Current News

VERMONT CAPTIVE INSURANCE ASSOCIATION TO HOLD LARGEST CAPTIVE INSURANCE CONFERENCE IN THE WORLD

Vermont's road and bridge conditions have been under fire for the past few years, however the Reason Foundation's study may tell another story. The Reason Foundation has been conducting surveys on all state owned interstates and highways since 1984. This year Vermont ranked 30th up from 37th last year. The Reason Foundation ranks states based on categories including traffic fatalities, congestion, pavement condition, bridge condition, highway maintenance costs, and administrative costs.

Despite recent budget problems, VTrans recently found out that it must cut $8 million from its budget, Vermont road conditions appear to be steadily improving. However a closer look reveals a little more. While Vermont ranks low for number of fatalities it ranks 40th in conditions of rural roads and 44th in deficient bridges. So though it appears some things are improving there is still quite a bit of work to be done.

For more information about the entire study browse here

South Burlington, Vt. - (July 31, 2008) - The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 300 has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for President of the United States.

The 1,200-member labor union represents public and private sector employees throughout Vermont. IBEW Local 300 has initiated an aggressive internal political action campaign to involve its constituency in the electoral process.

"After eight years of the anti-worker Bush Administration, Sen. Obama is the clear choice to lead our wonderful country in the right direction," said IBEW Local 300 Business Manager Jeffrey Wimette. "It is no mistake that Sen. Obama earned a 98 percent lifetime rating from the AFL-CIO for his unwavering support of working families. He is the lone major party presidential candidate that will fight for good wages, quality healthcare, secure retirement, fair taxation, responsible trade and the freedom to form unions."

Christine Hart and Thomas Weaver Elected as Chair and
Vice-Chair of Vermont Housing & Conservation Board

The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board has elected Christine H. Hart of Brattleboro to serve as chair and Thomas G. Weaver of Essex Junction as vice chair. The board is an independent, state-supported agency established in 1987 to provide funding for affordable housing and conservation of agricultural and recreational land, natural areas and historic properties.

BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF VERMONT ANNOUNCES THAT
DENNIS CAHILL HAS BEEN HIRED AS DIRECTOR OF SALES AND SERVICE

Berlin, VT Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont this week announced the appointment of Dennis W. Cahill to the position of Director of Sales and Service.

Cahill has more than 25 years of experience in progressively responsible positions in health insurance sales and account management, mostly with Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans in New England. He has served as vice president of sales for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Hampshire, and was most recently vice president of sales and account management for Fallon Community Health Plan in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Cahill has an undergraduate degree in business from Babson College and a graduate degree in business administration from the University of Hartford.

Mary Powell, incoming CEO of Green Mountain Power, announced on Monday the company's plan to aggressively develop renewable resources to diversify the portfolio of energy sources.

GMP's strategy is to establish "green energy zones," wherein Vermont companies will have priority in developing renewable energy sources, and to lessen Vermont's dependence on Vermont Yankee nuclear power while "ramping up" in-state renewable generation. Powell said a key component is geo-political negotiations with Hydro Quebec, a provider of hydropower to GMP. Also important is the re-licensing of Vermont Yankee, whose contract will expire in 2012, so that state can develop solid infrastructure to support other sources of renewable energy instead of going cold turkey.

Barry Lampke, the former Development and Communications Director for Smart Growth Vermont, has recently joined the Champlain Initiative as its Director. Created in 1996, the Champlain Initiative is a community partnership with the goal of strengthening the Champlain Valley as a healthy community over a 20-year period.
The former Marketing Project Manager with the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Lampke helped launch Efficiency Vermont, the nation's first energy efficiency utility. He was previously Executive Director of the Association of Vermont Recyclers and was a planner with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. In Washington, DC, Barry served as Project Director for OMB Watch's Toxics Project and was a contributing author of "The Poisoned Well," a groundwater protection book published by the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund.

Burlington VT, July 28, 2008: Lund Family Center is pleased to report three recent additions to the organization's Board of Trustees and the election of a new slate of officers.

Lund's new Officers are: Board Chair- Eileen Simollardes, Vice President- Barbara Lande Bronfman, Treasurer- Sherry Prehoda, Secretary- Lynn Brennan, and Member at Large- Paulette Thabault. Lund thanks Jeff Small, Eileen Simollardes, Mary Anne Murray, William A. Chip Mason, and Lynn Brennan as immediate past President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Member At Large respectively. And, Lund thanks retiring trustees Brian Smith and Linda Magoon for their stellar service.

Lund Family Center's welcomed the following trustees to its Board:

Agriculture Secretary Roger Allbee is inviting each state to participate in an Eat Local National Challenge during National Farmers Market Week August 3 - 9. The challenge has already been greeted with great enthusiasm and many states are on board with their commissioner or secretary of agriculture to choose a day to eat only foods grown locally. Many states are also conducting their own Eat Local Challenges.
"I would like to challenge all Vermonters, as well as people across the country, to eat local for a meal, a day or even the full week during National Farmers Market Week. When you buy local you can reduce energy costs and get food items that are harvested at the peak of freshness for better taste and nutrition," said Allbee. "Eating local gives you a chance to know the people who grow your food and how it is grown. It also keeps money in our local communities."

Fuel prices are on everyone's mind. Just last month, over 4,000 Vermonters joined me for a telephone Town Hall meeting on this issue. The price of fuel dominates the discussion at every "Congress in Your Community" I hold in towns across Vermont. And Vermonters are contacting my office in unprecedented numbers seeking assistance for the upcoming winter.
Vermonters are feeling the financial strain.
The impact of four dollar per gallon gasoline and, ominously, $5 per gallon home heating oil this winter is a crisis for Vermonters.
The truth is, we didn't get into this crisis overnight, and it's going to take a long-term strategy to get out of it. We can, however, take short-term steps now to provide relief.

BURLINGTON - July 21st, 2008 - Dedalus Wine Shop will kick off its latest series of in-store wine tastings in August at 95 College Street in Burlington. The summer series will begin on August 2nd. Our new Saturday format will provide our community with a casual outlet for wine exploration, appreciation, and tasting. A schedule for the series can be found below.

"There's real pleasure to be had finding good wine, exploring it, drinking it, and especially in sharing it with good friends. All these elements get wrapped up in a wine's story. That's what this new series is about - ways to explore wine in a social context, as the cornerstone of a dinner party or as a travel guide through an exotic countryside," says store owner Jason Zuliani.

Dedalus Wine Shop is here to tell wine's story. We're committed to building a wine community and to exploring great wine from around the world with our friends and customers.

Oil prices taxing for Vermonters
by Kevin Kelley
Vermonters have been whacked with the equivalent of a new $850 million tax as a result of the doubling of oil prices in the past year, said Tom Kavet, the State Legislature's economist. That hit - heavier than the total $622 million impact from personal income tax payments - is bound to stagger the Vermont economy as consumers cut back on discretionary spending in order to pay for heating fuel and gasoline, Kavet reckoned.
About 70 percent of the added charge for the 17 million barrels of oil consumed annually in Vermont is going overseas - to the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. "Almost none of it stays in-state," he said.
It's largely because of that drain that Kavet expects a "severe" recession to occur in Vermont.