WVTK Local & State News March 27, 2014 Second Update

Horse owners, if you haven’t already; consider vaccinating your animal for Triple-E and West Nile virus. That’s the plea by veterinarians with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture saying this is the time of year to talk with your own vet about that protection for horses. Triple-E, or Eastern Equine Encephalitis and West Nile are both viruses carried by infected mosquitoes, with vaccinations seen as the most effective way to prevent the illness in horses. There is currently no vaccine to protect humans from the diseases.

The Principal of the Monkton Central School will remain on the job. The school board unanimously renewed the contract her contract during a special meeting on Monday. Susan Stewart has been the principal at the school since 2010.

A recall is out for popular weight loss drug Alli. It's over complaints related to possible tampering. The British company that makes the over-the-counter drug says about 12 customers in seven states complained they found tablets and capsules of different shapes and sizes in the bottles. Some bottles were even missing labels or had phony tamper-evident seals on them. The makers of the drug are working with the FDA to investigate the alleged tampering.

Adirondacks Accountable Care Organization (ACOs) launched an informational website today. A press release says the site is designed to provide more than 25,000 fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries in the region with more information on the role of the organization in patient care. Adirondacks ACO works with Medicare to make it easier for doctors and hospitals to collaborate to provide high quality coordinated care.

CCTA officials say they have a new proposal from the union for striking bus drivers. The offer came last night, after the Burlington City Council passed a resolution urging both sides to settle a 10-day strike. CCTA officials say they are open to more negotiations and they call the new union offer "a productive step."

The Vermont House has rejected raising income tax rates on top earners so the state can make up for cuts in federal support for food stamps. The House debate came during a discussion of taxes and spending that was expected to last the rest of today.