Vermont news

• Condos backs election security bill in Congress

  20-06-2018 22:41 via vtdigger.org
  Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos, left,  testifies Wednesday before a U.S. Senate committee on election security. Photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger
  WASHINGTON — Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos urged a congressional committee to advance a bill that would bolster election security finances and practices Wednesday.
  The cybersecurity of election infrastructure has been in the spotlight after revelations that Russian hackers scanned the voter registration databases of nearly tw
  
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• Trump nominates new U.S. marshal for Vermont

  20-06-2018 22:25 via vtdigger.org
  Brad LaRose has been named by President Trump to be the new U.S. marshal for Vermont. U.S. Marshals Service photo
  WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump nominated former Essex Police Chief Brad LaRose to serve as the next U.S. marshal in Vermont Wednesday.
  If longtime police officer Bradley LaRose is confirmed by the Senate, he will head the operations of the U.S. Marshals Service in the state.Get all of VTDigger's political news.You'll never miss a political story with our weekly headlines i
  
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• Environmental groups fight mosquito spraying permit

  20-06-2018 21:40 via vtdigger.org
  A child scratches a mosquito bite near the Long Trail in Vermont. File photo by Jess Wisloski/VTDigger
  Two environmental groups have joined forces to fight the spraying of mosquito-killing pesticides in parts of Addison and Rutland counties.
  The Toxics Action Center, an advocacy group, and the Environment and Natural Resources Clinic at Vermont Law School, have appealed the granting of a permit to spray in towns straddling the two counties on the western edge of the Green Mountain National Fores
  
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• Vermont Agency of Natural Resources to hold community forum

  20-06-2018 19:44 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Agency of Natural ResourcesJune 19, 2018
  Contact:Elle O’[email protected]
  Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources Secretary to Hold Community Forum on the Health of Vermont’s Moose Herd and other Environmental Topics on June 26
  MONTPELIER, Vt. – On Tuesday, June 26th at 4pm, Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) Secretary Julie Moore will host a gathering in Montpelier to discuss the health of Vermont’s moose herd and ot
  
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• Health and agriculture officials warn against wild parsnip

  20-06-2018 19:38 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Department of HealthJune 19, 2018
  Media Contacts:Ben Truman802-951-5153 / 802-863-7281
  Scott Waterman802-828-2179
  Vermonters Cautioned to Look but Don’t Touch “Poison Parsnip”Roadside plant can cause burns, rash
  BURLINGTON – State Health and Agriculture officials want Vermonters to steer clear of a common weed often seen along Vermont roadsides. The so-called “poison parsnip” packs a punch that can leave you with the equivalent of
  
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• Lamoille Housing Partnership receives preservation award

  20-06-2018 19:24 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Lamoille Housing PartnershipJune 19, 2018
  Contact:Kerrie Lohrkerrie@lamoillehousing.org802-888-5714www.lamoillehousing.org
  Affordable housing non-profit recognized for Arthur’s on Main project
  Burlington, VT, June 8, 2018 — Lamoille Housing Partnership (LHP) recently received a 2018 Preservation Award from the Preservation Trust of Vermont for their Arthur’s on Main project in Morrisville. Preservation Awards are given to individuals and organizations that
  
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• Dartmouth-Hitchcock CEO named influential leader

  20-06-2018 19:19 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Dartmouth-HitchcockJune 19, 2018
  Contact:Rick Adams(603) [email protected]
  Dartmouth-Hitchcock CEO and President Joanne M. Conroy, MD, Named One of 50 “Most Influential” Leaders by Modern Healthcare
  LEBANON, NH – Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health and Dartmouth-Hitchcock CEO and President Joanne M. Conroy, MD, has been named one of the 50 “Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders” by Modern Healthcare magazine.
  Conroy, who arrive
  
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• Burlington City Council approves Mayor Weinberger’s fiscal year budget

  20-06-2018 19:13 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Mayor Miro WeinbergerJune 19, 2018
  Contact:Katie Vane802.734.0617
  City Council Unanimously Approves Mayor’s Fiscal Year 2019 BudgetContinues City’s Momentum Investing in Infrastructure, Public Safety, and Our Most Vulnerable, While Also Limiting Property Tax Rate Increases
  Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger today announced City Council’s unanimous approval of the Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19) budget at the June 18, 2018 Council meeting.
  “The goals
  
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• Gifford doctor discusses tick disease prevention

