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Indulge me for a moment while I share with you one of the best Town Meeting Day stories ever written. Dorothy Canfield Fisher told the story in her 1953 tribute to Vermont, called Vermont Tradition. Fisher (1879-1958) was one of the country s most popular novelists, but her heart was deeply rooted in Arlington. This story the story of Patrick Thompson s speech at an Arlington Town Meeting is one of the great Vermont classics.
From Vermont Tradition: This was no academic discussion group debating the abstract proposition: Resolved that every child has the right to four years schooling beyond the eighth grade. This was a fight over action to be taken now going into debt for an ideal, an ideal which is almost the only primal urge for which humanity need never blush sacrifice by the old, to give the children a better chance.

Springfield Hospital was awarded $1.3 million to become Vermont’s eighth Federally Qualified Health Center providing primary care for residents of southeastern Vermont, Senator Bernie Sanders announced today.
“This is a great day for the advance of health care access in Windsor and Windham counties,” said Sanders (I-Vt.). “As a result of this designation for the Springfield Hospital, residents of the area will now be able to receive excellent quality primary health care regardless of income.”
In addition, the grant will enable the hospital to expand services to provide access to affordable dental care, mental health counseling and the lowest-cost prescription drugs available in America.
It is expected that the two-year grant will make Springfield Hospital the largest Federally Qualified Health Center in Vermont. Six years ago, there were two centers in Vermont. With the addition of Springfield, there will be eight centers.

The Vermont Teddy Bear Company, a leading provider of direct-to-consumer gifts, today announced that John Gilbert, 52, has been named president and chief executive officer.
John Gilbert most recently served as executive vice president and chief marketing officer for The TJX Companies, Inc., where he was responsible for marketing functions worldwide including brand management, advertising, and comprehensive consumer strategies. Mr. Gilbert has extensive experience in the consumer product industries, having held senior marketing positions with such companies as Dunkin' Donuts, YUM ! Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, and PepsiCo, Inc.

Cortera, a premier provider of collections and credit insight for commercial enterprises, today released compelling data that assesses the overall economic health of a region based on how well companies are paying their suppliers. Cortera's database tracks 18 million public and private companies in the United States based on thousands of trade payment contributors and contains over $250 billion in accounts receivable information. This analysis, which can be accessed at http://www.cortera.com/stats, revealed the following:
Top 10 Best States (% of A/R Past Due)

Montana
Vermont
Wyoming
New Hampshire
Maine
South Dakota
West Virginia
Louisiana
North Dakota
Oklahoma

Top 10 Worst States (% of A/R Past Due)

Nevada
California
Arizona
Minnesota
Colorado
Idaho
Wisconsin
Michigan
Oregon
Illinois

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today announced a $5 million grant for the Vermont National Guard that could result in the largest solar energy project in the state and one of the largest in New England.
“This project will not only help the Vermont National Guard reduce its electric bill and carbon footprint, but will be a major step forward in moving our state toward a greener economy which relies more and more on sustainable energy,” Sanders said.
“There is little doubt in my mind that in the years to come the energy mix in this state will be very different than it is today – with a far greater reliance on sustainable energy. I hope that this project becomes a model for what can be done and a catalyst for further action,” he added.
Sanders is the chairman of the new Senate Subcommittee on Green Jobs and New Economy. He secured the $5 million in the 2009 Department of Defense appropriations bill.

Brutal economic times spur resourcefulness and innovation, two attributes that aptly describe Smart Business, a new commuting program from the Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA) that delivers savings incentives to savvy employers and their employees.
Through the Transportation Equity Act (TEA-21), the federal government provides financial incentives to encourage more workers to commute with public transportation, through programs like Smart Business.

Susan Murray of Langrock, Sperry & Wool has been named as the first ever Burlington Family Lawyer of the Year. She received this honor from Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer review publication in the legal profession, because her fellow attorneys in the area of family law consistently rate her at the top of the field. Murray, a graduate of Smith College and the New York University School of Law, has been with Langrock for 25 years. In addition to her work in the areas of family law and estate planning, she is well known for her role in the Baker v. Vermont case involving same-sex marriage and has an active practice in gay and lesbian family law. Murray lives in Ferrisburgh.
[email protected]
Additional Information
Bio: http://www.langrock.com/attorney_profiles/susan_murray.php

Vermont Law School, known for its top-ranked environmental law program, is pleased to announce that James Gustave Speth, currently dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, will be joining its faculty as of July 1, 2010.
Speth has served as dean and professor at Yale since 1999. Prior to his time at Yale, he served as administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and chair of the UN Development Group. Earlier, he was founder and president of the World Resources Institute; professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center; chairman of the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality; and senior attorney and cofounder of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Seizing the opportunity to make needed long-term investments in the face of a weak economy, 12 states and cities are launching innovative projects to preserve more than 70,000 affordable rental homes.
The new projects will assist military families in Maryland, seniors in rural Iowa and Vermont, low-wage workers in Florida and Oregon, and people who have been homeless in Los Angeles. They will promote energy efficiency in Pennsylvania, save distressed buildings in Minnesota, improve management of rental housing in Washington State, and ensure that rental homes are available in gentrifying areas near public transit in Denver.
With the stock of affordable rental housing disappearing at an alarming rate, MacArthur's $32.5 million investment - $9.5 million in grants and an additional $23 million in low-interest loans - will leverage more than $147 million in other funding. The news was welcomed today by federal, state, and local housing officials across the country.

To address the growing demand for advanced wireless data products and services, such as the BlackBerry(R) Bold(TM) and the Samsung Eternity(TM), AT&T* today unveiled its network expansion plans for Vermont in the coming year.
AT&T plans to roll out its third generation (3G) mobile broadband network in the state by the end of this year, bringing faster wireless speeds to communities including Burlington, Montpelier, Rutland, St. Albans, Hartford, West Wardsboro, Ludlow, Brownsville, Windsor, Vernon, White River Junction, West Wardsboro, Jamaica, Brattleboro, West Townshend, West Dover, Jeffersonville, Barre, Waitsfield, Essex Junction, South Burlington, Colchester, Williston, Winooski, Warren, Stowe, Killington, Northfield, Montgomery Center, Bennington, Middlebury and Pownal.

Mack Molding of Arlington has demonstrated its commitment to the triple-bottom line – people, planet and profit – by installing more than 2,100 energy-efficient lighting fixtures in its southern Vermont manufacturing facilities. The comprehensive lighting project is one of the 10 largest energy-saving projects completed by a Vermont company in partnership with Efficiency Vermont.
A leading custom plastics molder and manufacturer for companies in the medical, commercial, computer/business equipment, and transportation industries, Mack Molding implemented significant lighting upgrades in its three Vermont plants totaling more than 600,000 square feet. Goals for the project included improving the level and quality of light, saving energy, minimizing maintenance, and achieving a return on investment in two years or less.

Wondering how your business, municipality, organization, or non-profit could benefit from the recently enacted economic recovery bill? Interested in how the stimulus bill might help you buy a home or impact your family's bottom line this year? U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, Governor James Douglas, the Vermont Procurement Technical Assistance Center, and the Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC) invite you to attend a FREE workshop that will help Vermonters understand selected programs included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Friday, March 6, 2009, 1 pm to 5 pm
Champlain College, Burlington, VT
IDX Student Life Center, 265 South Willard Street
Open To:
Vermont Residents, Small Business Owners, Advocates, Municipal Officials

To register online by Wednesday, March 4th, click here
or
Call (800) 642-3193

Workshop Agenda: