The Burlington Free Press from Burlington, Vermont • Page 1

be ilurUngton Jftee xtm Wednesday, June 2, 2004 A Local Custom Serving Vermont for 177 years www.burlingtonfreepress.com 50 cents 2004 The Burtington Free Press Police look for link to missing women Sports IT I Abandoned cars are main similarity 1 rh 1 few at home," Marcoux said. "This is very out-of-char-acter for her." Whitney's car was found abandoned the next day. Marcoux wouldn't reveal where the car was found other than to say it was within five miles of her home. Whitney is described as being 5 feet, 3 inches tall and weighing 110 She has shoul- See MISSING, 4A Sheriffs Department is working with the Vermont State Police in their search for Jodie Whitney, said Lamoille County Sheriff Roger Marcoux. The only common thread between the cases is the vehicles, Marcoux said.

"We've got three women missing and in each case there has been an abandoned vehicle found," Marcoux said Tuesday. The latest case began last Thursday when the husband of 35-year-old Jodie Whitney of Johnson reported his wife missing. Marcoux said Whitney never arrived at her job Thursday morning at the Stoweflake Resort in Stowe. By Wilson Ring The Associated Press MONTPELIER Investigators in Vermont are planning to meet with their counterparts in New Hampshire to compare notes after a third woman went missing in the region since February, a sheriff said. The Lamoille County Brianna Maitland Disappeared in March Jodie Whitney Disappeared Thursday Maura.

Murray Disappeared in February "This individual is a very reliable person. She doesn't miss work. She's never late. She has a supervisory position. She has a 3-year-old daughter A FINAL DATE: Champlain Valley upsets Essex, 12-6, in Division I boys lacrosse action to set up a championship matchup with Mid-dlebury.

Page 5B Living Weather Beaten Book rains, snows, sleets on Burlington's parade Iraq council taiDS leader MONKEY VIRUS: A new book by a Burlington couple recounts the strange story of the polio vaccine and details how it was contaminated by a worrisome virus that some scientists are still trying to get a handle on. Page 1C 1 Vermont and Mauds 't .1 Iraq's new president named 1. 1 al-Yawer Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, PAVING PLANS: A N.H. firm has been chosen low bidder to repave parts of Interstate 89 between Mont-pelier and Bolton. Work might begin in about two weeks.

Page IB 'A Business 45, was named president of the interim Iraqi government Tuesday. Position: President of Iraq's Governing Council; a Sunni Muslim and prominent member of the Shammar tribe, which includes Shitte clans. Education: Graduated, Petroleum and Minerals University in Saudi Arabia; Georgetown University in the United States Associated Press SWANTON PLANT: The Vermont Economic Development Authority approved a $500,000 loan to a Canadian manufacturer planning to establish a plant in Swanton. Page 6A Towns 'J' a' It 111 rl I It ft Jrt I i- .1 By Matt Sutkoski Free Press Staff Writer It's cold, it's cloudy, it's damp. The weather is so bad here, according to a new book called "Cities Ranked and Rated" that Burlington has made a rare appearance on a "worst of list.

The book by Bert Sperling and Peter Sander says that Burlington has the fifth worst climate in the nation. Only Benton Harbor, and three eastern New England communities are worse. The negative review is a departure for Burlington, which usually basks on many "best of' lists. Burlington's the 10th best city for women, (Ladies Home Journal); one of the top 10 cities to raise a family (Parenting Magazine); the fourth most enlightened town (Utne Reader); the best city for being arrested, (Stuff magazine). Too bad the weather's too depressing to enjoy it all.

True to form, a heavy, chill overcast shrouded Burlington on Tuesday, and the day's forecast threatened showers, fog, thunder and small hail. Out in Salinas, the city rated with the best weather, it was sunny and 73 degrees, again, on Tuesday, said Deputy City Clerk Cathy Williams. "It's like this probably 300 days of the year. We're right off the ocean," she said. Tim Shea of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce leapt to Burlington's defense.

"They obviously weren't here this past weekend," Shea said of the authors. Yes, it was sunny, but Shea didn't mention the frost in the mountain valleys. Shea noted that weather is beyond anyJ one's control, but the sense of community, amenities and attractions that win raves are here because people created them. COLCHESTER TRAILS: A trail system might be built in one of the Champlain Valley's most diverse natural areas. Page 2B Late breaking By Hamza Hendawi The Associated Press BAGHDAD, Iraq Iraqi officials prevailed in their choice for president over the candidate favored by the United States, allowing a U.N.

envoy Tuesday to appoint an interim government reflecting Iraq's religious and cultural diversity to rule after the return of sovereignty June 30. Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, a Sunni Muslim critic of the occupation, was named to the largely ceremonial post. Al-Yawer was the choice of the U.S.-picked Iraqi Governing Council, which dissolved itself immediately so that the new government can start work even before it takes power from the American-led coalition at the end of the month. Among its first tasks will be to negotiate a crucial agreement on the status of U.S.-led international forces that will remain here after sovereignty is restored and to tackle the country's tenuous security situation. At the U.N.

