ReCycle North
For the last 11 years, Burlington’s ReCycle North has dedicated itself to the repair and re-use of household items, such as appliances, furniture and electronics. They’ve now turned their attention to house deconstruction. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Interview: Microchips
Steve Delaney talks with Craig Damon, UVM computer science professor, on why IBM is focusing on copper microchip technology and laying off employees with aluminum engineering expertise. (Listen to the interview online.) (VPR)
Business Climate and IBM Layoffs
IBM officials said Wednesday that there was nothing the state of Vermont could have done to affect the company’s decision to reduce its workforce by nearly 1,000 people. The officials say an international slowdown in the demand for computer chips and a reorganization of the company are the major factors driving the decision. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Parishioners Ask Diocese for Information
he Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington says it’s been hearing from some parishioners who want to know if their priests are among those placed on administrative leave while under investigation by the Vermont attorney general. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Revenue Report Expected
The Dean administration is expected to release a new revenue report by the end of this week and it’s likely that the report will show that the state will have roughly a $20 million deficit with one month remaining in the current fiscal year. Administration Secretary Kathy Hoyt says money from the state’s rainy day funds will be used to cover the shortage. (VPR)
State Troopers
State police officers ordered not to work in their off hours providing security at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant have filed a labor grievance through their union. The state says the troopers should not work the extra job because they’ll be too tired for their regular jobs. (AP)
Bennington Archeological Site
The archaeological remnants of a nineteenth century home could force the people planning a new middle school in Bennington to reroute the driveway. An archaeological survey of the site of the proposed Mount Anthony Middle School found the house site. (AP)
Rail Service Curtailed
Passenger trains won’t be rolling up the tracks between North Bennington and Manchester this year. The Vermont Legislature level-funded the passenger rail budget at just over two million dollars. There might not even be enough money to provide service at current levels. (AP)
Nuclear Power Plant Safety
Senator Jim Jeffords wants Congress to enact a bill providing more funding for security at the nation’s nuclear power plants. (AP)
Surgery Clinic
Vermont health regulators object to a plan to allow an outside medical group to set up an outpatient surgery clinic in Chittenden County. (AP)
Kopp Pleads Innocent
James Kopp, an anti-abortion activist with Vermont ties, has pled innocent to charges involving the shooting death of an abortion-providing doctor in Buffalo, NY four years ago. (AP)
ME Police Review
Burlington police chief Alana Ennis is part of a review team looking into whether police in Portland, ME have a pattern of using excessive force. (AP)
Reapportionment
Governor Howard Dean says Burlington would be under-represented if Republicans succeed with their effort to redraw House district lines in Chittenden County. (AP)
Medical Review Standards
Vermont has fallen from sixth to thirty-fifth in the strictness of its oversight of the medical profession, according to a new survey. A bill to tighten up on reporting physicians malpractice is on the governor’s desk. (AP)
Warren Sheep Tests
The Faillace family, whose sheep were seized and destroyed in fear of Mad Cow Disease, now says the U.S. Agriculture Department slaughtered a flock of healthy sheep. (AP)
Manchester Airport
A leading credit agency upgraded the credit rating of the Manchester, NH airport. The upgrade is an indication of expected growth in passenger boardings. (AP)
Lottery Embezzlement
A Bennington man has been charged with embezzlement after scratching lottery tickets in his employer’s store without paying for them. He could serve ten years on a felony charge involving $19,000 in scratch tickets. (AP)