Vermont news

• Mayor Miro Weinberger’s public appearance schedule for the week of January 29

  26-01-2018 23:57 via vtdigger.org
  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
  January 26, 2018Contact:Katie Vane 802.734.0617
  Mayor Miro Weinberger’s public appearance schedule for January 29 – February 2, 2018:
  Monday, January 295:30 pm Board of Finance Meeting – Conference Room 127:00 pm City Council Meeting – Contois Auditorium
  Tuesday, January 30No public appearances scheduled
  Wednesday, January 318:00 amMornings with Miro – The Bagel Café, 1127 North Ave
  Thursday, February 112:30 pm Vermont League of Cities &
  
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• Mayor Miro Weinberger’s public appearance schedule for the week of Jan. 29

  26-01-2018 23:57 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Office of Mayor Miro WeinbergerJanuary 26, 2018
  Contact:Katie Vane802.734.0617
  Mayor Miro Weinberger’s public appearance schedule for January 29 – February 2, 2018:
  Monday, January 295:30 pm Board of Finance Meeting – Conference Room 127:00 pm City Council Meeting – Contois Auditorium
  Tuesday, January 30No public appearances scheduled
  Wednesday, January 318:00 am Mornings with Miro – The Bagel Café, 1127 North Ave
  Thursday, February 112:3
  
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• The Deeper Dig: A ‘caretaker’ budget

  26-01-2018 23:48 via vtdigger.org
  Gov. Phil Scott and Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman shake hands after Scott’s budget address. Photo by Bob LoCicero/VTDigger
  On Tuesday, Gov. Phil Scott laid out his funding priorities in a 40-minute speech to the Legislature. Scott’s 2019 budget maintains his pledge to avoid increasing taxes and fees, and offers only modest proposals for new spending. Or, as Finance Commissioner Adam Greshin put it in a press briefing that same day, “There are no bells and th
  
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• Burlington board grapples with chairman’s accusation of racism

  26-01-2018 23:33 via vtdigger.org
  Chairman Mark Porter (center) leveled a charge of racism this week against a fellow Burlington School Board member. He is shown here in 2016 with Fran Brock, Burlington Education Association president (left) and Ira Lobel, a mediator. File photo by Morgan True / VTDigger
  BURLINGTON — School Board members are not rushing to address the tumultuous final minutes of this week’s special budget meeting that saw the chairman accuse a fellow member of racial bias and then announce he would n
  
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• LISTEN: Stopped For No Seat Belt? Highway Safety Bill Could Revamp Rules Of Vermont's Roads dlvr.it/QCwDRD https://t.co/wqLiF2ruA5

  26-01-2018 22:43 via twitter.com
  
  LISTEN: Stopped For No Seat Belt? Highway Safety Bill Could Revamp Rules Of Vermont's Roads dlvr.it/QCwDRD https://t.co/wqLiF2ruA5
  
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• City council candidate backtracks on accusation that turned out not to be true

  26-01-2018 22:37 via vtdigger.org
  Lizzie Haskell, Ward 3 Democratic candidate for Burlington City Council. Photo courtesy Lizzie Haskell
  BURLINGTON — It was a dramatic moment when Lizzie Haskell, the young Democratic candidate for the Ward 3 city council seat, lambasted the Burlington Police Department for its policy of evicting people even in the dead of winter. Unfortunately for Haskell, it turned out not to be true.
  Haskell, 21, a recent University of Vermont graduate, made the accusation in a speech at a Democratic cau
  
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• Lawmakers draft school funding plan based on income tax

  26-01-2018 22:30 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. Janet Ancel, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDiggerA House panel is drafting an education finance bill that would lower the property tax and implement a new income tax to support the state’s schools.The income tax would be based on adjusted gross income. A payroll tax would be applied to wage earners. Property owners who earn $47,000 or less would pay no income tax.The plan, which has broad support in the House Ways and Means Committee, is expect
  
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• VTDigger's D.C. Reporter On Vermont's Delegation, DACA And The Shutdown Vote dlvr.it/QCw3PG https://t.co/xPCGISQFC7