  20-06-2018 19:03 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Gifford Health CareJune 15, 2018
  Contact:Maryellen Apelquist802-728-2284
  With Diseases on Rise, Gifford Doc Talks Ticks
  RANDOLPH, Vt.—Tick season is in full swing in Vermont, bringing with it tick-borne illness, such as Lyme and West Nile, diseases which are on the rise across the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Dr. Lou DiNicola, a pediatrician and medical director of primary care at Gifford Health Care, offers Vermonters tips for tick
  
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• Margolis: State’s political leaders should be meeting instead of sniping

  20-06-2018 18:57 via vtdigger.org
  Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe speaks to reporters during a press conference at the Statehouse last month. House Speaker Mitzi Johnson is at left. Photo by Colin Meyn/VTDigger
  I’m trying to focus on good government,” House Speaker Mitzi Johnson said shortly after she and her Democratic colleagues had failed to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of the budget bill. “That’s the reason I’m in this business.”
  Maybe that’s the problem.Get all of VTDigge
  
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• Commissioner of labor hosts Rutland community roundtable

  20-06-2018 18:53 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Department of LaborJune 14, 2018
  Contact:Lindsay H. [email protected]
  Commissioner of Labor, Agency Leads, Host Community Roundtable in Rutland
  RUTLAND, VT – On Tuesday Department of Labor Commissioner Lindsay Kurrle, along with Governor Phil Scott, Human Services Secretary Al Gobeille, Commerce Secretary Michael Schirling and Acting Education Secretary Heather Bouchey, hosted a community roundtable discussion in Rutland with business
  
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• Secretary of State Condos response to Husted v. Philip Randolph Institute decision

  20-06-2018 17:33 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Secretary of State Jim CondosJune 12, 2018
  Contact:Eric Covey802-828-2148
  Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos Issues Statement In Response to the Supreme Court Decision in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute
  Following yesterday’s Supreme Court decision in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos issued the following statement:“To me, this is a classic case of what you can do under the law, and not what you should do. Whil
  
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• Vermont photographer exhibits work in Havana

  20-06-2018 17:11 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — David GartenJune 19, 2018
  Contact:David Garten(802) 496-5516cell (802) [email protected]
  Photography exhibition to run from June 7 through August 31, Thursdays-Sundays 8:00 PM – 3:00 AM
  https://oncubamagazine.com/cultura/ritmo-la-piel-mas-veinte-anos-musica-cubana/
  Havana, Cuba — Vermont photographer David Garten’s exhibition, “Ritmo en la Piel” (Rhythm in the Skin) opened on Thursday, June 7 at La Fabrica de Arte Cubano (The Cuban A
  
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• Vermont Department of Labor announces May unemployment rate

  20-06-2018 17:02 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Department of LaborJune 15, 2018
  Contact:Mathew Barewicz(802) [email protected]
  Vermont Unemployment Rate Holds at 2.8 percent in May
  The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for May was 2.8 percent. This reflects no change from the revised April rate. The national rate in May was 3.8 percent. As of the prior month’s preliminary data, the Burlington-South Burlington Metropolitan N
  
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• Man linked to Colson case pleads not guilty to unrelated fraud charge

  20-06-2018 16:21 via vtdigger.org
  Richard Whitcomb, of Hartford, left, arrives in Windsor Superior Court with his wife Sara Whitcomb, right, and attorney Bradley Stetler, middle, to plead not guilty to a charge of home improvement fraud in White River Junction, Tuesday, June 19, 2018. Photo by James M. Patterson/Valley News
  This story by Jordan Cuddemi was published by the Valley News on June 19.
  WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — The White River Junction man who has been listed in federal court documents as a suspect in Austin Colson
  
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• Discovery ongoing, database built for Townshend double homicide case

  20-06-2018 16:02 via vtdigger.org
  Justin Orwat of Springfield, Massachusetts, appears in Windham Superior Court, Criminal Division with his lawyer, Dan Sedon, for a status conference hearing in December 2017. File photo by Kristopher Radder
  This story by Chris Mays was published in the Brattleboro Reformer on June 20.
  BRATTLEBORO — Attorneys involved in the case of a Springfield, Massachustts, man charged with homicide in the deaths of two Vermont residents are sifting through evidence in preparation for a trial that does
  
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• Override Vote Fails, Governor's Veto Stands: What's Next For Budget Negotiations dlvr.it/QXwWsY https://t.co/hz6SLB7x2V

  20-06-2018 14:54 via twitter.com
  
  Override Vote Fails, Governor's Veto Stands: What's Next For Budget Negotiations dlvr.it/QXwWsY https://t.co/hz6SLB7x2V
  
