Tuesday, July 22, 2014

WVTK Local & State News July 22, 2014

Critics of the Vermont Gas Pipeline Project want construction halted while state regulators review a recent 40 percent increase in the project's cost estimate. Anti-pipeline activists protesting at the Public Service Board this afternoon to protest what they're calling a bait-and-switch by project developer Vermont Gas Systems. The company announced earlier this month the estimated cost of phase one of the project had climbed by 40 percent, to more than $121 million. The company attributes higher costs to route changes to accommodate landowners and towns along the route.

The Vermont Attorney General's Office is suing the makers, manufacturers and sellers of an energy drink called 5-hour ENERGY. The suit against Living Essentials L-L-C and Innovation Ventures L-L-C says the companies repeatedly violate state consumer laws by making what the state calls deceptive promotional claims. .Attorney General Bill Sorrell says the only ingredient in the drink which has any effect is a concentrated shot of caffeine, not caffeine plus a blend of nutrients as the makers claim. Sorrell says consumers are entitled to know the facts.

According to the Chittenden County Special Investigation Unit, a toddler found unresponsive at a Shelburne home has died. The Shelburne Police Department were called to a home at the intersection of Shelburne Road and Hunters Way around 7:30 this morning for an unresponsive 2-year-old boy. CPR was started at the home. The boy was transported to Fletcher Allen Health Care where he later died. The name of the toddler is being withheld until family members can be notified. Police say the cause and manner of death is still pending the result of an autopsy.

The Vermont attorney general is suing Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. for selling jewelry that the state says contains toxic substances. The attorney general's office said today that the national discount chain has violated a 2010 settlement with the state to stop selling the jewelry. The attorney general says the items contain high amounts of lead and cadmium in violation of Vermont law. The office says Dollar Tree sold 30,000 pieces of jewelry including rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces through stores in Barre, Bennington, Burlington, Derby/Newport and Rutland.

The American Red Cross is putting out the call for donors. Platelet donors and those with O negative, B negative and A negative blood types are especially needed. The Red Cross says blood and platelet donations are down approximately 8 percent over the past 11 weeks, resulting in about 80,000 fewer donations than expected.