  26-01-2018 22:08 via twitter.com
  
  VTDigger's D.C. Reporter On Vermont's Delegation, DACA And The Shutdown Vote dlvr.it/QCw3PG https://t.co/xPCGISQFC7
  
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• LISTEN: VTDigger's D.C. Reporter On Vermont's Delegation, DACA And The Shutdown Vote dlvr.it/QCw3B1 https://t.co/XIsiTMagsi

  26-01-2018 22:08 via twitter.com
  
  LISTEN: VTDigger's D.C. Reporter On Vermont's Delegation, DACA And The Shutdown Vote dlvr.it/QCw3B1 https://t.co/XIsiTMagsi
  
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• Vermonters Lift UP! the community at Green Mountain CrossFit event

  26-01-2018 21:44 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Green Mountain United WayJanuary 23, 2018
  Contact:Carrie StahlerGreen Mountain United [email protected]
  Berlin – On Saturday, January 20, just stepping into the bright, open gym space at Green Mountain CrossFit made it clear there was something exciting going on. The buzz felt like a competition, but the camaraderie, smiles, cheers of encouragement, as well as the distinct lack of teams, told a different story.
  The Green Mountain CrossFi
  
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• LISTEN: How Bad For You Is The 'Smoking' Part Of Smoking Pot? dlvr.it/QCtqdT https://t.co/JrKfaWkUlP

  26-01-2018 18:32 via twitter.com
  
  LISTEN: How Bad For You Is The 'Smoking' Part Of Smoking Pot? dlvr.it/QCtqdT https://t.co/JrKfaWkUlP
  
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• How Bad For You Is The 'Smoking' Part Of Smoking Pot? dlvr.it/QCtqW0 https://t.co/EA9Sd3hCRS

  26-01-2018 18:32 via twitter.com
  
  How Bad For You Is The 'Smoking' Part Of Smoking Pot? dlvr.it/QCtqW0 https://t.co/EA9Sd3hCRS
  
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• YWP: ‘Life with Autism’

  26-01-2018 18:13 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: Determining eligibility for a public defender

  26-01-2018 17:56 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This piece from the SCOV Law Blog is by SCOV Law editor Andrew Delaney.
  State v. Kittredge, 2018 VT 6 (mem.)
  Mr. Kittridge got charged with a bunch of crimes, including neglect, manslaughter and welfare fraud. He requested a public defender and the trial court denied the request at arraignment. Mr. Kittredge was released on a $25,000 unsecured appearance bond. He reapplied for a public defender and the trial court again denied the request because Mr. Kittredge’s income
  
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• Noted art scholar, humanities champion Nemerov to give UVM commencement address

  26-01-2018 17:29 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — University of VermontJanuary 25, 2018
  Contact:Jeff [email protected]
  Burlington – Noted scholar of American art Alexander Nemerov, chair of the Art and Art History Department at Stanford University, who writes frequently on the importance of the humanities in contemporary life, will give the commencement address at the University of Vermont on May 20.
  Nemerov is a UVM alumnus who graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1985 with degrees in Art History
  
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• Brewers come together to learn the latest in sustainable brewery operations

  26-01-2018 17:14 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Agency of Natural ResourcesJanuary 25, 2018
  Contact:Catherine [email protected]
  Montpelier – Few things in life are certain, but in Vermont, one can always count on a delicious pint of freshly brewed beer. Vermont’s breweries lead the nation in quality and quantity. With more breweries per capita than any other state, Vermont’s craft beer industry generates more than $300 million in revenue each year. Celebrating the indus
  
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• Organic dairy farmer protects stretch of Rock River

  26-01-2018 17:04 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Land TrustJanuary 25, 2018
  Contact:Cara MontgomeryVermont Land Trust [email protected] 
  Highgate – Increasingly, farmers, state and federal natural resource professionals, and conservation groups have been addressing flood resiliency and water quality concerns with conservation measures. Most recently, dairy farmer Guy Choiniere worked with the Vermont Land Trust, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, and The Nature Conserv
  
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• Tailored Living of Vermont wins ‘Best of Houzz 2018’ service award

