Current News

Vermont’s congressional delegation ‘ Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) ‘ on Wednesday applauded the announcement by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expand assistance to Vermont for the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP). Vermont is slated to receive nearly $1.8 million to help provide free fresh fruits and vegetables to children throughout the school day.
The USDA FFVP makes fruit and vegetable snacks available at no cost to children in participating schools. The program began in 2002 as a pilot program in a small number of schools and, with the support of Vermont’s congressional delegation, was greatly expanded in the 2008 Farm Bill. As a result, the FFVP will provide $1,734,894 to the Vermont Department of Education for the 2011/2012 school year, ensuring between $50 and $75 worth of fresh produce per student in qualifying schools.

University of Vermont President Daniel Mark Fogel today announced that he will step down as president effective July 1, 2012, exactly 10 years after he took office as the university's 25th president. Fogel said he plans to assume his full-time faculty appointment as Professor of English at UVM after the administrative leave that will follow his last year in the presidency.
Fogel made his announcement in a letter to the university community, distributed to all faculty, staff and students via electronic mail.
"It has been my great good fortune to be a part of Vermont's extraordinary university, and Rachel and I plan to continue to be a part of this exceptional community for years to come," Fogel wrote in the letter. "In my first statement as UVM's President-elect, in January of 2002, I said that service as president of the University of Vermont seemed to me to be the opportunity of a lifetime. A little more than nine years later, I feel that more than ever."

On March 22, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services (S&P) raised Vermont Electric Cooperative's (VEC) credit rating to 'A-' from 'BBB' and gave VEC a stable outlook.
The improved credit rating reflects S&P's view that VEC's leadership in smart meter deployment has led to improvements in system reliability. VEC has also kept rates competitive by successfully reducing operating costs and keeping purchased power costs low, while improving communications with the Vermont Public Service Board (VPSB).
"This is great news for VEC's members," said David Hallquist, Chief Executive Officer. "As a cooperative, all VEC consumers benefit when our financial position is strong. This improvement in our credit rating helps us to keep rates under control for our members."

There were 845 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, a decrease of 167 from the week before. Altogether 12,312 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 13 from a week ago and 2,879 fewer than a year earlier. The Department also processed 2,056 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 4 more than a week ago. In addition, there were 945 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program, which is a decrease of 47 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

Vermont business leaders and organizations today voiced concern over the advancement of H.202 the Health Care Reform bill, and the uncertainty it is causing many businesses.
While businesses recognize and agree with Governor Shumlin and other legislative leaders that the rising cost of health care is unsustainable, the legislation as currently structured does nothing to alleviate fears that costs will be contained under the new system.

Governor Peter Shumlin today announced his support for the reappointment of Public Service Board Chair Jim Volz for a six-year term.
‘Chair Volz has been a judicious Chair for the past six years,’ Gov. Shumlin said. ‘Vermont would be well served by his reappointment.’
By law, the Judicial Nominating Board is required to solicit and screen applications for the position, and the Governor may appoint a Chair from the list of qualified candidates provided by the Board. Governor Shumlin has asked the Judicial Nominating Board to begin that process.
‘I am honored to be given the opportunity to serve Vermont for another term and I thank the Governor for his confidence in me,’ Volz said.

After a strong 2010 with the licensing of its 900th captive insurance company, the State of Vermont is proposing changes to the Captive Insurance law in the Legislature as part of its annual enhancements to its captive statute, according to the Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration (BISHCA).
‘It is critical that we are responsive to the industry,’ said Governor Peter Shumlin. ‘Since 1981, when Vermont became a domicile, Governors and Legislatures have united in keeping us the gold standard for regulation of this industry and these proposals are in keeping with that tradition,’ he added.

The Vermont congressional delegation has called on the Army and National Guard to continue funding an essential outreach program for Vermont veterans returning from deployments in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
The Vermont Guard’s first-of-its-kind outreach program was funded since 2006 by federal grants secured by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. With a 2010 grant of $2.4 million about to run out, a congressional budget logjam threatens continued funding for the important program.
The Army and National Guard may continue funding this program if Pentagon leaders direct them to do so.
Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sanders and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) asked Army Secretary John M. McHugh and Gen. Craig McKinley, chief of the National Guard Bureau, to designate funds to continue the program’s operation this year and to develop a plan to continue the program in the future.

Jan Blittersdorf, CEO/Owner of NRG Systems (www.nrgsystems.com), was recently named chair of the American Wind Wildlife Institute (AWWI) (http://www.awwi.org/). As a first order of business, Jan attended a meeting in February with top White House officials to discuss new wind energy siting guidelines issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
â ¢ The development, with the Nature Conservancy, of a unique landscape assessment tool designed to identify sensitive wildlife habitat and areas that are likely to have low wildlife risk where wind energy development could be prioritized;
â ¢ Launch of pilot study to build a comprehensive research information system, gathering existing wind-wildlife data to support critical scientific research and analysis;

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, announced today that it completed the refinancing of its existing senior secured credit facility with an amended and restated senior secured credit facility (the "Senior Secured Credit Facility") consisting of a $227.5 million revolving credit and letter of credit facility (the "Revolver Facility").
Highlights of the new Senior Secured Credit Facility include:

Tom Evslin, inventor, entrepreneur, and former Vermont Chief Technology Officer, will be the featured speaker at the Ethan Allen Institute’s second Sheraton Economic Series program of 2011. Evslin's topic will be ‘The Economics of Abundance: Why Doesn’t It Apply to Everything?’ The program will be held in the University Amphitheatre of the Sheraton Burlington Conference Center at 7:00pm on Wednesday, March 30, 2011.
In his talk, Evslin will ask why computer component prices decline by half every eighteen months, while prices continue to rise in many other areas not yet reached by the technology revolution. As the computer and internet dynamic spreads out to more and more sectors of the economy, Evslin prophesies that cheap and abundant computing and communications resources will work profound changes through universal broadband, electrical smart grid, e-health and e-education.

Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) has passed a major milestone: The Agency has issued more than $3 billion in bonds to finance homeownership and rental opportunities for low- and moderate-income Vermonters.
Over its nearly-37-year history, VHFA has put that money to use helping approximately 27,000 Vermont households to buy a home and financing the development of approximately 8,400 affordable rental units.
Like other non-profit housing finance agencies across the country, VHFA builds capital by selling tax-exempt bonds, then loans that money at slightly higher interest rates to income-eligible homebuyers and developers creating multifamily projects that offer affordable rents. This self-sustaining model means the agency does not rely on state funding.