"Challenges for Change" is a bill lawmakers in Montpelier passed earlier this legislative session. It targets $38 million in savings to help deal with an estimated $150 million hole in the state budget. Today we're getting some perspective from Con Hogan, who served as Secretary of the Agency of Human Services under Governors Richard Snelling and Howard Dean.

Despite opposition from law enforcement officials, a bill that makes it easier to buy medical marijuana is moving through the Senate. The legislation creates a number of state dispensaries where people who are eligible can purchase small amounts of the drug.

The state of Vermont is rejecting a plan by the Environmental Protection Agency to dispose of 33,000 tons of hazardous soil at a Moretown landfill.

The New Hampshire Air National Guard will be hosting some summer visitors - 15 F-16 fighter jets and their crews from the 158th Vermont Air National Guard Fighter Wing.

A Vermont court has ruled that tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds engaged in deceptive and misleading advertising in promoting its Eclipse brand of "reduced risk" cigarettes from 2000 to 2007.

The Vermont Senate is expected to revisit its decision to allow some donors to the University of Vermont and state colleges to keep their contributions anonymous.

Fish and wildlife officials are reminding Vermonters to take down their bird feeders to keep bears away.

Property tax disputes with TransCanada Hydro Northeast are creating uncertainty in some towns where the Canadian company's dams and property are located. Officials hope a state funded reappraisal of its holdings in Vermont will help clear the air.

The U.S. Senate has confirmed a Maine man to become the federal co-chairperson of a commission that aims to create jobs and boost the economy in the northern reaches of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York.

Police say sap buckets hanging from maple trees - a fixture of Vermont's "sugaring season" - have been swiped by thieves in East Montpelier.

A new study says the state of Vermont gets more federal aid per capita than other states.

In Canada for a trade mission, representatives of Vermont's two biggest electric utilities say they hope they can reach agreement on new contracts for power from provincial utility Hydro-Quebec.

New Hampshire's House has voted to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults.

For two years now, a commission created by the Vermont Legislature has been looking for ways to deliver judicial services more efficiently and affordably across the state. In Vermont's two smallest counties, the commission proposes cutting staff and moving most judicial hearings to larger, neighboring counties. 

A new potential roadblock has been raised to a commercial wind farm that developers want to build in Ira and Poultney. The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department says the ridgelines being considered for the project are rare and irreplaceable natural areas that should be protected. 

The Environmental Protection Agency is reconsidering its approval of a state clean up plan for Lake Champlain. The plan was approved by the federal government in 2002, but pollution levels have continued to rise in the big lake.

A mysterious bat disease that was first detected in upstate New York and quickly spread to caves in Vermont may be on the verge of sweeping across the country.

The Vermont Senate considers a bill today that will grant anonymity to donors who give to the University of Vermont and other public colleges in the state. 

Senator Patrick Leahy has helped Fletcher Allen hospital get $1.7 million to pay for advanced medical simulations. The money has helped train National Guard medics for their service in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Senator Bernie Sanders wants you to go to the doctor. Sanders appeared at the Community Health Center in Burlington to promote a free clinic that organizers hope will see 100 patients on Sunday.

Forecasters are projecting a slight increase in the number of tourists visiting New Hampshire this spring.

The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum could open a branch in the defunct Moran power plant on the Burlington waterfront.

 A South Burlington police detective is suing the Chittenden County prosecutor for defamation.

The U.S. Navy has another ship named after Montpelier native George Dewey, the Vermonter who became known as the hero of Manila Bay for his service during the Spanish American War.

Too much nitrogen in the waters of the Long Island Sound has led to "dead zones" where fish and shellfish can't survive. Now the federal agency is asking sewage treatment plants nearly 200 miles away in Vermont to help reduce pollutants that are hurting the sound.

Governor Jim Douglas is traveling to Canada this week to discuss a bilateral relationship with Quebec.

It's the time of year when a lot of people in the Northeast are hankering for fresh grown vegetables. Now, even in the coldest area, farmers are devising ways to satisfy that craving.

Burlington Telecom is a publicly-owned cable, Internet and phone utility that's significantly in debt, and some city residents are worried they're going to wind up paying. But Mayor Bob Kiss says he's confident the company can be saved. 

Unionized Vermont State Police troopers will be asked to approve a new contract with the state that includes a 3 percent pay cut.

Open records advocates are crying foul over a measure moving through the Vermont legislature that would grant anonymity to anyone who gives money to the University of Vermont or the state's public colleges.

The Vermont Supreme Court will hear an appeal of the murder conviction of Brian Rooney who was convicted of raping and murdering a University of Vermont student.

Sen. Bernie Sanders is joining Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and 16 colleagues in calling on the FDA to lift the lifetime ban on donating blood for any man who has had gay sex since 1977.

The author of an economics newsletter says housing was more affordable in Vermont last year than at any time since 2003.

New Hampshire is borrowing $50 million from the federal government to pay state jobless benefits through mid-May.

On Town Meeting Day voters in Montpelier came out strongly in favor of de-criminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana.

A South Burlington man's crusade on behalf of disabled military veterans became a statewide movement at town meetings this week. Residents in about 40 towns were inspired by the work of Lou Lertola to increase property tax breaks for the vets.

Congressman Peter Welch wants the government to start negotiating Medicare prescription drug prices.

Power provider Entergy Corporation has agreed to financial concessions in an attempt to win approval from New York regulators for a proposed spin-off of six nuclear units.

Governor Jim Douglas has signed into law the Military Parent Protection Act, which addresses custody of children while a parent is deployed.

New Hampshire Governor John Lynch has asked federal emergency officials to assess the damage from last week's storm to see if the state is eligible for disaster relief.

A Senate committee is considering another bill to legalize video slot machines in New Hampshire.

A new unified union school district was formed in Addison County at town meeting yesterday. The five towns of the Addison Northwest Supervisory Union school district all agreed to the merger.

Voters in the southern Vermont town of Jamaica reflected the state on Town Meeting Day. They passed both town and school budgets, while they complained about interference from Washington and Montpelier.

Two Vermont towns voted on wind projects on Town Meeting Day, and they ended up going separate ways.

In Burlington, voters repealed the instant runoff voting system that they've used in the past two elections to choose a mayor.

Rutland City officials are celebrating the fact that both the city and school budgets passed.  But some of those officials may be less pleased by something else that passed - term limits.  

Voters in Stowe have approved a charter change with a strange twist.

Montpelier officials were easily re-elected on Tuesday despite a controversy about an overpayment to a contractor.

Island Pond voted to support the sale of the state airport because it will help create jobs in town.

Wilmington voters embraced a new "pergola" built in their downtown. The structure is in a new town park that was built on the site of a bank that burned down.

Voters in Island Pond say they support a plan to sell the John H. Boylan State Airport to the developer of a proposed wood pellet manufacturing plant.