Interview: Reagan documentary
Steve Delaney talks with retired White House Correspondent Frank Sesno. Sesno, formerly of Springfield, is hosting a television documentary on the Reagan White House. (Listen to the interview online.) (VPR)
Researchers develop insight into ice
Underfoot and on our windshields, ice can be a nuisance and a danger. Because it’s so abundant, you might think scientists had long ago learned all there is to know about ice. Dartmouth College researchers have advanced our understanding of ice and, in the process, developed new technology that could change our relationship with this common substance. (Listen to the story online or read the transcript.) (VPR)
Drug courts
Officials looking into setting up specialized drug courts say they should be expanded. They say the Legislature’s goal of setting up the courts for offenders between the ages of 16 and 21 is too limited. The Legislature this year called for committees in Rutland, Bennington and Chittenden counties to develop plans for implementing and overseeing drug courts. (AP)
Bellows Falls pediatric clinic
A pediatrics clinic in Bellows Falls will stay open for now. But the parent corporation of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital says the community will have to raise $25,000 to keep Cornerstone Pediatrics operating until September. Beyond that, a more permanent source of funding will have to be found. (AP)
Homeless children
Schools in the Bennington area say the number of homeless students is growing. At least 17 students currently attending schools in the Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union are officially classified as homeless. A homeless student can be anyone who is living with a family not his or her own, or a child actually living in a homeless shelter. (AP)
Food shelf deer donation
A Waterbury man who takes more deer than he can use is donating venison to food shelves. Rick Delphia is hoping more hunters do the same. He has joined Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry, a six-year-old religious-based group from Hagerstown, Maryland. The group asks hunters to donate their kills, and then pays for butchering the deer and delivering the frozen venison to food shelves. (AP)
Red Cross disaster volunteers
The American Red Cross is trying to help people around Vermont prepare for unexpected disaster. The three Red Cross chapters around the state are working with six Retired Senior Volunteer Program chapters. They’re working on a 90-minute disaster readiness program. (AP)
Power outages
Wet snow and heavy winds combined to knock power out to thousands of Vermonters over the weekend. As many as ten-thousand electric customers around the state reported losing their service. The snow contributed to the problems because it weighted down utility lines and tree branches. (AP)
Williston tax
revenue The town’s local sales tax generated a little less than projected during its first three months. Williston took in $507,000 during July, August and September. It had hoped it would collect $525,000 for that period and a total of two million dollars for the full year. (AP)
NY snowmobile fees
Vermonters who like to cross over into New York for snowmobiling are going to find it more expensive. New York is charging $10 more this season for people to register their machines. The annual fees went from $15 to $25 for New Yorkers, and $25 to $35 for out-of-state snowmobilers. (AP)
Pedestrian safety
Vermont is safer for pedestrians than most states are. That’s the word from the advocacy group Surface Transportation Policy Project, which concluded that nowhere in the country is particularly safe for people traveling by foot. (AP)
Civil unions
This month’s elections appear to guarantee the future of civil unions in Vermont. That’s the conclusion of both supporters and opponents of the landmark law guaranteeing gay and lesbian couples most of the rights and responsibilities of marriage. Democrats and civil union supporters gained seats in both the House and Senate. (AP)
Dean portrait
Another step toward Governor Howard Dean’s retirement from office will be unveiled today. Dean’s official portrait will be put on display for the first time at the Statehouse. Oil portraits of most of Vermont’s governors hang in the Statehouse’s corridors and meeting rooms. (AP)
Student wins national talent contest
A fifth-grader from Bridport spent four months writing a one-minute song and now has won first place in a national talent search. Ten-year-old Christina Koller was the elementary school winner in the 2002 National Student Electronic Composition Talent Search. She has been composing since she was three years old. Koller’s winning entry is called “Joie de Vie.” (AP)