Current News

Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss this afternoon issued the City’s March ballot warning which included a question related to the downtown TIF (Tax Increment Financing) district. It was the subject of a special Council meeting earlier today, where, with 10 of 14 Council members present and voting, the Council unanimously passed a resolution requesting that the TIF question be removed from the ballot.The ballot question was placed on the March 6, 2012, Town Meeting Day ballot by unanimous vote of the City Council on December 5, 2011.While the council still supports the TIF, recent problems with Milton's TIF have led councilors to believe that voters will turn down Burlington's request. They want to wait to give the city time to strengthen its case before the public. Kiss does not want to wait.
Kiss issued the following statement in conjunction with the TIF ballot item:

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Congressman Peter Welch (D) ‘ announced Friday that grants to nine Vermont agricultural producers, totaling $857,542, will support the agricultural innovation that is helping to shape Vermont’s economic future. The grants were awarded under a competitive process through the US Department of Agriculture Rural Development’s Value-Added Producer Grant program.Grants to creameries in East Hardwick and North Ferrisburgh are for $300,000 each.

Vermont Technical College will be "wheels up" for the fall semester with a new four-year Bachelor of Science program in Aviation: Professional Pilot Technology.
The college has received approval from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), and is now accepting applications for fall, 2012.

Retirees from the aviation industry will surge over the next decade, bringing good job prospects for new graduates. High demand is projected for pilots as well as trained engineers, technicians, and information specialists.

In response, Vermont Technical College will offer a comprehensive aviation education that will allow graduates to effectively compete in the market. Flight instruction will be offered by the Vermont Flight Academy. "We have a distinct advantage due to Vermont's topography, quiet air space and the type of varied weather conditions a pilot will face down the line," said President Dr. Phil Conroy.

After only three years in business, 89 North won the prestigious 2011 Prism Award from the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) on January 25. The award was for new products in the category of "Life Sciences and Biophotonics."
The new product is 89 North's Heliophor, a patent-pending, innovative, high-intensity and exceptionally stable new light source used for quantitative fluorescence imaging in a wide variety of applications, including cancer research. A pumped-phosphor light engine, the Heliophor's stability and straightforward calibration system ensure that output intensity is consistent across measurements, allowing repeatable, truly quantitative fluorescent analysis.
The Prism Award was presented to 89 North at a gala banquet in San Francisco at SPIE's Photonics West Conference. SPIE gives the award "to products that challenge conventional ideas, solve problems, and improve life through the generation and harnessing of light."

Vermont ranks second nationally in home price increase in December, when distressed sales are included. Only 12 states saw an overall increase in prices. CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), a leading provider of information, analytics and business services, today released its December Home Price Index (HPI®) report, the most timely and comprehensive source of home prices available today, giving the first look at full-year 2011 price changes.
The CoreLogic HPI shows that, including distressed sales, home prices in the US decreased 4.7 percent in 2011 compared withDecember 2010. This year-end report shows that home prices continued the trend of year-end decreases’this is the fifth consecutive year with a decrease in the HPI. The HPI excluding distressed sales shows that home prices decreased by 0.9 percent in 2011, giving an indication of the impact of distressed sales on home prices in 2011.

Vermont’s electronic waste law bans the disposal of certain electronic devices and provides for convenient collection of computers, monitors, printers, computer peripherals, and televisions (covered devices) for, households, school districts, and small businesses that employ 10 or fewer individuals (covered entities). When disposing of electronics, remember that electronics don’t belong in your trash. The FREE Vermont E-Cycles electronic recycling program has established 90 collection locations that are locatedstatewideandoperate year-round. Allcomputers, monitors, printers, computer peripherals and TVs- regardless of brand, age, or condition - are accepted for FREE recycling. Other electronic devices are also accepted at these locations; however, there may be a fee to dispose of those items.

Vermont State College Chancellor Tim Donovan offered the following remarks following a decision by the Vermont State Colleges Board of Trustees Thursday night to raise tuitions of the state colleges by 4 percent each of the next two years. The state colleges are comprised of Castleton State College, Community College of Vermont, Johnson State College, Lyndon State College and Vermont Technical College.
Chancellor Donovan’s statement:
"This evening, the Vermont State Colleges Board of Trustees approved tuition rates for next two academic years. The rates reflect a four percent increase in each of the two successive years, and apply through the end of FY2014. This increase applies to instate, undergraduate students at all five of the colleges. The Board vote was 9-4 and followed an engaged discussion.

by Alan Panebaker vtdigger.orgA report released this week by the Shumlin administration concludes that a no-fault system for medical malpractice liability is not the best direction for health care reform in Vermont.
The report, a requirement of last year’s health care reform law, addressed the merits of moving to a no-fault system in the context of the state’s efforts to contain health care costs.

Methode Electronics, Inc.(NYSE: MEI) andSBE, Inc, of Barre, Vermont,(SB Electronics) announced today a marketing and technology partnership. As part of this agreement, SBE, Inc. will provide leading edge film capacitors with the highest performance for electric vehicle and energy conversion inverters and systems. Methode Electronics’ Power Solution Group will supply state-of-the-art bus bar architectures and thermal management solutions in combination with local design capabilities and global manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Europe and China.

For the 6th year, Vermont surpassed the 40 new captives licensed mark in 2011 with 41 new captive insurance companies bringing the total number of licenses to 952, according to data released by the Vermont Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration (BISHCA).
Thirty were single parent captives, with six risk retention groups (RRG), three sponsored, one industrial insured, and one association. 2011’s new captive insurance licensees brings Vermont overall total to 952 with 590 active captive insurance companies.
‘One of the most exciting aspects of 2011 and a perennial key to our success is the high quality of companies that we are privileged to work with,’ said David Provost, Vermont’s Deputy Commissioner of Captive Insurance. ‘We’re also seeing the State’s continued investment in staff helping us continue to provide outstanding customer service. That’s very much a part of what keeps Vermont the Gold Standard.’

byAlan Panebakervtdigger.orgThe business community sent a mixed message to lawmakers Wednesday about the future of health care for their employees.
Some business owners are concerned that they will have to give up the health insurance plans they have worked hard to set up as the state transforms its health care system.
Others feel their costs of paying for health care are breaking the bank, and they want everyone to pay into a program that provides care for everyone.
Both camps gave testimony Wednesday before two legislative committees that will consider pending legislation to set the stage for health care reform in Vermont. By the end of the legislative session, lawmakers plan to have a road map for how they will set up a health benefits exchange.

The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) has awarded grants totaling nearly $285,000 to help establish four new bus routes under the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) Program. The competitive grants were awarded to Chittenden County Transit Authority (CCTA), Addison County Transit Resources (ACTR), Deerfield Valley Transit Association (DVTA), Green Mountain Community Network, Inc. (GMCNI) and Rural Community Transportation (RCT).
‘Each of these service additions will produce a positive ripple effect regionally,’ said VTrans Public Transit Administrator, Barbara Donovan. ‘In some cases, it’s the critical link between two systems, while in others it raises the level of frequency or capacity to make public transit the first choice for commuters. These grants also serve to move us toward meeting some of the important transportation goals in the Comprehensive Energy Plan.’