Lebanon
Brenden Harriman also pleaded not guilty in Lebanon District Court to a drug possession charge, according to a court clerk.
Lebanon police say numerous individuals called the department on June 22 and reported that their cars had been broken into. Police launched an investigation, which led to the arrest of Harriman, according to a news release.
Police are concerned more people in the area of Mascoma, Hanover, Bank, School and Park streets, as well as Route 120, may have been victimized, the release said.
Harriman is currently lodged at the Sullivan County House of Corrections on $5,000 bail.
When Lebanon police arrested Harriman on the misdemeanor theft and drug charges, they said he had an active arrest warrant for robbery out of Claremont.
A Claremont District Court judge also arraigned Harriman last week on that felony charge.
Claremont police allege Harriman snatched a purse from a woman while she loaded groceries into her car outside of Hannaford Supermarket in Claremont.
Harriman fled but was later identified as the alleged robber, according to a separate news release. He was unarmed, court documents state.
Harriman has a probable cause hearing scheduled in the robbery case for Thursday.
He is slated for trial for the Lebanon charges on Aug. 16.
Police urge any other potential victims to contact the Lebanon Police Department at 603-448-1212.
Lebanon
Excavation and installation of 100 feet of sewer casing was expected to close the ramp until Wednesday, but good weather allowed crews to finish work early, City Engineer Christina Hall said. She said there’s still plans to lay another half-inch of pavement on the ramp, but that will be done later this summer.
Although the ramp itself is open, Hall said, a single lane will be closed intermittently for crews to access work on the remainder of the Route 120 sewer improvement project. The ramp’s embankment is the only way for crews to reach some of the sewer lines, she said.
Lebanon
Joanne Ladd, 44, of White River Junction, was released on a personal recognizance bond and other bail conditions.
Police allege Ladd concealed books and pens in her shoulder bag and left the West Lebanon store without paying for them.
Her attorney, Peter Decato, previously said the situation is a misunderstanding. He said Ladd placed the items into her bag while she waited for a photo book to finish in the photography department, and when the book was finished, she forgot about the items she put in her bag.
Ladd’s next hearing hasn’t yet been scheduled.
The state is allowing Vermont’s largest utility to continue accepting community-scale solar projects. Last fall, Green Mountain Power hit the cap, maxing out how many of these types of solar projects can be hooked up to the grid.
On Friday, the Public Service Board granted Green Mountain Power’s request to allow an additional 7.5 megawatts of new solar to be connected to the grid.
Under this order, projects up to 150 kilowatts will be allowed, meaning Green Mountain Power can accept at least 50 additional smaller solar projects in 2016.
For a project to be eligible, the Public Service Board requires the solar panels must be built on the customer’s land or neighboring property, and at least 50 percent of the energy must be consumed by the customer.
The proposed projects must also be built in a location where the grid has capacity for new renewable energy connections.
“There is a lot of interest in these solar projects, and that’s why we wanted to continue with unlimited rooftop projects for customers,” says Kristin Carlson of Green Mountain Power. “And it also includes a portion of community solar projects for people who can’t go solar on their own rooftops.”
Applications must be submitted by July 11. If the demand goes beyond the additional 7.5 megawatts the board has approved, there will be a lottery to select which projects go forward this year.
Next year, solar projects will be approved according to different criteria.
The Public Service Board is still finalizing net metering new rules for 2017, which allow homeowners to sell excess solar power to the utility company. The draft rules include a tiered system where solar projects built on less desirable land — for example, a brownfield — bring in higher rates than projects built on desirable land, such as a farm field.
This proposed new tiered payment system could significantly lower the rates some customers are paid for solar energy.
— Staff and Vermont Public Radio reports