In The News
07-16-10 ~ Art of Action ends in auction
BURLINGTON -- ... "The interesting thing about this project was that it came from a
report by the Council on the future of Vermont," said Diane
Scolaro of the Vermont Arts Council...
06-26-10 ~ Marlboro's renewable resurgence
MARLBORO -- The Marlboro Energy Committee is growing and expanding the scope of its work. Energized by the town's recent participation in the Vermont Council on Rural Development's Community Visit Program, more residents have recently joined the committee, and the first steps toward new wind, hydro-electric and solar projects are under way...
06-23-10 ~ Historic Art of Action Tour Culminates With Auction in Burlington, VT
MONTPELIER, VT -- Thirty-two pieces created for the groundbreaking Art of Action project will be sold at Absolute Auction on Saturday, July 17th at Main Street Landing's Union Station in Burlington. The public Farewell Reception and Bidders' Preview will take place from 5-7pm, with the Auction beginning at 7pm. This gala event is the culmination of a historic two-year collaboration between the Vermont Arts Council, entrepreneur and philanthropist Lyman Orton, and Janice Izzi. Informed by the research of the Council on the Future of Vermont, ten artists were commissioned to interpret the social, cultural and political issues affecting the future of the state...
06-17-10 ~ Vermont broadband grants
BROADBAND USA -- National Telecommunications and Information Administration description of federal broadband grants in Vermont...
05-01-10 ~ e-Vermont names Helen Jordan as Director
MONTPELIER, VT –- Helen Labun Jordan has been selected as Program Director of e-Vermont, the Community Broadband Project. This new two-year initiative will help rural Vermont towns take full advantage of the Internet to address a wide variety of local needs including economic development, school innovation, job creation, downtown marketing, community engagement, and e-commerce. Today’s announcement came from Paul Costello, Executive Director of the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) and leader of the e-Vermont Partnership...
06-16-10 ~ Pownal selected for e-Vermont project
POWNAL, Vt. -- Pownal is one of 12 communities statewide chosen to be a part of the e-Vermont Project, which is funded by money from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act through the Vermont Council on Rural Development, James Boutin, chairman of the Pownal Communications and Image Committee said Monday...
06-15-10 ~ Pownal, Sunderland selected in e-project
POWNAL -- One of the first things the community will see from participation in the e-Vermont Project will be 50 Dell Netbooks assigned to the third and fourth graders at Pownal Elementary School...
06-10-10 ~ e-Vermont names community directors
MONTPELIER – Philip Petty and Sean Sheehan have been hired by the Vermont Council on Rural Development as Community Directors for e-Vermont, the Community Broadband Project. This new two-year initiative is beginning in a dozen selected communities across the state. e-Vermont will provide the digital tools and in-depth training needed to help these rural towns take full advantage of the Internet to create jobs, drive school innovation, provide social services, and increase civic involvement. Petty and Sheehan will spend much of their time coordinating and leading this effort...
06-10-10 ~ Middlesex selected as e-Vermont Community
MIDDLESEX -- Middlesex has been selected as one of a dozen Vermont communities to pilot the new e-Vermont Community Broadband Project...
06-03-10 ~ E-Cambridge – Hoping for broadband
CAMBRIDGE -- Twelve rural communities in Vermont have been chosen for the e-Vermont Community Broadband Project. Cambridge is one of the towns selected for
this pilot program which will provide communities with digital tools and in-depth training. The goal is to help Cambridge make better use of the internet which, in turn, may lead to improved provision of social services, increased civic involvement, job creation, and help for Cambridge Elementary School and Varnum Memorial Library...
05-28-10 ~ Poultney, Westside in pilot computer program
POULTNEY -- Poultney and West Rutland will get new computers and other services as part of a pilot program run by the Vermont Council on Rural Development. The Council announced earlier this month that the towns were two of the 12 chosen to participate in the "e-Vermont Community Broadband Project," a pilot program aimed at helping Vermont towns make better use of the Internet...
05-27-10 ~ Area towns to get digital boost
ARLINGTON/SUNDERLAND -- The towns of Arlington and Sunderland have received grants from e-Vermont - a part of the Vermont Council on Rural Development - that will provide greater technical resources to the communities. The grants will be responsible for a number of technological improvements, according to Gordon Woodrow, the chairman of the Sunderland School Board. Certain grades in Arlington - with the help of partner Digital Wish - will receive laptops for each of their students. The Martha Canfield Library - with the assistance of the Vermont Department of Libraries, another partner - will receive computer upgrades and e-services. The Burdett Commons is also expected to receive some upgrades and Woodrow said one idea is to outfit it as an e-learning center for community members interested in learning about new online technology. Woodrow also said that Vermont State Colleges - another partner - would be providing students with assistance through direct seminars on how to use the Internet effectively...
