Tuesday, April 21, 2015

WVTK Local & State News April 21, 2015

Green Mountain Power is warning customers about a phone scam. The caller claims to be representing Green Mountain Power from the billing and disconnect division and demands payment. This is definitely a phone scam. Green Mountain Power follows very clear state rules when working with customers about paying past due bills. Green Mountain Power advises customers that it does not demand credit card information or alternate payment mechanisms from a customer for any purpose. Any customer receiving such a call should not provide the caller with any personal information, including account and credit card numbers. If you have any doubt about the source of the call, you should hang up and call Green Mountain Power’s toll free customer service line at 1-888-835-4672 to verify the caller’s identity.

The Vermont Health Department unveiled a new WIC Card in Rutland. A press release says Vermont is first in the nation to deliver supplemental food to young families through the Health Department's WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program. Starting in July, WIC families will choose their foods at major supermarkets and smaller grocery stores using a new, gold WIC debit card. The Health Department says families will be able to select from a broader variety of foods, such as yogurt, whole wheat pasta, fruits and vegetables, peanut butter and tortillas. Between October and March of next year, the new WIC card will roll out to families statewide.

As temperatures go up, so does your risk of tick exposure. Vermont has seen a rise in confirmed Lyme disease cases in the last decade. Health experts advise Vermonters to do tick checks every day until the temperatures drop again in the fall. That goes for you, and your pets. Ticks live in woodsy, high grass areas. To protect yourself when in their habitats, wear long pants, long sleeves, stick to the center of a trail and wear repellent.

The city of Winooski, Vermont, is joining a lawsuit seeking to overturn a decision allowing the U.S. Air Force's F-35 fighter jets in South Burlington, saying that not enough was done to analyze noise levels. The city plans to retain its own lawyer in the 2014 suit, which says the Air Force underestimated the jets' level of noise as well as health and property value concerns. The city joins the Stop the F-35 Coalition and six Chittenden County residents as plaintiffs.

Developers of a proposed 330-mile transmission line to bring lower-cost Canadian hydroelectric power to New York City say they have secured all the needed state and federal siting permits. The 1,000-megawatt transmission line from Quebec to Queens will run under Lake Champlain and the Hudson River for much of its route. The line will also follow railroad rights-of-way. They hope to start construction early next year.