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It’s banned in thirteen states and sure doesn’t come in a six-pack.

The maker of Sam Adams beer has released an updated version of its biennial beer Utopias.

At 27% alcohol by volume and $150 a bottle, the limited release is now the highest alcohol content beer on the market.

The drink comes in a ceramic-and-copper bottle that resembles a tiny brew kettle. Thirteen states prohibit its sale because its alcohol content exceeds the legal limit for beer.

Since the 1990s, craft brewers like the Boston Beer Co. and the Delaware-based Dogfish Head have produced a number of “extreme beers” that challenge old notions of beer and the decades-old laws that have governed them. [AP]

The subsidy allowed a 65% discount for COBRA, the law that allows those who have lost a job to buy group health insurance through their former employer for 18-months.

However, the stimulus only allows the COBRA subsidy for up to nine months.  Those who enrolled in March have reached the end of their eligibility.

Even with the subsidy, state Health Insurance Commissioner Christopher Koller told “The Providence Journal” he believes a significant percentage of jobless still can’t afford the several hundred dollars a month cost for family coverage under COBRA.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has co-sponsored legislation to increase the subsidy to 75% and extend eligibility from nine months to 15-months. [AP]

College students who live in campus dormitories have been designated as a high priority group by public health officials.  Schools with commuter students will start vaccine clinics December 14th.

There are some 65,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 enrolled in colleges and universities in the state.  The reason they are a high priority group is that the flu spreads quickly among college students.

The goal is to get them all vaccinated before the Christmas break when they will be traveling around the country.

Rhode Islanders between the ages of 18 and 24 who are not college students won’t be offered the vaccine until late December or January.

Additionally, school-based clinics will continue to be held as scheduled this week.

The state Department of Health said enough vaccine for every child between six-months and five-years of age will be available in pediatricians’ offices by the end of this week. [AP]

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Police officers are issuing traffic tickets with much more ease thanks to a new computerized program called “E-citation.”

According to the Providence Journal, the software was first installed in state police vehicles back in 2006 and has now spread to six towns: Burrillville, Portsmouth, North Kingstown, Narragansett, East Providence, and Pawtucket.

The time- and money-saving program links the computers in police vehicles to the state Department of Motor Vehicles. This allows the program to automatically fill in most of the information that police officers would otherwise have to write down by hand.

The goal is for every police department to install the program by May of next year.

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Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been declared the winner of the disputed presidential election in Afghanistan. 

The country’s election commission made the announcement soon after cancelling the November 7th run-off election. 

The commission declared Karzai president “because he was the winner of the first round and the only candidate in the second round.”  Karzai became the only candidate after chief challenger Abdullah Abdullah decided on Sunday to drop out of the race. 

A run-off election was planned after fraud was revealed in the August election. [AP]

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The state Department of Health has updated its schedule for H1N1 flu school-based vaccine clinics which begin today. 

The times and locations of some of the clinics have been adjusted for logistical reasons.  Middle school and high school students will be vaccinated during the school day, and clinics for elementary school students will be held in the afternoons and evenings. 

The order of the clinics was randomly generated by a computer and is based on current vaccine availability. 

No child will be vaccinated without a consent form signed by a parent.  The revised schedule and consent forms are available on the DOH website. [AP]

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The White House says President Obama is pleased that a public option has been included in a Democratic Senate healthcare reform proposal.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the announcement yesterday.

Under the proposal, individual states would have the right to opt-out of the public option.  Reid said the compromise bill has been sent to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office for a cost estimate.

He expressed cautious optimism about mustering the 60 votes needed to end an expected Republican filibuster. [AP]

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Federal data is predicting Rhode Islanders can stay warm this winter and not worry about their bill.  If the data proves to be correct, it will cost Ocean Staters about the same as it did last year to heat their homes.

That’s because the government has forecasted a slightly warmer heating season for 2009-10, but slightly higher heating prices.  The data is a combination between the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center data.

The DOE predicts the retail residential cost of various heating methods will increase by about three-percent in New England this winter, while NOAA predicts about three-percent fewer degree-days this winter.

A degree-day measures the cumulative effect of cold temperatures by measuring how much and how long temperatures stay below a baseline temperature of 65 degrees.  That means the three-percent rise in cost and the three-percent dip in degree-days cancels out any real increase in price.

There are still factors that could change periodically, such as the price of crude oil and weather changes. [AP]

Mann Chemical Distribution handles the repackaging and resale of bulk chemicals and says there would be no ill effects to the neighborhood.  Mann currently has a location in Warwick, which is strictly monitored by the EPA.  They say the EPA will also monitor the proposed site at 1226 Mendon Road.

Picketers gathered outside the vacant seven-acre site on Sunday to protest the project.

The company explained what type of chemicals are made at the site, including those which go into drinking water, into cosmetics and into car wash mixes.  Mann also says the company would build containment facilities for the chemicals, which would limit any spills to the facility and not the outside environment.

Mann was cited for several EPA violations over the summer.  Company officials say most of those issues have been corrected and are related to the physical constraints of the Warwick site. [AP]

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A record-setting strand of beads has helped the city of East Providence put its recent financial woes behind it, at least for night.

On Friday, the city smashed the Guinness world record for longest strand of beads with a 1,349.9 foot string of red and white beads. The previous record was 355 feet, set in February in the United Kingdom.

Patti Streit led the effort by the East Providence Education Foundation. She told The Providence Journal it was a much-needed “fun, positive” moment. The city has been plagued by budget problems, police and fire layoffs and teacher disputes.

Streit said Guinness World Records granted permission to attempt the world record in July. The education group, which raises funds for school programs, immediately began selling the beads used in the strand. [AP]