January 20, 2004 – News at a glance

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Governor’s Budget Address
Governor Jim Douglas’ Budget Address, delivered on January 20, 2004 in the Vermont House of Representatives.

Dean finishes third in Iowa
Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean finished third in Monday night’s Iowa caucuses. Despite this disappointing result, Dean says he’s confident he’ll still win the Democratic presidential nomination. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)

Interview: New Hampshire primary
One week from Tuesday New Hampshire’s first in the nation primary takes place. Mitch Wertlieb talks with Guy MacMillan, editorial page editor for the Keene Sentinel, for a preview of that critical contest. (Listen to the interview online.) (VPR)

Canns named to appropriations committee
A veteran Republican senator from the Northeast Kingdom has landed a seat on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. (AP)

Education trust fund
A Vermont Senate committee is going to look at a measure on Tuesday that would establish an education trust fund for students who are in state custody. (AP)

Bill would permit killing of black bears
Vermont lawmakers are going to take testimony Wednesday on a bill that would allow landowners to kill black bears under some circumstances. (AP)

Vermont Yankee shutdown
Nuclear energy opponents want local officials to start planning now for job retraining and new energy sources to replace the ones that are lost when Vermont Yankee shuts down. Vermont Yankee, the state’s only nuclear power plant, is set to close when its operating license expires in the year 2012. (AP)

Vermont Guard activated for duty
About 200 Vermont Army National Guardsmen are beginning active duty today. They’ll undergo training this week in preparation for moving to Fort Dix in New Jersey on Friday. Master Sergeant Jill Hicks, a spokeswoman for the Vermont National Guard, says the soldiers will have briefings and training this week before shipping out. (AP)

Photos on driver’s licenses
This could be the year that Vermont lawmakers make photo driver’s licenses mandatory, bringing the state in line with the rest of the country. The House and Senate Transportation Committees are considering bills that would make the photo licenses mandatory. But people who don’t now have the photo licenses wouldn’t have to get them when they renew. That’s about 20 percent of Vermont drivers. (AP)

Muellers buy Crested Butte resort
Residents of a Colorado town have high hopes for a Vermont couple who recently bought a ski area there. Timothy and Diane Mueller own the resort-development company Triple Peaks LLC. The Muellers’ Okemo ski area in Ludlow, Vermont, is the second-busiest resort in New England. (AP)

Milfoil treatment planned
A property owners’ group in Poultney is preparing for the summer milfoil season. The Lake Saint Catherine Association recently won state permission to use the herbicide Sonar to kill the invasive weed. The group has more than 600 members. It’s expected to start treating the lake with the herbicide in mid-May. (AP)

Austine School lawsuit
Five former students at the Austine School for the Deaf are suing the school. They say staff knew that a worker was making sexual advances toward students but administrators failed to act. (AP)

Fatal car crash
A 76-year-old woman is dead after a car crash in Marlboro. Police say Marion Davission of Marlboro lost control of her car on a slippery Route nine, slid off the road and hit a tree. Police say excessive speed was a factor in Sunday’s crash. (AP)

Gallipo case continues in Rutland
A former Rutland firefighter has lost his latest discrimination lawsuit against the city. A judge has granted the city’s motion for summary judgment against Raymond Gallipo while dismissing a counterclaim by the city. The decision is the latest chapter in a long-running legal battle between Gallipo and the city. (AP)

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