The Middlebury Public Works Committee is meeting in
the Town Offices this afternoon at 4. Agenda Items Include the Monroe Street
Traffic Data and Road Salt Usage.
Also today at 4, the Downtown Improvement District Commission
meets. They are planning a Review
of the Status of Grants and Pending Projects also a Discussion of Downtown
Parking. Then tomorrow at Noon the
Design Advisory Committee meets at the Town Offices. Agenda Items include a
Review of Middlebury College's Athletic Facility on South Main Street. Get details on all of these meetings by
visiting the Town’s Website.
The colder temperatures have put a severe strain on
the resources of some of Addison County’s human service organizations. HOPE is an organization that has been
helping fight poverty in Addison County since 1965 and helps people obtain
food, clothing, housing, heat, and medicine. They work hard to make sure
Addison county families have their critical needs met. The colder temperatures have caused
more families to ask for help, and right now, HOPE has an urgent need for
firewood and also donations to the food shelves. If you can help, please contact HOPE at 803-388-3608. You can also visit www.hope-vt.org.
The Westport Central School Board will hold a
special budget meeting today at 5:30 PM in the library. All board of education meetings are
open to the public.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is generally getting good reviews
for his 2013-14 state budget proposal however the Moriah Supervisor has
concerns. His major concerns are
the 2 percent tax cap and the mandated services they’re required to provide. He’s concerned funds designated for
mandated services will be cut, which will transfer the burden of those costs to
the local property tax. The budget also calls for a freeze of state aid money
to municipalities outside New York City. That means towns like Moriah and
counties like Essex will get no additional help to provide state-mandated
services.
The North Country SPCA would like to remind you
that it's not too late to take advantage of the January White Sale! Until the
end of the month, you can adopt any of their many wonderful white felines, or
any cats with white markings, for only $15, which is 75 percent off their
regular adoption fee. If you are in need of a furry, purring lap warmer to get
you through this chilly winter weather, this is a purr-fect time to adopt a
cat. Visit the SPCA’s website. http://www.ncspca.org/
The New York State Office of Temporary and
Disability Assistance announced that as of January 2nd, eligible low-income New
Yorkers who are in danger of having their heat shut off or running out of fuel,
can apply for emergency Home Energy Assistance Program benefits. HEAP is a federally funded program to
help eligible households in meeting their home energy needs. Eligible households
can receive one regular HEAP benefit per season, but may also be eligible for a
one-time emergency HEAP benefit if they are in danger of running out of fuel or
having their heat or heat-related utility service shut off. A complete list of where to apply
locally can be found online at otda.ny.gov/programs/heap/HEAP-contacts.pdf.
CVPH Medical Center suffered $5,157,507 in
operating losses in 2012, fueled by cuts in Medicare and other federal
reimbursements, along with a reduction in inpatient numbers. Hospital officials acknowledged that
2012 was a difficult year but offered hope for the future, especially with the
new affiliation with Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington. Medicare cuts
took the largest chunk from the hospital’s budget, with $2 million lost in
reimbursements.
County clerks’ offices are fielding hundreds of
calls from gun owners about New York’s new firearms law and requests for
pistol-permit applications. The
Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act law got State Senate approval on
the January 14th then a majority Assembly vote and signature by Gov. Andrew
Cuomo on 15th. Essex and Clinton County officials are seeing increased interest
from gun owners with the new law in place. The Essex County Clerk’s office has had many calls and
plenty of people dropping in to amend their permits and find some answers.
Despite what it says on the forms, petitions to run
for local office are due in to the Rutland City Clerk's office Monday. Paperwork distributed by City Hall
gives the deadline as January 30th. Rutland City Clerk Henry Heck said this was
an error attributed to the fact that petitioners have two days to withdraw
their petitions and keep their names off the ballot.
The Rutland City School Board approved a budget
hike of 4.7 percent. The board on
Tuesday night ratified a proposed budget of $47,277,683, which is $2,120,136
more than the current operating budget. An approved budget will add 9 cents to
the tax rate, raising it from $1.40 to $1.49 for every $100 of appraised value.
For a property valued at $150,000, it will add $127 a year for a household
income exceeding $100,000. A household earning $50,000 would see an increase of
$90 for the same property.
The Home Builders & Remodelers Association of
Southern Vermont named the Stafford Technical Center’s Construction Technology
program 2012 Builder of the Year. The
program allows students to learn about energy-efficient construction and earn
certifications from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the
National Center for Construction Education and Research and the Associated
General Contractors of Vermont. Eighty-two
percent of the students enrolled in Stafford’s Construction Technology program
are employed three years after leaving the program. For more information, visit
www.staffordonline.org.
The still sluggish economic recovery will mean
Vermont will collect about $20 million less in revenue for three key state
budget funds than earlier had been anticipated. That was the word from consulting economists Jeff Carr and
Tom Kavet, who met with a special state panel that reviews the state's finances
twice a year. The economists are
now saying they don't expect to see robust economic growth before fiscal 2015.
