Current News

The Vermont congressional delegation today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will postpone a pending reduction in food stamp benefits for 16,000 Vermonters for at least three months. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) pledged to continue to fight for a long-term solution to this problem.
Sanders authored a letter signed by Leahy and 13 other senators asking Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack to reconsider his department’s plan cut to nutrition assistance benefits under Vermont’s ‘3SquaresVT’ program. Welch strongly supported a similar letter from members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

US Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt), and US Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt) Monday announced that Vermont has been awarded $8.8 million in federal transportation grants for public transit providers across the state to purchase new buses.
The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) was awarded $6,392,000 to distribute to transit agencies statewide, and the Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA) was awarded its own $2,475,305 grant.
The grants were awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration under its new State of Good Repair Program. This is a $775 million nationwide account for competitive grants for public transit providers to finance capital projects to replace, rehabilitate, and purchase buses and related equipment and to build and rehabilitate bus-related facilities.

Vermont Business Magazine (VBM) has announced the winners of its inaugural Rising Stars Award. The list is comprised of 40 winners under the age of 40. Award recipients were selected by a panel of judges for their commitment to business growth, professional excellence and involvement in their communities.
SLIDE SHOW OF WINNERS
PHOTOS, BIOS & MORE
‘We are thrilled by the response to this initiative to recognize these up-and-coming leaders,’ said VBM Publisher John Boutin. ‘We received many outstanding nominations and the judges had a difficult time getting it down to only 40. Those who believe Vermont is losing its young talent need only look at these incredible individuals. It’s not just about business. It’s also about them making a difference in their communities.’

Burlington marketing firm Brandthropology has teamed up with Emphase, an engineering firm and a division of Logic Supply based in South Burlington. Brandthropology will revamp the Emphase image, including a logo redesign and a website overhaul.
‘We’re really excited to have another great tech client, especially one located here in Vermont. Our firm's process-driven approach to helping brands evolve is a great match for Emphase's progressive, innovative product offerings. It’s really a win-win.’ said Matt Dodds, founder and Chief Brandthropologist at Brandthropology.
Emphase serves the embedded computing market, coupling internal component design capability with streamlined manufacturing in order to offer both custom and pre-engineered solutions to OEM clients. They focus on custom component design, solid state storage, and hardware and software development.

The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) has awarded filmmaker Caro Thompson of Walden, Vt., its History Medal for her documentary “Champlain: The Lake Between.”
The film, which premiered on Vermont Public Television as part of the Champlain quadricentennial, explores the diplomacy and trade between Native nations and Europeans that flourished in the region during the 17th and 18th centuries. It details how Frenchman Samuel de Champlain arrived in what became known as the Champlain Valley in 1609 and changed the course of history.

Vermont Law School will open a Center for Agriculture and Food Systems next spring to support advocates, agencies, food hubs, incubators and farmers engaged in the creation of community-based agriculture systems in the United States and internationally.
The new center will focus on legal and policy issues related to community-based agriculture, the regulation of food, the Farm Bill and agricultural subsidies, energy-efficient food production, energy independence for farmers and other issues key to retaining a successful working landscape for rural communities.
‘Vermont Law School is the ideal place to initiate this effort,’ said Professor Marc Mihaly, director of VLS’s Environmental Law Center. ‘Vermont is synonymous with the farming landscape and leads the nation in sophisticated efforts to implement a sustainable agricultural system.’

Governor Jim Douglas has signed a proclamation making the month of October Cyber Security Awareness month in the state of Vermont. Governor Douglas is joining other governors across the country in recognizing the seventh annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month.
“Technology, while necessary in our society today, is not without pitfalls,” said Governor Douglas. “Having an awareness and understanding of how to protect and secure technical devices, like computers, Smartphone’s and iPods, is critical in creating a more secure state and nation.”
National Cyber Security Awareness Month is an initiative to promote computer security awareness. Last year, President Barack Obama signed a Presidential Proclamation to show federal support to spread cyber awareness nationwide. The support from both federal and state levels creates a joint effort in calling to all Americans that cyber security is our shared responsibility, as a state and as a nation.

While a lethargic economy takes a toll on the membership rolls and financial stability of Jewish organizations, a group of investors is providing $1.5 million to a website development and hosting startup committed to helping these groups survive and thrive by strategically embracing web technology.
Jvillage Network, a mission-driven, for-profit company in Burlington, VT, engages and grows the membership communities of synagogues and Jewish community organizations by designing, building and hosting customized websites with content and features enabling member outreach and encouraging member interactivity. The company creates long-term relationships with clients to build community through a robust, sustainable web presence. It employs a dozen in Burlington.

Each year, a panel of independent judges chooses Vermont’s best activities, selected for their diversity and wide appeal. The Vermont Chamber of Commerce announces the highly anticipated 2011 Top Ten Summer and Fall Events. The 2011 award recipients display a wide variety of unique Vermont attributes that will provide something fun for everyone in all corners of the Green Mountain State.
In order to qualify as a Vermont Chamber of Commerce Top Ten Event, events must appeal to out-of-state visitors as well as Vermonters, and to a diverse audience, including children and families. Events should also be representative of the Vermont brand, featuring time-honored as well as contemporary experiences. Due to the additional attention a Top Ten Award garners, the event must be able to accommodate an influx of visitors up to twice the normal count.
The winners in chronological order include:

45th Annual Vermont Maple Festival: How SWEET It Is!

Attorney General William H. Sorrell announced today that Vermont will receive approximately $95,000 as part of a $75 million settlement with Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc, that involved all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government. The agreement with Ortho-McNeil-Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., resolves allegations that the company promoted topiramate, an antiepileptic and migraine prevention drug which is marketed under the trade name Topamax©, for uses not approved by the Food & Drug Administration.

Vermont Technical College has learned it will be the recipient of a $25,000 grant from the John Merck Fund to help promote its new Bachelor of Science degree program in Diversified Agriculture.
The goal of Diversified Agriculture is to strengthen Vermont’s agricultural community by training future generations of farmers to manage diverse, sustainable and profitable farms that will supply the region with quality products.
‘The John Merck Fund is thrilled that Vermont Tech has launched a comprehensive program to support young farmers as they pursue their dreams of owning and running successful, diversified farms,’ said Holly Tippett, Vermont Program Advisor to the John Merck Fund. ‘With the growing interest in farms that produce a variety of food-related products such as eggs, meat birds, vegetables and fruit, cow’s milk and goat’s milk, this program is on the cutting edge of agricultural economics’

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) says a new $31,497,430 US Army contract with Goodrich for additional units of the company’s groundbreaking helicopter maintenance diagnostic system, produced by the firm’s facility in Vergennes, will further extend the plant’s planning horizon and underscores again how firmly the advanced system has quickly taken its place as a key maintenance feature of US military helicopter programs. Leahy just last month announced an extension of a Navy contract for the system.