Current News

Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick F Kennedy will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, March 4, at 2 pm to mark the official opening of the Vermont Passport Agency in St Albans. Invited guests include the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Passport Services Brenda S. Sprague, members of Congress, state and local officials, community leaders, and members of the media.
Americans with urgent travel plans will be able to apply in-person at the Vermont Passport Agency, where passport books and passport cards will be issued onsite, alleviating the need for applicants to travel to Boston for emergency services. The new agency will occupy the first floor of the historic St. Albans Federal Building, which formerly served as the city’s post office and customs house. Original brass postal boxes and two large murals painted by artist Philip von Saltza in 1939 remain on display for passport customers to enjoy.

Vermont Environmental Court Judge Meridith Wright has vacated Omya’s solid waste disposal certification, ruling that the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) must conduct a public trust analysis when issuing a waste disposal certification because the company’s marble processing activities may impact the groundwater.
Wright’s ruling, which remands Omya’s final certification to the ANR to perform this analysis, is the first interpretation of Vermont's 2008 law designating groundwater of the State as a public trust resource. The ANR must incorporate the public trust analysis required by Vermont’s groundwater protection law into the solid waste certification process, she ruled. Wright made her ruling Monday and notified the parties in the case today. Omya may appeal today’s ruling to the Vermont Supreme Court.

Vermont youth are part of an increasingly influential consumer group. A 2010 Harris Interactive Poll reports that today’s 8 to 24 year olds in the U.S. spend approximately $239 billion annually. However, despite this spending power, the same poll reports that among the top worries of this age group are not having enough money and concern that their parents will lose their jobs. How can parents and teachers help youth reconcile their spending habits with a challenging economy? That question and more will be addressed as part of the 6th annual Vermont Jump$tart Coalition personal finance conference for teachers and parents on March 17 in South Burlington.

The State of Vermont is awarding $57,000 in grant funding to seven communities dedicated to local historic preservation and restoration efforts.
Federal funding through the National Park Service will be issued to seven municipalities under the State’s Certified Local Government matching grant program. Award recipients include the Mad River Valley Planning District for the nomination of the Mad River Glen Historic Ski District to be the first Vermont ski area listed on the National Register of Historic Places; the Town of Norwich, which is developing a walking tour brochure to highlight the local historic district; the Town of Shelburne’s plan to create a map depicting the town’s commercial and residential development and natural landscape; and the Town of Hartford’s agricultural oral history of farming project.

The Vermont District Office of the US Small Business Administration has reported that financing for the first five months of fiscal 2011 exceeded $35 million ($35,163,500). For the same period last year, the total was $30,008,647. The 504 Loan Program was $3,553,859 so far in 2011 and $4,487,583 last year.

SBA, MONTPELIER, VERMONT DO #0150
February 1, 2011 --February 28, 2011

LOAN VOLUME BY BANK BY NUMBER OF APPROVALS

Community National Bank
1
250,000
#504 loan
$$ 504 loan

Connecticut River National Bank
1
177,000

KeyBank National
1
25,000

There were 1,228 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, an increase of 342 from the week before, as claims increased following a steady decline. Altogether 12,821 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 456 from a week ago and 2,696 fewer than a year earlier. The Department also processed 2,089 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 20 fewer than a week ago. In addition, there were 964 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program, which is an increase of 11 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

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded $450,000 to two Vermont organizations to educate the public and combat housing and lending discrimination in the state, one to Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity for $125 and the other to Vermont Legal Aid Inc of $325,000. Nationally, HUD awarded more than $40.8 million to 108 fair housing organizations and non-profit agencies in 36 states and the District of Columbia. This year’s award represents a $13.2 million increase over last year’s award and includes $10 million to fund activities that address lending discrimination, including mortgage rescue scams.
‘The record increase in support to local fair housing and community organizations demonstrates the Obama Administration’s firm commitment to ending housing discrimination and providing help to families victimized by mortgage scams,’ stated HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.

The Community Health Center of Burlington (CHCB) has received a grant award from the Walmart Foundation’s State Giving Program. The $25,000 grant will be used to support CHCB’s school-based dental program for low-income and uninsured Burlington children without a dental home. Over the last year, CHCB has seen a rise in the number of low-income, uninsured children seeking care at our school-based dental clinic. So far this school-year, 577 low-income, uninsured Burlington school children, who didn’t have a dental home, have been cared for at CHCB’s school-based dental clinic and over $19,000 of no-cost care has been provided to uninsured children. During the last school-year, CHCB provided over $34,000 in no-cost care for low-income, uninsured kids - a dramatic increase from previous years.

Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan tasted some of the best local food products in the US in a new USDA video promoting the Value Added Producer Grant Program. Among those products was Apple Cider Syrup from Vermont. The program is undergoing some changes and USDA is getting out the word.
The proposed changes to this already well-utilized USDA program are designed to streamline the application process, expand eligibility and ultimately get these quality local products to market effectively and efficiently.
‘This program creates opportunity for farmers, producers and cooperatives to enhance product development and marketing with the goal of increased sales,’ said Molly Lambert, State Director for Vermont and New Hampshire USDA Rural Development.

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, announced that it acquired a MSW landfill in McKean County, PA out of bankruptcy proceedings on February 24 for $0.5 million in cash and the assumption of certain contractual obligations.
The roughly 230 acre landfill is permitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to accept 1,000 tons per day of MSW by truck and 5,000 tons per day by rail. While a rail siding is permitted at the site and the property abuts a railroad spur, the company has no immediate plans to build a rail siding. The site has over 33.5 million cubic yards of permitted airspace. The company estimates the net present value of assumed contractual obligations and closure and post closure liabilities at approximately $4.2 million.

Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. (VITL), operator of Vermont's statewide health information exchange (HIE), announced today that it has selected Medicity's suite of health information exchange solutions to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care in Vermont.
"Since VITL began operations as an independent non-profit organization in 2005, it has been working to improve the care that Vermonters receive by enabling electronic communication between health care providers," said David Cochran, MD, VITL's president and CEO. "The selection of Medicity as our HIE partner, with its industry-leading technologies and vast experience with statewide health information exchange - will allow us to accelerate connecting Vermont's health care providers and provide additional support to Vermont's nation-leading health care reform efforts."

Verizon Wireless recently activated a new cell site in Shelburne that expands wireless voice and 3G data coverage along Route 7, as well as the surrounding areas. The company invested in Chittenden County to continue to stay ahead of increasing demand for reliable voice and mobile Internet access. Verizon Wireless has invested more than $2.8 billion into its New England network since 2000, including more than $242 million in 2010 alone, to increase coverage and capacity on behalf of customers. Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s largest and most reliable 3G network.