Our network

Vt. becomes 1st state to ban hydraulic fracturing

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin has signed into law the nation's first ban on a hotly debated natural gas drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing.
    
Surrounded by environmentalists and students from Twinfield Union School who pushed for the ban, Shumlin said at Wednesday's bill signing the new law may help Vermont set an example for other states.
    
Hydraulic fracturing involves the high-pressure injection of water and chemicals into the ground to split rock apart and release natural gas or oil.
    
It's being used extensively in the rapidly expanding natural gas industry in Pennsylvania, but has been blamed for contaminating drinking water wells of some residents living near the drilling operations.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Community Sponsors

Providing world-class service to all clients, both men and women!
We have something for everyone.
The Smartest Thing You'll Ever Do for Your Car

Click It or Ticket! program to begin

BENNINGTON - Begining on May 21, drivers who refuse to wear their seatbelts will be targeted by the police during the annual Click It or Ticket! program.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 61 percent of the passenger vehicle occupants who were killed in 2010 were not wearing their seatbelts.

For more information, PLEASE VIST.

People celebrate history of former Lake Champlain Bridge

People are celebrating the history of the former Lake Champlain Bridge.

Public displays telling the story of the old bridge have been installed at each end of the new span connecting New York and Vermont.

The two states have launched their commemoration program of the original 1929 Lake Champlain Bridge, which was replaced by a new span last fall. The original bridge was closed in 2009.

If you would like to take a look at some of the history click here.

Dr. Thomas Mather talks tick awareness

Have you been finding a lot of ticks on your pets, or even yourself this year? Experts say there's been a tremendous amount of tick activity.

Dr. Thomas Mather is the director of 'The Vector-Borne Disease at the University Of Rhode Island.

Mather is trying to raise tick awareness.

Community Sponsors

Let us help you find your smile.
The only clean choice!
Wedding Photographer

Smartphone Security

Computer expert Addison Osterhout with "Computer Answers" in Albany showed us how easy it is to hack a smart phone.

“The simplest is using a free program that you can download,” Says Osterhout. “Get some tutorials on line and in about 10 minutes you can do it.”

Sure enough in ten minutes Addison was monitoring everything the photographer was doing: if he had been logging onto his bank's website, he would have gotten his passwords, account number, you name it.

It’s called a "Man in the Middle" intercept.

It can happen if you use an unsecured Wi-Fi connection like those found in airports, bus stations and internet cafes.

The thief’s software pretends to be the router you're trying to connect to, he decrypts your data, copies it, re-encrypts it and then sends it on to your bank.

While you were taking care of business, but so was the crook.

Wolfe Tones in concert

ALBANY - On Friday, June 29, the Irish folk legends, The Wolfe Tones, will appear in concert at the Capital District Irish American Center.

Performing for nearly 40 years, these legendary Dublin balladeers continue to be one of Irelands biggest box office attractions, selling out at prestigous venues across Ireland, the UK, mailand Europe, and the U.S.

Tikets are $30 and tables of ten are available. Pub and kitchen opens at 5p.

Investigators hired to handle Vt. child porn cases

BENNINGTON, Vt. (AP) - The Vermont Attorney General's office has received approval to hire a special investigator to target child pornography cases.          

Cindy Maguire of the attorney general's office tells the Bennington Banner that person will be devoted to building cases against people generating or sharing child pornography over peer-to-peer networks.          

In March, Attorney General William Sorrell and 14 elected state's attorneys generals differed on how to spend $200,000 allocated for handling child pornography cases. Sorrell wanted to spend the money on a prosecutor and an investigator. The state's attorneys say it should go toward additional computer analysts to reduce the heavy backlog of possible cases.