Current News

The Vermont Agency of Transportation will begin to replace the Williamsville Covered Bridge on Dover Road on Monday, July 5. The bridge will be out of service through August 29, 2010. The detour around the bridge on Parish Hill and Baker Brook Road is about two miles long and will have signs. Motorists should factor time for the detour into their travel plans.
The Williamsville Covered Bridge reconstruction project involves reconstructing the existing historic bridge, built around 1850, with a new replacement covered bridge. VTRANS expects to open the new bridge to traffic on August 30.

Source: VTrans Director Planning, Outreach & Community Affairs 6.29.2010

College of St Joseph in Rutland, VT, has received a grant of $122,749 from the Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund for upgrades to the college’s residence halls, specifically to install Sto Exterior insulation in the college’s two dorm buildings. The funds from this grant come from monies received by Vermont from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and are distributed by CEDF.
The college will combine the CEDF grant with funding formerly received from the Department of Energy through the work of Congressman Peter Welch to rehabilitate the exteriors of both Roncalli and Medaille residence halls. Both halls will have four inches of foam insulation and a stucco surface applied to their exteriors that will address several major issues, including energy efficiency and the need for ongoing exterior maintenance. By the end of the summer, the construction in both halls should be complete.

The Vermont Department of Labor is reminding businesses that legislative changes taking affect July 1st could mean immediate closure of businesses found to be without required workers' compensation insurance.

Timeshare Relief, Inc, a Torrance, California, company, will offer over $91,000 in consumer refunds and pay $50,000 to the State of Vermont to settle claims that it violated Vermont law in three different ways in arranging for the repurchase of timeshares. Commenting on the settlement, the second of its kind in the past eight months, Vermont Attorney General William H Sorrell again warned out-of-state companies offering a financial benefit to Vermonters not to violate the State’s consumer laws, or “they will find that doing so is an expensive proposition.”

The Vermont Public Service Board rejected yesterday the Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring plan put forth by FairPoint Communications. The board simply did not believe what it considered overly optimistic revenue projections. It also rejected the idea that previously agreed to broadband expansion should be put off another six months, that penalties incurred over service problems should be forgiven and that service quality had returned to a level close enough to what it was when Verizon owned the system.
The PSB’s order stated: ‘After careful consideration of FairPoint's requests, the Board concludes that FairPoint has not demonstrated that the approvals would promote the general good of the state. Specifically, based upon the record before us, we cannot find that FairPoint has demonstrated the financial capability to meet its obligations under Vermont law and its CPG (Certificate of Public Good) as a telecommunications carrier.’

Each year National Geographic Traveler, the number one magazine for global travel, culture, and nature, features 50 trips that deserve the award of ‘Tour of a Lifetime.’ These carefully designed trips offer much more than classical or emerging destinations. They are carefully crafted and operated with superb dedication to service and attention to detail. All of them offer unique experiences, which no discerning traveler should miss.
Cultural Crossroads, a Vermont-based company, is winning this prestigious label for the second year in a row, in addition to being featured four times in Conde Nast Traveler Magazine with its ‘50 Trips of a Lifetime’ and ‘40 Trips of a Lifetime.’

In 2008, public school systems spent an average of $10,259 per pupil, a 6.1 percent increase over 2007. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia spent above this amount; 32 spent less. Vermont was fifth highest at $14,300.
These data come from Public Education Finances: 2008, which provides tables on revenues, expenditures, debt and assets (cash and security holdings) of elementary and secondary public school systems with data for the nation, states and school districts. The tables also include more detailed data on spending, such as instruction, school lunches, transportation and salaries, among others.

The Vermont Teddy Bear Company will be closing their 11-year-old Newport facility, which employs 70 stitchers, at the end of June 2010.
All Newport employees will be offered employment in the Shelburne factory.

The Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce today unveiled a first-ever collaborative marketing campaign that might be thought of as “I Love New York!” on a Vermont scale.
The campaign’s theme is “The One and Only Brattleboro”—building on the fact that there is only one Brattleboro on earth and on the many unique and original aspects of the history, culture and resources of the Brattleboro area.
Chamber executive director Jerry Goldberg announced the campaign at a community briefing at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden, where he also previewed a month-long festival called “Brattleboro’s September Swing into Fall” and the special Labor Day weekend event that will kick off the fall 2010 promotion.

Lyndon State College has announced that Michigan-based clothing company Carhartt, Inc, has made a $1 million gift in support of the college’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign, A New View: The Second Century Campaign. ‘This is a significant gift that will benefit our students and the surrounding Northeast Kingdom,’ said Lyndon President Carol A Moore.
Carhartt President & CEO and Lyndon alumnus Mark Valade ‘78 helped secure this gift when he recognized ‘that the stars are aligned with regard to the leadership and resources available to guide both Lyndon State College and the Northeast Kingdom into a promising and prosperous future.’

The Supreme Court today issued a ruling in Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. In a 5 to 4 decision, the Court found unconstitutional a key provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the anti-fraud law Congress enacted in the aftermath of the Enron and WorldCom accounting scandals. Overturning decisions by the DC District Court and the DC Circuit Court, the Supreme Court held that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution because its members are not under the direct control of the President. Senator Leahy (D-VT) was a co-sponsor of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and a principle author of the whistleblower protections established by the Act.

During a visit to Denver, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced $75 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds for On-the-Job Training, National Emergency Grants to 41 states, the District of Columbia and three federally recognized Native American tribes. Vermont's share is $293,000. These resources will be used to help Americans get back to work, especially in geographic areas disproportionately impacted by the recession.