(Montpelier, VT, March 5, 2010) – The next leg of Lt. Governor Brian Dubie’s Jobs Tour will take him to Middlebury and Bristol on Monday. He launched the Jobs Tour on January 13 and has so far has travelled to Rutland, Windham, Bennington, Chittenden, Franklin, Caledonia and Lamoille counties, asking local area employers how the state can best help them retain existing jobs and grow new jobs.

Since taking office in 2003, Dubie has travelled all over the country and the world to promote Vermont businesses. He says that keeping existing jobs in Vermont and attracting new jobs requires Vermont to compete not just with 49 other states, but the world as well.

Forbes Magazine recently ranked Vermont as the 47th best state in the nation to do business. The ranking is down eleven spots from the previous year. Dubie attributes it in part to the state legislature’s failure to reduce state spending and “right-size” state government. “Actions have consequences,” he said, “and raising taxes in a recession, as the legislature did last year, is not leadership. It sends the message that Vermont is closed for business. When our small businesses grow, we create the revenue that funds all the great things that we value in our state.”

Lt. Governor Dubie says he is bullish on Vermont. “There is no bigger cheerleader for Vermont than me,” Dubie said. “But we simply must do better than 47th. Making Vermont the best state in New England to earn a living and run a small business must be priority number one,” he stated.

The itinerary for Monday is as follows:

MIDDLEBURY-BRISTOL JOBS TOUR
8 March, 2010

SPONSORS:
Robin Scheu – Addison County Economic Development
Andy Mayer – Addison County Chamber of Commerce
Adam Lougee – Addison County Regional Planning Commission

7:05 WVTK 92.1 - The Wake Up Crew with Bruce Zeman

8:15 – 9:15 Coffee Round Table with area employers
Ilsley Library Community Meeting Room, 75 Main Street, Middlebury

9:15 – 9:45 Downtown Walkaround
Walk from library. Includes the Cross Street Bridge.

9:50 – 12:15 Briefings & Tours – Middlebury Manufacturers
Maple Landmark, 1297 Exchange Street
Green Mountain Beverage,153 Pond Lane
Danforth Pewter, 52 Seymour St
Vermont Organic Fiber, 52 Seymour St

12:15 – 1:15 Round Table Lunch with area employers
Addison County Regional Planning, 14 Seminary Street

1:15 – 1:30 TRAVEL TO BRISTOL

1:30 – 2:15 Briefing & Tour - Senix Corporation
52 Maple St., Bristol
 

(Montpelier, VT, February 26, 2010) – The next leg of Lt. Governor Brian Dubie’s Jobs Tour will take him to the Lamoille County town of Morrisville. He launched the Jobs Tour on January 13 and has so far has travelled to Rutland, Windham, Bennington, Chittenden, Franklin and Caledonia counties, asking local area employers how the state can best help them retain existing jobs and grow new jobs.

Latest unemployment estimates for the Morristown-Stowe area indicate a December 2009 level of 7.7%, up from 6.8% the previous month.

Since taking office in 2003, Dubie has travelled all over the country and the world to promote Vermont businesses. He says that keeping existing jobs in Vermont and attracting new jobs requires Vermont to compete not just with 49 other states, but the world as well.

Forbes Magazine recently ranked Vermont as the 47th best state in the nation to do business. The ranking is down eleven spots from the previous year. Dubie attributes it in part to the state legislature’s failure to reduce state spending and “right-size” state government. “Actions have consequences,” he said, “and raising taxes in a recession, as the legislature did last year, is not leadership. It sends the message that Vermont is closed for business. When our small businesses grow, we create the revenue that funds all the great things that we value in our state.”

Lt. Governor Dubie says he is bullish on Vermont. “There is no bigger cheerleader for Vermont than me,” Dubie said. “But we simply must do better than 47th. Making Vermont the best state in New England to work and do business must be priority number one,” he stated.

“We need to send a message to our employers and employees that Vermont values them, and we need to send a message to the world that Vermont is open for business.” Dubie is encouraging state legislators to go to businesses in their own districts, to meet with employers and ask the same question: “How can Vermont make it easier for your business to hire and prosper?”

The itinerary for Thursday is as follows:

MORRISVILLE JOBS TOUR
25 March 2010

7:15 – 7:45 WLVB Radio 93.9 FM with Roland Lajoie
Rte. 15 West
 

8:00 – 9:00 Stone Grill Restaurant - Coffee Round Table
Rte 15 West
 

9:10 – 9:25 H.A. Manosh Corporation
120 Northgate Plaza

9:30 – 10:15 Butternut Mountain Farm
Industrial Park Drive

10:20 –11:00 MSI (Manufacturing Solutions, Inc.)
559 Harrel Street

11:10 – 11:45 Sterling Technologies
320 Wilkins Street

11:50 – 12:05 News & Citizen
417 Brooklyn Street
 

(Montpelier, VT, February 16, 2010) – Lt. Governor Brian Dubie travels to St. Johnsbury and Lyndon tomorrow to hear what area employers say will help them retain existing jobs and grow new jobs in Caledonia County. Dubie launched the Jobs Tour on January 13 and has so far taken it to Rutland, Brattleboro, Bennington, Burlington and Franklin County.