Vermont lawmakers are considering a bill, backed by
law enforcement, to make people immune from prosecution on drug charges when
they call 911 to report a friend is overdosing and in danger of death. Chittenden County State's Attorney T.J.
Donovan, Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn and Health Commissioner Dr.
Harry Chen say their hope is not to condone drug use, but to reduce the number
of drug overdose deaths, of which there were 73 in Vermont in 2012.
A report on the dangers of smart meters prepared
for the Vermont Department of Public Service says the radio frequency fields
associated with the devices emit only a small fraction of the limits set by the
Federal Communications Commission.
The report is based upon laboratory testing and field measurements of
some wireless smart meters being used by Green Mountain Power and the
Burlington Electric Department. Vermont
utilities are hoping smart meters can help save electricity, but some are wary
of the technology.
The Vermont House has given final approval to a
mid-fiscal-year budget adjustment that takes savings from Medicaid and uses the
money to address other growing demands in human services. The biggest new line item is more than
$4.5 million for the ReachUp program, which helps people move from welfare to
work. Others are $3.2 million for child development and about $2 million each
for general assistance and mental health.
The money is coming mainly from an overestimate during last spring's
budget process of how much was going to be spent on Medicaid. The changes apply
to the budget for the fiscal year that ends June 30. Gov. Peter Shumlin is set to deliver his budget address for
the fiscal year that begins on July 1, today.
It was a special ceremony when the new attorney
sworn into the state bar is given the oath by a judge who also happens to be
his father. Judge David A. Howard
presides in Bennington in the Family Court Division, and swore in his son,
Gregory Howard, Wednesday in the Superior Court building. The younger Howard says he never felt pushed
towards the law profession, although his father, aunt and uncle are all
attorneys. And, like his dad, he
attended the Boston College Law School.
Lawmakers in Albany are discussing ways to increase
New York's minimum wage at the request of Governor Cuomo. Cuomo has proposed hiking the minimum
wage from 7-25 to 8-75 an hour, though he has not tied such an increase to the
rate of inflation as a previous minimum wage proposal out of the Assembly
did. It's believed by analysts
that Republican leaders in the state Senate would go along with the hike if tax
breaks for businesses are also included in any such legislation.
The politically charged issue of redistricting
efforts is one step closer to being put to New York voters. The state Senate has approved the
second passage of a constitutional amendment that would create a new commission
to oversee redistricting by 2022.
If approved by lawmakers in Albany, voters will get final approval on
the plan at the ballot box in 2014.
New York state police say a small plane is
undamaged and its pilot unhurt after an emergency landing in a field south of
the Catskills. Troopers say the
single-engine Piper Cherokee Warrior made the landing Monday in the Sullivan
County town of Bethel after departing Rutland. It was en route to Pottsville, PA. Police say 22-year-old pilot Brent Kozura of Pottsville was
being diverted to Sullivan County Airport because of mechanical problems but
was unable to reach the airport and landed the plane in a nearby field. The FAA is investigating.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says
his office recovered more than $335 million last year from Medicaid fraud and
abuse. The total, including $146 million from a multi-state settlement with
pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, is the second highest annual recovery by
the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
Rutland City Police are searching for a person or
people who drove house-to-house Tuesday night and Wednesday morning shooting
out people's car windows with a BB or pellet gun. More than 60 people said their windows were shot overnight
and police are still expecting more.
One of the victims is Shannon Morrill who had to improvise Wednesday
morning with a cardboard cover over his back window but it was still
undriveable with today's frigid conditions. "Cost a lot of people aggravation, time and
money," Morrill said. Dorr
Dr., where Morrill lives had several other people who suffered the same fate
like Tom DePall. "I
went to warm her car up and looked in the rear view mirror and no window,"
DePall said. Rutland City Police
say the drive-by shootings started around midnight Wednesday and went on for
hours "75 plus calls for
vandalism to vehicles, about a dozen damage to houses and half a dozen to
businesses," Sgt James Tarbell said.
The result was thousands of dollars in damages but as of now no leads. None of the people I talked with said
they were woken up when the car drove by or woke up when their windows broke
but police hope at some point someone was watching. "We've reviewed store videos. A couple of the bigger
businesses that have been vandalized or reviewing their video for us," Sgt
Tarbell said. But the damage is
done for people like DePall, who will pay a $1,000 two replace to windows to
two cars, and Morrill who has to pay more than a hundred. "It's a $130 we hadn't planned
on," Morrill said. "It's
very frustrating. Very frustrating."
Rutland City Police said that depending on the final count of vandalized
vehicles the person or people responsible could face close to a hundred charges
of unlawful mischief and a felony because of the financial damage caused.
