Valener Inc. of Montreal, the parent company of Gaz
Metro, announced Thursday it has completed the acquisition of Central Vermont
Public Service Corp. It is
expected that CVPS will consolidate its operations in the coming months with
Green Mountain Power Corp. Gaz
Metro acquired GMP, Vermont’s second-largest power company, in 2007. With the
acquisition of CVPS, the value of Gaz Metro’s assets is approximately $5
billion.
You’ll want to pick up the most recent edition of
“Seven Days”, Vermont’s Independent Voice! This week you’ll find a special article on our two best
buddies from the Wake Up Crew, Bruce & Hobbes! Look for the article title “What a Wiener! Hobbes the Dachshund Transforms Talk
Radio in Vermont.” The article
shares the story of how the duo came to be and reveals some special upcoming
projects one man and his best friend have planned for later this year. You can view the article online rightnow by visiting the 7-Days Website.
Due to the growth in the Middlebury Grand List of
0.8%, the property tax rate needed to support the General Fund budget is down
slightly from the previous year. However, the overall municipal tax rate is
increased by 2.61 cents due to the additional 1-cent on the tax rate for the
Middlebury Business Development Fund and the addition of 1.77 cents for the
FY13 interest payments on the Fire Facilities Bond as voted at Town Meeting. Education
property tax rates will be supplied to Towns by the State on June 30th so that
FY2013 tax bills can be prepared and mailed by July 15th. The first installment
will be due August 15th.
This week the Middlebury Select Board accepted the
concept of town offices-community center and gymnasium on the municipal
building site. This was presented to the Board by the Steering Committee on
June 19th as well as the Committee's recommendations for going
forward with the appointment of task forces on financing, relocation and
energy, with the Steering Committee continuing to serve in public outreach and
project coordination capacities.
The Middlebury Business Development Fund Advisory
Board told the Select Board this week they have worked on developing a job
description for the Business Development Director and a fundraising strategy for
the business component of the Fund and will continue to work on developing a
work plan for the Director and a statement of need over the summer, with a
target date for completion of September 1st. The fundraising effort would then
kick off in September with meetings with major donors.
Soil testing for contaminated soils is to begin
very soon. Middlebury D-P-W plans to bid this project this coming winter,
pending the results of the soil survey. The project completes a water main loop
to benefit the high school and the west side of town, curbing, drainage and a
sidewalk connection from Cross Street to the school neighborhood.
The Middlebury Select Board awarded the bid this
week for the Police Dispatch Console Replacement & Cruiser Radio Upgrade.
The Board awarded the contract for both projects, which are primarily grant
funded, to Burlington Communications, which submitted the bid with the lowest
net cost to the Town. Meanwhile
the application to the Vermont Agency of Transportation for Bike Racks in the Downtown
District was endorsed. The Board endorsed an application to VTRANS for racks at
the following public locations: Town Offices & Gym, Ilsley Library and the Town
Green/ACTR bus stop.
The Vergennes Boys and Girls Club was recipient of
a $1,000 donation, from the Vergennes Lions Club, to be used for summer
activities and snacks. The Lions
recognized the B & G Club for their success in keeping young folks busy
during the summer months, and after school throughout the year.
State and local officials announced yesterday they
have chosen the Howe Center as the site of an opiate addiction clinic serving
the Rutland region. Health
Commissioner Harry Chen and Rutland Regional Medical Center CEO Tom Huebner
joined Rutland Mental Health Services CEO Dan Quinn for the announcement that
they had chosen Building 10 in Howe Center as the location. Officials were also looking at a site
on West Street, but said Howe Center was the less expensive of the two and that
public opinion at a recent meeting overwhelmingly favored the latter location
over a residential neighborhood. Chen
said the clinic is expected to begin operation in October.
