WVTK Local & State News January 20, 2010

Gov. Jim Douglas on Tuesday laid out an austere budget for the next fiscal year, saying the state must close a $150 million money gap by taking such steps as: more than quadrupling deductibles paid by some public health care beneficiaries; trimming payments to human services providers; reducing subsidies to help middle-income Vermonters pay school property taxes. The governor proposed a general fund budget of about $1.1 billion; when all other state funding is added in, including federal money the state passes through for human services, transportation and other programs, Vermont will see about $4.7 billion in spending in fiscal 2011.

A hospital group says Governor Paterson's proposed state budget would cost jobs and hurt health care. Paterson on Tuesday proposed a belt-tightening budget that would cut $1 billion from health care spending -- much of which goes to hospitals and nursing homes. The Legislature will now consider the governor's proposal and could make changes. Governor Paterson also announced a number of other remedies for the budget woes Tuesday, including closing several prisons. He's proposing shutting down four prisons in total, two of those, Lyon Mountain and the Moriah Shock Incarceration Center, are in the North Country. The state says closing the four facilities would save more than $60 million in the coming years.

The Vermont Board of Education voted Tuesday to approve a proposal to consolidate the nearly 300 individual school districts around the state, having them serve more students in hopes of offering greater education opportunities to Vermont's children. The board declined to define exactly how many districts should remain after the consolidation, or dictate specifically how the merged districts would be structured. Instead, the panel chose to appoint a broader committee to examine the specifics of the plan.

Vermont Yankee officials say elevated levels of a radioactive isotope have been found in a second monitoring well at the nuclear power plant. Plant officials also say a higher concentration was found in the well where it was first detected.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont is suing Brattleboro police over the arrest of 4 protesters last year. The four were cited for disorderly conduct in the March 30 incident at the Latchis Theater, but local officials opted not to prosecute. Now, the ACLU says the police chief violated the protesters' rights.

Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss says a long-stalled road project is moving forward. The so-called "Champlain Parkway" -- bogged down for decades by several issues -- is designed to reroute truck traffic from Burlington's South End to the Pine Street corridor and downtown.

A second trial on sexual assault charges will not happen for Colchester surgeon Joseph Abate. Abate has instead struck a plea deal, giving up his medical license and getting a suspended sentence after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor. Abate's first trial ended in a mistrial.

Ski resorts across Vermont did big business over the King holiday weekend, thanks to plentiful snow and seasonal temperatures. An industry official tells the Rutland Herald resorts' numbers were well ahead of last year's figures.