WVTK Local & State News March 12, 2013

Vermont's largest utility is laying off more than a dozen meter readers.  Green Mountain Power says the technology known as smart meters is the reason, and the layoffs have actually been planned for nearly three years.  92-percent of GMP homes now use smart meters, which means there's simply no need for as many meter readers to travel to over a quarter of a million homes each month.  The company says this ends up saving costs, which will be passed along to customers.

Lawmakers returned to Montpelier today, and it's going to be a busy week.  Most of the bills have to be voted out of committee by Friday, or else set aside for next year.  This is what's known as cross-over week, with the mid-session deadline in order for both sides to have time to review each bill.

A Vergennes man says he's not guilty of attempting to lure a minor.  Police say 21-year-old Robert Ritchie is accused of using Facebook to send inappropriate pictures to a 15-year-old boy and attempting to lure that boy into a relationship.  Prosecutors say this case shows how predators use social media the way they might have used the phone only a few years ago.  After pleading not guilty to the charges, Ritchie was released on conditions as he awaits trial.

A bus carrying the St. Michael's College men's lacrosse team has crashed in New York.  Officials with St. Mike's confirm no students were injured.  New York State Police say one person in another vehicle was killed in the crash.  Police say the accident happened just before noon on Interstate 87 southbound in Clifton Park.  The team was headed to a game in Westchester County when a car spun out on the wet road and hit the bus.  The bus landed on its side off the road.

The state of Vermont is going to use grant money to help towns buy out homes destroyed or damaged by Tropical Storm Irene that are ineligible for a federal program.  The money will come from a $21.6 million community development block grant.  It's unclear how many homes will be affected.

Brandon may be the home of new medical marijuana dispensary.  A town development review board changed the use of a building to allow for a dispensary.  The building housed a wood furniture manufacturing center until last year.  The state has approved up to four dispensaries. So far, one has been approved in Burlington and another one has been approved in Waterbury.  Communities are allowed to pass ordinances that ban dispensaries, or ban them through the town or city's zoning ordinance.

A committee of the Vermont Senate has killed legislation that would have given independent child care center operators the right to unionize.  The Senate Economic Development Committee voted 3-2 to kill the measure today after Sen. William Doyle expressed reservations about allowing only state-subsidized day care providers to vote whether to join the union.  The hotly contested child care unionization effort has been discussed by lawmakers for the past three years, and is supported by Gov. Peter Shumlin.  It would have allowed independent child care operators to unionize for the purposes of negotiating subsidies and regulations with the state.

WVTK Local & State News March 11, 2013

Bridport Central School re-opened this morning after taking Thursday and Friday off last week due to the high number of illnesses.  Last week, 71 of the 81 students were sick on Wednesday and not at school.  School officials contacted local and state health officials and the plan they came up with was to completely sanitize the entire school to try and help stop the spread of the stomach bug going around.  Most of the students returned to school this morning, in fact only 2 students were absent today. 

Vermont clearly has the numbers now to back up an ominous fact:  the population in the Green Mountain state is shrinking.  There were two-thousand fewer babies born in Vermont than there were 20 years ago, and many young people are simply not staying.  Besides the baby count dropping, in the past two years Vermont has lost more than two-thousand people to other states.  The last time the state's population declined like this was in 1944.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders says the automatic federal budget cuts will hurt Vermonters.  At a news conference this morning, it was announced that as many as 4,400 families could be affected by cuts in rental assistance, crisis fuel aid and other emergency assistance programs that help keep families in their homes.  As many as 170 children out of the 1,500 enrolled in Head Start in Vermont may also be affected.  Sanders says to reduce deficits, he is calling for closing tax loopholes that let profitable corporations and wealthy individuals shelter income in offshore tax havens.

Vermont State Police are looking for a driver who ditched a truck in a field after fleeing to evade a traffic stop early Saturday.  Police said they were in the area of a reported underage drinking party shortly before 1 AM when they spotted the driver of a truck committing a traffic violation on Basin Harbor Road.  The driver fled when signaled to stop and the truck was later found in a field.  Anyone with information is asked to call Vermont State Police.

Foreclosures are spiking in Vermont, but experts say they don't expect the trend to affect home prices.  As other states begin to rebound from the housing crisis, negative effects are now beginning to ripple through Vermont.  In January, Vermont home sale prices went up six percent.  But in February, 159 foreclosure procedures began in the state.  The foreclosure spike is expected to last for about a year.

