Current News

The Agency of Administration released Friday details of the Legislature-approved Retirement Incentive Program and Joint Fiscal Committee approved Labor Saving Plan. As a result, the administration plan calls for only 37 actual layoffs instead of upwards of 300 in order to save the state $7.4 million in the current fiscal year. The administration and the union had failed several times to reach agreement on a downsizing plan to avoid any layoffs throughout the summer. The administration had sought pay and benefit concessions this fiscal year and an agreement of a similar nature going into the next biennium. The union balked at pay cuts, instead offering similar savings through unpaid holidays and furloughs, but declined to look beyond FY 2010 and instead wait for negotiations on a new, two-year contract. The administration had sought some guarantee of savings going forward because what is expected to be a large state shortfall in revenue the next two years.

Former governor Madeleine Kunin, currently a James Marsh Professor-at-Large at the University of Vermont, has been selected as one of three recipients of the 2009 Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal award given annually to individuals and organizations who live the values espoused by the former first lady in her public life including human rights, social justice, and racial and gender equality.
Gov. Kunin, former ambassador to Switzerland and the first woman in U.S. history to be re-elected governor three times, is being recognized for her "inspiring and energetic leadership and commitment to the principles that Mrs. Roosevelt championed for women, children and community," according to Dana vanderHeyden, co-chair of the Medals Ceremony and ERVK board member. Gov. Kunin was cited for her efforts to improve the quality of education by creating early education programs for low-income children and for establishing state-wide kindergarten programs for all public schools.

Plasan, a global leader in survivability and combat-proven armor solutions for vehicles, airborne platforms and personal protection, today announced it has won yet another contract for the delivery of 923 armor kits for the U.S. Army's MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) as sub-contractor to Oshkosh Defense. Today's announcement of additional orders comes just one week after Plasan announced meeting a significant delivery milestone of 750 armor kits on the M-ATV contract.
Mr. Dan Ziv, CEO of Plasan, said of the contract: "Plasan continues to expand our operations, creating jobs and protecting warfighters. As soldiers building for soldiers, Plasan understands that these armor solutions are critically needed."

Seeing Lake Champlain from a different perspective Clean and Clear was reason to celebrate for over 150 Friends of Chittenden County Republican Legislators when they met October 7, on the shore of Lake Champlain. Vermont s top Republican, Governor Jim Douglas, was honored for initiating one of the most significant water quality plans the state has ever undertaken, Vermont s Clean and Clear Action Plan. The first comprehensive plan of its kind, Clean and Clear was introduced in 2003 with the goal of accelerating the reduction of phosphorus pollution in Lake Champlain and reducing related pollutants in waters, state wide.
The Burlington waterfront s ECHO Center, a program partner of Clean and Clear and whose exhibits, programs and activities revolve around environmental science, provided the backdrop to celebrate the protection of Vermont s waters.

The Board of Northwestern Medical Center has appointed Jill Berry Bowen as the hospital’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). A native of Maine, Berry Bowen most recently served as Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at Mercy Hospital in Portland, ME. Before that, she was Chief Operating Officer for more than 10 years at Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington, ME. Berry Bowen is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and has been an active leader in state and local health initiatives and community organizations. She has a master’s degree in nursing (MSN) and a master’s degree in business (MBA). Her official start date at NMC is still to be determined.

Longtime news director Marselis Parsons will step away from the anchor desk for the final time on Thursday, October 15th. After 43 years of telling stories and reporting the news, Parsons will retire, ending four decades at WCAX-TV. WCAX which is family-owned and operated, is credited with coining the phrase "Vermont's own," and is widely known as Vermont's broadcast news leader.
“It’s been an honor to be allowed into so many homes every evening,” said Parsons, who is concluding 25 years as the 6 pm anchor. As part of his job as news anchor, Parsons’ outreach to the public and the Vermont’s leaders has been continuous and extensive.
Leading up to his final show, Marselis will share some of his favorite stories from over the years.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) announced today that it will cover the cost to administer the H1N1 vaccine for its members to help ensure that as many people as possible are vaccinated. BCBSVT members will be able to receive the H1N1 shot without paying a copayment, coinsurance, or deductible regardless of the plan benefit design. BCBSVT will pay the allowed administrative cost while the federal government will pay for the vaccine itself as it becomes available this fall. The spread of the H1N1 influenza virus can most effectively be controlled through vaccination, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC has recommended that certain groups of the population receive the 2009 H1N1 vaccine first. Vaccination efforts will initially focus on five target groups including:

The University of Vermont has named Professor H.W. "Bud" Meyers director of the James M. Jeffords Center, a newly established center at UVM for public policy research. The mission of the center is to conduct rigorous, scientifically-based research and evaluation, education, training, and outreach that will support the public's efforts to address complex and challenging issues.
"This is a very exciting time for the University of Vermont," said Domenico Grasso, vice president for research. "As one of the nation's premier small public research universities, the Jeffords Center is a critical component to our future and success, and Bud Meyers, with his experience in public policy research, is an excellent fit."

Many Western Massachusetts and Vermont farmers are eligible to apply for loans from the Strolling of the Heifers Microloan Fund for New England Farmers. The deadline for the current round of applications is November 27, according to Dorothy Suput, director of The Carrot Project, of Somerville, MA. The Microloan Fund is a joint project of Strolling of the Heifers, of Brattleboro, VT, an organization that works to help sustain family farms, and The Carrot Project, which creates small farm financing solutions. Chittenden Bank is the microloan program's bank partner for Western New England.
Loan applications for amounts ranging from $1,000 to $10,000, for terms up to five years, will be accepted from prequalified applicants.

Eastview at Middlebury, a proposed new retirement community in Middlebury, Vermont, received affirmation from the Vermont Supreme Court upholding the Environmental Court’s ruling that their Act 250 land use permit should stand. Eastview at Middlebury (Eastview) plans to build a 101-unit residential retirement community on approximately 40 acres owned by Middlebury College. The project – master planned and designed by Gawron Turgeon Architects in Maine – will be located adjacent to Porter Medical Center and Helen Porter Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center.
"I'm thrilled for Eastview," noted Eastview President Rob Alberts. "We couldn't be working with a better team and this decision takes us a critical step closer to a spring 2010 ground breaking. Our market has persevered with us through a lengthy permit process. It's time to get the shovel in the ground."

More Vermonters can quickly e-mail photos, download music and surf the Internet now that FairPoint Communications has expanded access to high-speed Internet service in southern Vermont. The service was recently expanded to reach 2,000 more customers in the towns of Dummerston, Hartford, Stratton Mountain, West Dover (Timber Creek) and West Windsor.
In 2008, FairPoint increased access to high-speed Internet service from 65 to 76 percent of its Vermont lines exceeding its commitment to the state for 75 percent broadband availability.

By a vote of 76 to 22, the Senate today passed and sent to President Obama legislation to provide $350 million in emergency assistance for hard-pressed dairy farmers. The House last night approved the same $121 billion agriculture spending bill for the 2010 budget year. The bill includes $290 million for direct support to dairy farmers using guidelines to be determined by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack under an expedited process. Another $60 million would be used to purchase cheese and other dairy products for food banks and nutrition programs, spurring prices for raw dairy products by drawing down supplies of the commodity.
“I am glad the bill was approved. My hope now is that Secretary Vilsack will move as rapidly as possible and get support out to dairy farmers who are in desperate need,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Sanders sponsored the amendment in the Senate tacking the dairy funds onto the Department of Agriculture appropriations bill.