Bennington Battle Monument
VPR’s Steve Delaney talks with the Bennington town manager about the proposal to the light the Bennington Battle Monument. (Listen to the interview online.) (VPR)
Agriculture agency
Governor-elect Jim Douglas says he’ll ask the Legislature to elevate the commissioner of Agriculture to cabinet level status. Douglas says the move will help stimulate the diversification of the state’s agriculture industry. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Ethan Allen invests in energy efficiency
A major Northeast Kingdom business says it’s investing money to save energy and hold onto jobs in Vermont. The Ethan Allen furniture company says the new investment in energy efficiency will lower electricity bills by a million dollars over 10 years. Ethan Allen says those savings will help keep more than 1,000 people employed in Essex and Orleans counties. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Furniture start-up businesses
Former Ethan Allen furniture workers have started new woodworking businesses since the company’s layoffs in Island and Randolph over the last year. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Burlington Diocese lawsuit
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington says the information it must provide in a lawsuit against a Vermont priest goes far beyond what it has given to the Attorney General’s office. (VPR)
Unemployment rates
Vermont’s unemployment rate went up 1/10 of a percentage point in November. The new rate of 4% is down a little bit from the same time last year. Unemployment rates were lowest in Hartford and highest in Newport. (AP)
Unemployment rates
Vermont’s unemployment rate went up 1/10 of a percentage point in November. The new rate of 4% is down a little bit from the same time last year. Unemployment rates were lowest in Hartford and highest in Newport. (AP)
Teacher certification
The state Education Department is looking at a plan to end license waivers that allow people to teach in subject areas for which they are not certified. The department is holding public hearings on a 40-page plan that includes several recommendations for changing teacher licensing. (AP)
Dean campaign in Iowa
Veteran Iowa activist Jeani Murray will run Governor Howard Dean’s campaign in Iowa’s 2004 precinct caucuses. Murray is a longtime activist who has been executive director of the Iowa Democratic Party and chief of staff for Iowa Congressman Leonard Boswell. On Tuesday during his sixteenth trip to Iowa, Dean told supporters Democrats have to stick to their ideals in order to create better times for the United States. (AP)
Burlington airport traffic
The number of passengers who flew in and out of Burlington International Airport will likely set a record this year. Airport Director J.J. Hamilton is keeping a close watch on airport usage as Vermont’s largest city prepares for a $24 million airport expansion this year. (AP)
Bennington drug arrests
Police arrested 14 people yesterday in Bennington on drug charges. Police say they had been investigating drug activity in downtown Bennington for three months before they moved in yesterday to make their sweep. Then suspects were charged with various felonies, including the sale of morphine and the attempted sale of heroin. (AP)
Employee sues town of Ludlow
A former recreation director for the town of Ludlow is suing the town, saying his work life there was intolerable. Gunther Sihler says former Town Manager Keith Arlund humiliated him, criticized him, and unfairly reprimanded him. Vermont law allows an employee who loses his job under those circumstances to ask for restitution. (AP)
Rutland court reopens
Woodstoves, hazy skies and poor ventilation are being blamed for the poor air quality in the Rutland District Court. The court reopened this week after being closed for more than a week. A preliminary report says the court’s ventilation system was drawing in particulates from wood smoke and other pollution outside. (AP)