Current News

PreLaw magazine has ranked Vermont Law School as among the top environmental law schools in the nation. In preLaw’s “Back to School” 2010 edition released Tuesday, VLS and three other law schools received the magazine’s summa cum laude ranking as the best of the best for their environmental law programs and green campus practices.
Noting that US News & World Report ranks VLS as the nation’s premier environmental law school, the preLaw article points out that VLS offers a broader and deeper selection of environmental law and policy classes than any school in the nation during both the academic year and summer session.
To read the preLaw article, go to: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cypress/prelaw_backtoschool-2010/#/10

Five agencies in Vermont will receive about $4.7 million to provide solar thermal and solar hot water technologies for Vermont families, Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Peter Welch (D-VT) announced today.
The funds also may be used to promote bulk buying strategies and cooperative partnerships in buying solar technologies in order to lower the costs of materials. Community-based marketing approaches to help families save energy and money also may be funded under the grants.
The Vermont grant recipients were among 120 organizations across the country selected to receive $120 million under the U.S. Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program.
The Bennington-Rutland Opportunity Council, Inc., located in Rutland, will receive $900,000.
The Central Vermont Community Action Council, Inc., based in Barre, will receive $900,000.

The University of Maine and the University of Vermont are joining forces this fall to offer a research-based online weight management course that helps college students develop healthy eating and exercise habits.
"Vtrim Online" is a one-credit, semester-long course based on clinical research by Jean Harvey-Berino, Ph.D., R.D., a nationally recognized obesity researcher at the University of Vermont. Her concept is based on behavior changes: a systematic shaping of daily habits to help people move more and eat less.
"There is a groundswell nationwide for universities to provide preventative health programming to students," says Harvey-Berino. "It's an ideal time in their lives to learn healthy eating behaviors for long-term health and earn college credit, too."

University Mall has announced a 100 percent occupancy rate, as of September 2010, in itsr 612,000-square-foot, 75-store shopping mall located on Dorset Street in South Burlington, Vermont.
The full occupancy comes with the addition of several new stores including a 6,778 sf Rue21, opening August 26, a 585 sf Lids and a 25,500 sf Spirit Halloween, both opening in September, and the temporary relocation of Bath & Body Works while their current space undergoes renovation. Also, Things Remembered, an engraving kiosk will open next to McDonald's in September. Avenue A, a locally owned women's clothing store, has relocated to the mall's south end to accommodate Rue21.
University Mall is family-owned by Finard Properties LLC of Burlington, Massachusetts and was founded by William Finard in 1979.
Source: University Mall. 8.19.2010

Four Vermont nonprofit organizations will receive an infusion of $2.3 million in capital to make loans and provide technical assistance to small businesses, day cares, nonprofit affordable housing developers and first time home buyers.
Vermont’s congressional delegation said the US Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institution Fund (CDFI) is awarding the Vermont Community Loan Fund (VCLF) of Montpelier a $750,000 grant; Northern Community Investment Corporation (NCIC) of St. Johnsbury a $750,000 grant; Opportunities Credit Union of Burlington a $750,000 grant; and a loan fund at the Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) a $74,085 grant. The organizations are among 180 nationwide organizations receiving nearly $105 million in awards.

Vermont apple growers are not typically faint of heart. Each year, they self-confidently face freezes, droughts, heat, hail and pests - and that’s before the challenges of the fall harvest even begin. The wave of warm weather early this spring launched Vermont’s crop unusually early. By early May, Vermont orchards were in full bloom as freezing temperatures were forecasted.
The early bloom has resulted in Vermont’s apple crop coming in about ten days earlier than usual. Resulting damage from the freeze was lighter than anticipated, and most growers are anticipating yields close to 2009 levels. Paula Red and some of the other early apples are ready for picking. McIntosh, the state’s leading variety, should be ready to pick by early September.

South Burlington has been rated in the top ten school districts nationally with housing costs under $500,000, according to a review by a national rating firm. While millions throughout the nation prepare for traditional back to school activities, some families are searching for affordable housing based on local schools or desirable school districts. In some cases, proximity to quality schools is so important buyers may choose to rent close to a preferred school until the right home becomes available, especially if they're running out of time before the first day of school.

Hunger Mountain Coop in Montpelier is extending its search for a possible second location in Waterbury. While its research showed that moving The Coop into the current RJ’s Friendly Market under the proposed plan poses too great a financial risk, the studies also indicated the potential for adding a Waterbury store remains feasible. As a result, The Coop will continue to explore options for an optimal storefront, though no final decision is anticipated in the near future.
“We’ve heard from a lot of people who live and work around Waterbury that The Coop would be a welcome addition to this vibrant area”, explains Coop General Manager Kari Bradley. “But, we have to find the right fit before bringing this to a vote of our Member-Owners. They have raised a lot of questions during this process that will need to be addressed.”

For the second consecutive year, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR), of Waterbury, Vermont, has been ranked on Fortune’s annual list of the 100 Fastest-Growing Companies. GMCR ranked #2 overall on the list released today.
GMCR was the highest-ranked consumer package goods company on the list, which includes profitable, publicly-held companies with at least $50 million in annual revenue. Companies are assessed by revenue growth rate, EPS growth rate, and three-year annualized total return to investors. Last month, GMCR reported its 11th consecutive quarter of better than 40 percent net sales growth. For the first nine months of fiscal 2010, the company has produced net sales growth of 70% over the prior year and excluding acquisition-related expenses, earnings per share growth of 89% over the same period for fiscal year 2009.

US Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and Congressman Peter Welch said that a $5.5 million stimulus broadband grant and loan package to Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom, announced today, will help connect their most rural and remote customers to high speed fiber optic Internet access.
Vice President Joe Biden Wednesday was joined by representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and of the U.S. Department of Commerce in announcing that Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom would be receiving a $3.891 million grant and $1.668 million loan to extend a fiber-to-the-home network capable of delivering between 5 megabits per second and 100 megabits per second to 1,385 residents of Addison, Chittenden, and Washington Counties. According to Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom officials, these residents will be among some of the hardest to reach and hardest to serve in the company’s territory.

Governor Jim Douglas was joined by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and local officials today to announce that the State of Vermont has been awarded $400,000 from the federal government to replenish its revolving loan fund for cleaning up contaminated brownfields sites. The Governor made the announcement at the site of the former Fonda Container Company/Solo Cup property, which received $400,000 in federal funds last year for the ongoing cleanup of contamination caused by paper manufacturing there.
“These funds will help us continue with the re-development of sites like this all over the state,” Governor Douglas said. “Turning these brownfields into clean, safe spaces for re-development will help communities from St. Albans to Springfield revitalize their local economies.”

FairPoint Communications has asked the Vermont Public Service Board to reconsider its rejection of FairPoint’s bankruptcy plan. FairPoint is under US Bankruptcy Court protection as it seeks to restructure most of its nearly $3 billion debt. It filed for Chapter 11 protection in New York last year and hoped to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of this summer. However, the Vermont regulators threw a wrench into the case when it rejected on June 28 the restructuring plan. Regulators in Maine and New Hampshire have approved the plan.
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