The Shumlin administration is now rolling out alternatives
for the Vermont online health
insurance exchange. Like the national
website, the Vermont one has had its own share of glitches, and a test
Wednesday night revealed even the expected fixes of major flaws are not working
right either. New options unveiled
Thursday allow Vermonters to extend their current coverage until March 31st,
and small business owners can deal directly with insurance carriers instead of
trying to buy online insurance for their workers.
We could find out as soon as Monday if Burlington
will be the new home to F-35 fighter jets.
As you might remember, the Vermont National Guard is one of 6 bases in
the running. The Air Force has said it thinks Burlington
is one of the top sites. A final report
about the different bases was released last month. The secretary of the Air Force needed to wait
at least 30 days before making his decision.
It could be anytime after Monday.
Millions of Americans who rely on food stamps will soon see a
change in benefits. Starting today, food
stamp benefits will be cut. More than
47-million people currently receive food stamps. The average benefit per person now stands a
little over $133 a month. That amount
will be reduced. In total, the cuts add
up to $5 billion.
A Vermont man
has been arrested after police say he hit a teen girl and left the scene on
Halloween night. Vermont State Police
say the crash happened when a 13-year-old girl was crossing Route 110 in the
Town of Washington . 29-year-old Christopher Roberts of Washington ,
hit her with this truck just after 7 p.m.
and then fled the area. Roberts is
facing two charges, including leaving the scene of an accident and careless and
negligent operation. She suffered some
bumps and bruises and is otherwise, recovering fine.
New unemployment claims increased for the third time in the
last four weeks, but still only to a historically modest level. For the week of
October 26, 2013 ,
there were 656 new, regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont .
This is an increase of 161 from the previous week's total, and 134 fewer than
they were a year ago.
Another transmission project is being proposed to link
hydro-power in Canada
with consumers in southern New England , but this one
would travel 150 miles through Vermont ,
and would be entirely underground or underwater. It’s called the New England Clean Power Link,
running from Southern Quebec and buried on the bottom of
Lake Champlain before traveling to Ludlow
where it would plug into the New England Grid.
Transmission Developers Inc. is the developer for the project, with the
money coming from private investors.
