WVTK Local & State News April 15, 2011

Bruce and Hobbes travelled to Montpelier yesterday for a historic visit and broadcast from Montpelier for Humane Lobby Day, a day when animal advocates came from across the Green Mountain State to speak to legislators on animal welfare issues. During the course of the day, Bruce and Hobbes spoke at a press conference detailing some of the work they have done to help animals here in Vermont. Their appearance marked the first time in Vermont History that a non-police dog had been allowed in the Statehouse. Near the end of the day, Bruce and Hobbes got a big surprise when they were invited into the House Chamber, and along with other animal advocates, were recognized by that legislative body for their work on behalf of animals.

Five people, including a baby and a small child, were rescued from Otter Creek last night after the driver attempted to cross-floodwaters. The Pittsford Volunteer Fire Department and other first responders drove through rushing water north of the Gorham Bridge at about 6 PM to reach the people, who were standing on top of the car. No one was injured. You are reminded not to drive through floodwaters.

A televised public forum in advance of a revote on Addison Northwest Supervisory Union unification will be held on May 10th at 7PM at the Vergennes Opera House. It will be a full presentation describing what the school governance change would mean. It will then be broadcast locally on cable channel 17 on Wednesday, May 11, at 1 and 7PM; on Friday, May 13, at 8PM; and on Sunday, May 15, at 3PM. Both Addison and Vergennes residents will revote the issue on May 17th.

An ad hoc committee studying the prospect of upgrading Middlebury Fire Department facilities is close to deciding on a viable option. The Middlebury select-board was updated this week. There appears to be more support for maintaining the current Middlebury and East Middlebury Stations. A possible decision on a new facility slated for Route 7 South could be voted on next Town Meeting day.

Middlebury officials will be searching for a new assistant town manager to take over for Joe Colangelo. He left that post last week to become town administrator in Hinesburg. Officials will first review the assistant town manager’s job description to see if it should be adjusted before it is advertised. It is a job with a focus on municipal budget and human resources issues.

Next month voters in the Bristol Police District will weigh in a proposed budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year. The budget features a 10.5 percent cut in spending and would require 6.5 percent less money from taxpayers.

This week Middlebury voters voted in favor of affirming a $3 million bond issue to finance various road improvement projects throughout town. The second Australian ballot vote was necessary to affirm a Town Meeting Day vote in favor of the bond. That initial vote was improperly warned and needed ratification. The proposed 20-year, $3 million bond issue is to take care of 17 different road improvement projects.

Town officials exploring the prospect of a new municipal building at the intersection of College and South Main streets will seek a consultant to help them flesh out plans. Due to the fact a new municipal building proposal is likely a few years off, the select-board wants to quickly make some needed energy improvements to the adjacent town gym in anticipation of heating fuel prices that could top $4 per gallon next winter.

Some VTel customers lost phone service Wednesday night because a thief stole some cable. Police say 150 feet of fiber-optic cable was cut from a pole in Shrewsbury. It cut off service to customers in the area. Crews worked overnight to repair it. If you saw anything suspicious near the railroad trestle around 11PM Wednesday call police Vermont State Police (at 802-773-9101).

A Rutland man who helped build a trail system through a city park has been honored with an environmental award. Central Vermont Public Service handed its annual Zetterstrom Award to Michael Smith. CVPS says Smith started the nonprofit that led the city to create Pine Hill Park. And Smith personally did much of the work to build the 16-mile trail system in the park.

Chittenden County Transportation Authority officials say an eleventh-hour agreement has averted a bus driver strike that threatened to disrupt about 9,000 commuters in northwest Vermont. After about 10 hours of talks aided by a federal mediator, representatives of the transit agency and Teamsters Local 597 said late Thursday they had generally agreed on the terms of a new contract and that the threat of a strike today had passed. Both sides agreed on the fundamentals of a 3-year contract retroactive to July 1, but that the language still had to be finalized.

A bill before the Vermont Senate would authorize the state to sell the Asa Bloomer Building in Rutland and the downtown parking deck. The authorization is part of the 52-page capital construction bill passed by the House earlier this month and currently in front of the Senate Committee on Institutions. The bill would also put a handful of historical properties on the auction block, including the Fuller farmhouse at the Hubbardton Battlefield and the Bishop Cabin at Mount Independence.

The Vermont Senate has advanced a bill to push the state beyond allowing people with debilitating illnesses to smoke marijuana, giving patients places to buy it for the first time. By a vote of 25-4 Thursday evening, the Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill that would allow the establishment of 4 state-licensed dispensaries.

A change in federal requirements for milk spills is expected to help local dairy farmers. The Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to exempt dairy farmers from provisions in the Clean Water Act that have required them to develop and implement plans to handle a milk spill the same way oil spills are dealt with. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer had been looking to change the regulations, saying they were designed for toxic substances and big oil companies, not small dairy farms in upstate New York.

