Monday, March 29, 2010

WVTK Local & State News March 29, 2010

As contractors ready their bids for the Lake Champlain bridge replacement, transportation officials in New York and Vermont are jousting over what kind of labor rules should govern the project. At issue is a so-called "Project Labor Agreement" proposed by the New York Department of Transportation, which is overseeing the $110 million project. That agreement, according to John Zicconi, director of planning and community outreach for the Vermont Agency of Transportation, gives undue preference to unionized labor and would effectively shut Vermont workers out of the highest-dollar bridge project in recent memory.

The state is continuing its investigation into a Vermont storyteller. The state Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration is having trouble getting answers from Malcolm "Mac" Parker of Addison, who state investigators believe may have raised as much as $10 million since he began soliciting investors for his film, "Birth of Innocence," in 1999. 

Filings in Washington Superior Court show that investigators have identified nearly 700 individuals who entered into more than 2,600 separate investment agreements with Parker.

3 Vermont downtowns are getting almost $150,000 to help replace sidewalks and add signs. The money for Brattleboro, Rutland and Vergennes is from Vermont's Downtown Transportation Fund and is designed to help support the revitalization of the state's downtowns. Brattleboro will get over $47,000 while Rutland gets $25,000 and Vergennes will get $75,000.

The New York State Budget is expected to be late again this year. The budget is due on Thursday but lawmakers may not have the budget ready by the Passover-Easter Holiday Break. Governor David Paterson says the Legislature only agrees on about $3.3 billion in cuts compared to his $4.8 billion. Lawmakers are expected to approve an emergency-spending plan today.

The Vermont Seal of Quality, which has marked products from maple syrup to eggs for nearly 30 years, is being suspended. Agriculture Secretary Roger Allbee says the program hasn't worked properly in years. Governor Jim Douglas says the program is not going to be eliminated. It's going to be rethought.

More than 100 people gathered in Burlington Saturday for a cycling and pedestrian summit. Discussion at the event centered on ways to make local communities more pedestrian and bike friendly. Organizers hope the summit will spark change, making Vermont a more pedestrian friendly place to live.

A state legislative committee plans to take up the question of paying for decommissioning the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Governor Jim Douglas has vetoed two previous bills addressing the issue. Tony Klein, chairman of the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee, says the new bill would require the plant to set aside $50 million to pay for dismantling the reactor.

A Florida businessman who brokered the first sale of Vermont cows to Cuba five years ago wants to increase food and agricultural exports to Saudi Arabia. John Parke Wright The Fourth tells the Times Argus newspaper that Vermont is 1 of a number of states that could increase exports to a country with 30 million consumers.

An armed standoff with Burlington Police ended peacefully yesterday after the gunman gave himself up. Police say the “intoxicated and despondent” man had fired a gun in the house before police arrived at about 2 PM. The gunman was held-up in his Lopes Avenue home for about 3 hours before surrendering to police.

New York State Police are still investigating an apparent murder-suicide in Cadyville. Police were called to the home on Route 3 around 7:30 Friday Morning and found Patrick and Rose Maynard dead inside the home. According to police, the couple's oldest daughter found her parents after her mother's failed to show up to work.

Closing arguments are expected today in the trial of Robert Kolibas. The Williston man accused of inappropriately touching his daughter's friend at a sleepover. On Friday, Kolibas took the stand and said the drugs in the smoothie given to the girl were meant for his wife. The 51-year old also denied touching her.

Vermont police have arrested a man accused of armed robbery of a pharmacy and making a bomb threat at a high school last week. 47-year-old Gary Reynolds of Highgate is accused of holding up the Rexall Pharmacy in Swanton for prescription drugs. Police say he also made a bomb threat at Missiquoi Valley High School.

The City of Plattsburgh is planning on a number of street repairs this summer. Officials say the relatively mild winter has been kind to the road-repair budget this year. This summer, the city plans to reconstruct 4 streets, and it will resurface 8 others. The budget for street repairs this year is about $1 million.

The federal government has again denied certification for the Vermont State Hospital. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told Vermont officials in a letter Thursday that certification has again been denied. That means the state will miss out on $8 million in federal funds.

South Burlington Police stopped to help a driver with a broken down car and ended up arresting him on drug charges. An officer driving on I-189 stopped to help the disabled vehicle when a drug-sniffing dog indicted something was up. A search of the car revealed almost $7,000 in cash, drug paraphernalia and heroin.

A Plattsburgh woman who suffered severe injuries in a 4-wheel ATV crash Saturday afternoon has died. State Police say 31-year-old Heather M. Smith was riding a 4-wheeler near Chateauguay Lake in the Town of Bellmont with a group of 5 other riders when she crashed into several small trees. Smith was airlifted to Fletcher Allen were she was later pronounced dead.