Press Releases

  • (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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  •  

    (MONTPELIER, VT, February 3, 2010) – Lt. Governor Brian Dubie will focus on employers in Chittenden County Thursday, listening to what they say will help them retain existing jobs and grow new jobs.

     

    Dubie launched the state-wide Jobs Tour on January 13. So far, he has visited with employers in Rutland, Brattleboro, Waterbury, Randolph and Bennington. He plans to continue the tour through the coming weeks.

     

    So far, Dubie reports, the feedback from businesses large and small is centered on taxes, and the state's regulatory environment.

     

    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 the drop in part to the Vermont legislature’s failure to reduce state spending and “right-size” state government in 2009. “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.”

     

    Still, Dubie says he is bullish on Vermont. “There is no bigger cheerleader for Vermont than me,” he said. “But we simply must do better than 47th. Making Vermont the best state in New England to do business and earn a living must be priority 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 during the next few weeks, and 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:

     

     

    Chittenden County Jobs Tour
    Thursday, February 4, 2010

     

     

    7:00 am to 7:45 am The Charlie + Ernie + Lisa Show
    WVMT AM 620 Burlington - Plattsburgh
    Listen Live at http://www.barnabasroad.com/wvmt_launch.htm

     

    8:00 am to 9:30 am Breakfast Round Table
    The Doubletree Hotel South Burlington
    with GBIC, Cynosure and Lake Champlain Regional Chamber Boards of Directors
     

     

    10:00 am to 11:30 am Tour Rhino Foods
    Burlington

     

    12:00 pm to 1:45 pm Employer Roundtable lunch
    The Doubletree Hotel, South Burlington

     

    1:30 pm Media Availability
    The Doubletree Hotel, South Burlington

     

     

    2:00 pm to 3:30 pm Tour Dealer.com
    Burlington
     

  • (Montpelier, VT, January 27, 2010) – In response to Gov. James Douglas’ call today for a moratorium and change in management at Vermont Yankee, Lt. Governor Brian Dubie released the following statement:

     

    “Our first concern today about Vermont Yankee should be for safety – the safety of Vermont Yankee’s employees and area residents.

     

  •  

    Statewide Tour Extended Due to Positive Response

    (MONTPELIER) – Lt. Governor Brian Dubie travels to Bennington tomorrow to hear what area employers say will help them retain existing jobs and grow new jobs in Southwestern Vermont. Dubie launched the Jobs Tour on January 13 and has so far taken it to Rutland, Brattleboro, Waterbury and Randolph.

    Positive response from around the state has persuaded him to extend the tour – originally slated for three weeks -- indefinitely into the future.

  • (MONTPELIER, January 19, 2010) – Following up on last week’s launch of his “Jobs Tour” in Rutland and Waterbury, Lt. Governor Brian Dubie travels to Brattleboro tomorrow (Wednesday, January 20) to hear what area employers say will help them retain existing jobs and grow new jobs.

    The feedback from last week’s tour came from Rutland and Waterbury area businesses large and small, and centered on taxes, the state's regulatory environment and its energy supply.

  •  

    (MONTPELIER, VT, January 21, 2010) – Fresh from trips to Rutland, Waterbury and Brattleboro, Lt. Governor Brian Dubie today took a break from his state wide “Jobs Tour” to attend a “Jobs Summit” convened by the legislature in the Vermont State House.

    But while applauding the legislature for its effort to assess Vermont’s difficult jobs market, Dubie said that lawmakers would do well to get out of Montpelier and meet with Vermont businesses and workers in the “real world”.

  • WHERE: Robert E. Miller Centre in the Blue Ribbon Hall, Champlain Valley Expo, Essex Junction

     

    WHEN: Friday, January 22, 2010 AT 1:00 PM (Doors open at noon)

     

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  •  (MONTPELIER, VT., January 14, 2010) -- Lt. Gov. to kick off Vermont Sportsmen’s Classic – then on to Stowe for a downhill run with noted ski writer Sandy Black

    Sportsmen’s Classic – The 18th Annual Hunting, Fishing & Outdoor Recreation Show

  • (MONTPELIER, VT, January 15, 2010) – Lt. Governor Brian Dubie today released the following statement concerning reports of conflicting statements made by Entergy about underground pipes at its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon:

  • Says legislature has failed to protect Vermont’s jobs and employers from economic hard times.

  • (Burlington, VT, January 4, 2010) -- Speaking before the Burlington Rotary Club this afternoon, Lt. Governor Brian Dubie laid out three principles by which he will measure all legislation proposed during the 2010 legislative session set to begin tomorrow.

  • (ANCHORAGE) -- Vermont Lt. Governor Brian Dubie was in Alaska this week to visit remote Alaskan villages where Vermont-made Northwind 100 wind turbines have begun to replace diesel-powered electric generators with clean, renewable and more affordable wind energy.

  • (MONTPELIER, VT) – Lt. Governor Brian Dubie spoke with respect today in response to Governor Jim Douglas’ announcement that he will not run for re-election in 2010.

  • (Barre, VT) – U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood today to announced a $6.2 million federal grant to rehabilitate a runway at Edward F. Knapp State Airport in Barre. The construction project will create as many as 54 direct and indirect jobs. The funds were made available by the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

  • (MONTPELIER) – Five South Burlington High School students were recognized by Lt. Governor Brian Dubie today for winning the first-ever Vermont Real World Design Challenge (RWDC). The team will travel to Washington, D.C. to participate in the national finals on March 20 and 21.

  • 24 top elected officials from around the country attend opening session today

    Montpelier, VT — Lt. Governor Brian Dubie is among a group of 24 elected public officials convening for the first time today in Aspen, Colorado as 2008’s recipients of The Aspen Institute’s Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership. The opening session runs through this weekend.

  • Montpelier--Lt. Governor Brian Dubie today took the oath of office before a Vermont State Senate chamber overflowing with family, well-wishers and state leaders. State Senator William Doyle, Dean of the Senate, administered the oath to launch the Lt. Governor's fourth term in office.

  • September 12,2008 - (MONTPELIER) -- Vermont's Lt. Governor Brian Dubie has been deployed by the United States Air Force to assist in disaster response in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.