Wednesday, September 15, 2010

WVTK Local & State News September 15, 2010

Weather Channel Meteorologist Ray Stagich says a Mix of Sun & Clouds Today with a chance of a Shower – High around 60.

The strike has been called off and students in Winooski will have school today. At around 2:30 this morning, after 8-hours of negotiations, the teacher's union and the school reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. Details of the deal will not be released until the school board and the WEA ratify it today or tomorrow.

With 79-percent of the votes in, it looks like Matt Doheny has won the Republican Primary from the 23rd Congressional Seat. Although locally, he didn't do so well. According to the unofficial results, Doug Hoffman was ahead in both Clinton and Essex Counties. The final results may not be known for a couple of weeks, as absentee ballots still need to be counted.

Political novice and tea party ally Carl Paladino has beaten the Republican designee in the race for the party's nomination for New York governor. Paladino rode a wave of voter anger on his way to defeating former Congressman Rick Lazio. It's another blow to the GOP in a heavily Democratic state.

The state of Vermont will be getting $19-Million-Dollars to support education jobs. The funds from the U.S. Department of Education are part of $10-Billion-Dollars being distributed to states by a formula based on population figures. States then can distribute the money to school districts based on their our formulas.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is buy one of their Canadian competitors, Van Houtte for $890 million. The Montreal company roasts and markets gourmet coffee for homes and offices and distributes it through direct-to-store delivery and coffee services networks in Canada and the U.S. The deal is expected to be closed by the end of the year.

Formal results aren’t in, but according to some Rutland and Killington business owners, the Killington Classic motorcycle rally was profitable during a time otherwise dominated by the Vermont State Fair. Both the Killington and Rutland Region chambers of commerce reported good results from the ninth-annual touring rally. This is a big difference from last year when the rally bypassed downtown Rutland because of miscommunication.

It's nearly been five days since Mary Pat O'Hagan was last seen in her hometown of Sheffield. State Police have called her disappearance "suspicious" and are calling in the FBI to assist in what they now believe to be a possible abduction. Detectives say she was likely kidnapped from her home during the late afternoon or evening hours on Friday. State Police are continuing to offer a five thousand dollar reward for information that will help break the case.

The Vermont State Employees Association is backing Democrat Peter Shumlin for governor, saying he'll do a better job preserving state services - and state workers' jobs - than his Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie. Dubie also has picked up some labor endorsements, including from the Professional Firefighters of Vermont and two locals of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

The Vermont State Police hopes to arm most of its officers with Tasers. State Police Capt. Robert Evans said yesterday that a handful of state police officers have been armed with Tasers for the past four years as part of a pilot program to test the weapons in the field. 

Based on that experience, a state police committee recommended to top commanders that all uniformed officers ranging from lieutenants to troopers be armed with Tasers.

Charges against a group of Vermont Yankee protesters have once again been dropped. In August, police cited eight women with unlawful trespassing. The protesters, known as "the Raging Grannies," blocked the main gate while calling for the immediate shutdown of the reactor. Now, for the ninth time in a row, the Windham County State's Attorney's Office dropped the charges, saying it would take too many resources to prosecute the alleged crime.

Officials at the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity say that they will start the heating season this year with little funding to assist those in need, due to a lack of donations to the Warmth Program. Also, the Shareheat fund, which serves CVPS customers, has a deficit of several thousand dollars. Authorities say they have never seen a heating season with so few resources.