Friday, March 27, 2015

WVTK Local & State News March 27, 2015

State Police this morning arrested seven people in connections with break-ins at camps in Ferrisburgh. The seven people were four adult males and 3 minor girls. The four men were arraigned this morning and all pled not guilty while the 3 minor girls were all given citations and released into the custody of their parents. The arrests came after an investigation that began yesterday morning, when state troopers and officers from the Vergennes Police and Addison County Sheriff’s departments looked into a report of a burglary at a seasonal cottage on Sleepy Hollow Lane that is currently vacant and on the market for sale.

Lawmakers approved a big budget and tax legislation yesterday. The House voted 96-46 on next year's budget, a $5.5 billion bill. Earlier yesterday, they voted 76 to 67 on a bill to raise $35 million in taxes. The $113 million dollar gap lawmakers are grappling with is one of the largest in recent history. For the past several years, lawmakers have disagreed on how to fill these gaps as revenues shrink.

South Burlington Police arrested a man they say had stolen license plates on a stolen car. The operator, 20-year-old Nathan Morrill of Burlington, is charged with aggravated operation without the owner's consent. Police stopped Morrill on Long Meadow Drive after the Saab he was driving had license plates belonging to a 2010 green Subaru Outback. Police say the license plates and Saab were stolen from a location in Williston earlier in the night. The license plates were seized and the vehicle was towed from the scene. Morrill was taken into custody and lodged at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Center on $10,000 bail.

The Vermont Department of Labor says the state's unemployment rate dropped two-tenths of 1 percent in February to 3.9 percent - the first time it's been below 4 percent since May 2007. The rate also was as low as unemployment rates reported before the start of the Great Recession. The February rate was down from 4.1 percent in January and 4 percent in February of last year. Labor Commissioner Annie Noonan says her department is working with schools and workforce trainers to ensure Vermonters can find good jobs.