  26-01-2018 16:56 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Tailored Living of VermontJanuary 25, 2018
  Contact:Bryan Randall, PresidentTailored Living of [email protected]
  Williston, VT, January 22, 2018 – Tailored Living featuring Premier Garage of Vermont has won “Best Of Service” on Houzz®, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. The local organizational solutions provider was chosen by the more than 40 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz communi
  
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• Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center receives donation from Castleton University sports teams

  26-01-2018 16:48 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Southwestern Vermont Medical CenterJanuary 25, 2018
  Contact:Ashley Brenon Jowett, Communications & Marketing SpecialistSouthwestern Vermont Medical [email protected]
  Bennington – Staff from Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center (SVRCC), a department of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), and the founders of the LINAO grassroots fundraising movement, gratefully accepted a donation of more than 20 handmade blankets fr
  
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• House Rural Broadband Caucus to President: Include dedicated broadband funding in infrastructure proposal

  26-01-2018 16:22 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — House Rural Broadband CaucusJanuary 23, 2018
  Contact:Kate Hamilton, Press SecretaryOffice of Rep. Peter [email protected]
  Washington, D.C. – As President Trump prepares to unveil his infrastructure proposal, the six co-chairs of the House Rural Broadband Caucus, Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), David Loebsack (D-Iowa), and Robert Latta (R-Ohio), today sent a letter to the presiden
  
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• Vermont Fish & Wildlife Dept. offers fly tying courses

  26-01-2018 16:12 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Fish & Wildlife DepartmentJanuary 24, 2018
  Contact:Corey Hart802-265-2279
  Alison Thomas802-371-9975
  Castleton and Montpelier – The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is offering a series of introductory courses for fly fishing anglers interesting in learning how to tie their own flies. The courses are offered by the department’s Let’s Go Fishing program in partnership with the Mad Dog Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the Green Mountain Fly Tie
  
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• HUD awards Vermont Legal Aid $300,000 federal fair housing grant

  26-01-2018 16:01 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Legal AidJanuary 24, 2018
  Contact:Rachel Batterson, Housing Discrimination Law Project DirectorVermont Legal Aid802-863-5620
  Burlington – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has renewed funding for Vermont Legal Aid’s (VLA’s) Housing Discrimination Law Project (HDLP). The $300,000 grant enables Legal Aid to conduct fair housing investigations and representation throughout Vermont. Under its current three-year fair housing gran
  
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• Vermont Conservation Voters releases 2018 Environmental Common Agenda of legislative priorities

  26-01-2018 15:51 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Conservation VotersJanuary 24, 2018
  Contact:Lauren Hierl, Political DirectorVermont Conservation [email protected]
  Montpelier – Today, Vermont Conservation Voters and partners released the 2018 Vermont Environmental Common Agenda of legislative priorities at a reception in the Cedar Creek room of the Vermont State House.
  The Common Agenda is collectively shaped by a range of environmental organizations across Vermont working
  
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• Champlain College survey reveals financial barriers major impediment for continuing education

  26-01-2018 15:42 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Champlain CollegeJanuary 24, 2018
  Contact:Stephen Mease, Director of Public Information and NewsChamplain [email protected]
  A new survey from Champlain College Online says that while most adults see the value in higher education to prepare them for advancement in the workplace, ongoing concerns over incurring student debt and affordability are the major barriers to returning to school to complete a certificate, associate degree or bachelor’s degre
  
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• Stopped For No Seatbelt? Highway Safety Bill Could Revamp Rules Of Vermont's Roads dlvr.it/QCsfN1 https://t.co/NpvkwBVUfr

  26-01-2018 15:22 via twitter.com
  
  Stopped For No Seatbelt? Highway Safety Bill Could Revamp Rules Of Vermont's Roads dlvr.it/QCsfN1 https://t.co/NpvkwBVUfr
  
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• On Journalistic Curiosity: Down the Rabbit Hole With Dan Barry

  26-01-2018 15:13
  Our reporter stumbles across a black-and-white bit of serendipity, hidden in a book hidden in a library hidden in the basement of The New York Times.
  