Members of the Middlebury Police and Fire
Departments responded to a two-car collision at the entrance of the Exxon-Mobil
convenience store, located next to the National Bank of Middlebury branch
office, on Route 7 South in Middlebury yesterday afternoon. According to an eyewitness who motioned
to the driver of a Subaru station wagon to enter the southbound lane, the
station wagon was hit in front hit by another vehicle. Both drivers, while shaken, appeared
uninjured at the scene.
Vandals have again destroyed beautification
projects in downtown Ticonderoga. Flower
boxes on the Montcalm Street Bridge have been ruined for the second time in the
past three years. The planters
were a joint project involving The Country Florist, Ticonderoga Kiwanis,
Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce and Ticonderoga Montcalm Street
Partnership. The estimated cost of
the damage is about $1,000. Francine Burke, owner of The Country Florist, said
the flower boxes would be repaired and replanted before the town’s July 4th
celebration. Meanwhile the Ti Police Department has prioritized this investigation
and anyone with information is asked to call the department (585-2205). They’re
pursuing several positive leads and are optimistic this case can be closed with
an arrest.
Families in New York can now check their children’s
eligibility for health insurance using a simple online screening tool. The Children’s Health Insurance
Connection, a new program run by the Adirondack Health Institute, is designed
to increase the number of eligible children and their families enrolled in New
York’s health-insurance options. All children younger than 19 in New York State
are eligible for Child Health Plus coverage. The insurance may be free or have
a small monthly cost, depending on family income and the number of children in
the family. To learn more about the Children’s Health Insurance Connection, visit
www.chicapp.org
or call (866) 872-3740 to speak directly to an enrollment services team member.
Organizations interested in online screening or in-service training can go to
the program website and click on the “Partners” tab or call 562-3740, Ext.
32902.
When the U-S Supreme Court upheld the central piece
of President Obama's health care reform act, Governor Peter Shumlin called it a
great day for Vermonters and Americans.
With the high court ruling the Affordable Care Act including the
individual mandate constitutional, it also means nothing is changing going
forward with Vermont's health care exchange. Vermont is counting on getting 400-million in federal
funding to help pay for Vermont's new program. The one thing that could change everything, of course, is
the November election.
The Vermont Department of Mental Health has
received approval from another state department that will allow it to move
forward with key components of a plan to replace mental health beds destroyed
when Tropical Storm Irene flooded the state hospital in Waterbury. The Department of Financial Regulation
on Thursday issued an emergency Certificate of Need for 14 new beds at the
Brattleboro Retreat, six at the Rutland Regional Medical Center and eight at a
newly renovated facility in Morrisville. The plan had been approved by the
Legislature.
For the first time in seven-years, a major military
air show will take place in Vermont.
On Thursday, organizers of the "2013 Wings over Vermont"
announced their plans for the show.
They say it will be a free, two-day air show at Burlington's waterfront
in August next year. While the
lineup of planes is still being worked on, organizers hope the Air Force's
Thunderbirds will perform. Organizers expect tens of thousands of people to
show up and pump millions of dollars into area businesses. But to put on the show, they need to
raise $300,000. That campaign got
a big kick-start with a $100,000 donation from Revision, an Essex Junction
military supplier.
Vermont officials say some unemployment deposits
have been delayed because of a bank issue. The Vermont Department of Labor said
today that about 200 recipients of unemployment insurance will get their direct
deposits on Thursday. The rest of the beneficiaries affected - about 30 - will
not get the deposits until Friday. The Labor Department says the two banks
involved have resolved the problem.
A stunning Theatrical Vermont Premiere is for this
weekend! Grace Church of Rutland
is honored to present the Rutland Area Chorus, Orchestra and Children’s
Ensemble, stage performers and the Vermont Dance Collective in a performance of
Leonard Bernstein’s MASS at the historic Paramount Theater in downtown Rutland
on Friday and Saturday under the direction of Rip Jackson. Leonard Bernstein’s MASS is a majestic
hybrid of classical music, jazz, pop, blues and rock and promises to be the
musical event of the year. This masterpiece, originally commissioned for the
opening of The Kennedy Center in 1971 by Jacqueline Kennedy, and rarely
performed due to its enormity, calls for a full professional pit orchestra, large
chorus, children’s choir, Broadway-sized cast and musical theatre soloists,
professional dance ensemble, and rock band. Tickets are $20 for evening
performances for orchestra and loge; $15 for students under 17, balcony seats
and all seats for the matinee. They are available through the Paramount Box
Office at 802-775-0903 and at www.paramounttickets.org.
