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Butler s Restaurant at The Essex Resort & Spa has earned distinction from two of the world s most prestigious organizations. Wine Spectator presented Butler s with a 2009 Best of Award of Excellence, and Fodor s Travel, the foremost name in travel publishing, recognized Butler s as a 2009 Fodor s Choice selection.
2009 Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence

Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas officially kicked off his yearlong National Governors Association (NGA) Chair s initiative, Rx for Health Reform: Affordable, Accessible, Accountable, at the National Press Club today. In his remarks, he also offered some initial reactions to the recently released Senate Finance Committee proposal.

Pursuant to the Vermont Energy Act of 2009 Act 45), the Public Service Board is required to open and complete, by September 15, 2009, a "noncontested case docket" to determine whether the statutorily-defined default prices for qualifying Sustainably Priced Energy Enterprise Development ("SPEED") resources, "constitute a reasonable approximation of the price that would be paid applying the crite

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) today introduced legislation to provide Social Security recipients an extra one-time payment next year of $250. Without the legislation, millions of seniors will see their Social Security checks shrink because for the first time since 1975 there will be no cost-of-living adjustment.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) yesterday published proposed regulations to implement a new voluntary cooperative program under which state inspected meat processing establishments will be eligible to ship meat and poultry products in interstate commerce.

The fourth annual Kelly Brush Century Ride was the Kelly Brush Foundation s most successful to date both in the number of participants and the amount of donations. A total of 495 riders took part in the event held in Middlebury, Vt. on Saturday, Sept. 12, raising $199,000 for ski racing safety and adaptive sports.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) has flipped the switch on its new solar array, sending solar energy collected from the roof of its Waterbury, Vermont, distribution center to power its facility. Construction of the 100 kW photovoltaic array was completed in the summer.

For the Week of 09/12/2009. There were 747 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, a decrease of 77 from the week before. Altogether 9,804 new and continuing claims were filed, 833 fewer than a week ago and 4,011 more than a year earlier.

Vermont Governor Jim Douglas and Blueprint for Health Director Craig Jones, M.D., joined Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at the White House today for the announcement of a new federal initiative modeled after Vermont s innovative Blueprint for Health.

Vermont's chief regulator has decreased Vermont hospital budgets from the requested 6.4 percent system average rate increase to 5.9 percent. This will reduce operating revenues by $5.9 million. Individual hospital rate requests ranged from 4.0 percent to 8.8 percent. The requests totaled an increase of $100.7 million in operating revenues.

The State Board of Education elected new officers at its September 15, 2009 meeting, the Department of Education announced today. Fayneese Miller of South Burlington was elected Board chair, Ruth Stokes of Williston will continue serving as co-vice-chair, along with Kathy Larsen of Wilmington as second vice-chair.

Lyndon State College is the recipient of a $71, 590 grant from the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Northern Region. The money will be used for paid student internships in Essex County in Vermont and Coos County in New Hampshire.