Top stories developing across the region at the noon hour:
Howard Dean says the increasingly tight race for the Iowa caucuses is a four-way dead heat; at this hour, House and Senate Democrats in Montpelier are stepping up their criticism of the Douglas administration’s long-term energy plan; school teachers in Montpelier have a new contract after more than a year and a half of negotiations; federal officials may be preparing to close a low-power unlicensed community radio station in Brattleboro.
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