Current News

There were 1,194 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, an increase of 358 from the week before. Altogether 12,022 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 180 from a week ago and 2,450 fewer than a year earlier. The Department also processed 1,950 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 76 fewer than a week ago. In addition, there were 891 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program, which is a decrease of 7 from the week before. The Unemployment Weekly Report can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/. Previously released Unemployment Weekly Reports and other UI reports can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/lmipub.htm#uc

A new study suggests that Vermont shouldn’t worry that higher taxes will drive people away, but how it spends its tax revenue appears to affect the likelihood that people will move here. Employment opportunities, a low incidence of crime, and affordable housing go hand in hand with greater inward migration.
Those were among the key findings of a new migration study released today by the Montpelier-based Public Assets Institute and the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) of Amherst, MA. The study was based on migration data from all 50 states, but focused specifically on the effects in the New England states.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org April 12, 2011 Four days after congressional leaders struck a budget deal with President Barack Obama, U.S. Senate and House staffers are scrambling to figure out how the continuing resolution target of $38.5 billion in reductions to fiscal year 2011 federal spending will impact the states.
Congress will vote on the continuing resolution bill on Thursday, and there’s a good chance that details about how the cuts will affect programs on the state and local level will still be unknown, according to the offices of Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Peter Welch. Budget-writers have taken a top-down approach and assigned total amounts for reductions without clearly defining the source of the cuts in each area. Once the congressional cuts have been approved for a given agency, federal bureaucrats will then take on the task of determining what programs should be jettisoned.

Sovernet Communications announced today that it has added five (5) new staff members to support construction and deployment of its new middle-mile fiber optic project known as Vermont FiberConnect. The new positions have been added across a number of functions at Sovernet including Project Management, Engineering, Accounting, Business Development and Marketing.
Sovernet is building and will operate and market services over Vermont FiberConnect under a public-private partnership with the Vermont Telecommunications Authority (VTA). The project has received $35.4 million in grants from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), the VTA, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Vermont Department of Libraries. Sovernet will also invest over $12 million of its own funds in the project.

In an effort to ensure an even closer working relationship between the physicians and the St Alban's hospital, Dr Lowrey Sullivan has accepted the position of Chief Medical Officer on Northwestern Medical Center’s Leadership Team. He will begin his new part-time role at the hospital on or about June 1.
‘I am very pleased that Dr Sullivan has accepted the position of Chief Medical Officer,’ said Jill Bowen, NMC’s Chief Executive Officer. ‘This is a challenging role with many competing priorities and imperatives. Having a physician who already has the respect of our medical staff provides a strong foundation for the success of this position.’

Vermont was one of six states that reported that more than half of released offenders returned to state custody within three years in 2004-2007. Despite massive increases in state spending on prisons, America's national recidivism rate is stubbornly high, with more than four in 10 offenders returned to state prison within three years of their release, according to a new report by the Pew Center on the States. State of Recidivism: The Revolving Door of America's Prisons found that while the overall figures are discouraging, several states have made significant progress in reducing recidivism through a variety of evidence-based strategies.
In the first ever state-by-state survey of recidivism rates, state corrections data show that nearly 43 percent of prisoners released in 2004, and 45 percent of those released in 1999 were reincarcerated within three years, either for committing a new crime or violating the terms of their supervised release.

A competition, called the townhouse and Apartment Electricity Competition, orchestrated by Saint Michael's College Sustainability Coordinator Heather Ellis, has students living in the townhouse-style residence halls competing to lower electricity usage, while learning about cost savings. The competition, running from March 28 to April 18, is moving towards conclusion and the prize to the winning house of students, ‘a local food dinner and bragging rights.’
Measuring baseline electricity usage and weekly usage during the competition
Ms. Ellis sends out an email weekly to all townhouse and apartment residents, some 485 students living in 119 residences, giving them a baseline per capita usage of kilowatt hours and the usage for the week. Students can monitor how they are performing in their efforts to reduce usage, and can compare to other users.

According to disclosure reports filed with the Attorney General’s Office, pharmaceutical companies spent 30 percent less in payments to, or made on behalf of, Vermont health care providers than in prior years. In the 12 months before July 1, 2010, 141 manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, biologics, and medical devices spent approximately $4.8 million to Vermont doctors, hospitals, universities and others.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org April 11, 2011 At the 11th hour last week, as the House of Representatives prepared to engage in what promised to be a third reading food fight over a new tax on consumers to fund the Clean Energy Development Fund, which largely benefits solar developers, Gov. Peter Shumlin let it be known at a press conference that he had a plan that would render the 55-cent monthly fee on electric meters unnecessary.

Southern Vermont College has unveiled a new initiative which helps make a career in nursing more affordable for interested students. The President’s Leadership Award for Nursing (PLAN) program offers students who are currently enrolled in community college and have met the prerequisites the opportunity to continue their education and career path at SVC, with cost-saving incentives.
The PLAN offers eligible students a $7,500 scholarship, a free Nursing I textbook, and involvement in Monthly Leadership Seminars and a weekly Nursing Boot Camp. Southern Vermont College’s small classroom size, low student-teacher ratio, ‘Hands on Learning’ environment and new Simulation Lab offers many advantages over other programs. ‘At SVC a student receives a private college education at a state college price,’ said Director of Admissions Jeremy Gibbons. ‘The PLAN helps make a nursing degree even more affordable.’

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said today he will vote against a bill that cuts more than $38 billion from programs that help working families without calling for shared sacrifice by the wealthiest Americans.
Sanders' Statement:
Bush-era tax breaks for the very rich were extended last December ‘ driving up the deficit. ‘Today, in order to reduce deficits that Republicans helped create, they now are slashing programs of enormous importance to working families, the elderly, the sick and children,’ Sanders said. ‘At a time when the gap between the very rich and everybody else is growing wider, this budget is Robin Hood in reverse. It takes from struggling working families and gives to multi-millionaires. This is obscene.’

Green Mountain Council's 32nd Distinguished Citizen of the Year Dinner
Honoring Senator Bernie Sanders
Green Mountain Council to recognize U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders with the 2011 Distinguished Citizen Award. April 29, 2011 6:00 PM- Sheraton Hotel in South Burlington.
The Distinguished Citizen Award from the Green Mountain Council, Boy Scouts of America, is presented to individuals who have exemplified strong leadership and support for families and children throughout the state. It has been presented to Vermont's outstanding citizens for more than a quarter century. This year it is being awarded to U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.
Last year, the Green Mountain Council awarded at over $15,000 to more than 300 Vermont children who otherwise could not have afforded to attend the Green Mountain Council summer camp programs and Scouting activities throughout the year. The Council serves the entire State of Vermont.