05-26-10 ~ Cambridge an eCommunity
CAMBRIDGE -- As a culmination of a process which started more than a year ago, last week, the town of Cambridge was notified they will be one of 12 communities around the state accepted into a program designed to improve their online presence and capabilities. Members of the Cambridge community worked with the Cambridge Planning Commission and helped to apply for the eVermont program. Together they wrote a proposal and solicited letters of support from various community organizations and businesses...
05-24-10 ~ Farmers' Market approved for Adams Park
MANCHESTER ~ ..."When the town worked with the Vermont Council on Rural Development and worked through the Creative Economy project there were three key elements that this community decided we wanted to work on," said Krohn. "The third one spoke specifically to local food initiatives. So in my mind again, the Farmer's Market is a wonderful way to help build on that momentum, help good things happen in the heart of the downtown and help bring the downtown back as place that everyone can enjoy, especially the residents."...
05-20-10 ~ e-Vermont grant to expand Internet in Bristol
BRISTOL — Bristol is one of 12 towns in line to receive a slice of $3.8 million to strengthen Internet access in Vermont, and community leaders are hopeful the landfall “e-Vermont” grant could boost civic engagement and e-commerce while providing computers and Internet access to senior citizens and economically disadvantaged families...
05-20-10 ~ Grand Isle awarded e-Vermont grant
GRAND ISLE -- Residents of the Champlain Islands, traditionally isolated from the mainland,
this month opted for e-connectivity upgrades. Grand Isle County is one of 12 relatively isolated areas that received grants to improve Internet applications in schools, municipal and civic networks and in commerce. The money is not used to bring broadbrand to the community, rather it teaches residents to make better use of the Internet...
05-17-10 ~ 12 communities selected to pilot e-Vermont project
A dozen rural communities across the state will receive digital tools and in-depth training as the initial participants in the new e-Vermont Community Broadband Project. The twelve will benefit from the expertise and resources of e-Vermont’s statewide partners as the local groups develop ways to take full advantage of the Internet for job creation, school innovation, providing social services, and increasing civic involvement. e-Vermont is a new, $3.8 million initiative to help rural Vermont towns take full advantage of the Internet and advance a wide variety of local needs including economic development, school innovation, job creation, downtown marketing, community engagement, and e-commerce. The 2010 communities (selected from over 40 applicants) are Brighton, Bristol, Canaan, Cambridge, Grand Isle County, Ludlow, Middlesex, Newport, Poultney, Pownal, Sunderland, and West Rutland...
05-03-10 ~ Marlboro prioritizes its future
MARLBORO -- Building a community center and
improving walkability in town were the topics of
choice for Marlboro residents at the Vermont
Council on Rural Development Community Visit
meeting...
04-30-10 ~ Strengthening food system in Vermont
BRATTLEBORO REFORMER: Last year, the Legislature established the Farm to Plate (F2P) Initiative, which asked the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) to do a comprehensive inventory of the food-related assets and resources in the state including producers, processors, distribution systems, waste management, suppliers, sales and support systems...This, however, is not a new conversation. In 2002/03, the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) made agriculture one of its research priorities...
04-22-10 ~ Marlboro in second phase of discussions of future
MARLBORO -- Entering the second phase of its Community Visit Program in Marlboro, the Council on Rural Development’s community team will meet again with residents and begin to take some first steps toward action on April 29. At the first visit in March, more than 150 community members met in sessions over the course of the day with a group of 25 state and federal leaders to look at the strengths of the community and the challenges ahead...
04-16-10 ~ 'Digital divite' targeted in e-Vermont project
Unlike Google’s lottery-like “Fiber to the Communities” project, the e-Vermont initiative doesn’t promise super-high-speed Internet to every home. But e-Vermont will deliver: This summer, 12 rural communities will receive financial and
technical assistance to connect residents, businesses, schools and local government or strengthen the digital connections they already have. The tantalizing suite of tools awaiting the finalists includes free laptops for students, custom-designed neighborhood forums and hotrodded business and municipal networks. The catch: Communities must submit applications by April 30 to the Montpelier nonprofit Vermont Council on Rural Development, which developed the project in concert with Front Porch Forum, the Vermont Department of Libraries, Digital Wish, Vermont State Colleges, the Vermont Small Business Development Center and the Snelling Center for Government...
