Lawmakers are considering
bumping up Vermont property taxes. The
House Ways and Means Committee approved raising the property tax for primary
homes by five cents, and other properties six cents. With this plan, income tax rates are pretty
much not affected. According to state
budget experts, costs to taxpayers can't be predicted right now until towns
firm up their local budgets, something which also drives spending decisions at
a state level.
Governor Shumlin announced
various education proposals during a press conference today. According to a press release, the proposals
would ensure that all Vermont children have access to quality education, core
programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and
post-secondary opportunities including college and job training. One of the provisions called Flexible
Pathways would allow Vermont high school students in their junior or senior year
to attend up to two classes free of charge at the Vermont State Colleges, the
University of Vermont and participating private institutions of higher
education.
The Vermont Senate on yesterday
gave preliminary approval to an amended bill allowing doctors to prescribe a
lethal dose of medication to terminally ill patients. But even some backers of the measure, which
passed 21-9, called the amended version a travesty. Senator Claire Ayer said, “I
will be voting yes for this bill, as much as I detest it.”
Price Chopper is voluntarily
recalling fresh bagels and muffins containing raisins. The store says the raisins may contain what
they describe as "naturally occurring foreign matter" that does not
meet their quality standards. The recall
affects products purchased between December 14 and February 8. If you have any of those bagels or muffins,
you can take them back to your local Price Chopper for a full refund.
Vermont is going to receive
another $18.25 million in federal emergency road aid for damage caused by
Tropical Storm Irene and the 2011 Spring flooding. The funding is part of a $1.1 billion in new
emergency relief fund approved by Congress and signed into law by President
Obama. The money will be used to help
fix bridges and roads damaged across the state during these weather events.
Today marks the fourth day
of a hearing before the state's public service board on Vermont Yankee. The nuclear power plant's state license
expired last March, and the hearing is on whether it should be allowed to operate
for 20 more years. The federal Nuclear
Regulatory Commission has already given its approval, and the battle over
whether the feds' ruling trumps the state's opinion is still tied up in legal
action. The state hearing is anticipated
to last for at least another week, maybe even into March.
For the second year in a
row, Vermont has the title of being the least religious state in the
union. That's according to a new Gallup
poll, asking people if religion is an important part of their life, and if they
attend religious services every week, or almost every week. In Vermont, only 19-percent of those surveyed
fell into that category. In fact, New
England rounded out the bottom five, with Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine,
Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