Security Council on Tuesday, the United States and Britain circulated a revised resolution that would give the interim government control over the Iraqi army and police and end the mandate for the multinational force by January 2006 at the latest. Critics namely France, Russia and Germany had said the previous U.S. resolution did not go far enough in granting Iraqis genuine power over their own national affairs. The new Cabinet will take over day-to-day operations of government ministries immediately, although the U.S.-run Coalition Provisional Authority remains the sole sovereign power in Iraq 5' GLENN RUSSELL, free freis Tim Ashe of Burlington keeps his head tucked under his umbrella as he walks along Pearl Street In Burlington during a rain shower Tuesday. A new book says Burlington's climate is among the worst in the nation.

Bombs rattle Baghdad, northern U.S. base, 2A until June 30. President Bush said Tuesday's announcement brought Iraq "one step closer" to democracy, but warned against a spike in violence as the date for the restoration of sovereignty draws near. Those present at the ceremony included L. Paul Bremer, Iraq's American governor; U.N.

envoy Lakhdar Brahimi; and Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. commander in Iraq. The lack of security is blamed for everything from insufficient power supplies to a slow economic recovery.

"The world and your neighbors expect you to bring about security, stability the people of Iraq who have suffered enough," Brahimi, the U.N. envoy, told the new government. Tuesday's announcement capped four weeks of deliberations by Brahimi, the coalition, the Governing Council and thousands of Iraqis whose advice and views he sought. Hubble may survive, NASA chief says DENVER NASA's chief told the nation's astronomers Tuesday he is optimistic robots could repair the Hubble Space Telescope and said the space agency is seeking proposals to do just that. The 14-year-old telescope, whose brilliant pictures from space have earned it more than a cult following, appeared to be doomed just a few months ago.

But the audience of astronomers about 1,000 of them erupted into applause when NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe told them NASA had just issued a request for proposals for a robotic repair mission. The goal would be to fix the Hubble by the end of 2007. The Associated Press Bundle up, Burlington "Cities Ranked Rated," a new book by Bert Sperling and Peter Sander, ranks Burlington the 232nd best out of 400 U.S. metropolitan areas. Vermont's climate, rated among the worst in the United States by the book's authors, brought Burlington's ranking down.

Some stats: Burlington National Avg. Sperling and Sander do offer grudging praise for Burlington, giving it an overall ranking of 232 out of 400, according to the book. The city is helped by its attractiv downtown, youthful ambiance and plenty of outdoor recreation, if you can stand the cold and clouds. "For those tolerant of these negatives, Burlington is an attractive place," they write. Todd Neumann See WEATHER, 4A 7.6 degrees 26.4 degrees 163 88 28 6 153 111 161 212 January low: Days below 32: Days below zero: Precipitation days: Mostly sunny days: Source: Cities Ranked Rated by Bert Sperling and Peter Sander Weather Judge strikes down ban on partial-birth abortion Under threat of terrorism, D-Day stands for 'defense' TODAY: Hi: 63 Low: 48 Showers likely.

Volume 177, No. 154 Index Horoscope 4C vant" whether a fetus suffers pain, as abortion foes contend. "The act poses an undue burden on a woman's right to choose an abortion," the judge wrote. The challenge was brought by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the ruling applies to the nation's 900 or so Planned Parenthood clinics and their doctors, who perform about half the 1.3 million abortions done each year in the United States. Federal judges in New York See ABORTION, 4A By David Kravets The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO In a ruling with coast-to-coast effect, a federal judge declared the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act unconstitutional Tuesday, saying it infringes on a woman's right to choose.

U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton's ruling came in one of three lawsuits challenging the legislation President Bush signed last year. She agreed with abortion rights activists that a woman's right to choose is paramount, and that it is therefore "irrele- The rollout of such military firepower and troops is among the largest ever since the more than 150,000 Allied forces stormed the Normandy beaches code-named Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah on June 6, 1944, in a momen-, tous military bid to liberate Europe from Adolf Hitler's grip. Ensuring security for such a gathering of world leaders, Normandy residents, war veterans and visitors is a major headache at a time of terror threat. See D-DAY, 4A By Jamey Keaten The Associated Press PARIS Surface-to-air missiles poised to shoot down stray or enemy aircraft.

More than 15,000 police and soldiers deployed to keep order. Stocks of antidotes ready in case of chemical attack. With terrorism an ever-present threat, France is on a war footing to ensure security for 16 heads of state and as many as 1 million people attending ceremonies this weekend for the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings in World War II. Business Classified Comics Crossword Deaths Forum 6A 5C 4C 13C 48 1 1 A Living Movies Opinion Sports TV list 1C 2C I OA 5B 3C ANDY DUBACK, jr the tree Press On the road again Sylvia Peltier of St. Albans takes the wheel of a van adapted to let her drive despite her rheumatoid arthritis.

"I don't think people understand," Peltier said. "When I got back into the van, I felt healthy again. Story, Page IB Printed in the U.S.A. mini ii 0 Available for home or office delivery, Call toll-free 1-800-427-3126 .1 1 A A J. A A A.