04-07-10 ~ Change is a Challenge
As the Legislature undertook its work this year, it faced the daunting challenge of
filling a $154 million budget gap, and yet legislative leaders showed a curious lack of urgency or concern. One of the reasons was that many of the tough decisions that awaited both the Legislature and the Douglas administration had been obscured by a bewildering fog. The fog was called Challenges for Change...The Council on Rural Development, for example, would lose its $47,000 state appropriation, though the office brings more than that to the state in foundation and federal money. It has proven to be an important catalyst for change within communities around Vermont, including Rutland where the Creative Economy initiatives represent an important spin-off of the council's work...
04-01-10 ~ Residents brainstorm for a new economy
RUTLAND VT: It will include a clearly-defined identity for Rutland and a railroad or children's museum, the result of a vote by about 100 locals Wednesday night after a three-hour public forum held at Rutland's Paramount Theatre. The Rutland Creative Economy's first large-scale forum since 2006 was meant to recruit new volunteers for community projects, ranging from creating artistic bike racks to reconstructing Center Street Alley. It was also a call for direction...
03-29-10 ~ State gets 2.5M to launch Internet
BRATTLEBORO -- The federal Agency of Commerce announced Thursday that it will provide a $2.5 million grant to launch the $3.8 million e-Vermont Community Broadband Project...
03-30-10 ~ Rutland to Discuss "Creative Economy"
RUTLAND VT: Rutland residents will get a chance to talk about what they'd like to see happen in the city Wednesday night at a public forum sponsored by Rutland's Creative Economy.
As VPR's Nina Keck reports, organizers are hoping for a big turnout similar to what the group had at its inception four years ago [through VCRD's led-process there]...
03-25-10 ~ Secretary Locke Announces recover act investment to expand broadband internet access and spur economic growth
WASHINGTON DC – U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today announced 10 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investments to help bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth, create jobs, and improve education and healthcare across the country. ... Vermont - Vermont Council on Rural Development: $2.5 million sustainable broadband adoption grant with an additional $1.2 million applicant-provided match to increase broadband Internet access and adoption in 24 small, mostly rural communities through a comprehensive effort combining broadband training, access, awareness, and planning. The Vermont Council on Rural Development and its project partners plan to train more than 1,800 individuals and distribute an estimated 1,200 computers to 4th and 5th grade students, as well as work with teachers to integrate broadband usage into lesson plans...
03-19-10 ~ Community-building time
RUTLAND: (VCRD's Creative Economy project in Rutland was in 2005. Today the work continues.) Lest anyone think all is doom and gloom in Rutland – and between the economy and the state of affairs at the south end of Wales Street, there are plenty of those stories in the city these days – along come the good folks at the Creative Economy to remind us of the positive energy in and around the community...
3-10-10 ~ eNEK Project
NewsLINC: A partnership between the Vermont Council on Rural Development and the Vermont Small Business Development Center has created e-NEK, a contest organized to stimulate increased use of the Internet for small business owners in the Northeast Kingdom...
1-05-10 ~ Rural Studies Secures Grant for Food Systems, Community Development Projects
The Vermont Council on Rural Development will receive $8500 for the Community Visit program. Over the last 15 years VCRD's Community Visits have provided a ...
12-15-09 ~ Art of Action Challenges Convensions
MONTPELIER, VT -- 12/15/09 -- Vermont has long been depicted as an endless parade of quaint, pastoral images whether on postcards or in genteel gallery settings. However, a touring art exhibition, presented by the Vermont Arts Council and underwritten by philanthropist and proprietor of The Vermont Country Store Lyman Orton, aspires to turn those perceptions on their ear in every regard...
12-02-09 ~ Action Steps
SEVEN DAYS: “The Art of Action” may be the most expensive, elaborate and bureaucratically involved show ever mounted in Vermont. Divided into three exhibits, it consists of 105 commissioned works by 10 artists. Its theme: the future of Vermont. Philanthropist Lyman Orton, owner of the Vermont Country Store, is covering its $400,000 cost. The Vermont Arts Council is coordinating its 10-month statewide tour — which started in southern Vermont and has worked its way north — with conceptual input from the Vermont Council on Rural Development...
