Current News

The other shoe has finally dropped. Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) announced this morning that two of its subsidiaries, Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC (ENVY) and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc (ENOI), have filed a complaint in US District Court for the District of Vermont in Burlington seeking a judgment to prevent the state of Vermont from forcing the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to cease operation on March 21, 2012.
Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and Attorney General William Sorrell said that they expected the suit, have been preparing for the legal action and will use the full powers of the state to fight it.

FairPoint Communications has announced it has embarked on an investment in its VantagePoint network that will support more high-speed wireless services and extend fiber into more communities across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
This fiber-optic build supplies critical infrastructure known as "backhaul" for wireless traffic in the region, and will address the exploding bandwidth needs being driven by new applications for smart phones, tablets and other wireless devices. Today FairPoint supports 3G service on more than 1,600 towers in its northern New England footprint. In the transformation to 4G, FairPoint will have the capacity to provide Ethernet-over-fiber service to more than half of the towers with this initial network expansion.

IBM issued the following statement yesterday regarding conversations its executives have had with Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and his staff concerning the administration's health care reform effort. IBM, as many large companies, is self-insured. It previously has expressed concern over the health care refomr making its way through the Legislature, in particular proposals that the plan would be funded through a payroll tax on all Vermont workers and their employees. IBM has suggested that this would constitute a kind of double insurance premium for itself and its employees.
The most recent meeting between IBM and the governor was last week. IBM issued this statement concerning the meeting:
"IBM Senior Vice President for Human Resources, Randy MacDonald, met with Governor Peter Shumlin and had a productive discussion on the Governor’s health care reform legislation. There were several outcomes.

Select Staffing has named the Mount Family Group Ltd of Burlington its Franchise Business of the Year for 2010. The company operates Westaff franchises in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island and Remedy Intelligent Staffing franchises in Massachusetts and has revenues of approximately $26 million.
Pictured from left to right are: Irwin Much, Paul Sorensen, James Mount, Natalie Jordan, Steve Sorensen.
Mount Family Group Ltd is owned by James Mount of Colchester and Karen Mount of Williston.
James Mount added, ‘We were totally surprised. We won the award in 2009 and we did not expect to win it again this year. In many ways, this is more rewarding because Karen and I have just become the sole owners of Mount Family Group, having purchased all of the shares from David and Fran Mount in October.’

The City of Burlington announced that it will file its Act 250 permit application for the Champlain Parkway project today. Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss will accompany Department of Public Works staff to the Act 250 Regional District Office, 111 West Street in Essex Junction, to file the application. The application is expected to be filed at 2:30 pm.

The 2011-2012 winter ski and snowboard season came to a close on April 10 at Bolton Valley Resort, and the resort is reporting that skier visits, which include lift ticket and season pass sales, were up more than nine percent from the 2010-11 season. Ski and snowboard school participation also increased from the previous year, an indication that Vermonters still turn to their local mountain to either learn to ski or ride or to improve their skills.
‘It has been an incredible winter with more than 300 inches of natural snowfall, giving us consistently outstanding conditions all season long,’ said George B. Potter, president at Bolton Valley. ‘Whether folks liked to carve turns or to duck into the glades and trees, we had it all and it appeared this winter would never end. We had an amazing last weekend to one of the best seasons in a long time.’

by Timothy McQuiston ISIS, the Burlington women’s clothier that specializes in apparel for what it calls the ‘outdoor goddess,’ announced yesterday it will move its entire operation to Boulder, CO, the home of its parent company American Recreational Products. ISIS is a national, medium-end designer and marketer of women’s apparel from underwear to outerwear. It employs 14 in Burlington, where it was founded in 1998.
Its public relations representative, Scott Kaier of Pale Morning Media in Waitsfield, said that ‘the door is open’ for existing employees to apply for positions in Boulder. He added that in any case CEO Carolyn Cooke will remain with the company through the transition phase and then depart. He said the transition will not be completed until around October of this year, so as not to disrupt the winter apparel season, which is ISIS’ most important.

A celebration took place on Thursday evening, April 14, at the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, where individuals and organizations were recognized for their leadership and contributions to Vermont’s environment.
Green Mountain Environmental Leadership Award recipients:
(left to right)
Citizen Scientist Award: Lori Fisher, Lake Champlain Committee
What a Great Idea! Award: Richard Travers, Freeaire Refrigeration
Courage in Leadership: Sarah Dopp, S. Burlington Land Trust
Fourteen finalists from around the state were present at the first annual Green Mountain Environmental Leadership Awards that drew close to 150 people and was hosted by both ECHO and FreePressMedia.

Governor Peter Shumlin announced today that the superintendents of the Chittenden Regional and Northwest State Corrections Facilities in St Albans will switch facilities as part of the inmate relocation planned for later this year.
The inmate relocation ‘ moving the female inmates from the St. Albans prison to the Burlington facility, and the men at Chittenden to Northwest State ‘ is part of the Governor’s effort to reduce recidivism in Vermont. There are more services available in Chittenden County to help the female inmates successfully transition out of prison, and the St Albans prison has additional space and more suitable facilities for male inmates.
Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility (CRCF) Superintendent Greg Hale and his St. Albans counterpart, Superintendent Dave Turner, requested the job shift.

This week, hundreds of Vermont hospitality industry professionals from across the state, gathered at the Hilton Hotel in Burlington, VT for the 68th Annual Vermont Travel Industry Conference. During the conference's awards ceremony, VTIC honored the Town of Killington for excellence in marketing; Bill Orleans, owner of PP&D Brochure Distribution, for Vermont Travel Person of the Year; and Morgan Goodyear, junior at Johnson State College, as recipient of the VTIC Scholarship.
After a series of educational and motivational workshops led by industry specialists representing hotels, state tourist attractions, PR and marketing firms and more, the opening day, May 12, concluded with an awards banquet honoring some of the great people and projects in Vermont hospitality.

by Anne Galloway, vtdigger.org April 14, 2011 The Senate Health and Welfare Committee passed a new version of the single-payer health care bill out of committee Wednesday on a 5-0 vote. The unanimous decision was made shortly after the senators also agreed to incorporate amendments from two conservative senators on the committee, Senator Hinda Miller, D-Chittenden, (pictured) and Senator Kevin Mullin, R-Rutland, into the bill.
The groundbreaking legislation, which was drafted by the Shumlin administration and passed by an overwhelming margin in the House creates an overarching vision for a single-payer system that would go live in 2017 ‘ and only then if the state is granted a waiver from the federal government.

The City of Burlington announced today that Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Jonathan Leopold has tendered his resignation and will leave his position as of July 1, 2011. Leopold is one of the central figures involved in the on-going problems with the municipal Burlington Telecom. He has struggled with health issues the last few years stemming from an auto accident in 2007, which has caused him to reduce his workload.
‘I have accepted Jonathan’s decision with regret,’ said Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss. ‘I want to thank him for his hard work and personal commitment to the City throughout his career. Among many other accomplishments, Jonathan’s management of the budget has resulted in 5 straight fiscal years of a level general services tax rate and an increase in the City’s undesignated reserve fund from $75,000 to over $5 million. Jonathan has also built a strong management team in the Clerk-Treasurer’s Office which will ensure a successful transition.’