Current News

MONTPELIER- A new report by Public Assets Institute highlights the toll
taken by the Great Recession and Vermont's failed efforts at job creation
leading up to it. The state's immediate task is to respond to the crushing
downturn and provide jobs for thousands of people who are out of work
through no fault of their own. But Vermont also needs to re-examine its
strategy for sustainable job creation, because current policies, especially
business tax breaks, are not working. Even before this recession, Vermont
was having its worst decade on record for creating new jobs.

The report, "State of Working Vermont 2010," recommends that Vermont
return to the kinds of public investments that have been shown to strengthen
the economy and provide working Vermonters the tools they need to support
their families and prosper.

Bennington and Manchester, Vt. ‘ United Counseling Service Human Resources Director Pam Nemlich, of Manchester Center, has been named Professional of the Year by the Vermont State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

This annual award recognizes leadership in the business community; outstanding service to the human resources community; and service to the civic community.

‘Pam represents the best in the human resources profession in Vermont. She has not only proven herself a strategic thinker and key contributor for her current employer, Pam has also demonstrated these same skills in her many volunteer roles within the community and the HR profession,’ Vermont SHRM State Council Director Ginny Champney said.

MONTPELIER ‘ Commissioner Armando Vilaseca today announced his appointment of Education Finance Manager, Vaughn Altemus, Ph. D., as the department’s new Act 153 Advisor. Dr. Altemus will be a resource to school boards and administrators in implementing the voluntary education governance consolidation components of Act 153 of 2010.

To accommodate this new position, the department will be reorganizing its school finance staff under Education Finance Manager, Brad James, according to Chief Financial Officer Bill Talbott.

‘Our education community is fortunate to have someone of Vaughn’s caliber available to us to focus on this important task,’ said Commissioner Vilaseca. ‘Act 153 has generated significant interest and action across the state, and it is imperative that we are able to provide advice, technical assistance and facilitation to Vermont’s supervisory unions and districts.

Chris Recchia will take the post of Deputy Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, and Michael Snyder as Commissioner of Forest, Parks and Recreation. Governor Elect Peter Shumlin made the announcement December 30, 2010.
"Chris and Mike are great additions to the team at the Agency of Natural Resources," Shumlin said. "They each have a strong background in environmental protection, experience in managing open and working landscapes, and the management skills needed to ensure the agency's permitting and other services are offered in a timely and smooth fashion."

The Vermont Public Service Board has approved a 7.46 percent Central Vermont Public Service rate increase. Due to reliability and transmission improvements and increasing power costs, in November CVPS asked the Vermont Public Service Board to authorize an 8.34 percent rate increase under the company’s alternative regulation plan. Last month, CVPS and the DPS agreed to reduce the increase to 7.67 percent. The PSB further reduced the rate to 7.46 percent pending further investigation by the PSB.
In addition to the rate change, the company and DPS agreed on changes to and an extension of CVPS’s alternative regulation plan, but the board said it needed more time to examine the proposal.
Even with the increase, which will take effect with bills mailed on Tuesday, CVPS’s rates will remain among the lowest of the major utilities in New England.

The Department for Children and Families has announced progress in its efforts to improve benefits processing, and its recent signing of a six month agreement with Vermont Legal Aid which outlines the plan for ongoing improvement. ‘The delays in benefits processing have been unacceptable. Through the hard work of staff, significant gains have already been made. This agreement lays out a pathway to finish the job over the next several months,’ said Steve Dale, outgoing Commissioner of DCF.
Dale cited gains already made in the following areas:
* Reduction of hold times in the call center from an average of over 12 minutes in mid-fall to under 1 minute this past week.
* Simplified access to on-demand phone interviews.
* Prevention of expiration of benefits due to departmental delays.
* Timely processing of all Home Heating Assistance applications.
* 25% of applicants successfully using the web.