11-28-09 ~ The importance of a working landscape
BY ROGER ALLBEE: There has been a lot of discussion recently about Vermont's working landscape. We know, for example, that 97 percent of Vermonter's say they want a working landscape for their state in the future, according to the survey commissioned by the Council on the Future of Vermont...
11-11-09 ~ Internet contest announced
BARTON: A contest to encourage Northeast Kingdom entrepreneurs and business owners to use the Internet was launched here Thursday, November 5, about two years before the state expects to see broadband availability across Vermont. Paul Costello, executive director of the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD), said his organization and the Small Business Development Center are sponsoring the contest because many potential users of the Internet have yet to incorporate the web into their plans...
11-13-09 ~ All 105 pieces of Art of Action on Display
Bennington Banner.
The groundbreaking art exhibition, Art of Action: Shaping Vermont's Future Through
Art, continues to travel to communities across the state, inspiring conversations and collaborations around the issues affecting the future of Vermont...
07-12-09 ~ Futurists worry that Vermont farms have become too reliant on milk
The Council on the Future of Vermont knows the state treasures its farms and forests. So why is it asking if there's too much of a good thing? Surveying almost 4,000 experts and everyday folk at more than 100 meetings, the nonprofit, nonpartisan study group heard more talk about the working landscape than any other topic. Nearly 98 percent of those surveyed, in fact, said they valued the fields, woods and pastures more than any other of the state's features. ...
11-09-09 ~ A taxing question: Futurists ask: Can Vermonters have it all?
The state's $6 billion annual budget provides taxpayers with everything from
snowplowing to subsidized health insurance. Seemingly the only thing that's missing is enough money to fund it. "The socially progressive policies that help support those in need in the state are a hallmark of Vermont," says the nonprofit, nonpartisan Council on the Future of Vermont, "but also strain the financial and delivery systems in place today." ...
10-14-09 ~ State turns to stimulus money for Internet upgrade
Vermont.biz.com article
..."In addition, the Vermont Council for Rural Development is seeking $2.5 million for pilot projects in 24 communities to ensure that their residents will actually be able to make use of the high-speed connections when they become available. This stimulus money would finance equipment and training in the targeted areas. Libraries, for example, would receive $600,000 of this “sustainable broadband adoption” allocation for the purchase of public-access computers."...
10-7-09 ~ Vt. gets $1.2M broadband grant
The Associated Press ~ "Vermont's efforts to expand broadband Internet access have gotten a boost in the form of a $1.2 million federal grant."...
10-11-09 ~ Can you hear me now?
Times Argus article - part of a series on the findings of the Council on the Future of Vermont.
"Unlike more plugged-in places, Vermont has less than 200,000 high-speed Internet lines and cell phone service to only about 60 percent of its population, leaving many of the state's 621,000 residents feeling disconnected from the rest of the world."...
9-21-09 ~ Education chief to talk with ANwSU schools
Addison Independent article ~ "preparations for a vote on one-board governance will begin this fall with public forums run by Vermont Council on Rural Development, a nonprofit with experience on community issues. O’Brien said having a neutral party coordinate the forums should help residents get to the heart of the issues while board
members listen."...
9-8-09 ~ McClaughry Commentary
John McClaughry's Commentary on Imagining Vermont
8-23-09 ~ Higher ed: School costs are up but so are student gains
Times Argus. Is Vermont’s ongoing fight over how to fund schools overshadowing gains in its classrooms? When the Council on the Future of Vermont asked residents about their most pressing concerns, it heard fury about property taxes for education...
08-09-09 ~ Paving Paradise: Futurists Questions Direction of Vermont Development
Times-Argus. Is there an answer to the decades-long question of how to balance the state's environment and economy through land-use planning? The Council on the Future of Vermont hoped so as it set out on a 1-1/2-year study of state concerns for coming decades. Inquiring about needs and wants, it heard resident after resident extol close-knit communities framed by nature...
08-12-09 ~ Balance Point
Times-Argus. A statewide discussion among Vermonters about the environment and the economy has shown that the quality of the environment — the rural landscape of woods, farms, lakes, rivers — is a value deeply embedded in the identity and hopes of Vermonters. Simultaneously, Vermonters remain worried about economic prospects, particularly during a recession, and the opportunities that may or may not be available for jobs and housing...
7-16-09 ~ Residents in Charge of State's Future
Brattleboro Reformer after public forum in July.
7-16-09 ~ Council Studies Vermont's Priorities
Bennington Banner after CFV public forum in July.
