Vermonters go door-to-door in Iowa for Dean
Hundreds of Vermont volunteers canvassed across Iowa over the weekend to support the presidential campaign of Howard Dean. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Interview: Iowans go to caucuses Monday night
Political observers will have all eyes on Iowa Monday night as the Iowa caucuses are held – the first major political vote of the presidential primary season, following the non-binding Washington D.C. primary. To help us get a sense of the prevailing political winds in Iowa we’re joined on the line by University of Iowa professor Jane Singer. (Listen to the interview.) (VPR)
College campus reflects changes in race relations
It’s Martin Luther King Day. All over Vermont, programs and activities will honor the great civil rights leader. Middlebury College began its observances on Friday with a concert of spirituals and readings from Dr. King’s speeches. They continue today with the college’s annual Martin Luther King prayer breakfast, which Governor Douglas is scheduled to attend. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Island Pond Woodworkers celebrate one year in business
One year after it opened, an employee-owned furniture plant in Island Pond say it’s doing well. The company was started by a group of workers who lost their jobs when the town’s sole manufacturing plant shut down. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Iowa caucuses
Two of Howard Dean’s rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination continue to take slaps at him in the final hours of campaigning before Monday night’s Iowa caucuses. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts took aim at Dean’s inexperience in foreign affairs, saying it’s not time for on the job training. (AP)
Dean visits Carter
Former President Jimmy Carter had nice words but no endorsement for Howard Dean on Sunday when the two met in Carter’s hometown. The Democratic presidential candidate and former Vermont governor took time out from campaigning in Iowa to visit the man who surprised many by winning the 1976 Iowa caucuses. (AP)
Judy Dean makes campaign appearance
Howard Dean’s wife Judy made her speaking debut on the presidential campaign trail on Sunday – just in time to show support for him in the Iowa caucuses. Judy Dean was a surprise guest at two campaign events in Iowa. (AP)
State budget address on Tuesday
Governor Jim Douglas is to lay out his plan for spending by the state of Vermont in the next fiscal year in a budget address to lawmakers on Tuesday. But the governor is at odds with some of his fellow Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee over adjustments to this year’s budget. (AP)
Lake Champlain cleanup funds
Vermont Governor Jim Douglas says money for cleaning up Vermont’s environment will be a priority in his budget address on Tuesday. Douglas stood on the shores of Lake Champlain in late September and said he supported a $150 million plan for cleaning up the lake. (AP)
Fish and Wildlife budget
The Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife might get some help from the state with its budget problems. The department is funded mostly by hunting and fishing license fees and by federal taxes on equipment and boat fuels. But Vermont Governor Jim Douglas says the department can’t make do on license fees alone and it’s time for the state to contribute. (AP)
Workers’ compensation
The Vermont Legislature is expected to take up the matter of workers’ compensation reform this week. The program collects more than $130 million in premiums and gives out benefits to more than 8,000 people each year. According to a new report from state banking and insurance regulators, the cost of the mandatory program is hurting businesses. (AP)
Coyote rights
Some farmers and hunters in Vermont are clamoring for broader rights to kill coyotes. They blame coyotes, which are believed to have migrated from the West to New England in the last century, for killing both domestic livestock and deer. (AP)
Smoking ban in bars
No smoking signs could soon go up in bars around Vermont if lawmakers pass a bill to ban tobacco in the establishments. Supporters say second-hand smoke is a health hazard to non-smoking patrons and especially to bartenders and other workers in bars. (AP)
Powerball jackpot
No one won the multi-state Powerball lottery jackpot this weekend but one Vermonter took a $5,000 prize. The Powerball jackpot is expected to grow to $46 million by the next drawing on Wednesday. (AP)