Vermont news

• Free clinics predict increase in number of uninsured

  11-08-2017 23:34 via vtdigger.org
  Cassandra Gekas, operations director for Vermont Health Connect. File photo by Erin Mansfield/VTDiggerVermont’s free clinics say a reduction in state funding to help people sign up for health insurance could force the state’s rate of uninsured people to go up in 2018.
  Laura Hale, the executive director of Vermont Coalition of Clinics for the Uninsured, said the state has lowered funding for Vermont Health Connect navigators from $200,000 in fiscal year 2017 to $50,000 in the current
  
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• Judge again orders Diaz to turn over Coventry documents

  11-08-2017 22:56 via vtdigger.org
  Cynthia Diaz, the former Coventry clerk, treasurer and delinquent tax collector, leaves the courtroom Tuesday in Newport. Photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDiggerA superior court judge has again ordered the embattled former Coventry clerk and treasurer to hand over relevant documents to the town.
  Coventry town officials went to the court in an attempt to get more documents from former town clerk, treasurer and delinquent tax collector Cynthia Diaz ahead of an audit scheduled to begin this month.
  Town
  
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• Vermont Veterans’ Home presents summer concert

  11-08-2017 22:46 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Veterans HomeAug. 10, 2017
  ContactMichele BurgessTelephone: 802-447-6520Email: [email protected]: Vvh.veterans.gov
  Bennington, VT: Looking for a great way to spend time with your family? The Prescriptions band will be at the Vermont Veterans’ Home located at 325 North Street, Bennington, Vermont. On Wednesday, August 23rd from 6:00 PM — 8:00 PM.
  This outdoor concert is FREE and is open to the community, bring blankets or chairs to enjoy t
  
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• Central Vermont Council on Aging receives achievement award

  11-08-2017 22:38 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Central Vermont Council on AgingAug. 9, 2017
  Contact:Mary HaydenDirector of Development and CommunicationsCentral Vermont Council on Aging802-476-2739
  [email protected]
  Central Vermont Council on Aging Receives an Aging Achievement Award from the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a)
  Barre, VT August 9, 2017 Central Vermont Council on Aging (CVCOA) announces that its “Caregivers Tea” program has been honored with an Aging Achievement Award by the N
  
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• Police: Rutland man charged after phoning in threat to ‘shoot up’ hospital

  11-08-2017 22:36 via vtdigger.org
  ​The emergency department at Rutland Regional Medical Center. Photo by Erin Mansfield/VTDiggerRUTLAND – Rutland Regional Medical Center was put on lockdown late Friday morning after a man called and threatened to “shoot up” the facility, according to police.
  The hospital went into lockdown at 11:30 a.m. Friday for about 40 minutes, police and hospital officials said after the incident.
  No one was injured and Paul Rice Sr., 60, of Rutland is now facing charges. Police adde
  
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• Vermont Technology Alliance’s Annual Sunset Dinner Cruise is Aug. 24

  11-08-2017 22:35 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Technology AllianceAugust 10, 2017
  Contact:Jeff CoutureVermont Technology Alliance
  [email protected]
  The Vermont Technology Alliance is hosting its Annual Sunset Dinner Cruise on Thursday, August 24, 6 p.m. – 9 p.m., on the Spirit of Ethan Allen at the Burlington Boathouse.
  The cruise is an informal, fun event featuring an opportunity to enjoy refreshments and dinner amid the spectacular setting of Lake Champlain. It brings together members of the Vermont technolog
  
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• TD Charitable Foundation Supports CVOEO’s Financial Futures Program

  11-08-2017 22:33 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — CVOEOAugust 10, 2017
  Contact:Jan DemersExecutive Director, CVOEO802-862-2771 x740
  [email protected]
  Burlington, VT —The TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®, has announced their support of the Financial Futures Program at Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO). The $5,000 donation will be used to support New Americans in Chittenden County with low and moderate incomes on their paths t
  
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• Johnson and Lyndon state colleges receive grant to revamp curriculum

