Articles by John Curran

Vermont’s DUI Breath-Testing Program Under Fire

A mistake in the software set-up on a breath analysis machine and whistleblowers’ complaints about unethical lab work threaten dozens of drunken-driving prosecutions in Vermont. At issue are breath tests performed by a DataMaster DMT machine at a Vermont State …

Lake Flooding Continues to Plague Vermont and New York

At one end of the Burlington, Vermont neighborhood, 16-year-old Nathan Shappy was filling sandbags to put around his family’s house. Nearby, Maria Spadanuda waded through 8-inch deep floodwaters surrounding her home, the one she was told she didn’t need flood …

Man Drops Claim in Vermont Over Condom in Burger

A former Vermont man who claimed he bit into a Burger King sandwich and found an unwrapped condom has dropped his lawsuit, with the restaurant agreeing to drop its counterclaim. The man and the store’s owners agreed to pay their …

Man Drops Claim in Vermont Over Condom in Burger

A former Vermont man who claimed he bit into a Burger King sandwich and found an unwrapped condom has dropped his lawsuit, with the restaurant agreeing to drop its counterclaim. The man and the store’s owners agreed to pay their …

Second Fire at Historic Vermont General Store Ruled Arson

It was a heartwarming story: A 200-year-old general store suffers a fire, the owner can’t afford to rebuild it and the town’s historical society steps in to buy the building, hoping to make it the commercial and social hub of …

Fire Strikes Historic Vermont General Store Again

When a fire destroyed the beloved, centuries-old Putney General Store 18 months ago, some people here cried. The creaky wooden building where locals arrived for coffee, hardware and gossip, and where tourists ducked in to buy maple syrup by the …

AIG Puts Vermont Ski Resort on the Block

Bailed-out insurance giant American International Group Inc. says it’s taking offers for Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont. AIG spokesman Peter Tulupman confirmed that the resort went up for sale Wednesday but gave few other details. He said AIG, which is …

In Vermont, Flooding Threat Wanes

Cooling temperatures and falling Winooski River water levels have all but eliminated the threat of flooding in Montpelier, Vermon — for now. The river’s depth, which had risen because of an ice jam, dropped by 8 inches overnight and was …

Vermont Diocese with $8.7M Abuse Verdict Can’t Find Insurance Policy

Many Roman Catholics believe that the worst of the clergy sex abuse scandal is over. But in the Diocese of Burlington, it’s deepening. The case of one cleric, assigned to Vermont parishes in the 1970s despite warnings from an Indiana …

Along Lake Champlain in Vermont, Homeowners Eye Rising Waters

On the shoreline at Keeler Bay in South Hero, Vermont, spring has sprung. Swollen by runoff from snowmelt, the blue water of Lake Champlain laps at the boulders and brick pavers, washes up under the house and covers the boat …