Current News

New England Medical Systems of Essex Junction with the support of Davis & Hodgdon Associates CPAs of Williston, VT has recently been awarded a Federal Supply Schedule Contract through the Department of Veterans Affairs National Acquisition Center to sell medical equipment to Federal, state and local government agencies.
The awarded contract is a multi-year contract for 5 years, with the option to extend for an additional 5 years. This contract will provide New England Medical Systems a strong competitive advantage to sell mobility systems and medical equipment to Federal, state and local agencies. This contract will provide New England Medical Systems with access to facilities that in the past have been hard for small businesses reach.

The Community College of Vermont has been chosen to join Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, a national initiative to help community college students. As a new member of Achieving the Dream, CCV has made a two-year commitment to closing performance gaps among students in targeted populations.
Achieving the Dream is a long-term national initiative dedicated to improving student success rates. CCV is one of 20 community colleges in seven states to join the initiative. With the addition of CCV and other colleges, Achieving the Dream now includes 102 institutions 98 colleges and four universities across 22 states.
We are thrilled that CCV has been selected to participate in such a critical ground-level effort to help students succeed, said CCV President Joyce Judy. We realize that providing access to college is not enough: we need to help students be successful in college.

Governor Jim Douglas announced today that an additional 15 energy efficiency projects have received $170,000 in funding from the the Vermont Community Change Program. The final winners were selected from a pool of 86 applicants.
I want to congratulate the winners of this round of funding and thank you, and all those who applied, for your commitment to reducing our state's carbon footprint, said the Governor. The combined reduction in CO2 emissions from these projects is the equivalent of electricity use of 45 to 50 homes.
The 15 winners include:
Vermont Community Foundation Green Team: $12,000 grant to build an eight-month, real time metering competition in Middlebury. VCF predicts the project will save between 5 and 15 percent in energy costs and use.
Greater Burlington YMCA: $12,000 to upgrade lighting, saving $3,765 in energy costs. Annual emissions reduction 23 tons.

In a press release today, Governor Jim Douglas has responded to the EPA's recent decision to grant California a wavier for its standards restricting carbon emissions from motor vehicles. The Governor describes the wavier as a significant step in the right direction for Vermont and others states with similar emission standards.
Auto emissions are one of the main contributors to greenhouse gas concentrations, wrote Governor Douglas. This is particularly true in Vermont where the transportation sector accounts for approximately 45 percent of our carbon footprint. That is why reducing an emission from automobiles is so important here in Vermont.
The Clean Air Act clearly provides states with the right to adopt these emission standards. EPA s decision to grant a waiver now allows states to enforce these standards. This decision by Administrator Jackson embraces states rights and I applaud the EPA action.

TD Banknorth, acting through the TD Charitable Foundation, has donated $2,000 to Everybody wins! Vermont, an organization designed to pair elementary school-aged children with reading mentors. The funds will help Everybody Wins! Vermont recruit, train, and match volunteer mentors with individual children for one-on-one weekly reading assistance.
"Everybody Wins! Vermont mentors are enthusiastic volunteers who share stories and develop friendships with a child, ," says Amy Cunningham, Executive Director of Everybody Wins! Vermont. This generous grant will help us to increase our recruitment and training, so that we can help foster a love of reading in more Vermont children. We are grateful to TD Banknorth, not only for this grant, but also for their support of employees who have been involved as mentors.

Bove s famous frozen lasagna has been awarded the National Association of Specialty Food Trades prestigious Gold sofi ¢ Award in the Outstanding Pasta, Rice and Grain Category. The all-natural, hand crafted lasagna is a frozen version of the classic that has had customers literally lining up around the block to get a taste at Boves famous Café in Burlington, Vermont.
A year ago Mark Bove, President and Sauceboy, introduced the world to his family s recipe on The Food Network s Throwdown with Bobby Flay, soon followed by an appearance on the Today Show, where Mark prepared his lasagna for Hoda and Kathie Lee. The national exposure sent demand soaring. I was making small versions of the lasagna at the restaurant and shipping them around the country, explained Bove. We just couldn t keep up with demand this way, which led me to produce the lasagna for retail.

The Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA) has approved $9.9 million in financing to support commercial, small business and agricultural projects throughout the state, leveraging another $15.6 million in private investment.
In this financing round, more than half the dollars approved by VEDA are being invested in the agricultural sector of Vermont s economy through the Vermont Agricultural Credit Corporation, said Jo Bradley, the Authority s Chief Executive Officer. Agricultural projects received a total of $5.1 million, with more than half that amount coming from a special fund of low-interest agricultural stimulus financing announced in April, said Bradley.
Among the projects approved for VEDA financing are:

On Friday, June 26, Representative Peter Welch voted to approve a landmark climate change bill which was then passed successfully by the House. The bill, designed to cap carbon emissions and invest in renewable energy, contained several major provisions authored by Welch, including a national energy efficiency program that will retrofit the nation s homes and buildings.
The America Clean Energy and Security Act passed on a vote of 219 to 212. The bill aims to reduce carbon emissions 83 percent by 2050 and will establish a renewable energy and efficiency standard of 20 percent by 2020. Supporter of the bill also say that the legislation will create 1.7 million new clean energy jobs, save the average household $4,000 a year in energy costs by 2030, and slice back the use of foreign oil by more than 5 million barrels a day.

In an effort to enhance their interpreting services, Central Vermont Medical Center has acquired Deaf Talk, a wireless mobile video unit that allows for 24-hour American Sign Language video interpreting. The unit gives patients the ability to communicate directly with clinicians via a certified, medically-trained American Sign Language interpreter on the video screen.
Interpreting services are often necessary when treating patients who are deaf, hard of hearing, visually impaired, or with limited English. Community interpreters are continued to be used at CVMC, but systems like Deaf Talk are designed to provide communication when no community interpreters are available. This can be very important in the Emergency Department, when patients need to be seen immediately and delays in communication can be dangerous.

Secretary of State Deb Markowitz is looking for applicants to the 2009 Vermont Centennial Nonprofit Awards program. The program was created to honor nonprofits that have been in operation for at least 100 years, and any nonprofit with a century or more of service is eligible for application. Applicants will be chosen later this year and award recipients will be honored at the historic Vermont Statehouse.
Secretary Markowitz said, The Vermont Centennial Nonprofit Award acknowledges Vermont's oldest nonprofits for enriching our heritage. This program deepens our understanding of how Vermont's nonprofits have enhanced our community life during the last hundred years.
It is important to recognize Vermont's nonprofits for their longevity," added Markowitz. It takes a tremendous amount of dedication to keep a nonprofit active for 100 years.

The following is an op-ed by Senator Bernie Sanders.
by Senator Bernie Sanders
As a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, one of two senate committees dealing with health care reform, I want to take this opportunity to briefly update Vermonters about what is happening in the Senate on this enormously important issue.
THE PROBLEM
Our health care system is disintegrating. Today, 46 million people have no health insurance and even more are underinsured with high deductibles and co-payments. At a time when 60 million people, including many with insurance, do not have access to a medical home, more than 18,000 Americans die every year from preventable illnesses.
In the midst of this horrendous lack of coverage, the U.S. spends far more per capita on health care than any other nation, and health care costs continue to soar. At 18 percent of our GDP, the skyrocketing cost of health care in this country is unsustainable.

The Vermont Hospitality Council (VHC), the tourism division of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, is currently seeking nominations for five high-profile industry awards: the Borden Avery Innkeeper of the Year, Chef of the Year, Restaurateur of the Year, B&B Innkeeper of the Year, and Allied Member of the Year. The deadline for nominations is July 30, 2009.
The winners will be honored at the annual reunion of the tourism industry, the Vermont Hospitality Gala. The Gala is scheduled for the evening of September 16 at The Essex, Vermont's Culinary Resort & Spa (formerly the Inn at Essex).
Award winning businesses will:

Demonstrate superior management ability as reflected in a successful business
Display commitment to training, motivating and furthering self-improvement of staff
Promote and support legislation beneficial to the hospitality industry on local, state and national levels, and Provide consistent leadership within the community