Current News

The state Senate yesterday passed a Vermont Yankee decommissioning bill that is a significantly watered down version of one that passed the House, but which still requires the current owners of the Vernon nuclear power plant to cover the cost of decommissioning the plant, whenever that might be. The House version requires that Entergy fully fund the decommissioning within 10 years if the plant closes in 2012.
Entergy is seeking to renew the license for another 20 years. Because of the long period of cool-down and actual dismantling of the plant, much of the money Entergy intended to pay for the decommissioning is coming from investments, which were expected to grow substantially over several decades. However, those investments have suffered as the stock market plummeted over the last year; the expected decommissioning costs have risen; and Entergy announced last year that it wanted to spin off some of its older plants, including Vermont Yankee, into a new company.

On May 20 and 21, business leaders from across Vermont, New England and Canada will converge on Northern New England s largest business-to-business trade show, the Vermont Business & Industry EXPO. The 25th annual exposition of business resources and networking opportunities will take place at the Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center in Burlington. The featured guest will be Van Jones, White House Council on Environmental Quality who will be the keynote speaker during lunch on Thursday May 21. The lunch is sponsored by Comcast Business Class.

The Northwestern Medical Center (NMC) Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Wesley W. Oswald has accepted the position of Interim Chief Executive Officer. Oswald is temporarily filling the position vacated by long-time NMC CEO Peter Hofstetter, who has accepted the CEO position at Holy Cross Hospital in Taos, New Mexico.
Oswald has over 42 years experience in hospital administration. Long-time community members may remember Oswald from his 5-year tenure as the Chief Executive Officer at Northwestern Medical Center in the mid 80s. As a retired CEO, Oswald retired from full-time permanent work in 2002, and has spent the past seven years serving in multiple interim positions throughout the country. He will join NMC s Leadership Team on June 1st.

Charlotte, VT April 30, 2009 Former President and CEO of the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, Elisabeth Robert, announced her acquisition of a majority interest in Terry Precision Cycling, today s premier women s cycling company. Terry s founder Georgena Terry and Vice President of Marketing Paula Dyba will remain as continuing equity partners in the business.
Robert, who served as CEO of Vermont Teddy Bear Company (VTB) for more than a decade, will also take on the role of CEO at Terry Precision Cycling effective today. Robert intends to move the headquarters of Terry Precision Cycling from its home in Rochester, New York to Vermont within the next year.

Rep. Peter Welch and the state of Vermont will host a day-long conference this Friday designed to help small businesses learn how to contract with the state and federal government.
The Stimulating Green $$ conference, which will take place from 7:30 a.m through 3:30 p.m. at the Burlington Sheraton, will feature government agencies and contractors looking to contract or subcontract with Vermont s small businesses.
The conference will also help Vermont companies learn more about the $700 million the state is expected to receive through the federal economic stimulus package and how best to access it.

The cost of long term care in Vermont is rising at a rate outpacing inflation, putting significant financial pressure on those in or near retirement, according to an annual study by Genworth Financial. At the same time, the current economic downturn has led to a decline in home values and investment returns for many residents of Vermont, creating further financial planning challenges for many in the state.
Nationwide, the annual cost for a private nursing home room is $74,208, or $203 per day, representing an increase of 4 percent annually since 2005. This represents a rate of growth nearly twice that of the median annual inflation rate of 2.3 percent over the same period of time, measured using the Core CPI (which excludes food and fuel) reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In Burlington, this cost has risen 9 percent a year since 2005 and across the rest of Vermont the cost has risen 4 percent a year over the same time period.

Governor Jim Douglas today announced that 21 Vermont communities will receive a combined $2.75 million for transportation enhancement projects These grants provide seed money to towns and cities across Vermont so communities can complete important transportation projects they otherwise might not be able to afford, Douglas said. The projects not only improve our existing transportation system, but they provide a significant contribution to the state s economy.
The 2009 process was quite competitive and saw 38 applications with funding requests totaling over $4.5 million. Grant applications were reviewed by VTrans to affirm project eligibility, and then were considered by a grant committee which made the awards. VTrans staff provides technical and limited project assistance to grant recipients.

World Energy Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: XWES; TSX: XWE), an operator of online exchanges for energy and green commodities, today announced Burlington Electric Department (BED) has successfully brought to market, and sold, CT Class I Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) on the World Green Exchange®. BED produces a significant number of CT Class I RECs annually through a wood-fired facility in Burlington, Vermont. The RECs have been sold on behalf of BED and the other joint owners of the facility: Central Vermont Public Service, Green Mountain Power, and VPPSA.

Governor Douglas today called for Vermont National Guard assistance with the implementation of the State of Vermont Strategic National Stockpile Plan. Specifically, National Guardsmen and women will assist state officials in our effort to inventory and distribute antiviral supplies.
While there have been no confirmed cases of Swine Flu in Vermont, state officials are coordinating with our federal partners and are working closely with local leaders to ensure that Vermont is prepared in the event of an outbreak.
Source: Governor's office

University of Vermont president Dan Fogel announced Wednesday that Tom Vogelmann has been appointed as the eleventh Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS). He has been acting as Interim Dean of CALS since July of 2008.
Mr. Vogelmann came to Vermont in 2002 as a Professor of Plant Biology and Chair of the Department of Botany and Agricultural Biochemistry. A graduate of Syracuse University (Ph.D.), Washington State University (M.S.) and the University of Vermont (B.S.), Dr. Vogelmann worked for eighteen years at the University of Wyoming where he was Professor of Botany and served as the interim Chair of the Department of Botany.
This position is key to helping move Vermont agriculture forward. I have worked with Dr. Vogelmann during his tenure as interim dean and he clearly understands the importance of the Land Grant mission of the University to the state of Vermont, said Roger Allbee, Secretary of Agriculture.

On Friday the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation will announce a new partnership between Vermont State Parks and the Boy Scouts Green Mountain Council called Adopt A Park.
The venture pairs local scout troops with state parks in their area to help with projects like spring cleanup, stacking wood, trail work or holding workshops for park visitors on scouting specialties outdoor skills, hikes, fire building and knots and rope work. The partnership is a model that will be used to encourage more community service organizations like the Girls Scouts, 4-H, Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, VFWs, etc. to support local parks.

Country Walkers has been named named to Outside magazine s (www.outsideonline.com) second annual Best Places to Work list. Country Walkers was ranked No. 11 out of 30 selected companies. The full list and related story will be published in the May issue of Outside magazine, available on newsstands April 28, 2009.
We are honored to be named as one of Outside magazine s best places to work in 2009, said Timo Shaw, President of Country Walkers. As we celebrate our 30th anniversary, this recognition allows us to commend our remarkable staff, whose dedication, hard work, and lively sprit have helped us solidify our reputation as an innovator in adventure travel.