Top stories developing across the region at the noon hour:
Senator Patrick Leahy is voting against the nomination of White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales to be the new attorney general; Vermont lawmakers consider a proposal to remove 2008 as the automatic expiration date for local option taxes; Agriculture Sec. Steve Kerr says the new chairs of Legislative agriculture committees will make a difference in those committees’ agendas; the Health Department launches a public education campaign about dental health; officials in Dorset challenge a state calculation that would raise school property taxes in that community.
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