Interview: Medical Society votes on assisted suicide
The Vermont Medical Society has taken up the controversial issue of physician assisted suicide, but a vote taken by its members on Wednesday produced two resolutions that appear to contradict each other. Mitch Wertlieb talks with Steve Larose, communications director for the Vermont Medical Society, about the results of the vote. (Listen to the interview online.) (VPR)
Diocese records
The Burlington Roman Catholic Diocese says it has compiled a list of all sexual abuse allegations against Vermont priests in the last 52 years under a mandate from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. A spokesman says the diocese hasn’t decided yet whether to make the information public. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Physicians poll shows conflict on assisted suicide
The Vermont Medical Society released a vote on Wednesday indicating that most of the state’s medical doctors oppose new laws for or against physician-assisted suicide. Still, advocates of assisted suicide had success with a separate resolution that calls for neutrality and allows doctors to lobby for legislation. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Leahy says GOP is politicizing judiciary
Senator Patrick Leahy says a Republican filibuster in the U.S. Senate this week is a blatant attempt to politicize the federal judiciary. Leahy says this effort needs to be strongly opposed. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Dean boosted by two union endorsements
Leaders of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees have endorsed Democrat Howard Dean for president. The Executive Board voted unanimously on the decision, which was announced last week unofficially. (AP)
Clark airs TV campaign ads in New Hampshire
Wesley Clark says he’ll start running television ads in New Hampshire next week in hopes of boosting his candidacy. (AP)
State hospital procedures
Lawmakers overseeing the Vermont State Hospital have been advised to separate criminal suspects from the psychiatric facility’s general population. Members of the joint House-Senate Health Access Oversight Committee also were told to increase oversight of the hospital. (AP)
Yankee uprate deal
Members of a state advisory panel are critical of a deal the Douglas administration negotiated in exchange for it support of a proposed power boost at Vermont Yankee. The Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel met on Wednesday to discuss the $20 million deal with Entergy Nuclear. Critics say the money should be spent on making Vermont Yankee safer, or cutting electric rates. (AP)
Pledge of allegiance
Students at southern Vermont’s Dorset School will get a little help from the school’s public-address system in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance starting next week. Officials say some teachers felt they were unable to give time to the pledge due to other morning responsibilities. (AP)
Coolidge historic site
The state of Vermont has received a $200,000 federal grant to put fire protection systems in at the Calvin Coolidge historic site in Plymouth Notch. Much of the village is just as it was in 1923, when the nation’s 30th president was sworn in. (AP)
Canadian literary award
A teacher at Vermont College is the winner of his country’s most prestigious literary prize for fiction. Douglas Glover, a Canadian novelist and short story writer living in Wilton, New York, on Wednesday received the Governor General’s Literary Award for English-language fiction. (AP)
Lyndon security spending
Voters in the Northeast Kingdom town of Lyndon have approved spending nearly $2 million for a new public safety building. They approved two articles that combined total $1.9 million, calling for building a combined headquarters to house the town police and fire departments. (AP)
Ovitt sentencing
A Northeast Kingdom man convicted of killing his father Duane Perry might not be sentenced until next year, and so could the trial of his mother for helping him commit the crime. Jamie Ovitt and his mother, Debra Perry of East Charleston, are due in court next week. (AP)
Sampson trial
A witness in the sentencing phase of Gary Sampson’s trial says the former Massachusetts man once claimed to be a CIA agent busting Colombian drug cartels. A federal jury is hearing evidence before deciding whether to impose the death penalty against Sampson. He was arrested in Vermont two years ago. (AP)