Current News

For the week of June 19, 2010, there were 1,103 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance, an increase of 409 from the week before. Altogether 10,211 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 489 from a week ago and 4,084 fewer than a year earlier. The Department also processed 3,301 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 151 more than a week ago. In addition, there were 1,930 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program, which is a decrease of 163 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

Pat Moulton Powden is leaving state government to join the Vermont Chamber of Commerce as vice president of public affairs. Moulton Powden is currently the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and was previously the Chair of the Environmental Board. Deputy Labor Commissioner Valerie Rickert has been appointed by Governor Douglas to take over. Moulton Powden will be starting with the Vermont Chamber on July 19.
"Her experience in unemployment insurance, workers compensation, environmental permitting and economic development will be an undisputable asset to our members," said Betsy Bishop, President Vermont Chamber of Commerce. "Her expertise has earned her the respect of many legislators, regardless of party and it is my goal for her to elevate the Vermont Chamber's presence and influence in the government and regulatory arenas."

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation announced today a planned closure of the US Route 4 temporary bridge over the Connecticut River connecting Lebanon, New Hampshire, and Hartford, Vermont, scheduled to occur from Friday, June 25 at 9 am until mid-day on Monday, June 28, 2010.
Weather permitting, this bridge closure to motor vehicle traffic will allow for the replacement of the deteriorated asphalt pavement road surface on the bridge. Message boards will alert motorists to the bridge closure and detour.
The signed detour on the New Hampshire side of the Connecticut River will re-direct traffic to Interstate 89 (Exit 20) via Route 4 and New Hampshire Route 12A, crossing the river into Vermont and onto Interstate 91, to Route 5 and back onto Route 4. The same detour in reverse will be in effect on the Vermont side of the river.
The US 4 bridge will remain open to pedestrian traffic throughout the weekend.

Vermont and New Hampshire have seen the value of construction contracts diminish as federal stimulus money has been mostly spent. This is most evident with road and bridge construction, which was at a very high level a year ago. In Vermont, commercial building has suffered significantly as well, down 81 percent for the month of May and 87 percent for the year-to-date. Meanwhile, somewhat surprisingly, Vermont residential construction has rebounded, up 27 percent for May and 37 percent for the year. The total value of Vermont construction contracts for the year, which is a reflection of future building, was $208,287,000, down 61 percent from last year's $535,994,000.
New Hampshire has seen most of its numbers in total also go down, but it is showing more strength than Vermont in both commercial (up 66 percent) and residential (up 48 percent) for the year. The New Hampshire total for the year was $658,526,000, down 36 percent

Embracing renewable energy and hoping to educate Vermonters about it, Central Vermont Public Service (NYSE: CV) today unveiled its new Rutland Town solar project and renewable energy education center.
CV President Bob Young was joined by Gov. Jim Douglas and representatives of the Stafford Technical Center and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers - Local 300, who helped build the most publicly accessible solar project in the state.
"This will be much more than just a solar project," Douglas said. "It is a true renewable education complex, with hydro generation across Route 7, and a wind measurement tower that may be replaced with a wind turbine or two in the future. Together with the educational displays, these generation facilities will educate thousands of Vermont students who will be welcomed in the next few years."

Today, Vermont legislators, retailers, and representatives from the Vermont Retail Association and Vermont Grocers Association met at the Elmore Store in Elmore, Vermont, to discuss the importance of Vermont s new credit card law. Passed unanimously by both legislative bodies in Vermont, the law, S.138, prohibits abusive practices by credit card companies. The law will take effect on January 1, 2011. It is the first and only such state law in the country.

Vermont Humanities Council grant awards will make a humanities impact throughout Vermont this year. In all, VHC made nine awards to nonprofits for humanities programming, totaling $19,100.
The Vermont Folklife Center has received a $5,000 grant from the Vermont Humanities Council for its online resource project, “New Vermonters from the Balkans.” The grant is one of nine awards given by VHC to Vermont organizations during its spring 2010 grant cycle.“New Vermonters from the Balkans” will make the Vermont Folklife Center’s research, photographs, and videos available via a new Web site to raise awareness of the refugee resettlement experience in Vermont. The project parallels VHC’s Vermont Reads 2010 program, which focuses on Katherine Paterson’s book, The Day of the Pelican, a novel about a family from Kosovo and its flight from Serbian aggression to refuge in Vermont.

by James Dwinell, Vermont Business Magazine -- Topnotch Resort and Spa in Stowe has a new management team. According to Arthur Kreizel, a longtime adviser to Topnotch and a former owner with the Cummings family of Stowe and Montreal, This is a done deal. The Capital Source Bank of Delaware took possession of Topnotch as a gift from the Cummings family and the Terra Resort Group of Jackson, Wyoming, has taken over management duties.
According to a hotel management executive in Boston, The bank lost confidence in the management of the Cummings family s management. They decided to take possession of Topnotch and go in a different direction.
Kreizel concurred saying, Topnotch had made a number of significant investments in facilities recently which, in today s resort environment, were not working out. They invested $60 million just before the recession in a new condominium development which just didn t sell profitably.

The Boston Society of Landscape Architects (BSLA) 2010 Awards Jury presented a Merit Award for Residential and Garden Design to the H. Keith Wagner Partnership (HKWP) for the North Cove Residence located in Shelburne, Vermont. HKWP, a landscape architecture firm located in Burlington, Vermont, collaborated with TruexCullins Architecture and Interior Design on this project, which consists of a two-unit home for a multi-generational family.
The Jury noted, "This elegant and well detailed project has accomplished the program of accommodating a multi-generational family through a restrained and positive simplicity of forms without being rigid. The architecture and landscape have been so well integrated that the boundaries between the disciplines are seamless. The spatial organization, including the siting of the swimming pool and the layout of the boardwalk to the lake, is very successful."

Entergy Corporation today announced that a recently completed root cause analysis of a tritium leak at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant determined that the leak was primarily caused by an earlier design deficiency and inadequate inspection of an underground area of the plant that could not be accessed.
Tonight (June 22, 2010), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will host an open house (4 pm to 6 pm) and public meeting (6 pm to 9 pm) on June 22 at Brattleboro Union High School. NRC staff will discuss the NRC Demand for Information and Groundwater Protection reports, an annual assessment of Vermont Yankee, and other information about the Vermont Yankee tritium investigation and groundwater protection efforts.

The Grafton Village Historic District has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service.
The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation; the Vermont Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; and the Grafton Historical Society, will hold a celebration to recognize this special honor at 1 pm on June 23 in front of the Grafton History Museum at 147 Main Street.
"The Grafton Village Historic District is one of the most well-preserved rural villages in Vermont, said Giovanna Peebles, State Historic Preservation officer and head of the division. This is a really great example of how historic preservation can be a benefit to our tourism industry.