Ice fishing shanties in New York have got to go by the end of the week.  That's the word from the Department of Environmental Conservation. Owners who do not meet the Friday deadline will be fined $100.

The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant is offline for a while, but it's all planned.  The nuclear reactor was taken offline Saturday night for scheduled refueling.  The plant has not gone off the grid since November 2011, but at times has been scaled back on its power output due to various problems.

WVTK Local & State News March 8, 2013

The bridge over Lake Champlain linking Addison and Crown Point is new, but has had a problem for months.  Drivers say there is no issue but those that walk over the bridge say they have problems seeing at night because the arch and hand rail lights only work on one side of the bridge.  New York Transportation Officials say it is too cold to investigate right now because the wiring will be too brittle but they do plan to start fixing the bridge lights this spring.

A re-vote has been scheduled for the Rutland City School Budget.  The proposed budget of over $8-million dollars was rejected on Town Meeting Day.  The school board wasted no time trimming $128,000 from the budget.  There will be an informational meeting on March 25 at 7 PM at Rutland Town School. Voters will cast their votes the following day, from 7 AM to 7 PM at the Town Hall and the school.

Vermont Gas has announced they will change a segment of its 42-mile-long proposed Addison Natural Gas Project pipeline route.  The proposed line is supposed to follow the current utility corridor that exists in the Hinesburg-Monkton-New Haven area.  Many Monkton and Hinesburg residents expressed concerns during Town Meeting about the pipeline's route in their part of Chittenden County.

Vermont has been ranked 4^th in the nation for Highest Taxed States by a non-partisan group.  The Tax Foundation's 2013 State Business Tax Climate report ranked the best and worst states for taxes to enable business leaders, policymakers, and taxpayers understand how their states measure up.  According to the report, Vermont gets slammed for high property taxes, which are the third highest in the nation with a 5.27 percent effective rate.

Hunger Free Vermont is the recipient of this year's anti-hunger advocacy leadership award.  The nonprofit focused on feeding the hungry received the award at a national conference in Washington, D.C., this week.  But now they are back in Vermont and focused on their new goal of providing free lunch for all low-income kids in Vermont.  They are using the efforts of free breakfast as the baseline for success. Hunger Free Vermont estimates free lunch for low-income kids would cost the state $300,000 and will result in an additional $400,000 from the feds.

A House Committee will be holding hearing next week to discuss protections for the shores lakes around Vermont.  A new proposed bill would call for the state Agency of Natural Resources to write new rules requiring buffer zones around the edges of lakes, stopping runoff from immediately entering waterways.  Existing lakeside cottages would be exempt, unless they were being enlarged or undergoing other substantial changes.  Some property owners are concerned the bill would infringe on their rights.

A new survey by the state of Vermont finds the number of residents without health insurance has dropped by nearly a third in the past seven years, mainly due to growth in government programs.  Results made public yesterday at a meeting of the Green Mountain Care Board show more than 61,000 Vermonters were without health coverage in 2005, or 9.8 percent of the population. The number dropped to 42,760, or 6.8 percent, by 2012.

WVTK Local & State News March 7, 2013

Some of Vermont's lawmakers are considering expanding the state's beverage and bottle deposit program.  Right now, five-cent deposits are only added to beer, soda and hard liquor.  However, it's now suggested to add a nickel deposit to bottled water, sports drinks, and iced teas.  Milk and other multiple-serving containers would not get the tax.  Benefits seen are raising more money for the state plus encouraging recycling.  Other states, including Maine have already done this.  Opponents say they doubt it would have much effect.

Vermont State Police troopers responded to a report of a burglary at a residence on U.S. Route 7 in Wallingford.  Investigators say two handguns, a .357 Taurus and a .9MM Star, two Apple Ipods, and $50 cash were stolen from the residence.  Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Vermont State Police at Rutland, 802-773-9101.  Information can also be submitted anonymously online at www.vtips.info or text CRIMES (274637) to Keyword VTIPS.

