WVTK Local & State News December 20, 2010

Middlebury has agreed to withdraw an order against former shop owner James Stone that he not sell a psychoactive plant that can produce hallucinatory experiences. In return, the ACLU of Vermont has agreed to drop a lawsuit against the town it filed last year on Stone’s behalf. Middlebury Select Board Chairman John Tenny said all parties are dropping their claims and the settlement agreement calls for no further claims in the dispute. 

Stone owned the Emporium Tobacco and Gift Shop in Middlebury until 2007.

The Otter Valley Union High School Board decided unanimously to reduce its budget by more than 4 percent and meet its Challenges for Change target last week. To local taxpayers, Otter Valley’s $10.2 million budget for next year will result in a one-cent jump in the tax rate if adopted by voters on Town Meeting Day.

Brandon Police have arrested a Salisbury man for the attempted robbery of the Union Street Grocery Store in August. Justin Gillett has been cited for felony counts of attempted armed robbery and attempted aggravated assault. Police have been investigating the attempted robbery since it was reported on August 22. After being cited, Gillett was released from custody. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Rutland criminal court on January 10.

Efforts to control the sea lamprey population in Lake Champlain and its tributaries are paying off with a significant drop in the number of lake trout and salmon afflicted by the parasite. Anglers reported great fishing for trout and salmon over the summer, and there were good fall salmon runs in the rivers for the first time in more than a decade.

A year-long federal pilot program allowing the heaviest of all trucks to drive on Vermont interstates expired Saturday and is forcing trucks back onto state highways where they drove before. Roland Bellavance, President of the Vermont Truck and Bus Association, says the organization is disappointed Congress didn't extend the program.

Those are several instances in which officials of the incoming Shumlin administration may find it tricky to navigate their new duties with their past affiliations. Both An environmental conservation commissioner, who recently represented environmental groups in battles against Omya Inc. and Vermont Yankee and public service commissioner whose husband works for a law firm that represents Green Mountain Power. Incoming Environmental Conservation Commissioner David Mears and Public Service Commissioner Elizabeth Miller say they believe they'll be able to avoid any possible conflicts of interest.

2 of the 10 Northeast states that agreed to dedicate millions of dollars to reduce carbon emissions and promote green energy have reneged on their promise. Instead, they've diverted substantial funds to saving their budgets. New York and New Jersey over the past year have raided accounts set up under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Citing their example, New Hampshire dipped into its fund in June to help balance its budget.

A study panel's recommendation sets the stage for a debate over a major tax overhaul in Vermont. The Blue Ribbon Tax Structure Commission has given preliminary approval to a plan to slash income tax rates by about a third and enact the largest expansion of the state's sales tax since it was enacted 41 years ago. The panel voted 2-1 in favor of the overhaul plan.

The latest tax collection figures show the state is actually ahead of budget targets for this fiscal year. Five months into the fiscal year, the state has collected $447 million in general fund revenues. That's almost 4 percent ahead of projections. But the problem is that in real dollars, tax collections are still not where they were two years ago.

Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas says the state has been recognized once again as the greenest state in the nation. Douglas says a new report by the website 24/7 Wall St. considered energy consumption, pollution problems and state energy policies in evaluating the environmental standing of states. The report found that Vermont, among other measures, releases the fewest cancer causing toxins and has the smallest carbon footprint in the country.

Vermont's technology chief is taking a job as head of Vermont Enhanced 9-1-1 Board, which oversees the state's emergency communications system. David Tucker, commissioner of the Department of Information and Innovation, will take over as executive director of the board on Jan. 7. Vermont's 9-1-1 system covers the whole state and consists of 8 call centers.

General Dynamics' facility in Vermont has won another U.S. Army contract. The defense contractor, which is located on the IBM campus in Williston, has been awarded a $73 million contract with the U.S. Army to produce new M2 machine guns. The guns will be built in Saco, Maine, but the program will be managed at General Dynamics' Technology Center in Williston.

Gary Hodder, who has coached and run summer camp programs in Vermont for two decades, is doing his bit for humanity in the Kingdom of Cambodia. He completed his second season as Otter Valley field hockey coach by guiding the Otters to the championship game in early November. Not long after that he flew to northern Cambodia to teach soccer and run soccer leagues for children from orphanages, children centers and schools. He says he’s not trying to change the world there but just looking to give those children something positive and fun in their lives that are otherwise very challenging.

The Campus Center at Castleton State College was recently awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council and the Green Building Certification Institute. LEED is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification measuring environmental building sustainability from the design process through construction. The college joins a small group of LEED Gold or Platinum certified buildings in Vermont – only eleven others in the state.

A new study says wind has the potential to supply nearly a quarter of New England's power within the decade. But massive grid upgrades would be needed to handle that much more wind energy. The study by GE Energy Applications & Systems Engineering was conducted for the regional grid manager, ISO New England. It says wind could supply up to 24% of the region's total annual electricity needs by 2020.

If you want to catch the year's last astrological phenomena you’ll have to get up early tomorrow. A total lunar eclipse will bring dramatic color to the full moon, starting at about 1:30 AM tomorrow with a partial eclipse. The eclipse will bring hues of bright orange, deep red and dark brown before it finishes at about 5 AM. If you want to catch the peak of the total eclipse you should look toward the skies at about 2:40 AM. Hues of vibrant red are expected to last until about 3:30 AM.