WVTK Local & State News June 5, 2014

Vermont plans to hire a contractor to help address a backlog on Vermont Health Connect, the state's online health insurance marketplace. The chairman of the House Health Care Committee says it's intolerable that there's a backlog of 10,000 households who want to make changes to their applications or policies. Mark Larson, commissioner of the Department of Vermont Health Access, says the state will hire a contractor to try to address any problems before open enrollment begins in November. He would not say who the state is negotiating with or how much the state would pay for the work.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of a fire at Vermont Soapworks. The blaze was reported around 9 o’clock last night. Fire officials say they were able to knock down the fire relatively quickly. The amount of damage and the cause of the fire are still yet to be determined. Fire officials say that no one was in the building at the time and there were no injuries.

Vermont's new lakeshore protection standards take effect July 1st. Governor Peter Shumlin signed the bill into law yesterday. The law establishes guidelines, and requires a permit, for most landscape changes within 250 feet of Vermont's larger ponds and lakes. While legislators say this is a major step in cleaning up Lake Champlain, they admit that there are still challenges ahead, especially when it comes to enforcing this new law.

Noonie Deli in Middlebury is for sale. The owners, Bryan and Jenny Phelps, announced that they have listed their business for sale. After owning and operating the business for over four years, the Vermont couple wants to change directions and pursue other career opportunities. The staff will all remain in place and Jenny and Bryan will continue to be involved in all aspects of the operations as they seek out a buyer to bring the business to the next level.

Vermont's Attorney General wants to know how you think the state's new GMO law should be implemented. The attorney general's office put out a food labeling questionnaire. This will help the office put together rules to help with the labeling of GMO foods. That's now required because of a recently passed law. CLICK HERE to fill out the questionnaire.