WVTK Local & State News May 23, 2013

The state of Vermont is telling the newly formed Health Care Cooperative it cannot have a license to offer insurance policies because of serious financial problems.  The Vermont Health Co-Op was formed last year, under the Affordable Care Act to sell health insurance policies on an exchange starting next year.  State regulators say they don't think the co-op can meet basic financial commitments, and they want to make sure there's enough money to pay health insurance medical claims.  The C-E-O for Health Care Co-Op says they're disappointed, but will find a way to move forward.

Remains from dozens of graves which washed away in Tropical Storm Irene are finally at peace once again.  28 bodies swept away when Nason Brook in Rochester flooded Woodlawn Cemetery in August 2011 are finally being reburied this week.  More than 450-thousand dollars from FEMA along with state and local funds helped pay to shore up the cemetery land and fix the infrastructure.  The bodies of 24 others, however have never been found.  A rededication is planned for next month.

Crown Point Central School District voters have approved a school budget for next year that mirrors the current spending plan.  The budget, approved 97-10, maintains all existing programs and staff.  There are no cuts.  The 2013-14 budget totals over $6-million and is a 2-percent increase.  Crown Point Central School has 274 students kindergarten through 12th grade.

The U.S. Senate today rejected by a vote of 71 to 27 an amendment by Sen. Bernie Sanders to let states require labels on food or beverages made with genetically modified ingredients.  The issue is of special interest to Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.  An overwhelming majority of Americans favor GMO labeling but virtually all of the major biotech and food corporations in the country oppose it.”  The Vermont House on May 10 voted 99-42 for legislation calling for labeling food products that contain genetically modified organisms.  Sanders’ proposal was designed to make it clear that states have the authority to require the labeling of foods produced using genetically modified organisms.

Crews responded to a garbage truck that caught fire off Shelburne Road in Shelburne. According to the Shelburne Fire Department, something in the back of a Casella Waste truck caught fire.  The contents in the truck were hosed down.  At this time, they do not think it was suspicious.  No one was injured from the fire.

The South Burlington City Council has OK'd a new building at the University Mall, which is expected to settle a lawsuit.  The UMall wants to tear down a two-story building on Dorset Street and replace it with a 6,000-square-foot building that would house a bank and retail space. But under the city's interim zoning rules, the City Council rejected the proposal, prompting the mall owners to sue.  This week, the City Council reversed course, voting unanimously in favor of the project.