WVTK Local & State News March 31, 2011

Weather forecasters say a springtime snowstorm is likely to dump as much as a foot of wet, heavy snow and rain in parts of the Northeast. The National Weather Service says the storm is expected to hit Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine from late tonight through Friday evening. Eastern New York is expected to get 6 to 10 inches of snow. Much of northern New Jersey could see snow on the ground Friday morning as well. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning from Midnight Tonight through Midnight Friday Night. The Champlain Valley is expected to see anywhere from 4- 8 Inches of Snow. Rutland County could see 10 – 14 Inches.

Construction of a new bridge connecting Crown Point and Addison is on-track for completion in October despite an unusually harsh winter. That's according to Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward, who co-chairs the bridge project's Public Advisory Committee. She says construction of the new bridge has faced a variety of challenges, including one of the wildest winters in years. She also notes that the state Department of Transportation has been good when it comes to keeping Flatiron Construction on schedule.

New York's Legislature has passed a historically difficult budget on time amid the heckling of protesters. Early today, the Assembly passed its final budget bills in the $132.5 billion budget that cuts spending 2%. The Republican-led Senate had completed it bills before midnight. The statewide cut in school aid remains historic at $697 million. The budget contains no tax increases or significant borrowing.

The Giorgetti Arena bond appears to be headed back to the polls. A group of Rutland residents turned in a petition at the City Clerk's office early yesterday afternoon they said has about 750 signatures calling for a second vote on the $3.9 million bond. City Clerk Henry Heck said it would be a couple days before his office would be able to verify the signatures. If the total number of legitimate signatures reaches one-fifth of the number of registered voters in the city a special election will be scheduled for 60 days from today.

Ticonderoga's proposed "nuisance" property law will have to wait at least another month. The proposed legislation wasn't ready for a scheduled public hearing in March. Town board members then discussed holding a hearing prior to their April 14 meeting, but that won't happen either. The Town Clerk said the proposed law still isn't complete. Even if the measure is completed before the next town board meeting, state law requires that the public have 10 days to review the document before a hearing.

Killington Ski Resort will keep part of the Snowshed Lodge closed to check out the damage done by a fire yesterday afternoon. Killington says the lodge was already closed for the day and all employees safely evacuated. They say it appears the electrical fire caused minor damage.

Potholes are plaguing drivers and causing problems for Vermont's budget. According to the Vermont Agency of Transportation, State crews have used nearly a thousand tons more patch on potholes than last year. Also, they have already spent close to the yearly average for patching with weeks of pothole troubles to come. The problem is patch is a temporary fix. The only permanent solution is paving the roads.

Unemployment for Vermont veterans returning from Afghanistan is about 30 percent according to the Vermont National Guard. Many of those soldiers hope a college education will help them land jobs. CCV is working to assist these students in school and off campus in their post-war lives. Currently CCV has 270 students receiving military benefits across their 12 campuses in the state. Most are in Winooski, with the second highest number in Montpelier, then Rutland and Saint Albans.

All five Vermont Supreme Court justices and nine trial judges have won new 6-year terms on the bench as a result of the Legislature's judicial retention process. The House and Senate met in a joint session on yesterday and voted to retain the 14. The only judge who was generating controversy, Mark Keller, withdrew his name from consideration for another term on the bench.

Officials with the Agency of Natural Resources visited Green Mountain College yesterday to test its biomass plant. This is the final test the state will administer to determine whether the plant can work properly. So far, it hasn't passed. The plant opened on Earth Day last year. It was supposed to make Green Mountain the first carbon-neutral college in the country. Instead, it's been fuming unfiltered air into the environment which is against the state permit. Officials have extended the test period until Friday.

The owner of the troubled Vermont Yankee nuclear plant can't find a buyer for it. Entergy Corp. said Wednesday there were interested parties but the plant's uncertain prospects for a new license from Vermont officials prevented a sale. Spokesman Larry Smith blames political uncertainty in Vermont. He says the plant's strong operating performance was attractive to buyers.

Vermont lawmakers are considering changes to regulations governing the sale of propane in the wake of complaints by consumers about usage fees. Among the proposals: allowing consumers to buy tanks, banning minimum usage fees for undelivered propane and eliminating termination fees on customers who've had a tank installed for a year or more.

Vermont health officials say air samples taken in Windham County and Burlington reveal trace amounts of radioactive iodine stemming from Japan's damaged nuclear plant. The state health commissioner says samples taken in Vernon, Brattleboro, Dummerston and Burlington found "minuscule" amounts of the radioisotope Iodine-131, but not enough to constitute a public health risk or to cause a need for precautions. More samples from testing at six other sites in Vermont are awaiting analysis. Meanwhile, New York officials say traces of radioactive iodine have been found at monitoring stations in the state. The state health department says they don't pose a threat to the public safety there either.

Essex County is going to try again to get an extra one-quarter percent in sales-tax revenue. The County Board of Supervisors has asked the State Legislature for permission twice before, but bills to add the one-quarter percent haven't made it through. The board voted this week to try again, with a final vote on the request Monday.

A new study says Vermont’s most populous county, Chittenden, is the healthiest county in the state while the least-populous, Essex County, is the least healthy. After Chittenden, the next four healthiest counties are Grand Isle, Addison, Lamoille and Washington. The least healthy counties are Windsor, Orleans, Franklin, Rutland and then Essex.

Manufacturers are making subtle changes to packages of items you buy at the grocery store, which means you are really paying more for less. While this is happening all over the grocery store here’s an example: Tropicana says last winter's freeze in Florida is to blame for their orange juice package shrinking. The old carton was 64 ounces. The new one is 59. This is almost an 8 percent decrease in size. Consumers may think this shrinking contest is just a sneaky way to increase profits, but experts say it might be necessary for you to keep buying their goods. But consumers should know that not all manufacturers downsize. Ben and Jerry's still packs its ice cream in pints and Minute Maid still sells its orange juice in half gallons.

Vermont will not be getting ultra high-speed broadband from Google. Kansas City will instead. Nearly 1,100 communities lobbied for the Google Community Fiber project. Yesterday, the winner was announced. Google will install Internet access in Kansas City that's more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have today.

Doctors say they are gearing up for a bad allergy season. Weather conditions in our region have been prime for pollen and mold. Doctors say while they haven't seen any patients with allergy symptoms yet they expect in a few weeks the number of people coming in with symptoms will quickly increase. Doctors say cold weather plenty of snow and rain make for the perfect allergy season. Moisture gets into your home causing mold, which results in turn can actually cause a mold allergies and don't be surprised if people who usually don't suffer from allergies feel the effects this year from the large amounts of pollen and mold.

Central Vermont Public Service Corp. will mark 30 years of public trading by signaling the close of business at the New York Stock Exchange. Joined by a number of employees, CVPS Chairman Robert Young will ring the closing bell at 4PM Monday.

Vermont's community action agencies are offering free tax help to Vermont households earning less than $49,000 a year. Basic tax preparation services from trained volunteers can help people take advantage of tax credits geared to people with low and moderate incomes. Those wanting to take advantage of the free service can call 2-1-1 and ask for their local tax site.

Vermont schools are getting their report cards. The state Department of Education says it will release yearly progress reports for the state's public schools today. The Federal No Child Left Behind Act requires the grades.