Keeping your community covered. We're committed to producing high-quality, fact-based news and information that gives you the facts in this community we call home. If our work has helped you stay informed, take action, or feel more connected to Windham County – please give now to help us reach our goal of raising $150,000 by December 31st.
Keeping your community covered. We're committed to producing high-quality, fact-based news and information that gives you the facts in this community we call home. If our work has helped you stay informed, take action, or feel more connected to Windham County – please give now to help us reach our goal of raising $150,000 by December 31st.
Starting June 28, an outside contractor will provide armed, round-the-clock security for Vermont Yankee and its radioactive spent nuclear fuel.
Entergy announced Tuesday that it is outsourcing protection of the Vernon plant to Securitas Critical Infrastructure Services, a subsidiary of Securitas AB — a Swedish company that bills itself as “one of the world’s largest providers of security services.”
Officials say the five-year deal will save millions of dollars and will ease Entergy’s “administrative burden” at the shut-down plant
SCIS President Ron Hickie explained that SCIS expects to retain all of Vermont Yankee’s current security force, so the move is not expected to spur any additional layoffs.
What does fossil-fuel stock divestment have in common with the closure of Vermont Yankee? Three state senators claim the answer is simple - bad government. Sens. Dick Mazza, D-Grand Isle; Robert Starr, D-Essex/Orleans; and Peg Flory, R-Rutland have penned a letter sharply criticizing Gov. Peter Shumlin's push to divest...
A proposed 28-turbine wind project has grown so contentious, even the format of public meetings spurs vehement debate. As international wind developer Iberdrola Renewables continues to refine plans for what could be Vermont's largest turbine site, the company has scheduled public “technical workshops” for April 5 in Grafton and...
Vermont's congressional delegation is asking federal regulators to “give local stakeholders a seat at the table” when nuclear plants decommission. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.; Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; and Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., joined a dozen other legislators in writing to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as that agency begins developing new regulations for shut-down plants. As Vermont Yankee transitions toward decommissioning, a frequent complaint has been the lack of participation for host communities and state governments. So that is an...
Since late 2014, state officials have awarded more than $3.6 million from an economic development fund set up to ease the pain of Vermont Yankee's closure. Now, for the first time, some of that money will go directly toward an initiative in the nuclear plant's host community. Gov. Peter Shumlin on Monday announced that the two latest Windham County Economic Development Program grants will be split between two organizations. Brattleboro-based Strolling of the Heifers received $90,000 for a new business-accelerator...
In her 10th year in the Statehouse, Rep. Ann Manwaring is calling it a day. The Wilmington Democrat won't seek a a new term representing constituents in three Windham County towns, saying she wants more time for personal pursuits. But Manwaring, a House Education Committee member, also is pledging to stay involved in efforts to change Vermont's school-financing system. “I'm a big proponent, and always will be, of public education being the best it can be,” Manwaring said. “That will...
In the sometimes-acrimonious debate over the future of Windham Southeast Supervisory Union, there are no easy solutions. So when state Education Secretary Rebecca Holcombe visited the union's Act 46 Study Committee on March 17, she faced pointed questions about consolidation, finances, school choice, and school closures. The most-succinct inquiry might have come from Dummerston resident Ruth Barton. “What happens if this thing don't work? You got an answer for that, young lady?” Holcombe declined to offer a specific roadmap for...
Developers are proposing Windham County's second-largest solar array, and the Vermont Army National Guard appears to be an enthusiastic partner in the project. The state Public Service Board will consider an application filed Feb. 16 for a 1.8 megawatt, net-metered solar project to be situated on more than 16 acres of land in Westminster between Interstate 91 and the Connecticut River. The array would stand on property adjacent to the Guard's armory and shooting range, and documents show that the...
