Interview: World Series sports writing
Mitch Wertlieb talks with NPR’s Bill Littlefield about a new anthology on the World Series. (Listen to the interview online.) (VPR)
Improved services for chronic illness
Vermont is the first state in the country to launch a public and private collaboration to improve the delivery of medical services to people with chronic illnesses. The goal of the program is to provide more timely care to patients and reduce overall health care costs. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Review of right to farm law
Governor Jim Douglas is concerned that a recent state Supreme Court decision may make it harder for farms to survive. He says he wants the Legislature to re-examine the state’s right to farm law, which was designed to protect farms from lawsuits brought by neighbors. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Historic roads create confusion
Historic roads in Chittenden are causing a headache for some local residents. The town’s select board is trying to determine the status of more than 20 Class Four roads that they want to protect. In the process, they’ve denied a building permit to one resident, whose home they say sits directly in the path of a 200-year old turnpike. The uncertainty of where the roads are and who in town may be affected has some in Chittenden worried. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Book interview: Civil War letters
Neal Charnoff talks with Brattleboro writer Benson Bobrick about his new book, “Testament – A Soldier’s Story of the Civil War.” (Listen to the interview online.) (VPR)
Ticonderoga official supports test burn
A town supervisor in Ticonderoga, New York says the state of Vermont would receive all environmental data from a test burn of tires at the International Paper company. The company says it will take Vermonters’ concerns into account as it plans to burn tire chips as an alternate fuel. But the final decision for the test is up to New York officials. (VPR)
Unemployment rate
The newly announced 0.4% jump in Vermont’s unemployment rate last month may go back down a bit this month. That’s because the new 4.3% unemployment rate for September reflected a one-week furlough of 3,000 workers at IBM in Essex Junction. (AP)
Vermont Yankee
A spokesman for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant says the plant’s owners are willing to keep negotiating with the state about a proposed power boost at the plant. The Douglas administration has been saying it wants guarantees that the 20% power increase being sought by Entergy Nuclear won’t end up costing Vermont ratepayers money. (AP)
Assisted suicide vote
The Vermont Medical Society holds its annual meeting on Friday and the top agenda item is expected to be physician-assisted suicide. The 1,400 member society is expected to vote on a motion that would have the society take a neutral stand on the issue. But opponents say that’s tantamount to endorsing physician-assisted suicide. (AP)
East Haven wind farm
The select board in the northeastern Vermont town of East Haven has come out strongly in favor of a proposal to build power-generating windmills in the community. East Haven Windfarm, headed by Montpelier-based power entrepreneur Mathew Rubin, wants to start with four wind turbines and eventually could build about 50 in the town. (AP)
Peregrine falcon recovery
Vermont state biologists say the Peregrine falcon in the state is no longer endangered, or even threatened. A bird once thought to have been wiped out in Vermont due to the now-banned pesticide DDT has rebounded. (AP)
Shaftsbury school finances
The finances of Shaftsbury School District are being audited in the aftermath of the resignation of its chief bookkeeper. Superintendent Wesley Knapp Karen Crawford resigned Monday in the midst of a regularly scheduled audit of the district’s books. (AP)
Chester police chief
The town of Chester has a permanent police chief. The Chester board this week gave the permanent job to interim chief Richard Cloud. He has been acting chief since July. Town officials say Cloud was the best candidate for the job. (AP)
Disappearing cats
The City of Rutland is coming to the defense of its house cats. The Public Safety Commission voted unanimously on Thursday to recommend that the city purchase four traps to catch fisher cats. Fisher cats are being blamed for the disappearance of at least a dozen house cats. (AP)
New marriage counseling
A lesbian couple who were the first to receive a Vermont civil union in 2000 have joined a national effort to offer marriage counseling to heterosexual couples. Carolyn Conrad and Kathleen Peterson of Brattleboro are taking part in a program called “Queer Eye for a Straight Couple,” to offer telephone marriage counseling. (AP)