Current News

Governor Peter Shumlin today took a strong position in support of fuel security, jobs, and a healthier future for Vermonters and all Americans, writing to President Barack Obama to voice support for a single, national emission standard for passenger vehicles and light trucks.

California and the federal government are in negotiations to harmonize their standards in to a single national standard. Governor Shumlin wrote the President and California Governor Jerry Brown to express Vermont’s commitment to efforts to fight climate change.

College For Every Student (CFES) in Cornwall has been awarded $3.8 million by the GE Foundation for its college access programs in six GE operating communities nationwide. The GE Foundation donation signifies its long-term commitment to ensuring college access for low-income students that has put thousands of underserved youth on the path to higher education. The grant will support the continuation of CFES initiatives in schools in Harlem; Cincinnati; Erie, Pennsylvania; and Stamford, Connecticut; and establish the innovative ‘Scholars’ model in schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Lynn, Massachusetts.

USDA Rural Development funds will be used by UVM Extension to strengthen and build community and economic development within three locally based non-profit organizations: Newport Renaissance Corporation, Gilman Housing Trust and Northeast Kingdom Community Action. UVM Extension will work with these local non-profits in order to build the skills necessary to effectively and efficiently plan for and recruit new businesses, promote trade and tourism, and to evaluate the quality of housing available in the region. In the past these non-profits have hired consultants to conduct the proposed work which has not allowed these non-profits to retain these skills year after year.

A line of severe storms that rolled across the state last night knocked out power to about 12,000 CVPS customers at the peak of the event around 6:30 p.m. The storms caused outages in Franklin, Chittenden, Addison, Orange, Windsor, Rutland and Bennington counties, before largely sparing the Brattleboro area and leaving the region.
The high wind gusts broke several utility poles (five in the Middlebury area alone), brought down trees, tree limbs and power lines, and lightning strikes caused damage across the state.
CVPS crews and support staff worked through the night last night and will continue working through today to restore power to the fewer than 300 CVPS customers still out this morning. Those customers should have their power restored by late this afternoon, barring any other problems.

Comcast, Vermont’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications products and services, today announced that Tuck Rainwater has been named Director of Government and Community Relations for Comcast in Vermont.
In this newly-created role, Rainwater will be responsible for interacting with state and local officials and will work with the Department of Public Service on behalf of Comcast. He will also take the lead on overseeing Comcast’s cable franchises, compliance and access management organization relationships across the state. Furthermore, Rainwater, a longtime resident of Vermont, will serve as the local Comcast representative for the company’s community investment activities.

Kelliher Samets Volk (KSV), a marketing communications firm with offices in Burlington, Boston and New York, has named Janine Allo, a seasoned communications executive, to lead the growing agency. Allo will be based at KSV’s Burlington office.
Allo has a rich and varied career that she brought to KSV when she joined the management team as executive brand coach in 2010. A leadership and organizational development consultant with degrees from Cornell University, Harvard University and a doctorate in Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Vermont, she has helped numerous organizations achieve their goals during her more than 20 years of experience in leadership and management.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has recently incorporated the latest high-tech ways of getting the word out about disaster assistance, including websites, mobile applications and cell phones. However, one of the best ways to spread information is still the old-fashioned way: word-of-mouth.
That's why officials from FEMA and Vermont Emergency Management are encouraging Vermonters who have experienced damage from the spring flooding and already registered for disaster assistance to let their friends and neighbors know that help may be available.
"Vermont is the kind of state where we talk to our neighbors," said VEM's director Mike O'Neil. "So if you know someone who has experienced damage from the recent flooding, encourage them to register for disaster assistance."

By Governor Jim Douglas July 6, 2011. As Governor of Vermont, one of my first priorities was to strengthen and grow our state's centuries-long partnership with the Canadian Province of Quebec. I believed then as I do now that this relationship is critical to the success of our great state. Quebec is our largest trading partner and a significant source of clean, stable and, most importantly, renewable energy from Hydro-Quebec. Not only do we share an international border, but we share a deep cultural and historic connection; indeed many families have relatives on both sides.
In December of 2003 I led the first of many delegations north to Montreal, Quebec City and Sherbrooke.

The TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, today announced it will award $2.5 million in grants to support affordable housing initiatives through its sixth annual ‘Housing for Everyone’ grant competition.
The ‘Housing for Everyone’ grant competition is one of the TD Charitable Foundation’s most widely known signature programs. The competition invites local non-profit organizations from Maine to Florida to submit proposals outlining their plans and initiatives to support and provide affordable housing initiatives in their communities. Twenty-five organizations throughout TD Bank’s footprint from Maine to Florida will be awarded a $100,000 grant for a total grant donation of $2.5 million.

Attorney General William Sorrell announced today that, barring the receipt of additional evidence, his office has completed its criminal investigation and neither Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee (ENVY) nor any of its current or past employees will be charged with having committed perjury when state officials and others were repeatedly misled about the existence of underground piping carrying radionuclides.
During January of 2010, discovery of a tritium leak at its plant in Vernon prompted ENVY to inform state officials that during sworn testimony and through other communications in 2008 and 2009, it had provided incorrect information when it denied the existence of underground piping carrying radioactive materials. Then-Governor Jim Douglas, then-President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin and Speaker Shap Smith requested the Attorney General to investigate and determine whether in providing this incorrect information, ENVY or its personnel had violated Vermont’s criminal laws.

Learning Materials Workshop today announced that it has won both the 2011 Toy of the Year Award and the 2011 Seal of Excellence Award. Creative Child Magazine awarded Learning Materials Workshop two selective awards in recognition of their excellence in creative toys for children. MAD Constructs, an open-ended building toy designed in collaboration with the Museum of Arts and Design NYC won in 2 categories- Toy of the Year Award in the Builder and Construction Toys Category and Seal of Excellence Award in the Wooden Toys Category.

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced travel time on Amtrak’s Vermonter line will be cut by nearly 30 minutes through a $72.8 million grant to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The project will restore a rail line, improving 50 miles of track and infrastructure on a direct route from Springfield to East Northfield, MA, along the Connecticut River Valley.
‘Thanks to President Obama’s commitment to create jobs and strengthen our manufacturing sector, these dollars are delivering more than 200 new jobs along with the purchase of 50 miles of American-made steel rails,’ said Secretary Ray LaHood. ‘Coupled with previous federal investments along the Vermonter line, these improvements will bring almost a one hour reduction in travel time for passengers traveling in Vermont and Massachusetts.’