Critics Pan Vt. Renewable Energy Siting Bill
Montpelier — Critics of Vermont’s process for selecting sites for renewable energy projects say they’re unhappy with legislation working its way through the Senate that is designed to give towns and regional planning commissions greater say in where solar and wind power projects go. About 60 members of the groups Energy Transformation Coalition and Energize Vermont gathered Tuesday for a news conference where leaders said Senate Bill...
Consumer Confidential: Should a Man Taken to the ER in an Ambulance Against His Will Have to Pay the Bill?
As George Varghese tells it, he was walking along a sidewalk in West Los Angeles when he tripped on a crack and fell to the ground, spraining his wrist. “An ambulance appeared suddenly,” he recalled. “Three men came out, checked my ID, laid me on a cart, pushed me into the van and took me to the emergency room.” That would seem like a model of paramedic perfection, except for one thing. Varghese, 79, said he didn’t want to go to the...
Consumer Confidential: Government May Soon Begin Putting an End to Forced Arbitration Clauses
If you’ve got a credit card, you’ve been forced to kiss away your constitutional right to sue the card issuer. But it’s looking increasingly likely that this is about to change. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is examining so-called arbitration clauses in terms and conditions for financial products. Earlier the month, the head of the bureau, Richard Cordray, sent the strongest signal yet that the regulatory whip soon will...
Real ID Deadline Looms Htk Htk Htk Htk Htjk
Concord — New Hampshire driver’s licenses will continue to be acceptable identification for those boarding flights for at least five months, and if the Legislature changes state law, they will probably remain acceptable until each license expires. A recent New York Times article about the Department of Homeland Security growing impatient with states that haven’t gotten in line with the federal Real ID law, which sets certain standards...
N.H. to Debate Medicaid in 2016 Session
Concord — The debate over whether New Hampshire should keep more than 45,000 residents on subsidized health insurance is set to dominate the Statehouse when lawmakers return to Concord in January. New Hampshire’s Medicaid expansion plan will expire at the end of 2016, when federal funding drops below 100 percent, if lawmakers don’t vote to reauthorize it. Officials estimate the state will be on the hook for at least $12 million in...
