HARDWICK, Vt. (AP) — As he approaches his 71st birthday, Ross Connelly is ready to retire as editor and publisher of the 127-year-old community newspaper in Vermont he and his late wife bought three decades ago.
He was unsuccessful at selling the weekly Hardwick Gazette, so he came up with a novel way to find a new owner: an essay contest that kicks off on Saturday, his birthday.
STATE HOUSE — House lawmakers voted near unanimously on Wednesday to diversify the state's state energy mix by requiring utilities to solicit and enter into long-term contracts for large-scale hydroelectric and offshore wind power as part of a strategy to reduce the state's reliance on natural gas and meet its carbon emission reduction mandates.
The bill would require utilities to solicit contract proposals spanning 15 to 20 years for roughly 1,200 megawatts of hydropower and 1,200 megawatts of offshore wind energy, subject to state approval.
