The Brattleboro Reformer reports that the Deerfield Valley Transit Association, a public transit agency that is also known as the MOOver because of its buses with Holstein motifs, will "cut a number of routes and trips in response to ever-rising fuel costs." The buses are free to ride and provide rides to and from Brattleboro. Because of rising fuel costs, however, bus service to Wardsboro will be cut indefinitely, service to East Dover will only be available during school days on a limited basis; and weekend service to Brattleboro from Wilmington will not be available for parts of the summer and winter.  General Manager Randy Schoonmaker explained, "With relatively fixed grant funding, the only way to maintain a responsible budget is to cut costs, and for a public transit agency, the only way to cut costs is to cut service."

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Vermont Public Radio reports that Comcast, Vermont's largest cable television provider, "is going help people in more communities reach the information superhighway" by adding "300 miles of lines next year to improve its offerings of high-speed cable internet, television and phone service." Service will be added in "North Hero, South Hero, Grand Isle, Woodford and Brookline. Comcast will also expand services in Westford and West Rutland." The Vermont Telecommunications Authority, "which is working with the private-sector to expand infrastructure that supports universal broadband and cellular coverage in the state," will facilitate the expansion.

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Vermont Public Radio reports that "state regulators plan to investigate why Internet service was interrupted across Vermont today, for the second time in a month." Indeed, customers of Level 3 Communications, which is used by internet service providers and small telephone companies to provide service to their own customers, "could not surf the Web or use their email for hours." Effected customers included the state government, "whose Web sites and email crashed until a backup could be connected." According to Steve Wark from the Public Service Department's Level 3 is "critical to the region's communications network." So far, Level 3 has not offered an explanation for the service interruptions.

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Vermont Public Radio reports that "buildings and infrastructure at nearly all of Vermont's 52 state parks are in need of about $40 million in renovations" because "the parks' revenue isn't keeping up with needs." In the past, state parks' revenue has come from user fees and payments from seven ski areas with lifts on state land. "But [those] revenues couldn't keep pace with growth. Now the parks get some general fund money and some bonding money has been set aside, but it's still only a fraction of what's needed." According to Craig Whipple, Director of Vermont State Parks, says "The parks are now competing with the rest of state government for tax dollars."

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Vermont Public Radio reports that Robert Ide from the Department of Public Service's Energy Efficiency program will become the new rail program manager with the Agency of Transportation -- a position that has been vacant for the last five months. "Ide says rail and energy efficiency are directly related and rail will be needed to cut the state's carbon footprint." He plans to "work with the state's current freight companies to discover what needs to be improved, and to eventually create new opportunities for companies to ship by rail, including a new rail spur in Middlebury."

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