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In a move to support local businesses and reduce Vermont’s reliance on foreign oil, Governor Peter Shumlin today called for incentives to promote clean-burning, energy efficient wood heat.

Governor Shumlin called on Efficiency Vermont and the state Department of Public Service to create an incentive program to assist Vermonters who choose to switch from oil heat to wood pellet options, and to ensure that plan becomes part of the comprehensive energy plan due from the DPS this fall.
‘This makes sense for Vermont’s economy; it makes sense for Vermont’s environment; and it makes sense for Vermonters’ pocketbooks,’ the Governor said at a morning news conference at the State House.
Governor Shumlin said the reasons for switching to clean-burning wood pellet heating systems include:

MVP Health Care, a leading not-for-profit health care plan, today announced that it has been honored by the Vermont Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports for its worksite wellness program. MVP received the award from Governor Peter Shumlin at the Worksite Wellness Conference, presented by the Vermont Department of Health, held earlier today in Burlington for its promotion of good health practices on and off the job. Receiving the award on behalf of MVP was President and CEO Dave Oliker.
‘At MVP, our employees and their families are the heart of our business,’ Oliker said. ‘As a result, our company culture focuses on our employee wellness programs, which engage our employees and their families to live healthy lifestyles, decrease the risk of disease, and enhance the quality of life, all of which contribute to the company's continued success.’

Dr Philip A Conroy, Jr this week will begin his tenure as President of Vermont Technical College. He was appointed by the Vermont State College's Board of Trustees earlier this year following a nationwide presidential search. Conroy comes to Vermont Tech from Mount Ida College in Newton, Massachusetts, where he served as vice president of enrollment management and marketing.
But while he and his wife, Dr Jan Conroy, have yet to move into the president’s house, Conroy is no stranger to Vermont Tech. Following his appointment December 9th, he quickly formed a 20-plus member presidential transition team representing all areas of the college with which he’s been working to identify the college’s needs and priorities, as well as establish new directions the college will take under his guidance and leadership.

On Monday Governor Peter Shumlin announced $575,000 in grant funding to begin the environmental remediation process at the former J & L Plant 1 in Springfield.
The Governor presented the awards, one for $400,000 from the Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission and the other, totaling $175,000 from the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, to Bob Flint, executive director of the Springfield Regional Development Corporation. SRDC purchased the former J & L property in 2002.
The funding will allow work to begin on cleaning up the contamination on the property, specifically the removal of the former chip shed and associated soils behind the building as well as the removal of asbestos from the former office area.

Representative Peter Welch, joined by Governor Peter Shumlin and business and community leaders, welcomed the nation’s top rail official to Rutland Monday as he continued to push for federal funding of Vermont’s Western Corridor high-speed rail project. With the rejection of high-speed rail funds by several states in recent months, Vermont’s congressional delegation has been pushing for those funds to be reallocated to Vermont’s Western Corridor project, which runs from Rutland to Burlington.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Monday announced a new $9.8 million U.S. Navy contract with General Electric Aviation for work in Rutland on additional engine components used in the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft. The full contract, for work performed in Rutland and at several other GE plants, totals $246,520,390.
Leahy is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and of its Defense Subcommittee, which handles the Senate’s work in writing the annual defense budget bill. He has been a long time supporter of GE Aviation’s work performed in Rutland and elsewhere across the United States. The Rutland facility primarily produces jet engine blades and vanes.
‘This contract demonstrates the value that GE Aviation Rutland’s workers bring again and again to our fleet of military aircraft,’ said Leahy.

Andrews, Lawton, Moran Elected to Vermont Public Television Board

Julia Andrews, Lorilee A Lawton and Mary E Moran have been elected to the board of directors of Vermont Public Television, Vermont's statewide public television network.

Andrews is a resident of Westford, Vt. She is marketing strategist/account executive at Spike Advertising in Burlington. Before that, she held sales and marketing positions at Comcast, Charter Communications and Competitive Computing.

She is affiliated with Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility and is co-founder of the Westford, Vt., Food Shelf. She is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Lawton, of Colchester, Vt., is the owner, president and CFO of Firetech Sprinkler Corp. of Colchester. Before that, she was owner and president of Colchester’s Red Hed Supply Inc.

Senator Bill Doyle today released the results of his 42nd annual town meeting survey. There were 15,000 returns from 142 Vermont towns and cities, one of the largest returns ever. Responders overwhelmingly support a law that would ban cell phone calling while driving, tougher DUI laws and expanding the bottle bill, while slightly more responders to the survey favored keeping the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant open for another 20 years.
Some of the results were as follows: Closest tally VT yankee 45% yes, 41% no, 14% unsure
Strongest support were:
Ban Cell phones 75%
Tougher DUI law 75%
Expand bottle deposit 79%
Pay more for locally grown foods 63%
Require use of motorcycle helmets 90%
Below are the full results.
Senator Bill Doyle
Town Meeting Day Survey - March 2011
15,000 returns from 142 Vermont Towns and Cities in Percentage

Question
Yes
No
Not Sure

The Vermont Department of Education has selected Education Networks of America, from Nashville, TN, to provide managed Internet access and wide area network (WAN) services, including options to take advantage of new cost-effective IP voice and video teleconferencing services, on an opt-in basis to all public and private K-12 schools in the state.
On behalf of the state’s K-12 schools, the department issued a request for proposal (RFP) for managed connectivity and communication services in an effort to increase affordable bandwidth availability across the state through group purchase pricing, as well as to maximize E-Rate program funding for these services. The E-Rate program provides subsidized discounts to school and libraries for the purchase of telecommunication and networking services.

More than 100 local employers expected to offer career and internship opportunities at the Champlain College Job Fair which will be held today. It is free and open to the public. It is a great opportunity to talk to employers about the local job market, job-seekers and soon-to-be college graduates.
CHAMPLAIN COLLEGE SPRING JOB FAIR ‘ Monday, March 28, 1:30 ‘ 5:30 p.m., Champlain College Argosy Gymnasium, 262 Soth Willard St, Burlington. The Champlain College Job Fair is free and open to the public. More than 100 area businesses and organizations will be represented, offering career, internship and summer employment opportunities. A series of job-skills workshops will also be offered. For more information and a listing of participating businesses, visit www.champlain.edu/career-services.html or call (802) 860-2720.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org March 26, 2011 The Vermont House passed the budget, or the Big Bill as it’s called, on third reading Friday after a another long day of back and forth between the Democratic majority and GOP lawmakers. Republicans engaged in a futile attempt to assail a budget that was, with a few exceptions (including reinstatement of Catamount Health Care and a partial restoration of funds to programs for the elderly, developmentally disabled and mentally ill), a slightly edited carbon copy of the governor’s recommendations.

Members of the Vermont State Board of Education have testified before the House and Senate Education Committees regarding the Board’s major objection to the proposal of having the Commissioner of Education named a Secretary, appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the Governor (House Bill 440). We believe such an appointment would not be in the best interest of young people in Vermont for several reasons.