EPA brownfields cleanup
Environmental Protection Agency has awarded one million dollars to help Vermont communities clean up and improve contaminated industrial sites. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Circus Smirkus summer tour
Every summer, a Vermont youth circus travels through New England, giving performances filled with juggling, tumbling, and tight wire acts. It’s called “Circus Smirkus” and the troupe put on its first show Sunday in Greensboro, kicking off a seven-week tour. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Volunteers brighten Russian orphanage
In southeastern Vermont, a group of volunteer clowns is preparing to leave on a trip to Russia, where they’ll head up the Volga River with a boatload of Russian orphans. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Powerball starts up in Vermont
Vermont tomorrow joins the big leagues of state lotteries. Tickets for the Powerball game go on sale at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday at about 550 stores around the state that carry lottery tickets. The introduction of the Powerball lottery in Vermont is raising worries in some quarters that it could worsen some people’s gambling addictions. Two chapters of Gamblers Anonymous – one in Rutland and the other in Barre – have sprung up recently in Vermont. (AP)
Police chase examined
Vermont state police say they are carefully reviewing their chase policy following a pursuit two weeks ago that resulted in a sergeant’s death. Captain Glenn Cutting, who oversees Troop D in southeastern Vermont, says it’s believed officers responded properly in the June 15 chase that ended with Sergeant Michael Johnson’s death. (AP)
Starr Farm neighborhood development
Owners of summer camps in a section of Burlington are trying to halt a development they say could ruin their neighborhood. The Starr Farm Beach Camp Owners’ Association is objecting to a housing developer’s plan to build 148 apartments and condominiums nearby. Hearings start up again Monday. (AP)
Missing persons beacons
New personal locator beacons are making their nationwide debut Tuesday in Waterbury. The beacons use satellites and global-positioning technology to help rescuers find their holder in case of an emergency. The devices were tested in Alaska. (AP)
Last LeClair golf tournament
A 10-year tradition in northwestern Vermont is coming to an end. The John LeClair Foundation has raised close to one million dollars for needy Vermont children. LeClair’s celebrity golf tournament has been the Foundation’s largest fundraiser. LeClair says his foundation will move on to other fundraisers. (AP)
Fourth of July accident remembered
The approach of a sad anniversary has boating safety on the minds of many at the marinas that dot Lake Champlain around Burlington. Last year a nine-year-old girl and her four-year-old brother were trapped and drowned after the overloaded boat they were on capsized on the Fourth of July. (AP)