News

Brendan Kinney has been named Vice President for Development and Marketing for Vermont Public Radio. Kinney will oversee all of VPR s fundraising efforts, including major and planned giving, membership, underwriting, foundation grants, and capital campaigns. He ll also be responsible for crafting a strategy to reach new listeners. Kinney joined VPR last month.

Secretary of Administration Neale F. Lunderville and Vermont Troopers Association
(VTA) President Michael O Neil today announced that the Administration and VTA have reached
agreement on a new one year labor contract, subject to ratification by the VTA membership.
The agreement will produce over $970,000 in total savings in FY11, $162,540 attributable to General

The US Senate Wednesday night confirmed former Vermont Assistant Attorney General Julie Brill for a vacancy on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Brill served for more than 20 years as Vermont s Assistant Attorney General for Consumer Protection and Antitrust, from 1988 to 2009.

Burlington Police Chief Michael E Schirling testified Tuesday afternoon before a congressional panel chaired by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). Leahy invited Schirling to testify at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Encouraging Innovative and Cost-Effective Crime Reduction Strategies.

Voters in Lowell yesterday voted 342 to 114 at Town Meeting to support the development of the Kingdom Community Wind project proposed by Green Mountain Power and Vermont Electric Cooperative.

Vermont Yankee engineers and technicians continue their investigation into the source of tritium in the plant s groundwater. As reported by Vermont Yankee over the weekend, testing identified a leakage path that could allow water, which was previously found pooled in the Advanced Off Gas (AOG) pipe tunnel, to reach the soil.

Part of the Public Service Department's decision to hand the Burlington Telecom situation over to the attorney general for criminal investigation was based on a letter that was sent by a former city attorney to CitiCapital along with Burlington Telecom's application for a $33.5 million loan in August 2007, according to a story in the Burlington Free Press.

The United States Senate passed the Travel Promotion Act (TPA) late last week by a vote of 78-18. The House already passed the bill which is now on its way to President Obama who is expected to sign the bill into law sometime this week.

Burlington Police Chief Michael E. Schirling will testify Wednesday before the US Senate Judiciary Committee at the invitation of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). Leahy, who chairs the panel, scheduled the hearing to explore Encouraging Innovative and Cost-Effective Crime Reduction Strategies.

The Senate Economic Development committee has proposed a tax on Vermont workers that would go towards replenishing the state's unemployment insurance fund, which ran out in February and is currently being funded with loans from the federal government, according to a story in the Burlington Free Press. The committee passed the bill with a 3-2 vote.

Provisions negotiated by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to modernize satellite television services and to reauthorize the expiring statutory licenses that permit satellite providers to retransmit broadcast stations to consumers has been included in legislation introduced Monday to bolster job growth and creation.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) has been named one of 100 Best Corporate Citizens by Corporate Responsibility Magazine. The 100 Best list is known as the world s top corporate responsibility ranking based on publicly-available information.