Vermont Electric Cooperative, Inc. (VEC) announced today that the Vermont Public Service Board (VPSB) has approved VEC’s revised request for a 2.13 percent rate increase to go into effect January 1, 2011. In November, the Co-op filed a request for a 2.71 percent rate increase, but agreed with the Department of Public Service (DPS) to a rate settlement of a reduced amount.
The increase is primarily attributed to rising costs for transmission services which have impacted electric utilities throughout the region. Like all New England electric utilities, Vermont Electric Cooperative is required to share in the costs associated with regional transmission reliability projects to upgrade the aging New England electric grid, and to meet stricter federal reliability requirements. Another factor contributing to the request for a rate increase includes upgrades to VEC’s distribution system.

Citing a shortage of donations and a critical need, Central Vermont Public Service today donated $20,000 in heating aid to community action agencies across Vermont, and appealed to customers who can to donate to the CVPS Shareheat campaign.
The $20,000 grant announced today is in addition to $100,000 from CVPS shareholders the company previously put into a pool to match donations from the public.
‘With the economy still on the rebound, donations to Shareheat are lagging this winter, but the need remains very high,’ CVPS President Bob Young said. ‘We decided to immediately jumpstart the effort by making $4,000 contributions to each of the five community action agencies that participate in Shareheat, and to appeal again to the public. Vermonters are facing heating crises every day, and we want to ensure no one goes cold for lack of funds.’

Green Mountain Power has announced plans to install three public charging stations for electric cars in 2011. The charging stations will use state of the art technology, powered by the sun and will be ready for public use by spring 2011.
"Electric vehicles are part of Vermont's energy future," says Mary Powell, President and CEO of Green Mountain Power. "Transportation currently represents a significant percent of Vermont's carbon emissions and electric vehicles need to be part of a cost-effective strategy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. These new charging stations will help highlight the environmental benefits of fueling more vehicles with electricity." As part of the project, the company plans to install solar panels to produce renewable energy equal to the amount used by each charging station.

The Vermont Public Service Board on December 23 accepted FairPoint Communications' revised bankruptcy plan. The board last June rejected the plan in large part because it was not satisfied with the company's financial structure and because of the company's request to delay deployment of some of its broadband obligations under the original agreement. FairPoint refiled its application. The PSB then accepted it without conditions. On December 27, FairPoint petitioned the US Bankruptcy Court to release it from its Chapter 11 protection to allow the restructuring to move forward. In essence, FairPoint will sell the company to its creditors, which will reduce its debt from $2.7 billion to $1 billion.
Vermont was the last of the three states to give final approval to FairPoint. Maine and New Hampshire regulators approved the plan last summer. The Vermont PSB wrote on December 23:
"In this Order, we grant the regulatory approvals that FairPoint seeks, without conditions.

Northeast Dairy Farmers reached a settlement agreement with Dean Foods Company in their class action antitrust lawsuit against Dean, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and Dairy Marketing Services (DMS). The agreement will include $30 million in monetary damages and injunctive relief that calls for Dean to purchase a portion of its raw milk from multiple Northeast sources.
"This is a major win for dairy farmers in the Northeast who have been squeezed by monopolization and price-fixing," said Benjamin Brown, an attorney at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC, which represents the plaintiff dairy farmers. "We are pleased that Dean Foods is working with plaintiffs to put this practice behind them."
The lawsuit -- Alice H. Allen, et al. vs. Dairy Farmers of America -- is far from resolved, however, added Kit A. Pierson of Cohen Milstein.

Governor Elect Peter Shumlin yesterday announced the appointment of state Representative Michael Obuchowski to serve as Commissioner of the Department of Buildings and General Services.
The department employs more than 350 people and oversees construction, renovation, maintenance and other services -- including security -- related to state buildings and grounds. The department also manages the state's vehicle fleet and coordinates worker compensation claims.
"I can't imagine a better fit for this job," said Gov.Elect Shumlin. "Michael's extensive legislative background and direct experience with state buildings and grounds will enable him to hit the ground running in this position."
Obuchowski has represented Windham 4 District in the Vermont House of Representatives since 1973, and chaired the Committees on Appropriations, Energy, Ways and Means, Commerce, Education and more during his tenure. He served as House Speaker for six years.