VTrans officals are looking for your input. They will be holding a meeting tonight at Rutland
High School 6:30 .
They are looking for feedback to help the agency prioritize and update
its goals and track what matters to the public when it comes to road conditions
and regional transportation issues.
VTrans officials say they will also inform people on the development of
a state-wide transportation plan. All
are welcome at tonight’s meeting.
If there's no deal by Congress and President Barack Obama by
Friday, massive federal spending cuts will automatically happen. The White House put out a report yesterday
outlining specifics state by state, and in Vermont ,
the biggest hit is in military cuts. The
report says about a thousand civilian Department of Defense employees would be
furloughed, cutting gross pay by nearly three million dollars. Another big impact is school funding, with Vermont
losing one-point-one million for primary and secondary education. The President wants new revenues as well as
spending cuts, while G-O-P leaders say they've already raised taxes, insisting
on cutting spending instead.
A fire which destroyed a horse barn with an attached indoor
riding ring is being considered "suspicious." The fire was early Sunday morning on White
Ridge Lane in Monkton, and was called in by a
resident noticing an "orange glow" in the area. Luckily, none of the two horses inside or the
dozen outside in the paddock were hurt.
Damages estimates are in excess of 150-thousand dollars.
Voters in Vergennes on Town Meeting Day will be asked to
approve a $1.85-million bond for a new police station. Aldermen have discussed offsetting some of
the tax impact of the bond by using traffic ticket revenue and possibly some
Water Tower Fund money. City officials
will be hosting an informational meeting on the police bond tomorrow night at 7 PM at the Vergennes firehouse.
On Town Meeting Day, Monkton voters will be asked to
consider a $1 million bond to fund the construction of a new town hall and
library on the 5-acre parcel of land on Monkton Ridge that the town purchased
with funds raised through a 2006 bond. Town officials say the current town hall
and library are insufficient for Monkton’s growing needs.
Not everyone is opposed to the idea of the new F-35 jet
fighters being based at the Vermont Air National Guard base in South
Burlington . On Sunday,
hundreds of people dressed in green and wearing green ribbons turned out for a
rally in support of the jet and the Guard.
One member of the group said it was their way of saying "thank
you" to the National Guard, as well as supporting the controversial
proposal for the new jets to be based there.
Also there was Adjutant General-elect Steven Cray, who says the F-35's
are a crucial addition to the Vermont Guard.
A proposed tax on sugar-sweetened drinks isn't going to
happen in Vermont after all. The bill never got enough votes to get out of
the House Committee on Healthcare. The
bill called for a penny-per-ounce tax on the sugary beverages as one way to
fight obesity and the health care costs going with it. Bill sponsor Dave Sharpe says the bill isn't
dead just yet, as the problem still remains.
