Animal welfare advocates presented Governor Shumlin a
petition to strengthen animal abuse laws in the state. A press release says that the advocates urged
lawmakers to pass legislation that would ban extreme confinement of breeding
pigs in gestation crates, strengthen standards for commercial dog breeders,
require complex surgical procedures on animals to be performed by veterinarians
and to expedite hearings on animal cruelty cases to allow for the adoption of
animals into new homes more quickly. The
petition delivered to Shumlin had more than 1,300 signatures on it.
The fund which steps in to help Vermont
families when their heating tanks are about to run dry is nearly running on
empty itself. Governor Peter Shumlin
announced Wednesday the state's emergency fuel assistance program for
low-income Vermonters will run out of money by the end of the week. He's now asking lawmakers to come up with
additional funding, despite the threat of across-the-board federal spending
cuts likely to be activated as of Friday.
So far this year, the program has helped more than 45-hundred families.
Addison County Transit Resources have announced some changes
to the Snow Bowl Shuttle Bus Schedule during the NCAA races next week. On Wednesday, March 6, ACTR
will add back in a modified winter weekday schedule from Adirondack
Circle on Middlebury
College 10:15 am . There will be no early am or pm commuter runs
on Wednesday. On Thursday, March 7, and
Friday, March 8, regular winter weekday commuter runs will be in operation in
the morning and evening. And on Monday,
March 11, the SBSB’s four-day spring/summer/fall weekday schedule takes full
effect with service Thursday through Sunday until the end of March.
Gov. Peter Shumlin says Vermont's emergency fuel assistance
has run out of funds, and that he's looking for another $900,000 to get people
in need through the next three weeks. Vermont
budgeted $2.8 million this year for emergency fuel assistance. Shumlin says he wants to look at a way to
make the program more efficient, including examining eligibility requirements
and stepping up weatherization of low-income Vermonters' homes.
The Vermont National Guard will welcome their new adjutant
general tomorrow afternoon. A press
release says the Guard will celebrate a long military transition as Brigadier
General Steven Cray assumes the position as the 23rd Adjutant General of the
state of Vermont . Cray will replace Major General Thomas
Drew. The ceremony will take place at
the Green Mountain Armory in Colchester .
A new poll shows about half of Vermonters support moving to
a single-payer health care system. The
survey by the Castleton Polling Institute shows 52 percent favor a
public-funded single-payer system; 30 percent are opposed and 17 percent are
undecided. The support is slightly
higher than a similar poll conducted last May.
