Thursday, March 4, 2010

WVTK Local & State News March 4, 2010

Despite hard economic times, Vermont voters are giving the thumbs-up to school budgets, even those with significant tax increases. The Vermont Superintendent's Association reports that 230 budgets passed, only 14 were defeated on Town Meeting Day.

Voters in the Moriah Central School District passed a $10 million school improvement project yesterday. The vote was 405 to 150. The capital project will cost local taxpayers nothing. 100-percent of the project is being paid for with state funds. The new project will replace the school roof and heating boilers and renovate the school swimming pool.

Central Vermont Public Service Corp. spent an estimated $4 million cleaning up after storms last week. Snow Tuesday and wind Thursday knocked out power to 66,000 customers, getting more than a third of them twice for a total of more than 91,000 outages. The last was repaired Sunday evening, according to the company, and the longest anyone was without power was about 80 hours.

The scandal surrounding Governor David Paterson is getting worse. An ethics panel has charged Paterson with a violation for accepting free Yankees' tickets for last year's World Series. This on top of accusations he interfered with a domestic violence case involving one of his former top aides.

With Colchester's Camp Johnson as the backdrop, Governor Jim Douglas has signed into the Military Parent Protection Act. The bill allows for temporary custody orders while a parent is deployed; and a return to a pre-deployment arrangement when they return from duty. The new law takes effect immediately.

Town Meeting Day voters in Rutland passed term limits. By a 2-to-1 margin, city residents approved adding a 10-year term limit for the mayor and members of the Board of Aldermen. Supporters say change is good every few years to keep fresh ideas at City Hall. Two members currently on the Board of Aldermen have served for longer than 10 years.

The Chittenden County prosecutor says he won't file criminal charges against a Bristol police officer who handcuffed a woman to a wall outside the South Burlington jail. The officer handcuffed her to a wall in an unheated garage for about 30 minutes while he went outside to call his department to ask what to do because the jail refused to take her.

A federal judge says a 28-year-old Starksboro man accused of being the "hired muscle" for a crack cocaine ring in should remain in custody while he awaits trial. Judge William Sessions III issued the ruling after a woman who had agreed to take in David M. Dean changed her mind. Dean is among 20 people charged with being part of a drug ring broken up last month.

For the thousands of people living in communities around the Burlington Airport, it's going to be a quieter-than-usual summer. That's because the eight-thousand-foot runway will be undergoing its once-in-a-decade resurfacing project. Much of the work will be done overnight, meaning the airport shuts down during that time, starting in early June. As for the Vermont Air National Guard F-16 fighter jets stationed there, most will take off in May for training in Idaho and later in New Hampshire. Those jets will be gone through the summer, and are not scheduled to return until after Labor Day. Instead, most of the summer training will be out of Pease Air National Guard Base near Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

More than a dozen foodmakers have been put on notice by the FDA to check nutritional claims made on food labels. Among the companies receiving warning letters were baby food makers Gerber and Beech-Nut. The FDA cites labels that claim baby foods are "Healthy as Fresh," an "Excellent Source of Vitamin A" and have "No Added Sugar." While not saying the statements are wrong, the agency said regulations don't allow the claims for products specifically intended for children under two years of age. Warning letters were also sent to Diamond Foods related to health claims made for omega-3 fatty acids found in the company's walnut snacks. Spectrum Organic Products received a letter citing labeling of its vegetable shortening. Even Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream came in for scrutiny. The Food and Drug Administration is getting ready to press for new package labeling to make it simpler for ordinary people to understand the nutritional content of food. The full list of companies that received warning letters from the FDA is posted on the agency's website FDA.gov.