Current News

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.

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

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.

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.’

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.’

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.

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

Fuse, a marketing firm based in Burlington, has been named to the Inc. 5000 by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the nation (www.inc.com/inc5000/profile/fuse). There are more than 27 million businesses registered in the US.
‘It is an honor to receive this recognition from such a well-regarded magazine like Inc.,’ said Bill Carter, Partner, Fuse. ‘This acknowledgement is especially exciting for Fuse considering we are a fifteen year old company and still growing. We have a great team working together at Fuse ‘ probably the strongest we have ever had - and I am so thankful for our employees for their hard work.’

The Vermont Attorney General’s Office, six other states and the Federal Trade Commission have settled court claims that the former president of a Florida payment processor violated federal and state laws law by debiting, or attempting to debit, more than $200 million from consumers’ bank accounts on behalf of fraudulent telemarketers and Internet-based merchants. The settling defendant is Derrelle Janey, who served as president of Your Money Access, LLC (’YMA’) from 2003 to 2006.

Vermont Wind LLC, which is developing a 40-megawatt, 16-turbine project near I-91 on Granby Mountain in Sheffield, has received its final permits from the Vermont Environmental Court. The Vermont Supreme Court ruled in favor of the project in February 2009, upholding the Vermont Public Service Board's issuing of a certificate of public good for the project. Some abutters and even Governor Douglas have opposed the project. The company will pay Sheffield $520,000 a year.
First Wind, based in Boston, on behalf of its subsidiary, Vermont Wind, has issued the following statement regarding the August 30, 2010, ruling by the Vermont Environmental Court on permits related to the company’s proposed Sheffield Wind Project:
‘We are pleased with today’s ruling by the Court. First Wind plans to construct the project in accordance with the Vermont Public Service Board’s conditions as detailed in the Certificate of Public Good granted for the project.

Representative Peter Welch on Wednesday called on the Food and Drug Administration to investigate a new syrup product that appears to violate FDA labeling rules.
The ‘All Natural Syrup’ marketed by Log Cabin Syrup, a division of Pinnacle Foods LLC, appears to include ingredients the FDA does not allow in products labeled as ‘natural.’
‘Vermont’s hardworking maple sugar makers are known far and wide for producing the highest quality maple syrup available. Any artificial syrup product masquerading as ‘natural’ confuses consumers and dilutes the value of one of Vermont’s finest products,’ Welch said. ‘I am asking the FDA to take swift action to enforce its regulations and preserve honesty in labeling.’
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce, of which Welch is a member, has jurisdiction over the FDA.
Welch joins Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Roger Allbee in urging regulators to determine whether Log Cabin Syrup has violated FDA standards.

Just two years after achieving independence, Vermont College of Fine Arts’ (VCFA) MFA writing programs have been ranked first among programs of their kind by Poets & Writers, the leading creative writing publication in the U.S. This honor comes on the heels of several other major achievements for VCFA, including achieving accreditation as a degree-granting institution in record time.
Established in 1981, the Vermont College MFA in Writing Program is the original low-residency writing program in the country. The Atlantic named it one of the top five low-residency programs nationwide. The Writing for Children & Young Adults track was established in 1997 and was the nation's first fully developed graduate program focusing on writing for young readers and numbers among its alumni New York Times bestsellers, ALA award winners and National Book Award finalists.