News

By Pat Bradley

Vergennes, VT – Vermont is the latest state to receive discounted and free heating fuel oil from CITGO, an oil company owned by Venezuela. Vermonters and officials from Venezuela gathered in front of the John W. Graham Emergency Shelter in Vergennes, Vermont on Tuesday for the official announcement. WAMC's North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley has more.

By Jessica Bloustein

Albany, NY – Public reaction is mixed to Chief Justice Judith Kaye's proposal to initiate no-fault divorce in New York State.

WAMC's Jessica Bloustein reports.

Albany, NY – French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre practiced his philosophy through his unconventionally free relationship with lover Simone de Beauvoir, an early feminist and fellow writer. Their affair and the effect it had on those around them is the subject of "Tete-a-Tete," the new book by author Hazel Rowley. Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina talks to Rowley about what makes the book stand out from other scholarly works about the couple.

Albany, NY – Massachusetts John Olver joins Alan Chartock in the Congressional Corner to discuss the State of the Union, domestic spying, and Darfur.

By Pat Bradley

Montpelier, VT – A committee of the Vermont Senate is trying to encourage development of high-speed broadband internet computer service to rural areas of the state. State officials estimate eighty-three percent of Vermonters now have broadband service and are working towards a goal of ninety percent service within the state by next year. WAMC's North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley has more.

By Dan Bobkoff

AMHERST, MA – While avian flu and mad cow disease continue to capture attention, there are dozens of other ailments that affect the animals in the food supply. Now the University of Massachusetts Amherst is spearheading a new effort to combat many of these diseases.

WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Dan Bobkoff reports from UMASS's Hadley Farm.

Albany, NY – Word For The Wise #2912--02/07/06: Birth anniversary of Charles Dickens

By Jessica Bloustein

Albany, NY – New York State Court of Appeals Chief Justice Judith Kaye coupled a long-sought request for judicial pay raises with a call for legislative and executive branch pay raises in Monday's State of the Judiciary address. Although she describes the state judiciary as being in good shape, Kaye is calling for several other groundbreaking initiatives for the state's court system.

WAMC's Jessica Bloustein has more.

Albany, NY – America's oil wells are drying up. In fact, some say we are at peak oil production right now. At the same time, China, Russia, and India are starting to consume more oil. According to international security expert Michael Klare, the confluence of these two events, plus the rocky relationship between U.S. policy in the Mideast and the oil found there, could spell war in the future.

Klare's new book is called Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Dependency on Imported Petroleum.

By Pat Bradley

St. Albans, VT – A group of farmers in northwestern Vermont has started an alliance to make sure legislators in Montpelier understand their concerns over pollution regulations. The group also wants to educate the public that it's everyone, and not just the agricultural industry, that's contributing to pollution run-off into Lake Champlain. WAMC's North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley has more.