Current News

The Douglas Administration marked the first anniversary of RGGI auctions by announcing that Vermont will receive $471,319 as its share of this week’s cap-and-trade carbon allowance sale.
“Vermont, along with our RGGI partners, continues to lead the country in combating climate change,” Governor Douglas said. “As we work for a cleaner environmental future, Vermonters will also see the economic benefits that come with new green jobs and lower energy bills.”
Vermont was the first state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) as part of the Governor’s platform of climate change initiatives. In the first year since RGGI auctions began, the state has earned $3.2 million in five auctions. These proceeds will be invested in energy efficiency, renewable energy, technology development and other programs that return the value of the allowances to consumers.

From Monday, September 14 to Friday, September 18 the Champlain Housing Trust will host 25 housing policy researchers and practitioners from thirteen countries and six different continents for a week-long study visit to learn about CHT’s innovative and internationally recognized Community Land Trust model of housing delivery. The visit is coordinated by the Building and Social Housing Foundation with Housing Trust staff and is a follow-up from CHT being recognized with a World Habitat Award last year.
The week will kick off on Monday with current and former mayors of Burlington greeting the guests, including US Senator Bernie Sanders (invited), Mayor Bob Kiss and former Mayor Peter Clavelle. The Burlington City Council will officially welcome the delegation Monday evening at their Council meeting.

Fast-growing e-commerce platform provider CommerceV3 and leading online marketing agency Timberline Interactive of Middlebury today announced a merger. The combined company will unite a proven online store platform with a vast array of e-commerce marketing services.

The Ware Building at the Champlain Valley Fair was bustling from morning to night with special events, cooking demonstrations and kids activities. This year something there was something new - the Best of Vermont competition.
The Agency of Agriculture identified categories of foods made in Vermont, and each day of the fair was dedicated to a specific category. Fairgoers visiting the Ware Building sampled the items and voted on their favorites.
This was a great success. Not only did thousands of fairgoers get to sample tasty food, the producers were able to highlight their products to potential new customers, said Koi Boynton, Agricultural Marketing Coordinator with the agency. We will certainly try this again next year.
The Ware Building each year is programmed and staffed by agency of agriculture employees. The events and demonstrations focus on Vermont products and agriculture.
Results of the Best of Vermont Competition:

Bolton Valley Resort, a locally owned and operated family ski and snowboard area, has announced construction of a wind turbine that will be operational in late autumn. It is the first wind turbine to be constructed at a Vermont ski area.
The turbine will be located near the top of the resort’s Vista Quad lift in an existing clearing adjacent to the ski patrol hut. It is designed to produce in excess of 300,000 kilowatts of power annually, the equivalent of electricity consumed by 40-to-45 Vermont households.

Vermont continues to have the lowest foreclosure rate in the nation as foreclosure rates here and across US continue to be near their all time high in July. RealtyTrac(R) (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its August 2009 US Foreclosure Market Report, which shows foreclosure filings - default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions - were reported on 358,471 US properties during the month, a decrease of less than 1 percent from the previous month but still an increase of nearly 18 percent from August 2008. The report also shows one in every 357 US housing units received a foreclosure filing in August. Vermont's rate was one in every 9,437. However, in July it was only one in every 28,312, a 200 percent change from July and an 83.3 percent change from August 2008.

Jim Douglas, Governor of Vermont and Chair of the National Governors Association will speak at a National Press Club luncheon on September 17, 2009, to discuss his yearlong NGA initiative, Rx for Health Reform: Affordable, Accessible, Accountable which looks at opportunities for states to contribute to the success of national health care reform.
Douglas announced on August 27 of this year, that he would not seek re-election as Governor in 2010.
As Governor, he has made health care reform a top priority in Vermont so its citizens have access to high-quality, affordable health care. Less than a year after taking office, the Governor launched The Blueprint for Health to transform Vermont's health care system and help all Vermonters lead healthier lives and reduce health care costs, and in 2006 signed a comprehensive package of health reforms to expand access to coverage, improve the quality and performance of the health care system and contain costs.

Three Vermont counties were awarded economic stimulus funding for energy efficiency and conservation projects through a block grant program created in legislation sponsored by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Vermont’s first county-specific block grants include $128,900 for Caledonia County; $115,200 for Orleans County; and $195,600 for Franklin County. Sanders said he expects most Vermont counties will receive funding under an Energy Department program created by legislation he sponsored.
Sanders, chairman of the Senate environment committee’s Green Jobs and New Economy Subcommittee, authored legislation that established the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program. The State of Vermont and its cities and towns have already been awarded $10.3 million in funds through this program. Sanders estimated that more than $1 million more will go to Vermont counties.

FairPoint Communications CEO David Hauser today delivered the following remarks to a joint meeting of New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont utility regulators in Derry, New Hampshire.
“Good afternoon. I’m David Hauser, CEO of FairPoint Communications. Today I’m marking a little more than two months on the job and it’s been a very interesting two months indeed. During this time I’ve talked to employees, customers, reporters, elected officials, and regulators. I’ve been listening, learning, and acting on the things that need to happen in order to make this a more vibrant company providing the needed services for the communities in northern New England.
I believe I was brought to FairPoint, not for my technical expertise, but rather to provide leadership. As CEO of FairPoint, it is my responsibility to set the strategy, organize for success and to demonstrate through my actions a company culture of high integrity, customer service, and community involvement.

The Douglas Administration is reminding people who may want to apply for an Act 250 permit that they can reduce the risk and upfront costs associated with the process by seeking to have the most problematic aspects of a project reviewed first. Rule 21 of Act 250, which allows a District Commission to conduct a review of less than all of a project's Act 250 criteria in exchange for a minimum filing fee, has been on the books a long time, but is rarely used, officials said.
“The economy is showing some signs of recovery, but in these uncertain times nobody wants to unnecessarily invest scarce capital without knowing the magnitude of risk involved in obtaining a reasonable return,” said Tayt Brooks, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Economic, Housing and Community Development.

The owner of the Jay Peak Resort is using a little-known federal visa program to finance an ambitious expansion project that's expected to generate hundreds of jobs in the Northeast Kingdom. Bill Stenger, who purchased the resort last year, persuaded 35 citizens of other countries to put up a total of $17.5 million toward the cost of a 57-suite hotel scheduled to open early next year. The incentive for the investors is the prospect of gaining the right to live and work in the United States indefinitely. Known as the EB-5 program, this initiative also covers the immediate families of those who invest at least $500,000 in a job-creating venture in designated parts of the US with chronically high unemployment.

Northern Power Systems, Inc. (www.northernpower.com), of Barre, Vermont, a next-generation wind turbine company and leading manufacturer of community wind turbines, today announced its expanded presence in Canada. The unique permanent magnet direct drive (PMDD) design of the Northwind 100 ensures higher energy capture, grid-friendly power quality, low noise, low maintenance operation and is ideally suited to support the fast-growing Canadian market.