Current News
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The Addison County Chamber of Commerce recognized local businesses, organizations, and individuals with its annual awards during the Chamber’s annual meeting held on September 8th at Basin Harbor Club. Four awards were presented in front of a crowd of 135 attendees which included Governor Douglas, Chamber members and other local dignitaries. In addition to the award presentations, the Chamber membership voted on a new board of directors.
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In the run-up to the primary, state Senator Peter Shumlin issued the following economic plan. Now the Democratic nominee, his "Vision for Vermont" can be found here.
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US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has released a report showing that low-wage jobs will provide the biggest share of Vermont employment growth through 2018.
‘Unfortunately, many of the new jobs being projected for Vermont and America are low-paying jobs. We can and must do better,’ said Sanders, a member of the Senate labor committee.
As the state and nation struggle through the worst recession since the 1930s, Vermont’s 6 percent unemployment rate and the 9.6 percent national jobless figure overshadow a decline in manufacturing jobs and other occupations that once supported middle-class families.
The employment structure in Vermont reflects a national trend.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Thursday participated in the grand opening of a new community health clinic for Northeast Kingdom veterans.
The clinic housed at Newport’s North Country Hospital will be the sixth operated by the White River Junction VA Medical Center. The other clinics serving Vermonters are in Bennington, Brattleboro, Colchester, Rutland, and Littleton, N.H. The Brattleboro clinic opened in June of this year.
The clinics provide access for veterans to primary care physicians, laboratory tests, medications, mental health services, and preventative services such as flu shots.
‘We have heard over the years from many veterans in the Northeast Kingdom that it has been hard to access care,’ said Sanders, a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. ‘The Newport clinic should save them a lot of time and trouble traveling to White River Junction to get the care they deserve.’
by og
Nine years after entering into a court order to settle claims of consumer fraud, Publishers Clearing House (PCH) has once again had to enter into a legal settlement with the VermontAttorney General’s Office, 31 other states and the District of Columbia. This latest development follows allegations that PCH’s mailings in recent years violated the earlier order and deceptivelyimplied that consumers had a better chance of winning a big-money sweepstakes if they bought merchandise from PCH’in effect, that you had to ‘pay to play.’ ‘This company just doesn’t get it,’ said Vermont Attorney General William H. Sorrell, ‘so as often as we need to take legal action to protect our citizens, we’ll do so.’
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The Vermont Democratic Party has filed a campaign finance violation complaint with the Vermont Attorney General's office against Brian Dubie and the Republican Governor's Association (RGA) based on reports that Dubie and the RGA coordinated the filming of the most recent RGA purchase on Dubie's behalf in violation of the law. Lieutenant Governor Dubie issued a strongly worded rebuttal saying it was a "cheap shot" by the "most ethically challenged member of the Legislature" who is "desperate to divert attention from his record."
Dubie is running for governor against Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin. At this point Shumlin is still only the presumptive nominee as the Democratic primary is going through a recount.
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For the week of September 4, 2010, there were 628 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance, an increase of 12 from the week before. Altogether 8,102 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 641 from a week ago and 2,535 fewer than a year earlier. The Department also processed 2,749 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 29 fewer than a week ago. In addition, there were 1,370 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program, which is a decrease of 48 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
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The so-called "French nuclear miracle" embraced by some US policymakers as a model for this nation is a misconception masking a pattern of fast-rising nuclear reactor construction costs and a "crowding out" of investments in renewable energy, such as wind, solar and hydro-electric power, according to a new study by Vermont Law School's Institute for Energy and the Environment.
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With Labor Day figures showing the nation’s unemployment rate stuck at 9.6 percent, the Burlington area’s employment figures continue to be well below the national and state average. With an unemployment rate of 5 percent (July), the Burlington/South Burlington Metropolitan Statistical Area (which includes all of Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle Counties) has the lowest rates of any MSAs east of the Mississippi, and is 7th lowest in the nation out of 372 MSAs. The state rate was 6 percent.
‘Mayor Kiss is pleased that employment numbers in Burlington and the area are not only healthy, but among the lowest in the nation during this difficult time,’ said Joe Reinert, Assistant to and spokesman for Mayor Bob Kiss. ‘As we have continued to unroll a major infrastructure investment in the City’s roads this summer, these numbers are a positive indication for business and people in Burlington.’
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Central Vermont Public Service (NYSE-CV) will purchase two-thirds of the output of Iberdrola Renewables’ planned Deerfield Wind Project in Readsboro and Searsburg, Vermont, under an agreement announced today.
‘The project will add yet another clean, competitively priced energy source to CV’s power supply, while providing economic benefits from development of in-state generation,’ CVPS President Bob Young said. ‘This is an attractive addition to our portfolio, which we continue to build and diversify as planned and in compliance with state law mandating renewable power in our mix. Pricing for this project is very competitive with other wind proposals CV has reviewed, and equally important, the project is permitted by the Vermont Public Service Board and headed toward timely construction.’
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Principal Investigator, Professor Ellis-Monaghan of Grand Isle, and co-principal investigator Dr. Greta Pangborn, SMC assistant professor of computer science, of Winooski, have been awarded a three-year National Science Foundation grant of $200,000 for the period from September 1, 2010 through August 31, 2013.
‘With this support, we’ll be able to explore math questions that have never been raised before,’ said Dr. Joanna Ellis-Monaghan, Saint Michael's College associate professor of mathematics, ‘and those are the interesting questions.’
‘This NSF grant allows us to continue the collaborative work between math and computer science of designing nanoconstructs, with student assistants, that has the potential for wide practical application,’ Dr. Ellis-Monaghan said.
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The Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce is currently soliciting nominations for the RRCC Business Person of the Year 2010. This award is given out annually to a deserving member of the business community.
If you would like to nominate a local business man, woman or couple you feel is deserving of this recognition; please email us at [email protected]. Nominations will be accepted until September 22, 2010.
The award will be presented at the RRCC Annual Meeting scheduled for November 3rd at noon at the Holiday Inn, sponsored by General Electric. For additional information call 802-773-2747.
Source: RRCC