Current News

Yesterday, the Vermont Superior Court, Washington Unit found Donald Bevins, a Williston-based home improvement contractor, in ‘willful contempt’ of Court orders containing ‘specific provisions intended to protect the public from home improvement fraud and provide for restitution to victims.’ Under the terms of the Order, Bevins is prohibited from entering into any new contracts for home repair, from setting foot on any work site where roofing work is underway, and is completely barred from working as a roofing contractor. The ban applies to Bevins individually as well as Twin City Roofing, Inc. and any other corporations Bevins represents. The Court Order notes, ‘at the hearing today, the court advised Mr. Bevins that failure to comply with this order is likely to result in sanctions from the court, including incarceration (jail).’

Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) today said Vermont would be in line for $10.8 million of a $5 billion appropriation for home heating assistance included in a spending bill that Senate Republicans are trying to block.
One of the last must-do measures on the agenda before Congress adjourns for the year, the appropriations bill would prevent a 40 percent cut in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Vermont’s $10.8 million share would help keep senior citizens on fixed incomes, families with children and the disabled warm this winter.
The critical funding for Vermont is in danger, however, because some Republicans have mounted a filibuster in the Senate and even threatened to require the entire 1,924-page bill to be read aloud on the Senate floor.

Business ownership specialist arrives; helps aspiring entrepreneurs in local area

Manchester, VT (Grassroots Newswire) ‘ Those who want to start a business now have a local contact. FranNet, who matches aspiring entrepreneurs to franchise businesses, has arrived in Vermont to help prospective business owners in the local area find the key to success.

According to Keld Alstrup, owner of the new FranNet location, there are many benefits to owning a business, but it needs to be the right fit for that particular individual.

"There are many people out there with an entrepreneurial spirit who are unsure what to do with it ‘ that's where FranNet can help. There is a match-making process of sorts involved in finding the right business. The business needs to fall in line with the person's overall goals, personality and professional skill set," Alstrup stated.

Local business owners open third Irving location since October

North Springfield, VT’ Irving Oil continues to grow in Vermont with the announcement of a new location at 16 Route 106 in North Springfield. The North Springfield Smart Shop is the third Irving location opened by Midway Oil in the past three months.

‘As a family-owned company it was important for us to partner with someone with a strong reputation and a commitment to the community,’ said Frank Trombetta of Midway Oil. ‘Irving Oil is exactly that type of company. We are excited to help grow the Irving brand in the state of Vermont.’

The North Springfield Smart Shop offers complete convenience store service, competitive prices, Green Mountain Coffee and ample parking. The location will participate in Irving's gas savings program with Shaw's Supermarkets.

Vermont is rated among the highest states in home value appreciation, despite a general national decline. The state was third highest even including the negative effect of distressed sales. CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), a leading provider of information, analytics and business services, today released its October Home Price Index (HPI) which shows that home prices in the US declined for the third month in a row. According to the CoreLogic HPI, national home prices, including distressed sales, declined by 3.93 percent in October 2010 compared toOctober 2009 and declined by 2.43 percent* in September 2010 compared to September 2009. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices declined by 1.5 percent in October 2010 compared to October 2009.
Highlights as of October 2010

Central Vermont Public Service, Green Mountain Power and Vermont Electric Cooperative are offering advice to customers in preparation for weather-related emergencies, similar to the recent wind storms that caused outages in the northwestern part of the state.
CVPS, GMP and VEC urge customers to be sure to have flashlights, batteries, food and water available in case they lose electrical service, and suggested that friends, family and neighbors check on elderly Vermonters who may need help. Candles are not recommended as light sources during a power outage due to fire risk.
The utilities offered the following advice:
â ¢ Before outages occur, be sure you have a phone that is hard-wired and does not rely on electricity.
â ¢ Fill a bathtub with water before you lose service so the water can be used to flush toilets when the power is out. PREVENT UNSUPERVISED BATHROOM ACCESS TO CHILDREN.

The Vermont State Department of Buildings and General Services and Efficiency Vermont recently collaborated on the expansion and renovation of the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration (VSARA) building in Middlesex. The building preserves some of the State’s most important public documents in an energy-efficient building that also will generate long-term savings for taxpayers. Former Secretary of State, Governor Jim Douglas was an ardent supporter of this project and he was joined by legislators Senator Phil Scott and Representative Alice Emmons in dedicating this state-of-the-art building in May of this year.
Vermont’s treasures weren’t always so well-preserved. This project fulfills the State’s long-term goal to relocate the papers, maps, photographs, and other collections from basements ‘ some with leaky pipes ‘ and other buildings to one centralized and secure location.

Governor-elect Shumlin announced today that Noelle Mackay will be Commissioner of the Department of Economic , Housing and Community Affairs and Jennifer Hollar will be the Deputy Commissioner.

Today, the EPA and the Clean Air Act got a huge boost from large and small US companies, when over 60,000 firms represented by 14 business organizations told Congress to keep the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Clean Air Act strong.
At the same time, the groups expressed concern that the EPA's half-year delay of pending ozone (smog) rules will be costly to US companies. The delay could result in higher health costs due to increased employee sick-day absenteeism and related medical costs borne entirely or partially by small and large US companies.

Weekly unemployment claims fell again last week, offsetting somewhat a recent surge in claims, as activity has been volatile lately. For the week of December 11, 2010, there were 1,156 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance, a decrease of 215 from the week before. Altogether 10,467 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 878 from a week ago and 2,191 fewer than a year earlier. The Department also processed 2,141 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 392 fewer than a week ago. In addition, there were 724 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program, which is an increase of 42 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 Attorney General William Sorrell, 38 other Attorneys General, and the Federal Trade Commission filed settlements today with The Dannon Company, Inc, regarding Dannon’s advertising of Activia and DanActive yogurt products. Under the multistate settlement, Dannon will change its marketing practices and pay $21 million to the Attorneys General to settle allegations that Dannon made unsubstantiated and unlawful marketing claims. The $21 million payment is the largest payment to date in a multistate settlement with a food producer. Vermont’s share of the settlement is $425,000.
‘Dannon led consumers to believe that its Activia and DanActive products offered health benefits, but it lacked scientific evidence to support its claims,’ said Attorney General Sorrell. ‘Companies can’t use scientific-sounding names and say certain products are good for us without having supportive scientific studies.’

Six of the nation’s leading health care systems today announced a first-of-its-kind collaboration to improve health care quality while reducing costs.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Cleveland Clinic, Denver Health, Geisinger Health System, Intermountain Healthcare, and Mayo Clinic will join The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice to share data on outcomes, quality, and costs across a range of common and costly conditions and treatments. The group will determine best practices for delivering care for these conditions and will rapidly disseminate actionable recommendations to providers and health systems across the United States. In addition to achieving better quality and outcomes, the Collaborative intends to improve the efficiency of standard clinical care delivery to reduce the per capita cost in these conditions and to keep costs in pace with the consumer price index.