Group Drops OMYA Appeal
A citizens group has decided to drop its challenge to a pollution permit issued to OMYA Incorporated in Proctor. The group, Vermonters for a Clean Environment, says it can’t afford to continue the expensive legal battle. The environmentalists say that instead they will concentrate on fighting a marble quarry that OMYA wants to build in Danby. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Legislature May Reconvene
Governor Howard Dean has vetoed a bill that deals with abandoned vehicles. Legislative leaders say they don’t want to come back to the Statehouse to override the veto but they may have no choice. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Childcare Study
A new study has measured the importance of childcare to working families in Vermont. About half the employers in Vermont have at least one worker paying for childcare. Those parents earn about a billion dollars a year, about 13% of the wages in Vermont, and pay more than $100 million in state and federal income taxes. (AP)
Canvassing Law
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that the Constitution protects the right of missionaries, politicians and others to knock on doors without first getting permission from local authorities. Chief Justice William Rehnquist was the only dissenter, mentioning killing of two Dartmouth College professors by two Vermont teenagers, who had cased their neighborhood by going door-to-door. (AP)
Wolaver’s Buys Otter Creek Brewing
Otter Creek Brewing has a new owner. Otter Creek announced today it has been sold to Panorama Brewing Company, which produces Wolaver’s Organic Ales. (AP)
Disability Work Program
Senator Jim Jeffords is making it easier for disabled Americans to work without losing their health care coverage and other benefits. Jeffords joined state and federal officials Monday in launching the “Ticket to Work” program. (AP)
Priest Accused of Abuse
A former county official from Massachusetts announced Monday that a Vermont priest made sexual advances to him when he was fifteen years old. Paul Babeau charges that Reverend George Paulin made sexual advances toward him while Babeau was visiting Troy, Vermont. The Paulin is one of six priests already put on administrative leave by the Burlington Diocese, which will not comment further. (AP)
Teenagers Wanted in Brattleboro
Vermont state police are looking for the two teenagers who hurled large rocks at cars on Interstate 91 from an overpass near Brattleboro. (AP)