New England News

Vermont is roughly doubling — to about 170 — the number of chemicals it is banning as ingredients in so-called designer drugs.

That word came Thursday as dozens of state and federal law enforcement officials gathered at the Statehouse to strategize in a war on drugs that has expanded to substances called bath salts and spice.

Governor Peter Shumlin addressed the group and vowed the full support of his office as police around Vermont visit head shops and convenience stores where a wide range of the products are sold.

Vermont lawmakers are coming to the defense of Governor Peter Shumlin's administration following criticisms by a candidate to unseat him that he misled the Legislature and the public about the amount of post-Irene disaster relief Vermont was likely to get.

Representative Alice Emmons, a Springfield Democrat and chairwoman of the House Institutions and Corrections Committee, says her panel purposely built a good deal of flexibility into this year's state construction budget because of uncertainty about funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

A new report from Environment America examines trends in the frequency and amount of rain and snow storms across the country.  They found that in New England extremely high rain or snowfall is up 85 percent since 1948 and the region the country in the  frequency and intensity of severe storms.

Both Democrats running for Vermont attorney general say they oppose capital punishment. But neither is objecting to handing a notorious Vermont case over for federal prosecution, where the defendant could face death.

Attorney General William Sorrell and Chittenden County State's Attorney T.J. Donovan both said in a debate taped for a WCAX-TV weekend broadcast that they oppose the death penalty.

The Vermont Chamber of Commerce has started a petition drive in support of bringing F-35 fighter jets to the state.

The Vermont Air Guard in Burlington was named as a preferred site for one of the first deployments of the stealth fighters.

Some neighbors of the Burlington International Airport are concerned about noise from the jets, and anti-military activists are lobbying against the planes.

Berkshire County's leading health care providers have announced a partnership to open a $30 million, state-of-the-art cancer care center in Pittsfield.

Berkshire Health Systems, the county's largest employer, and Berkshire Hematology/Oncology, the region's largest private medical practice, announced Wednesday they expect to break ground in the fall on the four-story, nearly 50,000-square-foot facility. It is expected to fully operational within three years.

Massachusetts residents can now access the state's voter registration form by simply going online and printing it out at home.

Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin announced Thursday that the mail-in voter registration form can be accessed on his agency's website. Also available in Spanish and Chinese, the form can be sent in by mail or handed in to the resident's town clerk or city election department.

Galvin's office said the online forms are similar to a national form already available on the web.