For more information, please call the church office at 802-775-4301 (www.gracechurchvt.org).
Brandon Music on Country Club Road in Brandon
presents the classical piano and accordion duo, Annemieke & Jeremiah, this
Friday at 7:00PM. Dutch classical piano virtuoso Annemieke Spoelstra and master
accordionist from Vermont Jeremiah McLane make unique arrangements based on
traditional folk melodies from the 18th to the 21st centuries. Tickets are $15. For more information just visit www.brandon-music.net.
From Fox 44 and ABC 22 News – Your Voice in Vermont
& New York:
Burlington, Vt. - On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme
Court upheld President Obama's healthcare reform law, for the most part. They
were a few changes. The court
ruled that the "individual mandate", a controversial provision that
requires people who choose not to get insurance to pay a penalty, is
constitutional. That is, if it is referred to as a tax. Basically, the court said that the
Federal government couldn’t mandate that everyone have health insurance.
However, it can tax people who choose not to. "Everyone of us is going to be either paying a penalty,
now called a tax, or having health insurance," Constitutional law
professor Cheryl Hanna said. And
then, there's the issue of Medicaid funding. The original Affordable Care Act required States to expand
their Medicaid coverage. Then, if the State chose not to do that, the law would
take away all of their Medicaid funding. But the Supreme Court did not agree. "And there the court said no, that
States still have the right to refuse to expand under Medicaid but would still
not be at risk of losing all of their funds," Hanna said.
Democratic Governor Peter Shumlin says the Supreme
Court's decision to uphold individual insurance is great news for Vermonters.
His competitor this fall, does not agree. Republican Senator Randy Brock
compared the ruling to the Titanic and says it's going to sink. Vermonters anxiously awaited one of the
nations most anticipated rulings in decades Thursday. MVP Healthcare who
provides coverage to 700,000 people says this decision doesn't change a thing. "Its been the law, we have been
implementing and complying with the law," MVP Vice President, Frank
Fanshawe said. The landmark
decision doesn't change anything if you already have a plan, if you don't,
you'll be required to get one, or your taxes will increase. But for two people
eyeing the state's top spot, this decision just heated up the November
election. Governor Shumlin says this bill means that Vermont will get
400-million federal dollars for its share. "To help low and middle income
Vermonters and small businesses pay for the ever rising cost of health
insurance," Governor Shumlin said.
Republicans say just because the Supreme Court deemed this ruling
constitutional, doesn't mean that it's good policy. "To buy something that we have no description of, the
real question is how do we know that we're going to save money? How do we even
know that we're going to slow the increase in cost when we don't even know what
we're going to spend?" Senator Brock questioned. Governor Shumlin says he's already working with the Green
Mountain Healthcare board to design a system that costs significantly less than
what Vermonters are paying for health insurance right now.
Police say three Vermont men are facing charges
connected to the death of a man whose body was found in a St. Albans pool in
April. Police say the victim,
22-year-old Christopher Davis of Swanton, was lured to the area of the city
swimming pool by Travis Bugbee and Brian Ross, both 23 and from St. Albans,
where he was beaten and robbed. Bugbee
and Ross are due in court Thursday. They're facing charges that include assault
and robbery. Another man, 29-year-old Joshua Fortine of St. Albans was charged
with possessing items stolen from Davis.
His family last saw Davis in late March. His body was found April 16. Police say the condition of the body
made it difficult to determine the exact cause of death.
