Taylor Dobbs
From the archives to digitized: Historic Vermont newspapers get new lease on life online
The Vermont Digital Newspaper Project last week added its first batch of digitized newspaper pages to a national database dedicated to providing searchable digital copies of historic newspapers from all over the nation.
Tom McMurdo, the project librarian for the state effort, said there are currently 25 states involved in the National Digital Newspaper Project along with Washington, D.C.
Traces of Strontium-90 found in flesh of fish near Vermont Yankee
Gov. Peter Shumlin Tuesday linked the discovery of fish containing trace amounts of the radioactive isotope Strontium-90 to Entergy Corp.'s poor management of a tritium leak at Vermont Yankee. The Vermont Department of Health announced on its website Tuesday that measurable levels of Strontium-90 were found in the flesh...
Consumer group says corporation charges 30 percent more for funeral services
The last thing grieving family members want to think about is how much the funeral for a deceased loved one is going to cost, but the price point is hard to ignore. In most parts of the country, a traditional funeral requires a serious outlay – about $7,755 on...
More
Marshall: Shumlin’s promise of broadband by 2013 is on schedule
Karen Marshall, chief of ConnectVT, says Gov. Peter Shumlin's campaign pledge to extend universal broadband access to every last mile by 2013 is on track. Shumlin launched ConnectVT (not to be confused with ConnectVermont, an Agency of Transportation project), shortly after he took office, and Marshall is the standalone entity's sole employee. She has no budget per se and no employees to manage. Her office is on the Fifth Floor of the Pavilion building, where the governor's closest advisors work.
Activists placard Vermont Yankee’s ‘emergency planning zone’
A group of activists last week began an effort to raise public awareness about the area within a 10-mile radius of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon - the plant's official Emergency Planning Zone - in the lead-up to two politically charged events later this month. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public hearing in Brattleboro on June 22 on its recent safety assessment of the plant. The next day, the U.S. District Court in Brattleboro...
New law makes ‘complete’ streets a priority
It's official: “Complete Streets” rules are now in play. The Complete Streets Act, signed last week by Gov. Peter Shumlin, asks municipalities to make streets safer for pedestrians and bikers. The Vermont AARP was the lead advocate for the legislation, which is particularly aimed at making sidewalks and roads more user-friendly for older pedestrians. Under the new rules, towns will be encouraged to incorporate modifications such as wheelchair ramps and extended crosswalk times into downtown transportation projects. In addition, towns...