Prison Medical Care Comes Under Scrutiny
The state is reviewing its multi-million dollar contract with a company that provides health care to Vermont prison inmates. The company, Correctional Medical Services of St. Louis, is the focus of several Vermont lawsuits that allege poor care. State regulators have also filed a number of disciplinary charges against nurses who have worked for the company. (VPR)
Interview: Rutland County Women’s Network
Over the years, the Rutland County Women’s Network has helped hundreds of women escape abusive relationships and begin new lives. And the Netork’s director is turning over a new leaf as well: Bobbie Gainer is retiring this week and she talks with Mitch Wertlieb about her 15 years of service in the organization. (VPR)
Military Deaths
Rural states like Vermont and Maine are bearing a heavy burden when it comes to combat deaths in Iraq. Census data show Vermont ranks number one in the nation for deaths on a per capita basis, and Maine ranked seventh. (AP)
Firefighter Training
This year’s capital construction budget includes measures aimed at improving training for Vermont’s firefighters. The bill allotted $350,000 for seven new trailers to be loaded with firefighting equipment and taken around the state for training sessions. (AP)
Ski Resort Expansion
Vermont resort developers Tim and Diane Mueller, who bought Colorado’s Crested Butte ski area in January, seem to have triggered a Rocky Mountain real estate boom. Housing construction and sales in the area are way up, with prices for housing units running up to nearly $2 million. (AP)
Bedrock Map
Vermonters wanting to know the age of the state’s bedrock will soon have an answer. Geologists are nearing completion of a map documenting the age of Vermont’s surface, as well as an array of other information. (AP)
Fell Murder Trial
A former Rutland man accused of killing a North Clarendon woman has lost a bid to delay his federal trial. Twenty-four-year-old Donald Fell’s lawyers had asked for the delay to give them time to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to bar federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty for Fell. (AP)
Pedestrian Struck and Killed
Police in Rutland say a dropped cup of coffee led a driver to lose control of his vehicle and fatally strike a pedestrian. Police say 24-year-old Gustav Johnson died at Rutland Regional Medical Center of massive head trauma after the Sunday morning accident. Police report that 21-year-old James Rayborn of Rutland Town was driving a 1995 Ford Taurus east on Killington Avenue when he dropped a cup of coffee and lost control of his car. (AP)