Current News

Vermont’s downtowns and village centers were in the spotlight last week for efforts to make them more vibrant and prosperous. The Green Mountain Awards were part of the Vermont Downtown Program’s annual Downtown Conference in Middlebury last week, which celebrated 11 years of revitalizing Vermont.
“These awards recognize the hard work and dedication to community revitalization that goes on in so many Vermont towns,” said Joss Besse, Director of the Division of Community Planning and Revitalization. “Our downtowns and village centers are so critical to our way of life, and much of the effort that sustains them is volunteer.”
One of the award winners was the venue that hosted the awards – Middlebury’s Town Hall Theatre, which had fallen into serious disrepair after it was abandoned as the municipal offices years ago, won the Best Building Renovation award.

Vermont Technical College this week was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a “School of Priority Status”, which will allow its graduates direct-hire access to jobs and internships at airports and FAA facilities throughout the United States. Under the FAA’s Airway Facilities - Collegiate Training Initiative (AF-CTI), students at approved colleges and universities are eligible for internships during their college years in specialized aviation-related fields of study.
Vermont Tech is the only college in Vermont and one of just 40 schools nationwide to be named an FAA School of Priority Status.

The US Census Bureau has begun its second round of Census applicant testing across the State of Vermont. The Census Bureau is looking for qualified applicants to fill hundreds of temporary positions beginning in the spring of 2010; the first step in the application process is the completion of an entrance exam.
Successful applicants will conduct face-to-face interviews with Vermonters who fail to return their Census questionnaires by mail. The jobs are temporary; some are full time and others part time. Census jobs offer flexible schedules and allow close-to-home employment. Field operations pay starts at $13.50 per hour and varies by job.

Open Text(TM) Corporation ( OTEX, TSX: OTC), a global leader in Enterprise Content Management (ECM), has commemorated the successful conclusion of its annual user conference Content World by announcing the recipients of its customer and partner awards. The week-long conference, which concluded on Oct. 30 in Orlando, Fla., hosted more than a thousand customers and partners and featured 125+ sessions focused on ECM customer case studies, best practices, emerging trends and technical expertise.
"During this challenging economic environment, companies rely on ECM technology to reap maximum benefits and shape strategic growth," said John Shackleton, President and Chief Executive Officer, Open Text. "I commend our customers and partners alike for their visionary use of our ECM Suite and the innovative routes they took to attain valuable business accomplishments."
2009 GlobalStar Enterprise Award

MyWebGrocer Media connected with more than 2.7 million unique users in September, making it the single largest online grocery destination, according to comScore’s data. The rapidly growing ad network has more than doubled in size in the past year.*The Largest Online Grocery AudienceThe Nielsen Company recently reported** that, in July of 2009, more than 13 million U.S. Internet users visited a grocery site. With 2.7 unique monthly users, MyWebGrocer Media represents the web’s largest online grocery audience, roughly 21% of the online grocery population. MyWebGrocer Media is a top destination among online food enthusiasts, with more unique monthly visitors than both Yahoo! Food and Epicurious.com, as measured by comScore.Active and Engaged UsersNot only is MyWebGrocer Media’s audience big, its users are highly engaged. The average MyWebGrocer shopper spends 11.9 minutes on the network and views 28 pages of content (October 2009).

Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Peter Welch (D-VT.) today announced that the Village of Barton will receive $2.8 million for water system improvements funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The $2.08 million grant along with a $723,000 loan awarded to Barton was among 31 water projects announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture using economic stimulus funds to help rebuild the nation's infrastructure and create or retain jobs.
“Recovery Act projects are helping rural communities of all sizes build a foundation for economic strength, future prosperity, and a healthy environment," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in making the announcement.
The stimulus program includes measures to modernize the nation’s infrastructure, foster energy independence, expand educational opportunities, improve affordable health care, and provide tax relief.

Vermont and seven other states will share nearly $4 million in economic stimulus funding announced today under a green jobs program that was authored by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
“If we get our act together as a nation and start addressing the major environmental problems of our time – global warming and our dependence on fossil fuels – we can create millions of good paying jobs,” said Sanders, chairman of the Senate’s Green Jobs and the New Economy Subcommittee. “In other words,” he added, “good environmental policy is good economic policy.”
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said, “I applaud the Obama administration’s ongoing commitment to help families and businesses during these difficult economic times and to aggressively accelerate investments in green jobs. This project will put a much needed framework around the larger discussion of a green economy in Vermont.”

Gary Hirshberg, president and "CE-Yo" of Stonyfield Farm, the world's leading organic yogurt producer will speak in Burlington, VT, on Thursday, November 19 at two events, both on behalf of the Intervale Center.
Environmental activist, business entrepreneur, renewable energy advocate, and food activist (Hirshberg appears prominently in the film, Food, Inc.), his topic, "Inventing the Future of Food" will be presented at the University of Vermont at 3 pm in the Billings Building North Lounge. The event is co-sponsored by UVM's Institute for Global Sustainability, the Food System Research Collaborative at the UVM Center for Rural Studies, Solutions Journal, and the Intervale Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Intrawest and Powdr Corp today announced they have entered into a definitive purchase agreement to sell Intrawest's interests in Copper Mountain to Powdr Corp. The transaction is anticipated to close in December 2009 and the agreement is subject to regulatory approvals including the issuance of a US Forest Service special-use permit to Powdr Corp.

United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention today released the 20th Anniversary Edition of America’s Health Rankings showing that Vermont ranks 1st when compared to the health of other states. This is the 3rd year in a row that Vermont has been at the top of the rankings.
“I’m so pleased that Vermont continues to receive national recognition for successfully implementing comprehensive health reforms that incorporate aspects of high quality, coordinated public health and health care – particularly the Vermont Blueprint for Health – along with expanding coverage to the uninsured,” said Governor Jim Douglas. “The successes we’ve realized in Vermont have not come easily – they’ve required teamwork, compromise and a willingness to address the tough issues surrounding public health care – but they are vital for the people of our state and for all Americans.”

Brigitte Ritchie, community relations officer for Citizens Bank, presented a $10,000 check to the Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS). The contribution is in support of the Housing Resource Center (HRC). The HRC opened its doors in October 2008 with the mission to help avert evictions and foreclosures through one-time homelessness prevention grants.
During the first year of operation over 600 applications were filed by households that had fallen behind in their rent or mortgage payments. Frequently these arrearages were a result of an unexpected contingency such as a medical emergency or major car repair.
Of the more than 600 households that applied for support, 351 households were assisted and were able to stay in their homes. In order to qualify for a grant, the applicant must be able to fulfill financial obligations such as rent and utilities once their situation has been stabilized.

Ten state Attorneys General are backing legislation authored by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to repeal the health insurance and medical malpractice insurance industries’ exemption from federal antitrust laws.
In a letter dated November 13, Attorneys General from Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Oregon, Arizona, Iowa, Montana, Florida and Wyoming urge Congress to end the decades-old exemption from federal antitrust laws, which are designed to encourage competition and protect consumers. Dating back to the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act, health insurers and medical malpractice insurers have been exempt from these laws. Leahy chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which held a hearing on the exemption in October.