Tuesday, January 12, 2010

WVTK Local & State News January 12, 2010

Officials across New England are warning snowmobilers and others to be extra careful on lake ice. The Coast Guard tells WCAX the ice on Lake Champlain formed later than usual and the heavy snows are insulating the ice to keep it from freezing thicker. Three people died Saturday after their snowmobiles went through the ice on Lake Dunmore.

Former Vergennes police chief Michael Lowe has pleaded guilty to DUI-drug and other charges stemming from a crash last June involving his police cruiser and a parked car. The Burlington Free Press reports prosecutors have agreed to cap their sentencing request at from 18 months to four years.

When a new bridge over Lake Champlain takes shape at Addison, bicycle and pedestrian advocates want to make sure the span includes provisions for both. They tell the Rutland Herald the old bridge, which was demolished last month, couldn't handle either cyclists or pedestrians safely.

Getting a temporary ferry running near the old Champlain Bridge will mean a change for one of the other Lake Champlain ferry routes. Starting Thursday, January 14, the Grand Isle-Plattsburgh route will change to its weekend schedule. That means the ferry will still be running 24-7, but you will have to wait a few minutes longer between ferries. It's all because one of the three ferries is being sent down to Crown Point, to help break up the ice for construction crews trying to build the temporary ferry docks. Expect the change to last three to four weeks.

State lawmakers have set a pair of hearings for today on the state's budget and on health care reform. 1 of the sessions will have lawmakers going over a list of budget changes proposed by the Douglas administration while the other could look at the impact of a federal health care overhaul on state programs.

Hannaford Supermarket is becoming the first major retail chain to back a program designed to help New England's troubled dairy farmers make more money and stay in business. Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner Scott Soares is set to announce Tuesday that Hannaford will stock locally produced milk and dairy products branded with a special "Keep Local Farms" logo. The program seeks to encourage New England residents to buy local products after about 150 small farmers went out of business due to rising costs to produce milk and dairy products and shrinking profits. The initiative will also provide additional money directly to area farmers. Soares says Hannaford's 171 stores in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont will provide major exposure for the initiative. Similar announcements will be made in Maine and Vermont. On the Net: Keep Local Farms: http://www.keeplocalfarms.org/

Congressman Peter Welch is holding a roundtable with business officials today in St. Albans. The aim of the roundtables is to develop job creation strategies and to talk over obstacles to economic growth in the state.

Authorities say an accident that closed the Beltline for more than four hours Sunday afternoon left both drivers dead. Police have identified the victims as Taylor Mclaughlin and Michael Wagner, both of Colchester. An investigation into the crash is under way.

Roughly one in eight Vermonters relies on food stamps, according to the latest federal figures. The Burlington Free Press also reports use of food stamps in Vermont has gone up nearly 80 percent over the past four years and is running ahead of national averages.