Rutland's Police Chief says the city has applied for a $1 million U.S. Department of Justice grant to target mental health, substance abuse, poverty and other quality-of-life issues in one neighborhood.  Chief James Baker says a higher percentage of Rutland County's burglaries, thefts, vandalisms and assaults take place in a five-block-wide section of the city.  Baker distributed handouts at a public forum last night describing the northwest neighborhood as a "hot zone' for criminal acts. He said of the 13,000 police calls each year in the city, about 73 percent are in the neighborhood.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is urging the USDA to choose New York for their Greek yogurt pilot program.  A press release outlined the state's interest in being chosen for the pilot program, as well as encouraged USDA to amend the protein crediting standards to better reflect the nutritional value of Greek yogurt.  The press release says New York's yogurt plants have more than doubled in production and grew by 850 million pounds.  The USDA pilot programs would be a part of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. This program provides meals in both public and private non-for-profit schools.

Police say two people were killed this morning in a crash in Quechee.  It happened on Route 4 at about 9:30 between the Quechee Gorge and the Fat Hat Factory.  Investigators say a 63-year-old woman from Woodstock was headed east when she crossed the center line and hit a trailer being towed by a westbound truck.  She then hit a westbound car head on.  Route 4 was closed and traffic was re-routed to Quechee Main Street for several hours so police could investigate.

If you heard some loud booms yesterday, you're likely to hear a few more this month.  Blame it on the Massachusetts Air National Guard.  The Guard already did some training in the skies over southern Vermont last month, and need to get a few more days of practice in.  Training is scheduled from about 9 AM until noon each Wednesday remaining in March.

WVTK Local & State News March 6, 2013

Bridport Central School will be closed tomorrow and Friday.  There are currently 81 children enrolled in the school and 71 were out sick today and unable to attend classes.  School official have contacted health officials on both the local and state level and the plan moving forward is to take the next two days to completely clean the school, top to bottom, to try and help stop the spread of a stomach bug that is going around.  Bridport Central School will re-open Monday morning.

Police in Hinesburg are looking for a hit-and-driver who they say struck a kid on his way to school this morning.  According to reports, the 8-year-old boy, whose name is being withheld, was in the crosswalk outside the Hinesburg Community School at 7:45 when a blue SUV hit him and sped off.  The boy was transported to Fletcher Allen in Burlington with minor injuries.  Authorities believe they have located the vehicle but have not released a suspect’s name. 

Yesterday was Town Meeting Day and in Rutland, Mayor Christopher Louras was re-elected to a fourth term.  It was a tough fight against current board of aldermen chair Dave Allaire, but Louras won by a margin of about 400 votes.  In Vergennes, voters said no to a bond for the new police station.  The city was asking for bond purchases not exceeding $1,850,000 for real estate and the construction of a police station.  The article failed by 10 votes.  The vote was 292 “yes” to 302 “no”.

New Yorkers’ earning minimum wage may soon be getting a raise.  The state Assembly voted yesterday to increase the minimum wage to $9 an hour with automatic increases tied to inflation. The bill now goes to the Senate.  Currently, the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.  Governor Andrew Cuomo had proposed an $8.75 an hour wage.

New York State Police shot and killed a man after leading them on a high speed chase last night.  Authorities say when they tried to stop 28-year-old Richard Aubin, of Ausable Forks for speeding on I-87, he took off.  Aubin turned off I-87 onto Route 9 in North Hudson.  At that point police put spike strips down in an attempt to stop Aubin's pickup truck.  When his truck stopped working, he fled into the woods.  When Aubin was finally located by the two officers pursing him, a fight broke out.  Police tried using pepper spray, but it didn't work.  Aubin was shot after, police say, he tried to grab for a trooper's gun.

Vermont is one step closer to becoming the first state to put mandatory labels on genetically modified food products.  Last week, the the House Agriculture Committee, voted 8 to 3 in favor of requiring producers to put labels on food products that are genetically engineered.  The bill now goes to the House Judiciary Committee for review, then to the floor for a vote.

Coming up this Saturday is the 5^th Annual Vermont Chili Festival in Middlebury.  The Vermont Chili Festival has been named a Top 10 Winter Events for the past four years by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce.  All the fun starts at 1:30 Saturday afternoon with street jugglers, face painting, entertainment for kids, live music, a beverage tent, and award-winning chili.  

WVTK Local & State News March 3, 2013

A number of issues and articles were discussed and passed during last night’s Town Meeting in Middlebury.  By a vote on the floor, residents approved the proposed Fiscal Year 2014 Budget of almost $9-million with over $6-million to be raised through taxes.  The rest of the articles are being decided by Australian Vote today.  The polls are open till 7 o’clock.

