Current News

The Vermont State Legislature passed the Clean Energy Assessments District bill (S.54) on April 21. The passage of this bill reflects the growing want and need of Vermonters to individually help move the state forward by finding new ways to save energy and to create renewable resources and alternatives for energy in order to combat climate change. This bill will make it much easier and more affordable for Vermont property owners to tackle individual energy efficiency projects. Towns will be able to use any of their financing mechanisms to help make money available for property owners. Property owners essentially would be allowed to borrow money from the town on a 20-year, low-interest term to complete energy efficiency projects such as installing solar panels or weatherizing their homes.

Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP, a leading plaintiffs' firm based in San Diego, has announced the firm has secured a settlement of $50 million in cash for a class of TD Banknorth, Inc shareholders. Plaintiffs in a related action previously attempted to settle the case for under $3 million, or $.03 per TD Banknorth share. This victory for shareholders provides members of the class with an exponentially greater recovery than the related action was poised to provide before plaintiffs City of Dearborn Heights (MI) Act 345 Police & Fire Retirement System and H. Louis Farmer, Jr. successfully objected to that settlement and took over the case.
The $50 million settlement, before fees and expenses, is more than 16 times the amount shareholders would have received under the previously proposed settlement. The Settlement Agreement was filed with the Court late yesterday and the settlement is subject to approval by the Court.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) today announced a first quarter net loss attributable to Key of $488 million, or $1.09 per common share, compared to net income attributable to Key of $218 million, or $.54 per diluted common share, for the first quarter of 2008. The loss for the current quarter was primarily the result of an increase in the provision for loan losses and a noncash accounting charge for intangible assets impairment. In light of the prevailing economic environment during the first quarter of 2009, Key continued to build its loan loss reserves by taking an $875 million provision for loan losses, which exceeded net charge-offs by $383 million. As of the end of the quarter, Key s allowance for loan losses was $2.186 billion, or 2.97% of total loans, up from $1.298 billion, or 1.70% one year ago.

In honor of Earth Day, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has announced winners of its challenege to find potential soucltions to climate change. More than 100 nonprofit organizations submitted proposals to address climate change in four specific areas: threats to coffee-growing cummunites, transportation-related emissions, building political will, and empowering individual action. The four winning nonprofits will each receive a $200,000 grant, payable over five years.
The contest site on JustMeans.com received more than one million page hits, over 100,000 unique visitors, and created an online social network of nearly 30,000 stakeholders interested in Changing Climate Change.

In a move to keep Vermont tax dollars at work, the State Treasurer s Office has announced plans to make millions of dollars in short-term deposits available to area banks as a source of working capital. By utilizing a federal program designed to promote liquidity in the national economy, these deposits by the State will be fully guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or FDIC.
In October, the FDIC created the Transaction Account Guarantee Program (TAGP). The program allows participating financial institutions to provide customers with full coverage on specific types of transaction accounts. The FDIC hopes such guarantees will encourage more deposits and help increase the amount of funds available for lending to consumers and businesses.

At the invitation of Rep. Peter Welch, Regulatory Assistance Project Director Richard Cowart will testify Thursday before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
The East Calais resident will be taking part in the first week of hearings on the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, a major climate change bill which includes legislation authored by Welch aiming to increase energy efficiency by 20 percent.
Cowart, a former commissioner and chairman of the Vermont Public Service Board, will emphasize the critical role energy efficiency can play in addressing climate change while contributing to cost containment for consumers.
The world needs us to get control of our greenhouse emissions, but people are worried about the costs of climate legislation. I m delivering good news: we can design a carbon cap-and-trade program to support and reward energy efficiency, which is the low cost carbon scrubber we need today, Cowart said.

Senate President Peter Shumlin has outlined a revenue package to the Senate Finance Committee that will close the Capital Gains loophole and lower Vermonters' income taxes. The package includes many of the House's revenue provisions, increases cigarette, liquor and satellite taxes and closes the capital gains loophole to lower the marginal rates on all types of income for all taxpayers. Projected revenues from the package are roughly $25 million. Vermont is only one of nine states that has the capital gains loophole in place.
Shumlin's proposal aims to prevent additional layoffs of over three hundred state workers, which could devastate essential state services. Since January 2008, the state has cut $70 million from the state budget and the current FY10 budget contains $28 million in additional cuts.

Early estimates indicate that Vermont based Apple retailer, Small Dog Electronics recycled 150 tons of e-waste at their third annual Earth Day E-Waste Event this year, and it didn’t cost the public a dime.Cars filled with old TVs, computers and electronic peripherals lined up as early as 8:00 am to recycle their electronics for free. In the end, 100 volunteers unloaded 1,700 cars. All of the electronics collected will be processed in the United States by WeRecycle! in one of their two processing plants in Connecticut and New York.

Pitney Bowes Business Insight, the leading global provider of location and communication intelligence solutions, and Earthsense, an applied marketing company, today released demographic insights into the top ten green US states. The research integrates information gathered with Pitney Bowes Business Insight geo-demographic solutions and Earthsense Eco-Insights green survey results. Vermont was ranked the greenest state, followed by Alaska and New Mexico.
Highlights of the research include:

The US Census Bureau is launching a nationwide operation to verify and update more than 145 million addresses as it prepares to conduct the 2010 Census. In Vermont, approximately 650 people will carry out the operation. It is the first publicly visible activity of the 2010 Census, and address-canvassing listers are expected to complete the canvassing by July 2.
Nationwide, more than 140,000 census workers will participate in the address- canvassing operation, a critically important first step in assuring that every housing unit receives a 2010 Census questionnaire in March 2010.
A complete and accurate address list is the cornerstone of a successful Census, said Kathleen Ludgate, regional director at the Boston Regional Census Center. Building on the achievements of the 2000 Census, we have been testing and preparing for the 2010 count all decade and we re ready to fulfill our Constitutional mandate to count everyone living in the United States.

Though some have called the 2008 economic situation bad enough to make it a historical pivot point for the world, 2009 is shaping up to be worse for Vermont, judging by the bankruptcy filings at the United States Bankruptcy Court in Rutland. In 2008, there were a total of 48 business bankruptcies and 1,218 consumer bankruptcies. If filings continue apace in 2009, business and consumer bankruptcies will total at 95 and 1,870, respectively. The bankruptcy filings for 2009 to date suggest that the national economic tsunami has reached levels high enough to have a strong effect on the Green Mountain State.

The Senate today passed S. 154, a bill that will fully fund the town highway aid payments in April 2009. The Douglas Administration and the Legislature had previously agreed to withhold half of the $3 million, quarterly payment because of the state's fiscal situation. The state's Transportation Fund revenues continue to sag. The Transportation Fund in March was $400,000 below its target. The reaction from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, which lobbies on behalf of municipalities, was unequivocally opposed to the cuts because it would force the towns to either cut highway projects or raise taxes.
Vermonters can not afford to let their local roads and bridges fall into a further state of disrepair or pay higher property taxes, said
Senator Mazza, Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. By passing this bill, the Senate has ensured that town s will not be forced to defer construction maintenance or raise Vermonters property taxes.