Current News

BioTek Instruments, Inc, continues their global expansion in the microplate-based technology market with the establishment of BioTek Korea. Managed by Mr Yunki Kyung, the new direct sales and service organization will focus on growing BioTek's brand and expanding direct service and application support for our growing customer base in South Korea.
BioTek Korea will be fully functional by July 1, 2011. BioTek's long-time partner and distributor, DI Biotech, will work closely with BioTek Korea to ensure a seamless transition for the company's existing and expanding customer base.

The Senate Monday afternoon began debate on long-pending legislation to make the first comprehensive reforms to the nation’s patent system in nearly six decades. The legislation is authored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). Leahy and Hatch have been longtime partners on intellectual property issues, and first introduced patent reform legislation in 2006.
"The Senate today is turning its attention to a measure that will help create jobs, energize the economy and promote innovation,’ said Leahy. ‘The Patent Reform Act is a key part of any jobs agenda. We can help unleash innovation and promote American invention, all without adding a penny to the deficit. This is commonsense, bipartisan legislation.’

The Vermont congressional delegation today urged the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ensure a swift cleanup at Vermont Yankee after the license to run the nuclear power plant runs out.
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Represetnative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) signed a letter that was drafted by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Sanders sits on the Senate panel that oversees the NRC, which regulates commercial nuclear plants in the United States.
The lawmakers called it ‘unacceptable’ that Entergy, which owns the Vermont plant, could engage in ‘decades of delay’ before cleaning up the site along the Connecticut River at Vernon, Vt. ‘Immediate decommissioning will assure Vermonters that the plant is being disassembled safely,’ the delegation wrote. An immediate cleanup and shutdown of the site also would allow the plant operator to take advantage of the skills of many long-term Yankee employees who otherwise would lose their jobs.

Champlain College will confer honorary degrees during this year's 133nd Commencement on Saturday, May 7 to former Vermont Governor Jim Douglas of Middlebury and Premier of Quebec Jean Charest.

At a meeting of the National Governors Association this morning, President Obama announced his support for amending the Affordable Care Act to allow states like Vermont to seek a federal waiver to the new law three years earlier than currently allowed. States would be required to design plans that are at least as comprehensive and affordable as the federal model and cover at least as many people.
The Vermont congressional delegation and Governor Peter Shumlin issued a statement today that hailed President Obama’s endorsement of legislation allowing states to restrucutre laws to, for instance, allow for a single-payer system, which supporters hope would increase health care and lower cost starting in 2014.

The National Life Group Charitable Foundation is deeply woven into the fabric of the Central Vermont community where the state’s oldest and largest LEED certified building resides. The National Life Building houses National Life Group and its corporate giving non-profit organization, the National Life Group Charitable Foundation. In 2010, the two collectively provided financial, infrastructural, and community enhancement support totaling over $500,000.

A major contribution to Central Vermont Medical Center’s now named National Life Cancer Treatment Center completed a radiation center providing Central Vermont residents with new access to local radiation therapy instead of driving to Burlington or Hanover.

The House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development on Friday voted out its jobs bill with a favorable vote of 9-1-1. The bill assembles two dozen initiatives and focuses on the urgency of supporting business expansion and job creation in Vermont. It places special emphasis on enhancing the manufacturing and value-added agricultural sectors in Vermont.
‘This bill sets forth a clear strategy for economic development and job growth,’ said Representative Bill Botzow, Chair of the Commerce Committee. ‘These are real, concrete programs we can employ even in times of constrained resources.’

The Stowe Rotary has donated $2,500 to Copley Hospital toward the purchase of telemetry equipment. Telemetry is used to monitor and record a variety of patient parameters, such as an EKG, from a remote location. This means that the patient’s vital signs may be monitored less intrusively 24 hours a day both at the bedside and at Copley’s Nurses Station. As changes or notable fluctuations occur, nurses are immediately notified. The data is also easily incorporated into an Electronic Health Record and is useful to establish baselines and track progress over time.
‘We are grateful to the Stowe Rotary for their assistance in purchasing additional telemetry units,’ says Patashnick. ‘Telemetry provides a great benefit to patients with the improved care and safety provided by 24 hour electronic monitoring in addition to traditional ‘hands on’ nursing. The Stowe Rotary again demonstrates that they share Copley’s commitment to improving the health of our community.’

With energy prices on the rise, Vermont Yankee’s license expiring in 2012, and recent instability in the Middle East, Williston-based AllEarth Renewables is hosting an energy series in five local communities this March.
The ‘Smart About Solar’ series, which will focus how Vermonters can protect themselves against the rising cost of energy, will be held in Chittenden County and northern Addison County communities throughout the month of March.
The events begin at 7 pm and will be held in Charlotte, Shelburne, Hinesburg, Vergennes and Starksboro. They are free, open to the public, and include refreshments.
The solar series events are:
Charlotte: Wednesday, March 2nd at 7:00 p.m. - Charlotte Central School Library, 408 Hinesburg Road, Charlotte with presenter David Blittersdorf, president/CEO of AllEarth Renewables
Shelburne: Tuesday, March 15th at 7:00 p.m. - Shelburne Town Offices, 5420 Shelburne Road, Shelburne

Middlebury College and the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies, one of the state’s leading backers of emerging high-tech businesses, have agreed to a deal that will provide the organization with a beachhead in Middlebury.
The Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET), which currently maintains a facility on the campus of the University of Vermont in Burlington, has agreed to purchase the Old Courthouse at 5 Court Street in downtown Middlebury from the college for $2 million. Middlebury will then lease back most of the Courthouse space from VCET. The building will continue to house staff members from the Office of College Advancement, Middlebury’s fundraising operation, which also occupies Painter House, directly across Court Street from the Courthouse.
The purchase and sale agreement was signed by Middlebury College and VCET officials on February 18, and a closing is expected in early March.

by Anne Galloway, vtdigger.org
A single-payer health care system would likely save money in the first few years of implementation, but over time costs would likely outstrip revenues, according to Steve Klein, director of the Vermont Joint Fiscal Office.
The House Health Care Committee asked Klein to evaluate the financial implications of the Hsaio single-payer report on Thursday.
‘The good news is, if we take on this whole system â ¦ in the first two years we’ll see cost savings,’ Klein said.
The bad news? Klein said in countries that use single-payer systems, the long-term, economic trends show an underlying financial dynamic in which health care costs ‘rise faster than revenues.’
Klein also warned that building a system will entail making difficult choices regarding benefit levels and revenue sources for the system. On the federal level, he anticipates there will be fewer resources available.

by Anne Galloway www.vtdigger.org
What does $190 million in tax breaks for Vermont’s wealthiest residents have to do with the state’s yawning budget deficit of $176 million? Not much at the moment, but if two Progressives in the Legislature have their way, income-earners who are in the top tax brackets will have an opportunity make a personal contribution to the budget-gap reduction effort.

CORRECTION: The top income-earners in Vermont will save $190 million in 2011 alone, not over a two-year period as previously reported.
In January, the Public Assets Institute issued a report showing that 5 percent of Vermonters ‘ those who earn more than $200,000 a year ‘ stand to save $190 million under the extension of President George W. Bush’s tax cuts. The top 1 percent of Vermont income-earners will see a $100 million reduction in their taxes in 2011, according to the Montpelier-based Institute.