WVTK Local & State News February 5, 2010

A massive manhunt is over for the prime suspect in Sunday's double murder in Dannemora.  52-year-old Anthony "Tony" Pavone is now in custody.  Police noticed his truck in the parking lot of a motel in Binghamton last night.  Pavone turned himself over to police this morning at 4 AM.  Pavone is currently being transported to Plattsburgh.

Police in Vergennes are investigating a holdup at the Marble Works pharmacy. Police say a masked man entered the pharmacy yesterday morning and pointed a gun at the clerk. Investigators will not say if the thief took money or prescription drugs, but say he did take something. No customers were inside the pharmacy at the time and no one was hurt.

The Essex County Department of Health has lifted the boil-water order for Crown Point that went into effect January 31. Officials said the order is no longer necessary based on repairs made to the water main and satisfactory sample results. The order was lifted yesterday afternoon.

People on both sides of Lake Champlain impacted by the Champlain Bridge closure spoke out at a hearing in Rutland on Wednesday. The Senate Economic Development Committee took testimony from residents about the hit they took at their jobs and in their personal lives. The committee is working to craft a relief program for affected businesses. The Addison County Economic Development Corporation hopes to turn some of the potential relief money into grants and revolving loans for businesses in the area.

The state of Vermont, which last year enacted a law banning drug companies from providing free lunches to doctors, now may go a step further by requiring the companies to disclose the free drug samples they give to physicians. If the state enacts the requirement, it would be the first to do so. Attorney General William Sorrell, who recommended in a recent report that the drug companies be required to disclose what it gives to doctors and other providers, is to testify before lawmakers at a hearing Friday in the Statehouse.

Tritium levels in groundwater samples taken from a newly-dug well at Vermont's only nuclear plant are more than nine times higher than previously recorded levels. And while that's causing concern among Vermont Yankee's neighbors, plant officials say technicians appear to be getting closer to figuring out where the radioactive material is leaking from.

Vermont is 1 of 5 states without a comprehensive law against human trafficking, but a bill being considered by state senators could change that. The measure would expand existing sex offender laws to include enslaving and trafficking in adults for reasons other than sexual exploitation.

A Vermont man accused of killing his neighbor's dog has pleaded guilty to animal cruelty. Police say Dennis Gonyaw went to the neighbor's home and shot the 11-month-old Siberian husky because the dog was harassing his cows.

The state attorney general has reached a settlement with two candy companies that used the name "Vermont" in products - even though the candy wasn't made in Vermont and didn't even have any ingredients from the state. Russell Stover Candies and Whitman's Candies paid $10,000 to resolve the case.

Kevin Pearce has been moved to a Denver hospital specializing in brain injuries from a hospital in Utah, where a New Year's Eve accident left the Vermont snowboarder critically injured. Pierce hit head on the halfpipe during practice. Doctors say he's able to walk and do daily activities with some help.