  11-08-2017 22:31 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Lyndon State CollegeAugust 10, 2017
  Contact:Sylvia Plumb, Executive Director of Communications802.626.6459
  [email protected]
  LYNDON, VERMONT — Lyndon and Johnson state colleges have received a grant from the Davis Educational Foundation in Yarmouth, Maine, for $224,646 over three years to support the revision of the general education curriculum for both campuses.
  As the colleges work toward unification as Northern Vermont University (NVU) July 1, 2018, facul
  
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• Packetized Energy awarded competitive grant from the National Science Foundation

  11-08-2017 22:27 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Packetized EnergyAug. 1, 2017
  Contact:Maggie Lenz-McQuilken
  [email protected]
  Small Business Technology Transfer Program Provides Seed Funding for R&D
  BURLINGTON, VT. AUGUST 1, 2017 – Having recently secured Vermont Works Management Company, LLC as an anchor institutional investor, PACKETIZED ENERGY has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant for $225,000 to conduct research and development (R&D) wor
  
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• American Red Cross announces new board members in New Hampshire and Vermont

  11-08-2017 22:24 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — American Red CrossAug. 10, 2017
  Media contact:Lloyd Ziel, 603-540-0788-cl/txt
  redcross.org/nhvt@nhredcross@redcrossvtnhv
  Concord, NH / Burlington, VT. Thursday, August 10, 2017 — The American Red Cross announced the election of new members to its New Hampshire / Vermont Board of Directors at its Centennial Celebration Annual Meeting on June 22nd in White River Junction, Vermont.
  Current and outgoing board members were in attendance as well as the recipient of the Ameri
  
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• The Al Hirschfeld Foundation brings pop-up exhibition to Manchester

  11-08-2017 22:20 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Art ManchesterAug. 10, 2017
  Contact:Art Manchester4858 Main StreetManchester, VT 05255802-362-7200
  
[email protected] 
  www.artmanchestervermont.com
  Legendary Artist’s Works to Be on Display in Public Gallery
  MANCHESTER, VT: For nine decades, Al Hirschfeld’s art defined the world of the performing arts primarily through his drawings of productions on Broadway and in Hollywood. He captured the first half century of television and recorded more mus
  
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• Louis Josephson: Mapping Brattleboro Retreat’s future

  11-08-2017 22:06 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Louis Josephson, Ph.D., the president and CEO of the Brattleboro Retreat.
  For nearly 200 years the Brattleboro Retreat has been a valuable health care resource and an important economic driver here in southern Vermont. That’s why one of my primary goals as hospital CEO is to ensure that the decisions we make today will allow the Retreat to continue serving the mental health and addiction treatment needs of people for generations to come.
  Recently
  
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• Bob Stannard: Lies and the liars who tell them

  11-08-2017 22:05 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Bob Stannard, an author, musician and former lobbyist. This piece first appeared in the Bennington Banner.
  “Fool me once; shame on you. Fool me twice; shame on me.”
  – Unknown
  Through our electoral process we have elected a pathological liar as our president. It’s true that public figures will sometimes stretch the truth. Former NBC News anchorman Brian Williams comes to mind. When they do they usually pay a price.
  Thus far that&r
  
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• Jack Crowther: As systemic poison, fluoride is an elusive target

  11-08-2017 22:02 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Jack Crowther, of Rutland, who is retired. He worked as a journalist and in corporate communications.
  It is ironic that because fluoride is a “systemic” poison, affecting the body generally rather than in one specific way, the fight against community water fluoridation is made harder.
  This seems contradictory. Why would a substance described in “Clinical Toxicity of Commercial Products” (Gosselin, Smith, and Hodge, 1984) as a &ld
  
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• Teacher health care commission members named

  11-08-2017 21:33 via vtdigger.org
  ​Gov. Phil Scott speaks to reporters in May, 2017, about an ongoing negotiation with the Legislature regarding health care for teachers. Photo by Erin Mansfield/VTDiggerGov. Phil Scott named his pick to head a commission charged with scrutinizing Vermont’s teachers’ health care system this week.
  Scott appointed David Provost, a top official at Middlebury College, to head the panel.
  The commission came out of a months-long scramble earlier this year as Scott and Democratic legis
  
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• Margolis: The property tax quandary