As thousands of voters head to the polls across Vermont today, voters in Rutland have to decide on who will lead their city.  The current Mayor, Chris Louras, has been in other elections before, and has run without any opposition.  That's not the case this time, as long-time Board of Aldermen leader David Allaire is also running for mayor.  Louras has been in office six years, and Allaire says it's time for a change.  Louras says the city just needs to continue with its momentum of moving forward.  Voters will have the final say.

If the sequester continues for a while, Governor Peter Shumlin says he'll have to re-evaluate his stand on no new taxes.  The forced federal budget cuts reduce federal dollars coming into Vermont by about 15 million over the next seven months.  Educational and environmental programs will take the biggest hit, with up to a thousand defense-related jobs being impacted as well.  Shumlin says he's worried about what this all does to Vermont's economy, and is afraid of another recession.

The Essex County Sheriff's Department is receiving praise from the U.S. Marshals for their handling of federal prisoners.  Since 2008, the Essex County Jail has housed more than 800 federal prisoners awaiting sentencing for the Vermont District Marshal Service which covers Northern New York, Vermont and New England.  The marshals have named Essex County one of the top two prisons among the 15 they work with in the region for their professionalism, organization and support of the operation.

Gun owners opposed to the New York State SAFE Act packed the Essex County Board of Supervisors chambers yesterday.  Many were members of the Essex County Fish and Game Club.  The New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act, passed Jan. 15, will limit ammunition magazines to no more than seven rounds, or 10 if the magazine is pre-existing. It also, among other details, requires background checks for all gun sales and ammunition purchases.  The ammunition requirement takes effect Jan. 15, 2014, and the magazine rule, April 15 of this year.

The Winter Middlebury Farmers Market opens at Mary Hogan Elementary School off Court Street in downtown Middlebury this weekend.  The market will run every Saturday from 9:30 AM to 1 PM.  Each week, local vendors will offer a variety of goods including greens, beans, radishes, beets, potatoes, eggs, meat, fresh bread, pastries and more.  The market will move to the Middlebury Marble Works in May.

WVTK Local & State News March 1, 2013

New protections for the lakeshores of Vermont are laid out in a bill now before the House committee.  The bill calls for the Agency of Natural Resources to come up with new rules restricting what can be built on lakeshores, and also requiring a buffer of vegetation between the shoreline and buildings.  Testimony Thursday from opponents said there's concern about the state getting involved in regulation normally left up to towns.  Environmentalists spoke in favor of it, saying Vermont is behind neighboring states when it comes to protecting its lakes.

If the sequestration cuts go through today, hundreds of civilian defense employees in the Vermont National Guard will be affected.  More than 500 could face furloughs of at least one day a week, with their paychecks cut by 20-percent.  That could begin as early as April, with Governor Peter Shumlin calling this "the unthinkable."  Incoming Adjutant General Steven Cray says the Guard will still continue to recruit and prepare for natural disasters and foreign wars, no matter what.

Cumberland Farms will pay $150,000 in civil penalties for multiple violations of Vermont laws.  The violations have to do with underground storage tanks at ten of its convenience stores at which it sells gasoline.  Most of the 39 violations relate to Cumberland Farms’ failure to conduct and maintain documentation of release detection monitoring of tanks and associated piping

The U.S. Department of Defense says the grounded F-35 fighter jets can take flight once again.  Officials say after finding a cracked engine blade.  The fighter jets have been thoroughly inspected and are cleared for take off.  Officials are still deciding on where to place the F-35 fighter jets. A preliminary report on the environmental impact of the F-35 in Vermont says the plane would have a greater noise presence than the F-16s.  A final draft of that report is expect to come sometime in late April or early May.  The Secretary of the Air Force will make the decision of where to place F-35s 30 days later.

The Vermont Transportation Agency is warning people that trains will be moving faster between the Massachusetts border and St. Albans.  On March 11, train speeds are being increased to up to 79 mph south of White River Junction and up to 59 mph to the north.  The speed increases follow upgrades to the tracks.  The upgrades included improvements to 46 road crossings, but there are still a number of non-gated crossings.  People are also being reminded to stop, look and listen when approaching a rail crossing.

A new poll conducted by the Castleton Polling Institute shows that the majority of Vermonters favor banning the use of cellphones while behind the wheel.  According to the poll, released yesterday, about 68 percent of Vermonters polled said they would support “making it illegal to talk on a cellphone while driving in Vermont.”  This is down 12 points from a previous poll the institute conducted back in May.  The poll also showed as the respondents got older, more of them supported banning cellphone use while driving.