News

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) today introduced legislation to restore the federal estate tax. The proposal would bring in at least $264 billion over a decade to help lower the national debt.

Hunger Mountain Coop in Montpelier is exploring the feasibility of adding a store in downtown Waterbury by the end of 2010. The Coop Council agreed to explore this opportunity over the summer to see if it is in The Coop’s best interest to pursue.

Fitch Ratings affirms the education loan revenue bonds of the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) issued under the 2008 Trust Indenture, dated September 1, 2008. The Rating Outlook remains Stable.

Revision Eyewear, leading developer of ballistic protective eyewear for military and law enforcement forces worldwide, has won a Silver Telly Award, presented under the sales film/video category, for their trade show video. This sales and marketing video was produced and edited by Metro Productions, a full-service film, video and multimedia production company located in Richmond, VA.

The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon declared an unusual event at 2:25 p.m. today. The declaration was made after a seismic event was felt at the site. Per the US Geological Survey, the seismic epicenter was located 33 miles north of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It was also felt in the Burlington area as a slight shaking.

The U.S. Department of Labor today released $596,525,000 in funds to continue support for 74 state, territory and national grantees of the Senior Community Service Employment Program for program year 2010. Vermont will receive $3.2 million. These funds will enable income and training support for 61,900 individuals ages 55 and older, who have low incomes or are unemployed.

A group of municipal, regional and statewide planning and conservation organizations sent a letter to Governor Douglas this week urging him to reconsider a decision to eliminate a position with the Department of Fish & Wildlife responsible for overseeing the Department’s Community Wildlife Program.

Vermont Law School will use a $250,000 energy efficiency grant to help convert an historic building into a vibrant new center for legal advocacy. The grant was the largest of 14 grants totaling $1.7 million that the Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund gave out to colleges, hospitals and other non-profits on June 16.

For the week of June 19, 2010, there were 1,103 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance, an increase of 409 from the week before. Altogether 10,211 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 489 from a week ago and 4,084 fewer than a year earlier.

Pat Moulton Powden is leaving state government to join the Vermont Chamber of Commerce as vice president of public affairs. Moulton Powden is currently the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and was previously the Chair of the Environmental Board. Deputy Labor Commissioner Valerie Rickert has been appointed by Governor Douglas to take over.

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation announced today a planned closure of the US Route 4 temporary bridge over the Connecticut River connecting Lebanon, New Hampshire, and Hartford, Vermont, scheduled to occur from Friday, June 25 at 9 am until mid-day on Monday, June 28, 2010.

Vermont and New Hampshire have seen the value of construction contracts diminish as federal stimulus money has been mostly spent. This is most evident with road and bridge construction, which was at a very high level a year ago. In Vermont, commercial building has suffered significantly as well, down 81 percent for the month of May and 87 percent for the year-to-date.