  11-08-2017 20:54 via vtdigger.org
  File photo by Josh Larkin/VTDigger(Jon Margolis writes political columns for VTDigger.)
  Remember when Gov. Phil Scott derailed the end of the legislative session with his idea of changing the health care system for school employees?
  Whether it was a good idea or a bad one, there was something close to a unanimous view that Scott’s plan was politically shrewd. That’s because it was billed as a path toward reducing property taxes.
  And in this state there appears to be nothing that arou
  
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• LISTEN: A Different Way To Pay School Taxes: A Look At The Income Sensitivity Program bit.ly/2vr3Ojj https://t.co/OGjwsKzh05

  11-08-2017 20:45 via twitter.com
  
  LISTEN: A Different Way To Pay School Taxes: A Look At The Income Sensitivity Program bit.ly/2vr3Ojj https://t.co/OGjwsKzh05
  
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• Protesters target Ben & Jerry’s over source farm practices

  11-08-2017 19:20 via vtdigger.org
  Protesters passed our free organic ice cream in front of Ben & Jerry’s in Burlington on Thursday. Photo by Alexandre Silberman/VTDiggerBURLINGTON – A handful of protesters gathered outside of Ben & Jerry’s on Church Street on Thursday afternoon, as part of nationwide demonstrations to voice concerns over the use of herbicide.
  The event was organized by the Organic Consumers Association and Regeneration Vermont, two groups that are pushing Ben & Jerry’s to make
  
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• UE Local 255: Co-op management blocks direct negotiations

  11-08-2017 18:06 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — UE Local 255Aug. 8, 2017
  Contact:Emma ParadisUE Local 255Negotiating Committee Member802-279-7339
  Union contract negotiations with Hunger Mountain Co-op came to a standstill in late June when Management stated their refusal to continue bargaining without the presence of a mediator. Prior to this, at every negotiating session, the Union and Management engaged in productive dialogue and made significant progress at each session. As of now, wages, free speech language, the awar
  
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• MINT condition: New space opens for entrepreneurs, tinkerers in Rutland

  11-08-2017 17:35 via vtdigger.org
  Marianne Sheehan, of Poultney, holds an American flag she made with scrap and reclaimed wood at The MINT maker space in Rutland. The MINT is holding a grand opening Saturday. Photo by Alan J. Keays/VTDiggerRUTLAND — In one corner small bursts of sparks fly from a welder. Over in another spot a person is using a machine to fabricate nuts and the accompanying bolts. And not far away someone else in making wooden American flags, all from scrap and reclaimed pieces.
  It’s Wednesday aftern
  
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• Burlington school counselors claim disrespectful treatment

  11-08-2017 17:28 via vtdigger.org
  Burlington High School Guidance Director Mario Macias, pictured outside of the department’s office in Dec. 2016. Photo by Alexandre Silberman for VTDigger.BURLINGTON – Two former guidance counselors confronted the Burlington School Board at a meeting Tuesday, saying a harmful work environment prompted them to resign.
  Yvette Amblo-Bose told the board that guidance counselors “endured unprofessional, dishonest and disrespectful behavior” all year from newly hired Guidance D
  
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• YWP: ‘English Slang-uage’

  11-08-2017 17:21 via vtdigger.org
  Young Writers Project, an independent nonprofit based in Burlington, engages young people to write and use digital media to express themselves with clarity and power, and to gain confidence and skills for school, the workplace and life.Check out the most recent issue of The Voice, Young Writers Project’s monthly digital magazine. Click here.Each week, VTDigger features a writing submission – an essay, poem, fiction or nonfiction – accompanied by a photo or illustration from Yo
  
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• SCOV Law Blog: A reversal of a not guilty verdict

  11-08-2017 17:04 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This piece from the SCOV Law Blog is by SCOV Law editor Andrew Delaney. 
  McLaughlin v. Pallito, 2017 VT 30
  Creative Commons photo by walknboston via FlickrMost of the time, you only get one bite  at the proverbial apple. I’ve always wondered about that phrase. Who doesn’t take more than one bite of an apple? I consulted the Google and the results are inconclusive — several folks think it’s a biblical Garden of Eden reference, a few thin
  
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• Today on the show we're talking about the impact of income sensitivity on school budgets across the state. Let us k… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…

