Technology in syrup production
Vermont maple syrup producers say technology helped them overcome less than ideal sugaring weather this year. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Middle school jazz musicians
The 20th annual Burlington Discover Jazz Festival kicks off Friday. In the seven days of events there will be a range of jazz sounds, from the legendary Sonny Rollins to local performers. There will also be room for some budding young jazz musicians. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Interview: Around-the-world car trip
Steve Delaney talks with write Joe Sherman, who is preparing to retrace part of a 1903 feat in which Charles Jasper Glidden became the first person to drive a gasoline-powered car around the world. (Listen to the interview online.) (VPR)
VT-NY tuition break
New legislation will help students from New York state attend the Southwest Vermont Career Development Center in Bennington. The CDC, a technical and vocational program, is the closest alternative for many students on the New York side of the border. The legislation will allow New York state students to pay about what Vermont students pay to attend. (AP)
New England bank merger
Two banking companies owned by the Vermont-based Chittenden Corporation are merging. Granite Bank, based in Keene, New Hampshire, is going to merge with Ocean National Bank, of Kennebunk, Maine. The move is expected to lead to the closing of some branches around New Hampshire. (AP)
Burlington meals and alcohol tax
Restaurant owners in Burlington don’t like the budget proposal. That’s because it would require them to charge a 2% city tax on all the meals and alcohol they sell. That’s an increase of a half percent. It would generate an additional $220,000 for the city annually. (AP)
Economics of fishing
Fishing is big business in Vermont. A survey from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says anglers spent more than $100 million in Vermont in the year 2001. The survey is done every five years to measure the economic impact of sports like fishing. (AP)
Use of tourism funds questioned
Vermont officials are questioning a tourism promotion group about how it spent nearly $180,000 in state funds. The Eastern Vermont Gateway Regional Marketing Organization promotes tourism in Connecticut River towns in Vermont. It’s one of eleven groups created by the state to promote regions of Vermont to tourists. (AP)
Coolidge family correspondence
A relative of Calvin Coolidge’s wife, Grace Coolidge, is presenting a collection of personal correspondence to the foundation Monday. Calvin Coolidge was a Vermont native and the nation’s 30th president. He served in the 1920s. Lydia Coolidge of Woodstock was the granddaughter of First Lady Grace Coolidge. Her husband is presenting a collection of 201 letters that belonged to the first lady. (AP)
Maple syrup theft
The Windham County Sheriff’s Department says a Putney man stole $4,000 worth of maple syrup last month. Forty-nine-year-old Stephen Bain was arrested last week. Deputy Sheriff Sherwood Lake says Bain took about 90 gallons of maple syrup from the Dwight Miller orchards in Dummerston. The syrup weighed about 1,000 pounds. (AP)
Dean campaign for teachers’ votes
Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean is working to win the endorsement of a California teachers’ union. He appeared before 800 delegates of the California Teachers Association in Los Angeles Sunday. He wants the support of the 330,000-member union to broaden his grassroots support and boost his fund-raising. (AP)
North Danville double homicide
Vermont State Police still are searching for a suspect in a double homicide. A man and a woman were killed in a home in North Danville around 7:00 p.m. Sunday night. State police say they’re searching for Henry “Hank” Butson, who may be driving a 2002 white Toyota pickup truck with license plate V-1279. (AP)
Castleton sells weed harvesters
The town of Castleton is getting out of the business of weeding Lake Bomoseen. Castleton is selling two large weed harvesters that it used to help clear the lake of Eurasian milfoil. That’s the weed that chokes some of the state’s lakes with a thick covering that gets caught in boat motors and makes swimming difficult. (AP)