Current News

Governor Jim Douglas today issued a veto of H436, An Act Relating to Decommissioning Funds of Nuclear Energy Generation Plants. The legislation sought to guarantee that Vermont Yankee owner Entergy Corp ensure that it would have sufficient funds to close up the plant once it stops producing electricity. Entergy had counted on investments to cover the cost, but the stock market retraction has resulted in those funds suffering. The original license expires in 2012.
Entergy has applied to extend the license to 2032. Legislative leaders have vowed not to approve the license extension until Entergy offers a power contract. A new contract was expected last March. The Public Service Board, which must also approve the license extension, recently began hearings on it.
The governor is concerned, however, that forcing Entergy to set aside sufficient founds immediately upon decommissioning would result in the company raising electric rates to cover the costs.

Officials in the tourism and hospitality industry said they were pleased that the alternative budget approach proposed by Governor Jim Douglas contains an additional $850,000 to market the state. With the summer tourism season unofficially kicking off over Memorial Day Weekend, Tourism and Marketing Commissioner Bruce Hyde said the money couldn t come at a better time.
Tourism is one of the largest industries in our state, and spending on promoting Vermont is an investment in job creation and retention, Hyde said. Our recent economic impact study showed that visitor spending in Vermont supported approximately 37,000 jobs for Vermonters.
He noted that there were roughly 60,000 jobs in the hospitality and entertainment sector in Vermont, spread out in literally every county of the state, and visitor spending contributed $206.9 million in tax and fee revenues to state coffers in the General, Education and Transportation Funds.

The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for March 2009 was 7.1 percent, down one-tenth of a point from the revised March rate and up 2.5 points from a year ago. Unemployment rates for Vermont s 17 labor market areas ranged from 4.2 percent in Hartford to 10.9 percent in Newport. Local labor market area unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted. For comparison, the April unadjusted unemployment rate for Vermont was 7.7 percent, down two-tenths of a point from March 2009 and up 2.9 points from a year ago.

Rutland radio station WDVT and Colchester television station WVNY won top honors in the 2009 Vermont Association of Broadcasters “Commercial of the Year” competition.
More than 160 entries were received from radio stations, television stations and advertising agencies around Vermont. The awards were presented earlier this month at the VAB Convention at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier.
WDVT won the first-place award in the radio station “Best Commercial” category for a commercial it produced for Farrell Distributing entitled “Bud American Ale.” The commercial also took home the “Best in Show” award for radio.
In the television competition, WVNY won first place in the “Best Commercial” category for “Busy Dogs,” a commercial it produced for Small Dog Electronics. The commercial also earned WVNY the overall “Best in Show” award for TV commercials.

Present and former MMU business/entrepreneur students get rave reviews speaking at the 25th VT Business and Industry EXPO at the Sheraton Hotel - May 20th --plus MMU team "Hearts for Haiti" takes 1st place in the statewide business plan competition - presented by Comcast and Governor Douglas - winning $1,000 and will donate the funds to the Vermont Haiti Project to help others in need - in Haiti - for clean drinking water.

Wetlands nature s water filters will be better protected in Vermont under legislation that was enacted into law yesterday. The bill, H447, was the result of lengthy negotiations among a variety of interest groups. The measure will require inaccurate state wetlands maps to be updated and also mandate better protections for wetlands.
This legislation shows what Vermonters with widely divergent interests can accomplish when they sit down and focus on what s good for Vermont s natural resources over the long haul, said Kim Greenwood, staff scientist for the Vermont Natural Resources Council. All parties here have made compromises for the greater good of improving the regulation of our wetlands, she said.

Speaker Shap Smith today announced that he and Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin have asked money committees and chairs to hold public hearings next week on the Governor Douglas newly submitted budget. They have also asked that Douglas' proposals, announced Tuesday, be submitted in budget form. The governor's proposal cuts about $42 million from the $4.5 billion budget the Legislature passed two weeks ago.
I appreciate that the Governor has returned to the negotiating table with a written proposal, said Speaker Smith. Senator Shumlin and I intend to give the Governor s newly presented budget due diligence, which is why we have asked committees to convene public hearings next week to understand the impact of Governor Douglas proposal on Vermonters.

Champlain Cable Corporation of Colchester, Vermont announces the release of its newest product line, EXAR(R) XLE. XLE product technology combines flexibility of an elastomer and the toughness of an XLPE insulation.
It is important to note that, according to a recent news release issued on the DuPont Performance Elastomers website, Hypalon(R) will "cease production" and "exit the business." XLE fills this void and is technically superior to Hypalon(R) in most wire and cable applications.
EXAR XLE is approved by UL and CUL for 1000 volts and 105 degrees Celsius ratings per UL style sheet 3657. XLE is also successfully used in 150 degrees Celsius automotive applications per ISO 6722. UL has also approved XLE for multi conductor cables and has designated UL Style 21614 as a 105 degrees Celsius 1000 volt rated cable.

Governor Jim Douglas today reaffirmed Vermont s role as a leading voice on national climate policy and a champion of energy consumers by signing on to the newly formed 30-state Governors Climate Coalition, which will work with Congress to find common ground for a comprehensive national energy strategy and climate change action.
The Governor, who takes over chairmanship of the National Governors Association in July, praised the gamut of states from across that country who signed on to the Coalition.
These states have been leaders on the green front promoting renewable and clean energy, creating jobs and taking concrete steps to address climate change, the Governor said. The Governors Climate Coalition is in an important position to assist the federal government as it builds out a national energy policy that creates jobs and protects consumers and the environment.

iTECH has announced that CEO Kishore Khandavalli is a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2009 Award for New England. The Ernst & Young the awards program recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate extraordinary success in the areas of innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Kishore Khandavalli was selected as a finalist from hundreds of nominations by a panel of independent judges. Award winners will be announced at a special gala event on June 16th at the Marriott Newton Hotel in Boston. Khandavalli was profiled in the January 2007 issue of Vermont Business Magazine.

High school teams from throughout the state had their knowledge of economics and personal finance tested recently in the first-ever Vermont Championship Reserve Cup Challenge. After three rounds of vigorous questioning, Essex High School emerged as the champion. Second place was won by Windsor High School and the third place finisher was North Country Union High School.

The State Treasurer s Office, in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, held the competition to select a state winner to represent Vermont this fall at the New England regional competition in Boston. The purpose of the competition is to promote student interest in and knowledge of personal finance, economics, and consumer affairs topics. For the past four years, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has sponsored a regional contest as part of its economic literacy program.

This year’s Deane C. Davis Outstanding Business of the Year Award was presented to National Life Group of Montpelier. The award was handed out by Governor Jim Douglas at the Vermont Business & Industry EXPO, organized by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, May 20th.
In an effort to recognize and honor Vermont’s best companies, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, along with Vermont Business Magazine created the Deane C. Davis Outstanding Business of the Year Award in 1990. Named for the former Governor of Vermont, this annual award honors a Vermont business that shows an outstanding history of sustained growth while displaying an acute awareness of what makes Vermont unique.