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• Enforcement questions loom in Vermont as pot legalization nears

  20-06-2018 03:37 via vtdigger.org
  Vermont State Police Lt. John Flannigan, left, and Capt. James Whitcomb explain operational changes under the state’s new marijuana law. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  WATERBURY – Vermont State Police used the terms “case-by-case basis” and “developing case law” in response to several enforcement scenarios that may come to light as a new law goes into effect in two weeks legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
  A pair of state police commande
  
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• Scott’s veto upheld, leaving 11 days for deal before shutdown

  20-06-2018 03:23 via vtdigger.org
  House Speaker Mitzi Johnson prepares the chamber to vote on the governor’s budget veto. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  House Republicans rallied to uphold Gov. Phil Scott’s second budget veto of the session, crushing Democratic hopes of an override and sending lawmakers and Gov. Phil Scott back to the negotiating table with just 11 days until a government shutdown.
  The budget bill will be kicked to the Senate for the next round of committee meetings. The Senate appropriations chair
  
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• Top Vermont law enforcement officials rebuff family separations

  20-06-2018 01:35 via vtdigger.org
  US Attorney Eric Miller speaks at a press conference in July 2016. Photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger
  WASHINGTON — Current and former top Vermont law enforcement officials are urging the Trump administration to abandon a new practice of separating immigrant families who enter the country illegally.
  Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan joined 20 other state attorneys general in a letter asking the administration to end the policy Tuesday.Get all of VTDigger's political news.You'll never miss
  
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• Adam Greshin: A stronger, more sustainable education system

  20-06-2018 01:05 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Adam Greshin, the commissioner of the Vermont Department of Finance and Management.
  Gov. Phil Scott believes we can make our education system the very best in the country, if we have the courage to rethink the current system, which is diverting valuable budget dollars away from kids and increasing the tax burden at an unsustainable rate.
  The K-12 system was built to educate more than 100,000 kids. Today, we’re educating about 76,000. For 20 years,
  
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• Stephan Morse: Governor needs to compromise

  20-06-2018 01:00 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Stephan Morse, of Newfane, a former Republican Vermont state senator and representative who served as House speaker. He was also a member and chair of the State Board of Education.
  With the special legislative session dragging on, Montpelier is beginning to look like our federal government in Washington, D.C. The governor will not compromise or negotiate with the Legislature on next year’s state budget. He is threatening to close down state govern
  
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• Brenda Siegel: Scott’s irresponsible governance

  20-06-2018 00:55 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Brenda Siegel, who is a Democratic candidate for governor, founder and director of the Southern Vermont Dance Festival, vice chair of the Democratic Committee and delegate to the Windham County Democratic Committee. She is an anti-poverty activist and single mom from Newfane.
  Late on Thursday Phil Scott vetoed his third budget of his administration and second this session (only one other budget has ever been vetoed in Vermont’s history). It is imp
  
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• Jack Mayer: Separating children from their parents

  20-06-2018 00:50 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Jack Mayer, MD, MPH, of Middlebury, a Vermont primary care pediatrician and the author of “Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project” and “Before the Court of Heaven.”
  In 1942 a Polish Catholic social worker, Irena Sendler, organized a network of nine other social workers and a group of young Catholic and Jewish liaisons, mostly women, to rescue 2,500 Jewish children from certain death in the Warsaw ghetto. Parents were desperate
  
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• State regulators say they can’t rescue Vermont’s rural cell service

  20-06-2018 00:37 via vtdigger.org
  CoverageCo “radio” devices provide cellular service on rural roads. Courtesy photo
  State regulators have rejected a request by rural cellular relay service CoverageCo to order Vermont’s leading landline phone provider to restore internet service to the troubled company, saying the state lacks jurisdiction.
  The ruling is likely the death knell for CoverageCo service in Vermont.
  “This case involves an unfortunate situation that, at the moment, does not appear to have a solu
  
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• Ski industry posts solid year despite tough weather

  20-06-2018 00:25 via vtdigger.org
  Spruce Peak ski area in Stowe. File photo by Jim Welch/VTDigger
  In a season marked by inconsistent cooperation with Mother Nature, Vermont resorts managed to pull in a slight increase in skiers.
  The industry saw a 1.2 percent increase in statewide skier days from the 2016-17 season, for a total of 3.97 million skier days, according to the Vermont Ski Areas Association. Each skier day marks one person skiing for a full day, a standard measurement in the business.
  Ski Vermont President Molly Maher
  
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