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Today, Governor Douglas announced his intention to veto S115, which has not completed the legislative process.
The governor s announcement today undermines the legislative process is disrespectful to Vermonters who come to the people s house to weigh in on the important matters of our time, said Speaker Shap Smith. History will judge Jim Douglas on the wrong side of this issue.
Today is a sad day for Vermont, said Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin. The governor may choose to veto a bill, but he cannot veto love and commitment.

Week Ending March 21, 2009. There were 1,070 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, a decrease of 298 from the week before. Altogether 18,691 new and continuing claims were filed, 69 more than a week ago and 7,861 more than a year earlier. The Department also processed 1,968 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 30 more than a week ago. In addition, there were 1,088 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program which is an increase of 36 from the week before. The Unemployment Weekly Report can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/. Previously released Unemployment Weekly Reports and other UI reports can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/lmipub.htm#uc

Vermont maple syrup producers are each being asked to donate one gallon of syrup in order to send a taste of Vermont springtime to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. For the fifth year, the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association is organizing Operation Vermont Maple Sweetness 2009 which will package the donated syrup into one pint containers and ship them to bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Over 8000 pints of syrup were sent in 2008.
The syrup sent last year resulted in numerous heartfelt e-mails from the troops. Thank you for the effort that people in Vermont went through with Operation Vermont Maple Sweetness. Thanks for the reminder of good things from back home. The syrup was on the breakfast line and was a big hit with my friends and me. Thanks for thinking of us and please let the rest of your co-workers know that their actions are appreciated here.

The Vermont Department of Education released 2009 school accountability determinations as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) today. The department determines whether schools meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Those that do not meet AYP enter School Improvement.
Results show:

One school exited School Improvement.
Seventy-seven schools, or 25 percent, are now in School Improvement.
Thirty-one of those schools are now in Corrective Action.
Eighty-eight schools, or 29 percent, did not make AYP this year.
Twelve of those schools did not make AYP for the first time.

Mack Molding Co. has been named a winner of Managing Automation Media s prestigious 2009 Progressive Manufacturing 100 Award for its recently completed Energy Efficient Lighting Technology Project, which affected all three Vermont plants.
The comprehensive lighting project, a $450,000 investment, called for the installation of more than 2,100 high-intensity fluorescent light fixtures that increased light levels throughout the three plants and eliminated hot spots and shadows. From an energy-efficiency perspective, the initiative is expected to save over 1.7 million kWh per year of electricity, the equivalent of taking 167 cars off the road or powering nearly 300 Vermont homes. It is one of the 10 largest energy-saving projects completed by a Vermont company in partnership with Efficiency Vermont, the state s energy efficiency services provider.

Vermont Public Radio exceeded its March membership drive goal last Friday by more than $47,000, raising $617, 683 in 9 ½ days of on-air fundraising.
We are overwhelmed by this outpouring of community support, said VPR President Robin Turnau. The success of this drive sends an incredibly positive message to our listeners, other non-profits, and the public radio community nationally. I want to thank all of our generous listeners who help make Vermont Public Radio one of the strongest and most successful in the country.

Additionally, 41,250 meals will go to the Foodbank thanks to the Vermont Community Foundation, which donated five meals to the foodbank for every pledge to VPR. During the final afternoon of the drive, ten meals were donated with every pledge. It was the first time VPR initiated a three-way partnership with two other state-wide non profit organizations during a membership drive.

Governor Jim Douglas today announced the appointment of Lisa A. Warren of Waterford, Vermont to be State s Attorney for Caledonia County. Warren was most recently Deputy State s Attorney for the county. She has also been active on the Northeast Kingdom Domestic Violence Task force as well as the Vulnerable Adults Task Force.
Lisa s experience in the State s Attorney s office, coupled with her community involvement make her a great pick for State s Attorney, said Governor Douglas. I know Lisa will do a great job for the people of Caledonia County.

It s an honor to serve as State s Attorney for the county I love, said Warren. We do have some important issues to tackle here in the Kingdom and I am prepared to get to work to keep Caledonia County a safe place to live.

Demonstrating the company s commitment to giving back to the communities it serves, the Comcast Foundation today announced it has awarded $30,000 to Spectrum Youth and Family Services, helping the organization fulfill its mission to provide transitional housing and support services to at-risk youth in Burlington. The grant $10,000 a year over three years will enable the organization to assist local young people acquire the skills needed to obtain and retain an entry-level job.

Havery Yorke, CEO of Southwestern Vermont Heath Care for 17 yeras, said Wednesday that he would resign in order to restore confidence in the health care system's leadership. This past week, acconting errors had reduced expected revenues by $5 million.
Hospital officials learned the facility was facing a potential deficit of $1.3 million after overestimating Medicare payments by $3.8 million and underestimating bad debts by 1.3 million.
Dr. Mark Novotny, chief medical officer, has been appointed interim leader for the hospital.

Truist, the leading provider of global philanthropy solutions, recently announced a strategic partnership with Clean Air-Cool Planet (CA-CP), the leading nonprofit dedicated solely to finding and promoting solutions to global warming, and Vermont-based NativeEnergy, an international marketer of high quality carbon offsets and renewable energy credits (RECs).
"Given the importance of integrating philanthropy into a broader corporate social responsibility strategy, it makes perfect sense to bring key CSR elements such as environmental responsibility and sustainability into the realm of philanthropy," said Truist CEO Bob Meagher. "Our partnership with CA-CP and NativeEnergy offers companies the ability to engage employees in both philanthropy and sustainability."
Charitable contributions made by Truist technology, will be used by Clean Air-Cool Planet, in partnership with NativeEnergy, to reduce CO2 pollution and help at-risk communities develop sustainable economies.

Entergy Vice President Jay Thayer told the House Natural Resources Committee last Friday that Entergy will have a proposal for the Vermont utilities by the end of this week. Thayer had previously told the Legislature that a contract proposal would be presented before the break for Town Meeting in early March. Legislative leaders have indicated that lawmakers would not take up a bill to extend the Vermont Yankee contract beyond 2012 until Entergy presented a contract. Even now, the leaders are skeptical that a bill would move forward so late in this year's session.
Also on Friday, the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee passed a bill protecting Vermont taxpayers from Vermont Yankee clean-up costs by requiring the owner of the plant to fully fund the facility s decommissioning.

The Yankee Public Oversight panel has issued a report clearing the nuclear plant to continue operation, despite the recent cooling tower collapse and condenser leaks. The panel reached a similar conclusion as a group of state-hired auditors. However, the report did say that Entergy Nuclear, the owner of Vermont Yankee, needs to review its management style and have its condenser replaced. According to the report, the plant ranks in the bottom 25% of nuclear plants nationwide.
State lawmakers and the Public Service Commissioner, David O Brien, have said that until the plant has a power contract with the state, renewing Vermont Yankee s license will not be discussed.