WVTK Local & State News January 26, 2011

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin says that despite a deficit now pegged at $176 million, he won't raise taxes. In his first budget proposal as governor, Shumlin is recommending a $1.2 billion spending plan that boosts state assessments on hospitals and insurance companies and earmarks $13 million for broadband and cell service expansion. The budget proposal, for the 2012 fiscal year starting July 1, reduces general funding by about $25 million and includes no tax hike proposals.

Route 7 in Pittsford was closed yesterday morning as firemen and ambulance attendants transported at least two motorists to the hospital with injuries at an accident on Route 7 and Sangamon Hill Road. Numerous accidents were reported in Rutland and Addison County and as roads remained slick due to a light snowfall and cold temperatures.

When fire alarms went off in the Charlotte Central School yesterday morning as water started flowing from a broken pipe, hundreds of pre-K through eighth-grade students were evacuated. The protocol was followed with the kids going out to the athletic field where snow was about a foot deep. Most of the students weren't prepared to stand outside for a long time, and 25 students were checked out for exposure. None needed any medical treatment. School administrators say they're going to go over the policy to see how it can be changed for winter weather evacuations.

During the peak of summer you can find blue-green algae coating the shores of some bays and inlets of Lake Champlain. Vermont has been working under an approved federal plan for nearly nine years to improve the pollution problem. But the Environmental Protection Agency now says the plan is inadequate. The Conservation Law Foundation sued the EPA, saying the state's pollution estimates didn't include a large enough safety margin and didn't take into account potential runoff caused by climate change.

Seniors at Rutland High School’s civics and economics class had the opportunity to talk to U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy during an online chat yesterday. The class spoke with Leahy via Skype from his Washington, D.C. office, asking him questions about a variety of topics, including education, Vermont Yankee and renewable energy. Using the online chat program Skype, the students and senator engaged in a free-flowing discussion focusing on what the students found important, mixing local news and national issues.

A Vermont man charged with second degree murder in a drunken driving crash that killed a woman in Burlington will remain behind bars. Lawyers for 52-year-old Timothy Dowd of Hinesburg had asked that Dowd be allowed to live at home in Hinesburg under electronic monitoring. But prosecutors say a judge ruled Tuesday that Dowd will remain in jail without bail.

Jose Pazos, the man charged with killing Burlington social worker Kathleen Smith was back in court yesterday with an unusual request for a judge. His lawyers wanted access to the Vermont Forensic Lab to make sure DNA tests are being done properly. DNA evidence has been both the undoing of defendants and their saving grace when it clears them.

More home heating assistance is headed to our region. Late last year the U.S. Senate cleared the way for $200 million in extra emergency funds. Vermont will receive nearly $11 million in additional emergency funds by the end of the month, which will help about 27,000 families. The additional money will bring Vermont's total to $25.6 million, the same as last year. New York will get another $26 million, bringing the state's total to nearly $500 million.

Vermont State Police have identified the suspect in an armed bank robbery in Georgia but say they are still searching for him. Police say 30-year-old Michael Haines of St. Albans is wanted for holding up the People's Trust Bank on Monday afternoon and making off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The Vermont Department of Labor says the only time the state's unemployment rate rose in 2010 was in December. The December rate was 5.8%, up a tenth of a percentage point from November. Before December, the state's jobless rate was either unchanged or had declined.

Essex County New York lawmakers want to know if they can do without a department head for County Real Property Tax Services. County Board of Supervisors Chair Randy Douglas is pushing for consolidation of departments to save costs. He said that instead of looking for a replacement for Bernard Roy, who retired, there might be other options.

The state of New York has made $250 million in funding available for renewable-energy projects. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the Public Service Commission announced the funding. Supported by the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard, the funds are to be awarded competitively. Funding awards are expected to be announced in April.

If all goes according to plan, there could be three million passengers a year flying out of Burlington International Airport by 2030. That would mean a lot of changes, such as direct access from Interstate 89, more parking and terminal expansion. The vision of the airport over the next 20 years was revealed by administrators yesterday, which included probably adding a third floor to the terminal. The overall cost would be 257-million dollars, with nearly half of it picked up by the FAA.

Severe winter weather in the Northeast has cut into the region's blood supply. The American Red Cross says the repeated snowstorms have caused 14,000 people to cancel blood and platelet donations on the East Coast. That includes 600 donors in Northern New England. The Red Cross is urging eligible donors to make an appointment to give blood or platelets as soon as travel is safe. Blood drives are planned around New England in the coming days.

Ski for Heat 2011 will be held this Sunday, January 30, at Wild Wings Ski Touring Center in Peru. Participants from Addison, Rutland and Windsor counties will join other Vermonters and New Hampshire residents for the annual fundraising effort that benefits Vermont's Shareheat fund. Unlike a more formal fundraiser, Ski for Heat 2011 is laid back with no registration fee.

Airport officials say a US Airways flight from Philadelphia landed safely despite problems with its wing flaps. Rob Peterson of Burlington International Airport's operations, says the Vermont-bound plane's warning light showed flap problems just before the landing Tuesday night. Chittenden County emergency responders met the plane when it landed without injuries to its 82 passengers and crewmembers. It was the second emergency landing in two days, after a United Express pilot reported steering problems Monday.

Vermont's congressional delegation has introduced legislation that it says will let Vermont and other states provide better health care cheaper starting in 2014. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Patrick Leahy and Rep. Peter Welch have pledged to help the state get the federal waivers needed to devise its own health care reform three years sooner than permitted under new federal health care law.

Vermont's Department of Taxes isn't just taking your return, it's also taking your application. With the start of tax season comes some temporary jobs at Vermont's Department of Taxes. The Deputy Tax Commissioner says there are about twenty positions still open, none of which require previous tax experience.

Burlington Police say there has been a sharp rise in what they're calling 'grabbing' incidents. Police say in the last two months, there have been several instances of a man inappropriately grabbing women on morning walks. The most recent instance happened yesterday morning along Pearl Street near Colchester Avenue, but others have been reported throughout the city. Police say they seem to be related, with a young, thin, white male around 5'10" being reported when a description is available.