Friday, June 5, 2015

WVTK Local & State News June 5, 2015

Hinesburg's police chief stands by his assertion that Joseph Marshall would have been charged with second degree murder for a recent crash that killed a bicyclist. A forum was held last night, where Chief Frank Koss said Marshall driving 83 miles per hour in the village on a Sunday morning was a deliberate and deadly act. Marshall also died in the crash, and his mother says that the charge would have been involuntary manslaughter, not murder. Koss says this case shows teenagers that they must be responsible while driving.

Police responded to a three car crash on Route 7 this morning just before 11 a.m. Police say 28-year-old Michael Lapore-Capek of New Haven, was traveling southbound when he struck a Casella tractor trailer traveling northbound. After colliding with the tractor trailer, Lapore-Capek's van spun and then struck a second northbound vehicle. No one was injured in the crash. Police arrested Lapore-Capek for driving with a suspended license. Police say when they arrived all three vehicles had significant damage. The crash is still under investigation.

13 pink slips have been handed out to Vermont state employees, and a second round of layoffs is possible. Vermont's new Secretary of Administration made his first layoffs this week. The number, 13, revised down yesterday from 14 earlier this week, is much smaller than the 300 to 400 thrown out there earlier this year. 51 open positions will also not be filled, with a total of 64 job cuts this round. The cuts are not a surprise; during the Legislative session, the administration tried to convince the state employees' union, the VSEA, to open their contracts and give up pay increases. The union fought back with rallies, marches and news conferences, calling for higher taxes on the rich to fill the budget gap instead of cuts to state employees.

A federal report says a proposal to move Canadian electricity to southern New England via two power lines buried beneath Lake Champlain and then across Vermont to Ludlow would have little impact on the lake or surrounding areas. The U.S. Department of Energy issued the draft environmental impact statement as part of a proposal for the $1.2 billion New England Clean Power Link, which would carry 1,000 megawatts of electricity.