Current News

The Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties Holly D. Miller building at 1110 Prim Road in Colchester has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star rating signifying the building performs in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency. The prestigious award is given to commercial buildings such as banks, supermarkets, hospitals, hotels and schools that use an average of 35 percent less energy and also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

by Anne Galloway, www.vtdigger.org April 30, 2011 The Shumlin administration wants Entergy Corp to pay for any legal expenses the state may incur as it defends itself against a lawsuit Entergy initiated against the state two weeks ago.
That counterintuitive payment approach is called a ‘billback,’ according to a Department of Public Service official, who assured the Senate Finance Committee on Friday, such legal maneuvers are ‘an age-old tradition.’
If the state, for example, was bringing a case in front of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, it could charge Entergy for the cost of hiring experts and lawyers, according to Sarah Hofmann, deputy commissioner of the Department of Public Service. The ‘causer,’ or the entity that caused the need for a legal suit, is liable for the cost, she said.

Construction of the new Rutland Academic Center for the Community College of Vermont has begun. CCV will be relocating its Rutland campus to new a new location at the corner of West Street and Wales Street in downtown Rutland. The new Academic Center is being constructed for CCV with occupancy scheduled for the end of this year, in time for spring semester classes starting January 2012. CCV has entered into a long term lease for approximately 32,500 sq. ft. with developer and construction manager DEW Construction Corp. of Williston. CCV selected the site over several other locations, stating the West and Wales location offered a prominent location in addition to on-site parking and the ability to expand as their enrollment continues to grow.

A national report confirms that renters in Vermont struggle to find affordable places to live. In 2010, Vermont is ranked the 15th least affordable state in the nation, according to a new report jointly released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), a Washington, DC-based housing advocacy group, and the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition (VAHC).

First Wind Holdings, LLC (First Wind), (TSX - AQN): Algonquin Power and Utilities Corp. (Algonquin) and (TSX - EMA) Emera Inc. (Emera) announced today that they have entered into an agreement to jointly construct, own and operate wind energy projects in the Northeast US.
First Wind has a 370 Megawatt (MW) portfolio of wind energy projects in the Northeast US including five operating projects and two projects near operation. These assets will become part of an operating company of which First Wind will own 51%. Emera and Algonquin are entering into a separate joint venture (Northeast Wind), which will own 49% of the operating company. Emera will initially own 75% of Northeast Wind and Algonquin will own the balance. Northeast Wind will invest a total of $333 million to acquire the 49% ownership of the operating company. This includes a $150 million loan to the operating company. The loan will be repaid within 5 years, or convert to equity in future projects.

Online advertised vacancies slipped by 123,800 in April to 4,322,300 according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine (HWOL) Data Series released today. The April decline follows a strong gain of 763,100 in the first quarter of 2011. Vermont was up 800.

Vermont's top elected officials, Seantors Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders, Rpresentative Peter Welch and Governor Peter Shumlin, offered these remarks in reactioni to President Obama's announcement that Osama Bin Laden had been killed Sunday by US special forces in Pakistan.
Senator Leahy
May 1, 2011
When Secretary Clinton called me at home to alert me that the President would be announcing that Bin Laden was dead, many thoughts and emotions came quickly to the surface.
I thought of the countless lives ended and disrupted by this malevolent figure. Thousands of Americans and thousands more of other nationalities were innocent victims of his self-righteous venom, and so many brave men and women have died in the struggle to bring him to justice. Our thoughts and prayers again are with the 9-11 families and our service members overseas.
We are also mindful of the need for continued vigilance.

by Anne Galloway, www.vtdigger.org April 27, 2011 Spring is in the air, and the internal atmosphere of the Golden Bubble is a little odd at the moment. Lawmakers have finished their hardest exams (the budget, tax and health care bills), but they still have all these assignments left that must be finished in order to avoid getting an incomplete.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be changes made to bills in conference or that there won’t be differences of opinion over legislation that is still in motion on the House and Senate sides over the next 10 days.
But, Smith said, ‘I don’t think we’ve seen the bill that could blow up.’

by Anne Galloway, www.vtdigger.org April 29, 2011 The buck stops with the Senate Finance Committee. Two major bills are under consideration in the money committee ‘ H.56, the energy bill, and H.287, the jobs bill ‘ and both come with sticky language that senators were trying to make sense of on Thursday.
The energy bill contains two troublesome provisions: 1. The governor’s proposal for raising $2.7 million to shore up the Clean Energy Development Fund; and 2. The propane consumer bill passed by the House that limits certain fees on the sale of the gas. Neither issue was resolved on Thursday, but Sen. Ann Cummings, D-Washington, said she had been told that the bill had to be out of committee by 1 p.m. on Friday.

Secretary of State Jim Condos announced today that he is embarking on a ‘Vermont Transparency Tour’ to travel the state to help educate and train local and state government officials on the laws of the state regarding Access to Public Records and Open Meetings.
He said at least 12 training sessions are envisioned this summer.
‘A change of the culture and attitude towards access to public records and open meetings is necessary for both state and local government,’ Condos said.
‘Open government is good government,’ Condos stated in announcing the tour. ‘Distrust in government is not good for our democratic process ‘ the public has a right to know the truth about what the government is doing.’
Condos continues, ‘As new legislation designed to provide for greater transparency in public records and open meetings progresses in the statehouse, it has become evident that local and state officials need training to better understand the law.’

The Lake Champlain Basin Program has approved a $25,000 grant to install a retro-fitted stormwater system in the Milton plaza. The grant money was secured with the help of civil engineer Scott Michael Mapes and is expected to commence this summer.
To learn more, please contact Scott Michael Mapes:
Phone: (802) 864-8100
Email: [email protected]
Source: VEC

Mobius is pleased to announce its new partnership with Heritage Aviation in South Burlington. Heritage is a general aviation facility that offers space for private aircraft, as well as a charter service of planes that it owns and operates. It has generously agreed to host Mobius' ongoing mentor trainings and workshops, as well as a mentor pair event in one of its hangars.
"Heritage Aviation is excited to support Mobius and its mission to develop a culture of mentoring in our community. Hosting the new mentor trainings, providing site tours to pairs, and watching our own staff become mentors has been an inspiring process."
On Tuesday, April 5, Mobius held an awareness event on substance abuse at Heritage Aviation in South Burlington as part of its Mentor Support Series. Mentors from programs throughout Chittenden County gathered at the event to learn more about causes, dangers and prevention techniques for youth substance abuse.
About Mentoring