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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.

The former president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont, William R. Milnes Jr, retired at the end of 2008 after taking home $7.25 million in salary, bonuses, and retirement cash. Of that sum, roughly $900,000 was listed as salary and bonuses; the remainder, $6.3 million, was additional compensation commonly known as a golden parachute.
News of Milnes compensation package coincides with a back-and-forth battle in Montpelier on how to finance public health-care programs in the weak economy.
Kevin Goddard, Blue Cross Blue Shield s vice president of external affairs, said that Milnes retirement package and bonuses were part of his contact when he was hired 10 years ago. Goddard said that the most controversial aspect of executive compensation - in reference to what is happening nationally with firms such as AIG - is in the context of mismanaged companies. That is not the context here.

Excellent professional development opportunity for HR and Safety Staff. Topics include: "Incorporating Safety into Construction & Maintenance Contract Documents"; Material Handling Ergonomics Tool Demonstration; Supervisors as Safety Leaders Panel; Healthy Employees/Safer Employees: Wellness, Incentives and ROI; and the Governors Safety Awards. Sponsored by: the Partnership in Safety (Project WorkSAFE, Green Mtn. Coffee Roasters, VT Small Business Development Center and the Vermont Safety and Health Council). Platinum Sponsors: MEMIC; VELCO, Silver: Wilner-Green Assoc. Registration $75, $65 before 4/15/09 at: www.vtsbdc.org/Safety.cfm To Register at no cost for the 12:30pm Governor s Awards only please email: [email protected]. May 13, 2009, 9am 3:45 pm, DoubleTree Hotel and Conference Center, Burlington.

Two grants totaling nearly $700,000 will help preserve an historic general store and create affordable housing in Windham County, Governor Jim Douglas announced Friday.
At a ceremony at the Putney General Store, Douglas announced a $200,382 grant to the Town of Putney to assist in repairing the fire-damaged building, and a $480,000 grant to the Town of Brattleboro for an affordable housing project in West Brattleboro.
Like so many similar stores around Vermont, the Putney General Store has been a community gathering place in addition to a place of business, Douglas said. These funds will help the Putney community as it works to restore this important structure.
Heavily damaged in a May 3, 2008 fire, the Putney General Store which opened in 1799 was purchased late last year by the Putney Historical Society, which is overseeing its restoration and plans to lease it to a third party to operate as a general store again.

Representative Peter Welch announced Monday a $380,000 grant for a comprehensive economic revitalization project in downtown St. Albans.
The federal grant, which Welch secured for the city, will help St. Albans improve sidewalks, streetlights and signage and make other aesthetic upgrades to Main Street and Taylor Park. The project is intended to make downtown St. Albans safer for families and more attractive to businesses.
Downtown St. Albans is the heart of this community and the key to its future, Welch said. This grant will put federal dollars to work in St. Albans, spurring economic growth in the area and empowering residents to make decisions about how to improve their community.

Governor Jim Douglas today announced Vermont has received $756,000 in the latest round of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auctions and that 17 energy efficiency projects across the state have received $188,000 in the first round of funding from the Vermont Community Climate Change Grant Program.
Vermont is one of 10 states in the Northeast to participate in the auction process. Power producers must buy the credits to offset their CO2 production. Vermont has been allocated 1.2 million credits a year. A Vermont Public Service Board panel will determine how the money is spent for energy efficiency programs.

From Brattleboro to Wells River and from Burlington to Poultney, the renewable energy and efficiency projects announced by the governor on Friday will reduce a combined 270 tons of carbon emissions annually, while boosting Vermont s local economy with investments and lower fuel costs.