This could be a key week for the future of the 2013 Farm Bill in Congress.

The U.S. House is expected to vote on a new dairy program that’s designed to stabilize milk prices for dairy farmers.

The vote in the House is important because the U.S. Senate has already given its approval to a 5 year Farm Bill that includes the new dairy program.  House approval this week would make it very likely that the program will be part of the final legislation.

Gov. Peter Shumlin has signed three bills that promote energy efficiency and clean energy for homes, farms and businesses.

The legislation signed Monday creates new financing programs for residential and commercial sectors. It allows the Vermont Economic Development Authority to borrow up to $10 million from the state Treasury to establish the loan programs and a new energy efficiency loan guarantee program.

The bill also provides $6.5 million for residential efficiency loans through a program run by Vermont Housing Finance Agency.

Critics of a proposed Addison County natural gas pipeline say the developer has exaggerated the project’s environmental and economic benefits.

The latest arguments come in testimony filed with the Public Service Board.

Vermont Gas Systems says its proposed 41-mile Addison pipeline project will bring cheaper, cleaner-burning fuel for homes and businesses along the route.

The testimony filed by opponents late last week aims directly at those arguments.

Vermont State Police say a New York man is dead after being shot at a Danby home during an incident that injured his former girlfriend.

Police say 28-year-old Aaron Allen of Hudson Falls, N.Y., died in a hospital early Monday after he was shot twice by the woman's current boyfriend.

Police say Allen was facing unlawful restraint charges in New York involving the woman, who also had an active restraining order against him in Vermont.

Police say Allen was shot by 24-year-old Michael White of Danby. Police did not say if any charges will be filed against White.

Lawyers in the case of the Vermont man facing the federal death penalty on charges he sexually assaulted and killed his niece five years ago are asking for more time to prepare their jury-selection procedures.

In court papers filed Monday, the attorneys for Michael Jacques and federal prosecutors are asking for another week to submit materials related to jury selection.

Jacques lawyers have also been given another week to file motions seeking asking a judge to keep prosecutors from introducing some evidence at the trial.

Like the Olympics, the Canada Games are held every two years, alternating between winter and summer games.

The winter Canada Games have been staged in Quebec twice, but this year, the province will host the Summer Games for the first time.

From August 2 through the 17th, Sherbrooke, about 30 miles north of the Vermont border, will be home to the Canada Games and over 4,000 athletes from across the country.

Tues 6/18/13 Noon & 7PM   We think we know money. We’ve been trying to accumulate it and we’ve been spending it faster than we can make it for a long time. So what would it take to change our perception of money?

For Cabot farmer and author Ben Hewitt, it was watching how a neighbor earning less than $10,000 a year derived great pleasure from the simple things in life. That inspired Hewitt to write his latest book, “Saved: How I Quit Worrying About Money and Became the Richest Guy in the World.”

What if VPR were a lemonade stand? How do businesses that give away their product survive? Through the generosity of the people who use the product!  Check out this video we made in honor of summer and the membership drive, starring several VPR staff children! You can support VPR online here, or by calling 1-800-639-6391.
  

A 20-year-old New Hampshire man is going to spend 60 days on a Vermont prison work crew after pleading guilty to a variety of charges stemming from a vandalism spree that did more than $80,000 in damage to a high-voltage power line in the town of Concord.

Patrick Brummer, of Bethlehem, N.H., entered the pleas last week as part of a deal with the office of the Essex County state's attorney.

The Caledonian Record reports Brummmer was charged with shooting at the power lines in an area of Concord known "The Top of the World" last October.