Top stories developing across the region at the noon hour:
Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Jim Jeffords and Congressman Bernie Sanders denounce Bush administration policies that they say are bad for Vermont; Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial candidates Cheryl Rivers and Jan Backus draw contrasts between their records; Vermont’s hospitals join a nationwide program to improve the quality of health care; Vermont state regulators ask consumers to be on the lookout for health insurance scams; authorities seize 150 pounds of marijuana at a check point in White River Junction; Senator Leahy and Governor Jim Douglas attend the opening of a new distribution center for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters; Governor Douglas announces September is Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month.
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