Vermont

State, Feds Partner with Boy Scouts to Find Residents Qualified for Drug Program

December 20, 2007 -- Montpelier, Vt. – Vermont Governor Jim Douglas today joined officials from Medicare and the Green Mountain Council, Boy Scouts of America to encourage eligible senior citizens to enroll in the federal Medicare prescription drug program.    » read more »

December 19, 2007 -- BURLINGTON – The Vermont Department of Health achieved a high rating (a score of 9 out of 10 possible points) in the fifth annual Trust for America’s Health “Ready or Not? Protecting the Public’s Health from Disease, Disasters, and Bioterrorism” report.

The report contains state-by-state scores based on 10 key indicators to assess health emergency preparedness capabilities. Only seven states received a rating of 10 out of 10.    » read more »

December 18, 2007 -- BURLINGTON – The Vermont Department of Health achieved a high rating (a score of 9 out of 10 possible points) in the fifth annual Trust for America’s Health “Ready or Not? Protecting the Public’s Health from Disease, Disasters, and Bioterrorism” report.

The report contains state-by-state scores based on 10 key indicators to assess health emergency preparedness capabilities. Only seven states received a rating of 10 out of 10.    » read more »

December 18, 2007 -- Waterbury, Vt. – A West Rutland man is facing serious charges after allegedly hunting deer over bait and salt and aiming his rifle at Vermont State Game Wardens while watching them through his rifle scope.    » read more »

December 18, 2007 -- Montpelier, Vt. – Vermont Governor Jim Douglas will designate Dec. 17 - 23 “Homeless Awareness Week” to highlight assistance available to those who become homeless and the state’s coordinated efforts to prevent it.

Gov. Douglas will sign the proclamation during a Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness vigil in front of the Bethany Church, Main St., Montpelier on Dec. 18 at 11:30 a.m.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, December 14 – The Vermont congressional delegation has been assured by the Martin Luther King Foundation that American granite will be used in a monument to the civil rights leader in the nation’s capital.    » read more »

WASHINGTON (Friday, Dec. 14) -- The U.S. Senate Friday passed a five-year Farm Bill that advances key Vermont agriculture, anti-hunger and environmental priorities, championed by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). The bill’s Vermont-related features include renewal and improvement of the MILC safety net program for dairy farmers; greater Vermont access to farmland conservation programs that have become integral to the cleanup of Lake Champlain; more support for food banks; and more funding to help farmers make the transition to the booming organic sector.    » read more »

December 13, 2007 -- An agreement was reached early Thursday morning between the Maine Office of the Public Advocate and representatives of FairPoint and Verizon concerning a proposed sale of Verizon’s operations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont to FairPoint Communications.

The Public Advocate is charged with representing the interests of Maine consumers in utility regulatory matters.    » read more »

December 12, 2007 -- MONTPELIER, VT – A new college program to train pharmacists and an organic health and beauty products manufacturer have been approved for over $1.2 million in job creation incentives that could produce over 85 new jobs over the next five years.

At its meeting Thursday the Vermont Economic Progress Council reviewed and gave initial approval to applications by Albany College of Pharmacy to assist with the development of a Vermont campus and Tata’s Natural Alchemy, LLC, an organic skin care products maker, to set up a manufacturing plant on a Whiting farm.    » read more »

12/6/2007 -- MONTPELIER, Vt. – Ski Vermont, The Vermont Ski Areas Association will partner with the Agency of Agriculture and the Vermont Beef Producers Association to spice up resort’s menus with local beef; aptly named the Ski Vermont Burger.

Available in the restaurants at Bolton Valley, Jay Peak, Okemo Mountain and Stowe Mountain Resort, the Ski Vermont Burger marks the first junction of the state’s beef industry with the ski resorts. The Buy Local movement is not just a matter of business; it is by the demand of tourists and locals alike.    » read more »

December 12, 2007 - Vermont Attorney General William H. Sorrell announced today that his office has filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against Ganz, Inc., of Woodbridge, Ontario, for distributing items of jewelry and other metal products containing high amounts of lead through retail stores in Vermont.    » read more »

December 12, 2007 - Vermont Attorney General William H. Sorrell applauded a decision issued today by a federal judge in California that supported a decision issued by Chief Judge William K. Sessions in September on Vermont’s identical greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) regulations for new motor vehicles. Like Judge Sessions, Judge Ishii in the Eastern District of California found that the GHG regulations did not conflict with the federal fuel economy law or U.S. foreign policy.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, December 4 – As Vermont dug out from the season’s first major winter snow storm and temperatures plunged below freezing, emergency legislation to provide $1 billion for home heating assistance was introduced today in the Senate by Senators Bernie Sanders and Patrick Leahy and in the House of Representatives by Congressman Peter Welch.    » read more »

December 4, 2007 - Vermont Attorney General William H. Sorrell announced today that his office has settled a lawsuit filed against Canadian telemarketers and their Vermont-based check processor. The settlement requires, among other things, payments to the State totaling $20,000, future payments of up to $200,000, refunds to consumers, and a permanent and global ban on telemarketing by the Canadians.    » read more »

November 28, 2007 - Vermont Attorney General William H. Sorrell announced that Vermont and eleven other states and state agencies filed suit today against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over new regulations denying the public access to information about toxic chemicals in their communities.    » read more »