Nutrition in school cafeterias
One-hundred-fifty students, faculty and cafeteria personnel from Vermont schools are meeting in Montpelier this week. They’re learning more about a school nutrition program that brings food from Vermont farms to school tables. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Interview: Ski resorts expand
Mitch Wertlieb talks with Mary McKhann about expansions that are underway at Vermont’s largest ski resorts and the reactions of local residents in those communities. McKhann publishes the Snow Industry Letter. (Listen to the interview online.) (VPR)
Transmission line upgrade
The manager of VELCO’s proposed transmission line upgrade in northwestern Vermont says the project is needed to ensure the reliable delivery of electricity to the region in the future. (VPR)
Auditor questions Yankee deal
More questions are being raised about the deal reached by the Douglas administration that may allow the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant to boost its power output. Vermont Yankee has promised to provide $20 million in benefits in exchange for the state’s support. But Vermont’s auditor questions whether the state has the authority to enter into the financial settlement. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Internet tax moratorium
The Douglas administration says a proposed extension of the federal moratorium on the taxation of Internet providers is too broad and needs to be changed. If the bill passes in its current form, Administration Secretary Michael Smith says the state could lose up to $25 million a year in revenue. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Veterans Day
There were gatherings in Sharon and Montpelier on Tuesday to honor veterans of the Vietnam War and the Iraq War. (AP)
Garvey monument
There’s a new monument in Proctor in honor of a local high school graduate killed in Iraq. Twenty-three-year-old Army Sergeant Justin Garvey was killed July 20 when his vehicle was ambushed in Iraq. A bridge in Lewis, New York, was dedicated to him on Tuesday. (AP)
Bennington Battle monument lit
It’s a new era for the Bennington Battle Monument. Governor Jim Douglas threw the switch on Tuesday night to light the 306-foot stone obelisk that commemorates the 1777 Revolutionary War battle. The lights will only be on 150 nights a year and then only until 10:00 p.m. (AP)
Windham state’s Attorney criticized
Two justices of the Vermont Supreme Court are publicizing their complaint about Windham County State’s Attorney Dan Davis. Justices Denise Johnson and John Dooley say Davis and his deputies violated legal ethics by failing to give defense lawyers evidence. (AP)
Toxics Action Center award
A community group is being honored for its efforts to stop a proposed landfill from coming to members’ neighborhood. The Friends and Neighbors of Missing Link Road were honored with an “Outstanding Activism” award by the Toxics Action Center. (AP)
Powerball revenue
Four months after Vermont entered the multi-state Powerball lottery, retailers and state officials alike say it has kept the register ringing. Store owners say lottery ticket sales are up sharply. And state officials say lottery receipts are up by more than half – to about $6.4 million – over the first four months of last year. (AP)
Dean presidential campaign
Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean is hoping a series of books and magazine articles will soften his image and broaden his appeal. The upcoming issue of Vanity Fair is planning to publish an essay on poverty by Howard Dean as part of a media groundswell around the presidential candidate. Dean’s staff hope it will tell people more about Dean. (AP)
Jeffreys body returned to Kentucky
A Kentucky man murdered at age 22 in Glover, has finally made the long trip home. That ends a nearly 20-year effort by his family – including a twin son and daughter who were 18 months old when he disappeared – to find Roger Jeffreys and bring him home. (AP)
UVM men’s basketball
For the first time in history the University of Vermont men’s basketball team has cracked an Associated Press National Poll. The Catamounts received one vote, placing them among 55 teams to be recognized in the 2003-04 Associated Press National College Basketball Preseason Poll. (AP)