MONTPELIER, Vt.

Emergency fuel assistance could use $900,000 more

Gov. Peter Shumlin says Vermont’s emergency fuel assistance has run out of funds, and that he’s looking for another $900,000 to help people in need get through the next three weeks.

Vermont budgeted $2.8 million this year for emergency fuel assistance, which provides crisis funding for low-income Vermonters who otherwise might go cold in the winter. It comes in addition to $8.8 million in regular state funding for low-income home heating assistance and $19.5 million in federal funding.

PROVIDENCE, R.I.

Man gets 11 years in prison on firearms-related charges

A 30-year-old Pawtucket man has been sentenced to over 11 years in federal prison for having an unregistered machine gun and ammunition and for violating the terms of his release after serving a prison term on a separate firearm conviction.

The U.S. Attorney’s office and Providence police said Isaiah Gasperini was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Providence. He got 10 years for possessing a 9 mm machine gun and being a felon in possession of ammunition. He got an additional year and a day for violating the terms of his release after serving over nine years on another firearm conviction from 2003.

Officials said Gasperini was on three years’ supervised release when he was arrested last June on the most recent charges. He pleaded guilty in November.

 

Injured bald eagle heading to New Jersey rehab center

An injured bald eagle rescued in Rhode Island is bound for a rehabilitation center in New Jersey.

Veterinarians at the Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of Rhode Island said the bald eagle they named Eleanor will be driven to the Raptor Trust in New Jersey on Wednesday.

Eleanor was found two weeks ago next to the state landfill. She was acting lethargic.

Veterinarians discovered she had what appeared to be shotgun pellets in her head and body. Veterinarian Chi Chan told The Providence Journal that the bird was given steroids to reduce the swelling in her brain. She’s also being fed by hand and through a tube.

Staff at the Wildlife Rehabilitators Association hope being with other eagles will help Eleanor learn how to eat on her own again.

DURHAM, N.H.

Police arrest 39 people after concert on campus

A University of New Hampshire spokeswoman says 39 people were arrested after a concert at the Whittemore Center on the Durham campus.

UNH media relations director Erika Mantz said of the 39, 22 were UNH students. Most of the arrests were for underage drinking and unlawful possession of alcohol. An additional 26 arrests were made by state police and liquor enforcement agents on surrounding roads and parking lots.

Mantz said that more than 4,000 people attended the concert by renowned disc jockey Tiesto.

She said arrests were contained to the concert and areas around it. There were no incidents of vandalism or other crimes.

BOSTON

Bus service to New York shut down for safety issues

A discount bus service running between New York and Boston has been shut down after being barred from operating out of a Boston bus terminal until further notice.

Federal regulators had ordered Fung Wah’s entire fleet of 28 buses off the road for safety inspections after Massachusetts inspectors found problems, including cracked frames. But the company continued to operate using chartered vehicles and three buses that passed inspection.

On Wednesday, the service was shut down after a letter from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. The letter said the agency was suspending Fung Wah’s right to operate at South Station over safety issues.

A woman who answered the phone at Fung Wah’s New York office confirmed the service was not running.