Dubie reports that the feedback from businesses large and small is centered on taxes, the state's regulatory environment and its energy supply.

Since taking office in 2003, Dubie has travelled all over the country and the world to promote Vermont businesses. He says that keeping existing jobs in Vermont and attracting new jobs requires Vermont to compete not just with 49 other states, but the world as well.

Forbes Magazine recently ranked Vermont as the 47th best state in the nation to do business. The ranking is down eleven spots from the previous year. Dubie attributes it in part to the state legislature’s failure to reduce state spending and “right-size” state government. “Actions have consequences,” he said, “and raising taxes in a recession, as the legislature did last year, is not leadership. It sends the message that Vermont is closed for business. When our small businesses grow, we create the revenue that funds all the great things that we value in our state.”

Lt. Governor Dubie is bullish on Vermont. “There is no bigger cheerleader for Vermont than me,” Dubie said. “But we simply must do better than 47th. Making Vermont the best state in New England to work and do business must be priority number one,” he stated.

“We need to send a message to our employers and employees that Vermont values them, and we need to send a message to the world that Vermont is open for business.” Dubie is encouraging state legislators to go to businesses in their own districts, to meet with employers and ask the same question: “How can Vermont make it easier for your business to hire and prosper?”

The itinerary for Wednesday is as follows:

Jobs Tour
17 February 2010
St. Johnsbury-Lyndonville

7:40 – 8:00 WGMT 97.7 FM Steve & Jill in the Morning

8:10 – 8:50
Breakfast at Miss Lyndonville Diner
Rte. 5S, Lyndonville

9:00 – 9:45
Numia Medical Technology and Computer Solutions
602 Main Street, Lyndonville

10:00 - 10:40
Precision Composites of Vermont
602 Gilman Road (Rte 122)

11:00 to 12:00 Fairbanks Facility
Rte 2E, St Johnsbury
Mobile Medical, Fairbanks Scales, St. Johnsbury Stitching

12:15 to 1:30 Roundtable Lunch with Business & Community Leaders
Weidmann Technology Campus, Rte. 5N, St. Johnsbury

1:30 to 2:30 Tour of Weidmann

2:30 to 3:20 Vermont Aerospace
966 Industrial Parkway Lyndonville/St. Johnsbury Industrial Park

3:35 to 4:10 microDATA GIS
Rte. 5S, St. Johnsbury

4:15 – 4:30 Media Availability
NVDA Offices, Eastern Avenue, St. Johnsbury

4:30 to 5:00 Railroad St. Walkaround - Downtown Merchants

5:30 – 5:45 News 7 – live news broadcast
Lyndon State College

6:00 – 8:00 Vermont Pilots Assn. Meeting
Elements Restaurant, 98 Mill St., St Johnsbury

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(Montpelier, VT, February 16, 2010) -- Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie today issued the following statement concerning a call for the State Senate to hold an accelerated vote on Vermont Yankee relicensing before town meeting day:

“As I have stated before, safety must be our number one priority regarding Vermont Yankee. Period.

“No other issue is more important than safety in this matter. Right now, both the Attorney General and the Public Service Board are in the midst of detailed, technical investigations to answer questions about safety, as well as accountability. These are serious issues, made all the more serious by the fact that more than 650 well paying Vermont jobs are on the line. The facts deserve our full, eyes-wide-open attention -- not political grandstanding. All of us who hold elected office owe it to Vermonters to put aside political theater, roll up our sleeves and get to the bottom of this issue. One thing is clear: we cannot make a valid decision about Vermont Yankee until we know the facts.”

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(Burlington, VT, February 4, 2010) – Lt. Governor Brian Dubie issued a statement today, urging legislative leaders to push ahead on a bill intended to deliver roughly $8.6 million in federal State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) to help Vermont’s economy and sorely-needed create jobs.

Dubie spoke in Burlington, from a “Jobs Tour” in Chittenden County. The day is part of a state-wide, ongoing effort he launched in mid-January to hear from employers about ways the state can help them retain existing jobs and grow new jobs.

In early January, Dubie joined Governor Douglas and legislative leaders to announce the $8.6 million jobs bill, which proposed appropriations for low-interest loans for small businesses, for the Vermont Training Program, for farmers to purchase seeds for spring planting, for help promoting winter tourism, and for extending internet broadband access to underserved areas.

“This funding has been available for months -- since the federal stimulus act was passed last year,” Dubie said, “yet not a dime of it has reached Vermonters. It’s time for the House and the Senate to pass the bill, and get it to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law now, before the town meeting week break. The legislature promised swift action on this bill in January. Now is the time to act.”

Dubie said, “I have been out listening to small business people all over our state, and they are worried. Out-of-work Vermonters, farmers, and employers need those dollars now. Not next summer, next year, but now. I call upon leaders in the House and the Senate to make passage of this bill their first priority.”

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