• Beloved Vermont restaurant cut in two, moved by crane after last year's flood damage

    Matthew Cavanaugh / AP

    Half of Dot's Restaurant is moved off its foundation by crane in Wilmington, Vt. on Tuesday. Dot's, a southern Vermont landmark that was heavily damaged by flooding from Tropical Storm Irene last August, is being rebuilt. The building had to be cut into two pieces before the crane could lift it up. The side of the building hangs over the Deerfield River, which turned into a raging torrent during the storm, tearing through the family-style restaurant, nearly reaching the second story.

    Matthew Cavanaugh / AP

    Patty and John Reagan, co-owners of Dot's Restaurant, display a calendar from the kitchen of their restaurant with each day checked off up until the day Tropical Storm Irene came last August.

    Matthew Cavanaugh / AP

    Onlookers watch and take photos as half of Dot's Restaurant is moved off it's foundation by crane in Wilmington.

    Matthew Cavanaugh / AP

    Onlookers watch as half of Dot's Restaurant is moved off its foundation by crane in Wilmington.

    See images from the flooding last year in Vermont. 

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  • Thin conditions at Vermont ski area during record high northeast temperatures

    Toby Talbot / AP

    Skiers ride a lift over thinly-covered slopes at the Sugarbush Resort in Fayston, Vt. on Tuesday. Northern New England is experiencing some summerlike weather. Forecasters say the temperature should go past 70 degrees on Wednesday in Portland, Maine, smashing the old record by 10 degrees or more. And it'll be even warmer Thursday, moving toward the 80-degree mark.

    Toby Talbot / AP

    Skiers descend a trail at the Sugarbush Resort in Fayston, Vt.

    The Burlington Free Press reports record-breaking weather in Vermont:

    The temperature in Burlington hit 80 degrees Tuesday afternoon, shattering a record from 1903 of 70 degrees, according to National Weather Service data. Normally the temperature would be around 41.

    Meanwhile, the Cleveland Leader reports that weather this week is more typical of July than March:

    Tuesday high temperature was recorded at 83 degrees, the average high temperature for mid-July in Northeast Ohio. According to the National Weather Service, Cleveland Hopkins Airport has had 7 days in a row where the temperature has surpassed 70 degrees, which ties the record for most consecutive 70+ degree days which was set back in March 1945.

    Today's high is likely to be around 80 degrees, and Thursday is also likely to be in the upper 70s. Rain is due to move into the area on Friday, but even still, the temperature should easily climb over 70. Should this play out as expected, March 2012 will officially become the hottest month of March on record in Cleveland ever.

    Msnbc.com's weather coverage.

  • Vermonters participate in government at Town Meeting Day

    Photos by Toby Talbot / AP

    A voter casts his ballot at the Town Meeting, March 6, 2012, in Strafford, Vt. People across Vermont are headed to their town halls, school gymnasiums and other locations to decide issues big and small. Tuesday is Town Meeting Day in much of Vermont. Across the state more than 50 towns are voting on whether to urge Congress to pass a constitutional amendment to declare that corporations are not people.

    Maria Cabri, left, and Eva Behrens chat before the Strafford Town Meeting on Tuesday.

    From Vermont’s Secretary of State website: On Vermont’s Town Meeting Day, the first Tuesday in March, citizens across the state come together in their communities to discuss the business of their towns.  For over 200 years Town Meeting Day has been an important political event as Vermonters elect local officers and vote on budgets.  It has also been a time for neighbors to discuss the civic issues of their community, state, and nation.

    Town meeting also serves a social function. It brings people together who might not otherwise know each other.  This can strengthen social ties within a town and help people work together to tackle community problems.

  • What's wrong with this picture? Inmate prank adds pig to Vermont police cruisers

    Toby Talbot / AP

    The state seal is seen on the side of a Vermont State Police cruiser on Feb. 2 in Middlesex, Vt. Some Vermont inmates have gotten the best of the state police by adding a pig to the state decal on their cruisers.

    Toby Talbot / AP

    The state seal is seen on the side of a Vermont State Police cruiser on Feb. 2 in Middlesex, Vt. One of the spots on the cow in the state crest has been changed to the shape of a pig, a derogatory term for police. The car decals are made by prisoners in St. Albans, who also make state stationary and license plates.

    --The Associated Press

    A Vermont prison inmate who makes stationery and license plates has gotten the best of the state police by adding the image of a pig to the state decal on their cruisers.

    One of the spots on the cow in the state crest has been changed to the shape of a pig, a derogatory term for police. The 16-inch car door decals are made by prisoners in Windsor.

    State police discovered the pig images Wednesday. They say they believe the decals have been added to about 30 cruisers in the past year. 