6-7-09 ~ Future of Agriculture
Will Stevens presentation at the Summit's Evening Session reprinted by the Times-Argus/Rutland Herald
6-7-09 ~ A rich future? Public wants plan for Vermont Economy
Times-Argus article by Kevin O'Connor.
5-27-09 ~ Keep Vermont on Track
Howard Dean commentary in the Rutland Herald / Times-Argus about proposed budget cuts to affordable housing. He mentions the work on the CFV.
5-27-09 ~ Funding May Slow Internet Expansion
Brattleboro Reformer article about stimulus money for broadband
5-12-09 ~ The ‘Future of Vermont’ could be history
Chris Graff's article in Vermont Business Magazine.
5-4-09 ~ Grant to boost Middlebury waterfalls plan
Addison Independent. A plan to improve pedestrian access to, and enjoyment of, the Otter Creek Falls in downtown Middlebury received a major boost on Thursday with the receipt of a $240,000 federal grant. This project was one of the priorities identified in the Creative Communities program.
April 2009 ~ Imagining the Vermont of the Future
Chip Evans shares his memories of Vermont in the past and encourages Vermonters to join the Summit on the Future of Vermont on May 11.
4-23-09 ~ Being part of Vermont's and The Valley's future
Valley Reporter commentary by Bob Ackland
5-6-09 ~ Vermont's Future Starts Today
Rutland Herald commentary by Steve Gold
5-10-09 ~ ‘Imagining Vermont’ Can state’s future bring freedom and unity?
Rutland Herald / Times-Argus
5-12-09 ~ Summit starts search for state's future
Rutland Herald / Times-Argus
5-11-09 ~ Survey Looks at Vermont's Future
WCAX
5-12-09 ~ Leaders develop priorities for Vermont’s future
Vermont Public Radio
5-12-09 ~ Study: Bright Future for Vermont
Burlington Free Press article.
4-14-09 ~ Hanna: Acting in leadership
Hanna commentary on VPR about the CFV project.
4-11-09 ~ The Vermont Identity
Rutland Herald article on the release of the CFV Final Report after the Pre-Summit at the State House.
3-19-09 ~ Group Readies Forum Results
Brattleboro Reformer article reporting on the CFV process.
02-08-09 ~ What do today's trends say about tomorrow
Times Argus article
02-04-09 ~ Artful Dodger
Seven Days, Burlington - As a crisis looms in arts funding, Vermont’s Lyman Orton takes action.
02-03-09 ~ New Report Looks at Trends in Vermont
Fox44 story on the release of the VIT book.
02-03-09 ~ Study: Vt. Tourism Stagnant
WCAX spin on the release of the VIT book.
02-04-09 ~ Report studies trends shaping Vermont’s future
VPR transcript after release of "Vermont in Transition."
02-04-09 ~ Challenges lie ahead for Vermont, new report warns
Times Argus article after the release of "Vermont in Transition."
02-04-09 ~ Study Notes VT Trends Over Two Decade
Burlington Free Press article after release of "Vermont in Transition."
1-14-09 ~ WCAX: Agriculture Takes Center Stage in Montpelier
12/1/08 ~ Bellows Falls Boosters Honored
Rutland Herald article about VCRD's 2009 conservation leadership awardees.
12/15/08 ~ Business, Corporate Support Help Keep Arts Groups Afloat
Valley Busines Journal article about the Creative Economy in Vermont.
12/30/08 ~ State Grant to Fund Killington Arts Center
Rutland Herald article announcing the 25K grant.
8-20-08 Brattleboro Reformer - Maintaining Balance
8-20-08 Brattleboro Reformer - Survey lists values Vermonters prize
8-20-08 Brattleboro Reformer - Meeting focuses on Vermont's future
8-20-08 BFP - Editorial: Working Landscape for past and present
8-19-08 VPR - Poll says Vermonters value landscape, community
8-18-08 Boston Globe - Survey says: Vermonters prize working landscape
8-18-08 WCAX-TV - Survey Tries to Pin Down Vermont Values
8-18-08 WPTZ - Rising Cost of Living a Major Concern
Aug 2008 BFP Pollack - Art of Action/Council on the Future
Aug 2008 Times Argus O'Connor - Council on the Future
6-20-08 BFP - Burlington CFV Forums
6-19-08 BFP: Op-Ed CFV Burlington Forums
6-19-08 BFP: Reader Reactions to Graff Commentary
