Top stories developing across the region at the noon hour:
Former Human Services Commissioner Cornelius Hogan and two co-authors argue in a new book that Vermont ought to have a statewide funding system for health care; about an hour ago, a coalition of activists and politicians spoke out in Montpelier against President Bush’s proposed budget cuts; police ask for public help regarding a the body of Brattleboro resident Patrick Butler, found lying on some ice under a bridge that spans the Connecticut river.
(To hear the Midday Report, click on the “Listen” icon.)