A new program offered through the New York Energy Research and Development Authority will provide $25 million over the next five years to promote the production of hot water from solar power. The program provides incentives of up to $4,000 per site for eligible residential customers and up to $25,000 per site for eligible commercial and non-profit customers who use electricity to produce hot water.

Vermont State Police say no charges will be filed in the death of a 2-year-old boy who was accidentally shot at his Lowell home. Police said that another child was playing with the gun in a downstairs bedroom and accidentally shot the boy while his mother was upstairs with three other children. Authorities have concluded that the shooting was an accident and no one in the family will be charged.

The state of Vermont is looking for student applicants to serve on the state education board. Vermont secondary school students who'll graduate in 2013 or later are eligible for the job, which begins July 1 and carries a 2-year term. In the first year, the student is a non-voting member, but in the second, he or she gets to vote along with the eight adult members of the panel. The deadline to apply is May 13th.

Vermont labor department officials are issuing a consumer fraud alert about a telephone scam in which a caller asks for credit card information to pay for the cost of labor law posters. The calls start with a recording but are then patched through to a live person. Vermont isn't making phone calls about labor law posters or any other topic, and that anyone who is approached that way can report it to the state Department of Labor, especially if you get the telephone number where the call originated from in your caller ID.

Burlington Chief Administrative Officer Jonathan Leopold has announced his resignation starting July 1st. Leopold notes in his letter that the issues and controversy over Burlington Telecom have overshadowed successes. Leopold was appointed as Burlington’s CAO by Kiss in March of 2006. Prior to that appointment, Leopold served as the City’s treasurer from 1981-1988.

A Vermont teenager who was expecting a local businessperson for his mock job interview got a big surprise when he walked in. His interviewer? Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin. Eighteen-year-old Matt Green, of Derby, a business technology student at North Country Career Center in Newport, was 1 of 135 students who needed to pass an interview segment to complete their 2-year programs. Instead of being interviewed by a bank executive, Green had a 10-minute "job" interview with Shumlin, who was at the center for a visit. Shumlin was impressed, saying he'd hire Green if he had a position for him.

Vermont is truly the "Green Mountain State". The annual ranking compiled by Greenopia is out and based on ten criteria. Vermont came out on top, ranked number one, with New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine ranking 8th, 9th and 10th. The founder of Greenopia says Vermonters are the most resource efficient in the nation. The states on the bottom of the list were Kentucky, Wyoming, Indiana, Louisiana and West Virginia.

The Vermont Air Guard is going solar. Guard officials, accompanied by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, will break ground Monday on an $8.5 million renewable energy project they say will sharply cut base utility costs.

A federal judge in Vermont is considering granting preliminary approval to the partial settlement of an anti-trust lawsuit in which a national dairy processor would pay northeast dairy farmers $30 million. But the U.S. District Court Judge says she may defer a decision on a portion of the settlement that would require Dean Foods of Dallas to change its milk-buying practices in the region for 30 months.

A Vermont senate committee is preparing for some long hours in the coming days as it aims to get major health care reform legislation ready for debate by the full Senate. The bill under consideration aims to put Vermont on a path leading to a single-payer health care system but the Senate appears likely to insert another round of studies before the state takes that plunge. Senators said they were hoping to have the bill ready for debate by Wednesday but that has now shifted to Thursday.

Workers and managers from Vermont's IBM plant are bringing a fight about health care to the Vermont Statehouse. IBM government affairs Director John O'Kane has been warning about the dangers of a bill aimed at putting the state on a path toward single-payer health care. He says if it ends up imposing costs on business, it could make Vermont's IBM plant less competitive.

Firefighters in the Vermont town of Mount Holly say they don't know what sparked a blaze that destroyed a barn and killed more than 200 animals. The fire in the 70-year-old barn was reported Thursday morning. The owners of the farm haven't decided whether they will rebuild.

FairPoint Communications says it's embarking on effort to support more high-speed wireless services across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. FairPoint said it intends to extend fiber optic cable that will help meet need for bandwidth driven by new applications for smart phones, tablet computers and other wireless devices.

Rutland families will get a taste of what could be this summer. A group from within the Rutland Creative Economy working to create a children’s museum in the city will offer a series of exhibits at the Farmers’ Market and Friday Night Live. The group is working with a $1,000 grant from Central Vermont Public Service Corp. and wants to build a local buzz around the museum concept as members continue to raise funds and search for a permanent location.

New Yorkers can now recycle their old TVs, computers and other electronic gadgets at no charge. It's part of the state's new electronic waste law. The law, which officially took effect April 1, requires manufacturers to take back their products for recycling when customers are done with them. Manufacturers can decide how to accept the take-backs, whether it be in stores, collection events, or mail-back programs.