  11-08-2017 16:35 via twitter.com
  Today on the show we're talking about the impact of income sensitivity on school budgets across the state. Let us k… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…
  
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• Apologies for the random tweets of old stories, I'm looking into the cause. At least this one is evergreen. -… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…

  11-08-2017 03:13 via twitter.com
  Apologies for the random tweets of old stories, I'm looking into the cause. At least this one is evergreen. -… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…
  
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• The Deeper Dig: The care board’s balancing act

  11-08-2017 01:56 via vtdigger.org
  The Green Mountain Care Board hears public comment on Blue Cross premium increases in July. File photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDiggerThe Green Mountain Care Board made two decisions this week that, taken together, affect health insurance premiums for every customer on Vermont Health Connect. Wednesday the board declared that MVP Health Care could raise premiums by an average of 3.5 percent, and on Thursday the board capped Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont’s increases at 9.2 percent.
  Regulator
  
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• LISTEN: How John Dewey Changed The World bit.ly/2hPJ2GV

  11-08-2017 01:55 via twitter.com
  LISTEN: How John Dewey Changed The World bit.ly/2hPJ2GV
  
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• Bennington board advised to reject solar firm settlement offer

  11-08-2017 01:49 via vtdigger.org
  BENNINGTON — The town’s attorney is recommending that the Selectboard reject a settlement offer from the developer of a pair of controversial solar projects planned for the Apple Hill area.
  The offer from Allco Renewable Energy (Ecos Energy) includes a $200,000 payment to the town. Attorney Rob Woolmington’s advice is in a brief statement included in the board’s agenda package for its Monday meeting.The attorney recommends continued opposition before the Vermont Supreme C
  
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• $2.2M in federal grants focus on Vermont’s border region

  11-08-2017 01:42 via vtdigger.org
  From left, Gov. Phil Scott, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Mark Scarano of the Northern Border Regional Commission talk at the site of a grant announcement Thursday in Hardwick. Photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDiggerHARDWICK — Ten northern Vermont towns and organizations will each get a share of more than $2.2 million in federal grants to encourage economic development.
  But the commission responsible for disbursing the grants could be in jeopardy under the next federal budget.
  Gov. Phil Scott
  
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• Steve May: Great pains

  11-08-2017 01:05 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Steve May, who is a licensed independent clinical social worker specializing in behavioral health and addiction medicine. He is a member of the Selectboard in Richmond where he resides.
  It starts with a smiley face. A fleeting moment when a nurse or medical assistant asks about your pain level. Serious people, doctors, nurses, social workers all asking about pain in a way that demands that one place their constant throbbing somewhere between a grimace a
  
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• Jon Groveman: LaPlatte River natural area deserves protection

  11-08-2017 01:00 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Jon Groveman, who is policy and water programs director at Vermont Natural Resources Council. 
  Any Vermonter who has spent time hiking, hunting, fishing or boating can appreciate the importance of wetlands. Wetlands provide habitat for a wide variety of fish and wildlife, absorb water to minimize flooding, naturally filter pollutants and provide beautiful natural areas in our forests and fields. In the late 1980s, recognizing the value of wetlands,
  
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• Keith Stern: A plan for corrections reform

  11-08-2017 00:55 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Keith Stern, who is the owner for 30 years of Stern’s Quality Produce, a retail and wholesale business in White River Junction. He is a candidate for governor in the next Republican primary. He was an independent candidate for U.S. Senate and participated in the Republican primary for U.S. representative. He served many years on the Design Review Board in Springfield, where he lives.
  I believe we have taken corrections in the wrong direction. In s
  
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• Fired legal team presses for $3M payment for defending Quiros

  11-08-2017 00:15 via vtdigger.org
  Ariel Quiros at a groundbreaking in Newport in May 2015. File photo by Anne Galloway/VTDiggerFormer attorneys for Jay Peak owner Ariel Quiros are renewing their push to get paid more than $3 million in legal fees they racked up defending the developer from investor fraud allegations before he fired them.
  However, his new attorney says the former legal team is going about getting paid from her client the wrong way.
  “We don’t agree with their approach,” Melissa Visconti, Quiros&r
  
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