Interview: emergency farm assistance
Steve Delaney talks with Robert Wellington of Agri-Mark about the farm assistance package recently passed by the Vermont Legislature. (Listen to the interview online.) (VPR)
Vermont Yankee hearing
The owners of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear power plant are requesting permission to increase the plant’s power output by 20%. A public hearing on the issue will be held Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at the Vernon Elementary School. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Kerry calls Dean unfit
Five days before the first debate featuring all of the Democratic presidential candidates, the campaign of Massachusetts Senator John Kerry has launched an attack on the capabilities of Howard Dean. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Sanders’ opposition to tax cut
Vermont’s lone congressman has stepped up his efforts against President Bush’s proposed tax cuts. Representative Bernard Sanders says it’s morally wrong to give tax breaks to the wealthy, while cutting health care, children’s programs and veterans benefits. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Psychotherapists and managed care
Critics of managed care health coverage say a growing number of psychotherapists in Vermont and around the country are refusing to take patients covered by managed care. Instead they’re asking patients to pay out of their own pockets. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Legality of voting bill
Secretary of State Deb Markowitz says voting reform legislation passed by the Vermont House last Friday is in clear violation of federal law. (VPR)
Fatal hit and run
A Vermont man is facing criminal charges after a hit-and-run accident that killed a bicyclist. Police say they have arrested 52-year-old Edward Streeter of Springfield. (AP)
Steelworkers on strike
A strike by steelworkers has shut down the Rock of Ages granite quarries and manufacturing plant in Barre Town. The 34 members of United Steelworkers of America Local Number 4 rejected the company’s contract offer on Saturday. (AP)
Workplace fatalities
Vermont has been ranked third lowest in the country in its rate of workplace fatalities. (AP)
Hinsdale protests evacuation Yankee plan
A New Hampshire town near the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant boycotted an emergency evacuation drill earlier this month. The town of Hinsdale says there is inadequate funding and inefficient planning for a disaster (AP)
Housing development challenged
The Conservation Law Foundation is fighting a plan to build 32 houses on property of an old farm in Milton. The group says the land is one of the few remaining parcels of open land on US Route 7 south of Milton. Property owner Ida Bushey says she needs the money. (AP)
General Dynamics Navy contract
Some good news for the General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products plant in Burlington. The plant has received a $9.5 million contract from the Navy to produce parts of gun systems for navy ships. There’s no word on whether the contract will yield more jobs. (AP)
Bankrupt TV station for sale
Vermont’s bankrupt UPN television affiliate WBVT-TV is up for sale and could be under new ownership by this summer. But manager Jeff Loper says he expects the station to continue as a UPN affiliate and to remain in operation. (AP)
Brandon police department
Some residents in Brandon gathered 600 signatures for a petition in support of the current police department. Town Manager Michael Balch says reducing the local police department to two investigators could save the town as much as $130,000. The petition calls for hiring enough police to have five officers on duty. (AP)
Steroid investigation at Norwich
The Drug Enforcement Administration is investigating the possible use of illegal steroids and growth hormones at Norwich University. College officials won’t release the names of the students or the athletic programs involved. (AP)
Driver crashes on gold course
A sand trap at the Proctor-Pittsford country club trapped an alleged drunken driver on Saturday. Police say 19-year-old Nicholas Fowler of Bridgewater lost control of his car and drove off the road and onto the fairway at the country club early Saturday morning. He then drove around putting green and got stuck in a sand trap. (AP)
Summer camp
Enrollment at summer camps is being affected by the sluggish economy, fears of terrorism, and even SARS. Camps across the country are reporting stagnant or sluggish enrollment – and some are offering shorter stays to accommodate protective parents who would rather keep their children close to home. (AP)
Ice shifts on Joe’s Pond
Spring officially has arrived in the Northeast Kingdom with the shifting of a cinder block on the ice on Joe’s Pond. The movement triggered a clock to stop at 9:45 Monday morning in Danville. That marked the end of the annual Ice Out competition. (AP)