    According to the Burlington Free Press, who originally reported the story, Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn said the disclosure of the incident made him chuckle.

    "This is not as offensive as it would have been years ago. We can see the humor," Flynn said.

    He said the artist has talents that could be used elsewhere. "If that person had used some of that creativeness he or she would not have ended up inside."

    Who made the modification and when it happened is being reviewed by the Department of Corrections. Corrections Commissioner Andy Pallito said Thursday new decals will be made by Monday for about $800.

  • Toby Talbot / AP

    Blood donors fill the stage during a record attempt for blood donations in Rutland, Vt., Dec. 20, 2011. Organizers of Vermont's Gift of Life blood drive marathon are hoping almost 2,000 people show up in Rutland to set a nationwide, single-day blood drive record.To set the record, 1,969 pints of blood will have to be collected.

    Vermont group misses one-day blood drive record

    By Rich Shulman

    Emergency blood transfusions saved my mother's life a few years ago. Ever since, I've made a point to donate every 60 days. Here's a chance to pay it forward.

    AP reports: RUTLAND, Vt. — Organizers of Vermont's Gift of Life blood drive marathon say they received 1,855 pints in donations, falling short of setting a national single-day blood drive record.

    To set the record, 1,968 pints of blood had to be collected.

    Organizer Steve Costello said the national record didn't fall, but Tuesday's event was the largest per-capita blood drive in U.S. history.

  • Lake Champlain Bridge reopens, reconnects N.Y. and Vermont

    By Rich Shulman

    How many other bridges should we be rebuilding?

    WNYT-TV reports:

    The new Lake Champlain Bridge is reopening Monday, ending nearly two years of disrupted travel between New York and Vermont.

    The $70 million bridge connects Crown Point with Addison, Vt. The old bridge was demolished two years ago after it was deemed unsafe.

    New York Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy and Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin will be there for the event.

    Related: Bridge Closing Has Isolated Area Feeling More So

    Mike Groll / AP

    Pedestrians walk across the Lake Champlain Bridge after a dedication ceremony in Crown Point, N.Y., on Monday, Nov. 7. The original span was closed in October 2009 after inspectors deemed it unsafe. The 80-year-old bridge was destroyed by a controlled explosion in late December 2009.The new bridge reconnects Crown Point, N.Y. and West Addison, Vt.


    Mike Groll / AP

    Pedestrians walk across the Lake Champlain Bridge after a dedication ceremony in Crown Point, N.Y., on Monday, Nov. 7. The original span, which connects Addison, Vt., to Crown Point, was closed in October 2009 after inspectors deemed it unsafe. The 80-year-old bridge was destroyed by a controlled explosion in late December 2009. The new bridge reconnects Crown Point, N.Y. and West Addison, Vt.

  • Heavy rains cause flooding in Vermont

    Toby Talbot / AP

    Rene Crete looks over damaged cars at Buy Right Auto on Friday, May 27, in East Montpelier, Vt. Schools and roads are closed across central Vermont as heavy overnight rains caused flooding that overflowed riverbanks. A Vermont Emergency management official said early Friday almost 150 people were in three shelters in Barre, Montpelier and Berlin.The Vermont National Guard sent emergency response teams and high water vehicles to the area to help local and state emergency management officials. The flooding was caused by heavy overnight rains and more rain is forecast.

    Toby Talbot / AP

    A woman walks through a mud-covered street on Friday, May 27, in Barre, Vt. Schools and roads are closed across central Vermont as heavy overnight rains caused flooding that overflowed riverbanks. A Vermont Emergency management official said early Friday almost 150 people were in three shelters in Barre, Montpelier and Berlin. The Vermont National Guard sent emergency response teams and high water vehicles to the area to help local and state emergency management officials. The flooding was caused by heavy overnight rains and more rain is forecast.

     For more on the flooding click here.

  • Toby Talbot / AP

    A boat rental building is under water at the shore of Lake Champlain on April 29, 2011 in Burlington, Vt. Already swollen to a record level, Lake Champlain continues to rise, prompting a handful of evacuations and sandbagging of low-lying homes along the Vermont and New York shore.

    Vermont’s Lake Champlain rises, prompting evacuations

    By Robert Hood

    Toby Talbot's picture made me smile.

  • Toby Talbot / AP

    A dog named Muldoon waits in the snow for its owner, Tess Taylor, who stopped for coffee on Feb. 2 in Barre, Vt. Schools, businesses and municipal offices are closed across Northern New England as the storm-weary region braces for what forecasters say could be more than a foot of snow in some places.

    A dog waits faithfully in the snow for its owner

    See more photos from the massive blizzard hitting the U.S. here.