BURLINGTON
Quarry blast launches rocks into South Burlington
A scheduled blast at a South Burlington rock quarry caused hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage when it went awry last Wednesday, showering debris hundreds of yards in the wrong direction.
The blast, which took place at around 11 a.m. Wednesday morning, sent rock pieces onto neighboring Burlington International Airport, damaging cars and planes, but causing no human injuries.
The blast was conducted by Maine Drilling and Blasting, a company contracted by S.D. Ireland, a South Burlington concrete manufacturer and distributor. The companies shut down the quarries voluntarily after the blast.
Bill Purington, the president and CEO of Maine Drilling and Blasting, said that the investigation into what caused the blast to go awry would take about a week.
VERMONT
Greenhouse gas program begins
The State of Vermont, along with nine other northeastern states, has recently signed onto a program to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which is the first program in the country to force power producers to cut emissions.
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is meant to curb greenhouse gas emissions by charging polluting companies a fee per ton of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, while also allowing companies to buy credits from non-polluters.
Vermont benefits from the initiative because there is only one plant in the state which will be required to pay the fee. The costs of that, however, will be passed on to consumers.
WASHINGTON
Lawmakers work to ease crisis
Lawmakers in Washington moved quickly through deliberation and debate last week to construct what they hoped to be a solution to the worst financial crisis on Wall Street since the Great Depression.
The legislators and Bush administration crafted what was dubbed a ‘bail-out package.’ $700 billion of taxpayers’ dollars being pumped into the banking system in order to restore their legitimacy and keep credit moving to consumers.
Despite the difficulties, the talks resumed Friday and the leaders remained optimistic that they could organize a plan that both parties could agree on.
“We will rise to the occasion. Republicans and Democrats will come together and pass a substantial rescue plan,” President Bush said on Friday morning.
All information gathered from The New York Times, The Burlington Free Press and WCAX
