Friday, April 16, 2010

WVTK Local & State News April 16, 2010

A Colorado company has been selected as the apparent low bidder for the new Crown Point Bridge. Flatiron Constructors of Lafayette, Colorado, submitted a bid of $69.7 million. The Vermont Agency of Transportation will take the next 3 weeks to review all the bid details. It's not known if any Vermont or New York subcontractors will be hired to work on the project.

Members of a Vermont National Guard contingent could be home as early as late this year from a deployment to Afghanistan. Adjutant General Michael Dubie laid out the timetable to state lawmakers yesterday. Dubie also said he may ask for more state funding for support services to help soldiers as they return home.

Rutland's new prosecutor is no stranger to the community or the Rutland County State's Attorney's Office. Rutland native Charles Romeo, who served briefly as a city alderman and who spent part of his college career as an intern in the prosecutor's office, started at the job this week as the replacement for Kathryn Smith, who left the office earlier this month.

Vermont lawmakers, looking for ways to fill a $154 million budget gap, have a new idea - taxing plastic shopping bags. The proposal calls for a 10-cent tax on each plastic bag people bring home from stores. The tax could raise between 6 and 9 million dollars a year for the state. Lawmakers say the idea was proposed too late in the session to see any action this year.

It's 14 days late and there's still no sign that New York's state budget is coming any time soon. Lawmakers have gone home for the weekend despite missing the April 1 deadline. Their proposals on how to close the $9.2 billion deficit are still billions of dollars apart from Gov. David Paterson's plan.

A handful of Vermont lawmakers are joining with business leaders to call on the legislature to shore up the state's bankrupted unemployment fund. The fund is currently borrowing from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits. A bill before the Senate Finance Committee would cut spending on benefits and increase taxes on the 23,000 employers who pay into the fund.

State House Speaker Shap Smith says lawmakers may have to return to Montpelier this summer to tighten up some loose ends on the state budget. Smith says the current supplemental budget bill will only fix about half of the shortfall it was suppose to address. He's hoping the Senate can find further savings after the bill clears the House.

A sexual assault at UVM has prompted officials to issue a crime alert. UVM police say they got a call saying a female student was attacked, possibly by two men, on the night of April 6. UVM Police say there have been 7 attacks on campus since last August. They are warning all female students to be aware of their surroundings at night and walk in groups.

The head of the Vermont National Guard says if the South Burlington base doesn't get the new F-35 fighter jets-- it could lead to job cuts. Some residents are concerned about the noise of the new planes that might replace the current F-16 fighter jets. Adjutant General Michael Dubie indicated that without the new planes, the South Burlington base could become obsolete.

The post office says it's discovered why thousands of pension checks were late getting to New Yorkers in January. An internal review shows 60,000 checks were put in with bulk mail instead of first-class mail at an Albany processing center. Some were over two weeks late getting to recipients.

The school budget for next year at Saranac Central School calls for cutting 31 jobs. School officials cut positions across all programs, departments and services to contend with soaring costs and cuts in state aid. No programs were eliminated under the spending plan. Next year's spending plan is about $70,000 less then the current year's budget.

The number of passengers using Burlington International Airport dropped 14-percent for the first 3 months of this year. Airport management says not to expect any improvement soon because of construction work on the runway. The drop in passengers also means increases in parking fees and airport rents have gone up to match the revenue shortfall.

A South Burlington man was in court answering to charges of putting his own child at risk. Police say 33-year-old Jesse Fowler left his son in the car last December while he broke into a Burlington tattoo shop. Fowler pled no contest to a cruelty charge and pled guilty to having cocaine. The state dropped the other charges against him. He was ordered to perform community service.

Today is the last day of the Street Sign Amnesty Program in Plattsburgh. Till midnight tonight, students and residents can return street signs without any questions or penalties. The city of Plattsburgh is currently putting identification information on all street and traffic signs. After today, all violators will be prosecuted.