this closure is going to cause the neighbors who have been using the bridge during the road closure,’ said Transportation Secretary Brian Searles. ‘But public safety is our first responsibility and when a report recommends closure, we must act upon that recommendation.’
The bridge is owned by the Division for Historic Preservation and has been closed to vehicular traffic for many years. The Town of Townshend is working to replace a destroyed culvert and reopen Townshend Dam Road.

by Alan Panebaker vtdigger.orgLegislation that would require utilities to purchase green energy will go back to the drawing board, according the chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Energy.
The bill, H.468, would have required utilities to purchase 80 percent of their power from qualifying renewable sources in 2025.
The bill set out ambitious goals for utilities, but after weeks of testimony, the second draft eased these qualifications by requiring 75 percent renewables by 2032. Thirty-five percent of those would have to come from ‘new’ generation that came online after Dec. 31, 2004.
That draft, Rep. Tony Klein, D-E. Montpelier, said, is history.

Gifford Medical Center has been awarded a $35,000 grant from the Avon Breast Health Outreach Program to increase awareness of the life-saving benefits of early detection of breast cancer.
The Avon Breast Health Outreach Program (BHOP) supports community-based, non-profit breast health programs across the country and is part of the Avon Foundation for Women, the largest corporate philanthropy dedicated to women’s causes globally.
This is the 11thconsecutive year that Gifford’s Breast Health Program has received funding from the Foundation, resulting in a more than $415,000 investment regionally to increase awareness of the life saving benefits of mammograms and clinical breast exams.
The only Vermont recipient, Gifford was selected as one of 120 grantees nationwide. Organizations like Gifford are chosen based on their ability to effectively reach women, particularly minority, low-income and older women, who are often medically underserved.

by Kevin Kelley Vermont Business MagazineBased on State Street in Montpelier for the past 184 years, the Vermont Mutual Insurance Group is ‘part of the fabric’ of the state, says its president and CEO, Thomas Tierney.
And in keeping with what he describes as ‘the Vermont culture,’ the company ‘goes above and beyond in meeting the needs of neighbors,’ Tierney suggests. He offers the example of Vermont Mutual's response to the damage that Tropical Storm Irene inflicted on many of the company's policyholders.
‘We've tried to put Vermonters back to where they were before their losses. A lot of the losses our clients suffered were not covered because they were victims of flooding,’ Tierney notes. ‘But even though we didn't pay them, we did help them throughout the recovery by putting them in touch with FEMA and others who could assist.’
Vermont Mutual continues to do well as it does good.