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• Bipartisan coalition of Vermont lawmakers backs #metoo legislation

  26-01-2018 12:13 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. Sarah Copeland Hanzas discusses new legislation aimed at curbing workplace sexual harrassment. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDiggerSexual harassment is harming the ability of women to earn a living, advocates say, and new legislation will give them the added protections they need to combat misconduct in the workplace.Cary Brown, the head of the Vermont Commission on Women, says sexual harassment has made “it difficult, or even impossible, for women to do their jobs.” When women spea
  
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• New seatbelt enforcement mandate gets preliminary House OK

  26-01-2018 09:40 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. Pat Brennan, R-Colchester. File photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDiggerAfter a particularly deadly year for Vermont drivers, lawmakers are looking to up the ante for seatbelt enforcement.Rep. Pat Brennan, chair of the House Transportation Committee, says current seatbelt enforcement laws are not adequate enough to protect public safety.Vermont law only allows police to charge drivers for not wearing a seatbelt as a secondary offense if drivers are pulled over for another violation, such as speed
  
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• Click it: Stricter seatbelt enforcement gets preliminary House OK

  26-01-2018 09:40 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. Pat Brennan, R-Colchester. File photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger
  After a particularly deadly year for Vermont drivers, lawmakers are looking to up the ante for seatbelt enforcement.
  Rep. Pat Brennan, chair of the House Transportation Committee, says current seatbelt enforcement laws are not adequate enough to protect public safety.
  Vermont law only allows police to charge drivers for not wearing a seatbelt as a secondary offense if drivers are pulled over for another violation, such as sp
  
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• Congress funds CHIP, but other programs remain in limbo

  26-01-2018 05:29 via vtdigger.org
  ​Federal funding that supports community health centers relied on by thousands of Vermonters is still in limbo. File photo by VTDigger
  WASHINGTON — Dr. Dynasaur’s condition is stable. The short-term funding package Congress approved this week to end a three-day government shutdown also reauthorizes a program that provides health insurance to 9 million children across the country, including those in Vermont’s Dr. Dynasaur program.
  The children’s health insurance prog
  
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• Response team will aim for personal connection with overdose victims

  26-01-2018 04:35 via vtdigger.org
  Nonprofit and city leaders meeting as CommunityStat to discuss the city’s evolving response to the opioid crisis. Photo by Cory Dawson/VTDigger
  BURLINGTON — Starting next month, drug users who have experienced an overdose can expect a visit by three city officials.
  Their goal: to persuade drug users to get help.
  Burlington announced on Thursday the launch of what they’re calling the Safe Response Team. Members of the team are first responders–Burlington’s Deputy Pol
  
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• Burlington response team will aim for personal connection with overdose victims

  26-01-2018 04:35 via vtdigger.org
  Nonprofit and city leaders meeting as CommunityStat to discuss the city’s evolving response to the opioid crisis. Photo by Cory Dawson/VTDigger
  BURLINGTON — Starting next month, drug users who have experienced an overdose can expect a visit by three city officials.
  Their goal: to persuade drug users to get help.
  Burlington announced on Thursday the launch of what they’re calling the Safe Response Team. Members of the team are first responders–Burlington’s Deputy Pol
  
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• Burlington response team seeks personal connection with overdose victims

  26-01-2018 04:35 via vtdigger.org
  Nonprofit and city leaders meeting as CommunityStat to discuss the city’s evolving response to the opioid crisis. Photo by Cory Dawson/VTDigger
  BURLINGTON — Starting next month, drug users who have experienced an overdose can expect a visit by three city officials.
  Their goal: to persuade drug users to get help.
  Burlington announced on Thursday the launch of what they’re calling the Safe Response Team. Members of the team are first responders — Burlington’s Deputy P
  
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• Brian Ricca: Seeking healing, not blame, from tragedy

  26-01-2018 03:14 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Brian G. Ricca, who is superintendent of Montpelier Public Schools.
  It was a tremendously difficult week in Montpelier Public Schools. A life was lost on the campus of Montpelier High School. Nate Giffin was a student in our school system and his mother and father are established members of the Montpelier and greater Vermont community. Many in our school and local community were touched personally by this tragedy.
  It is natural to have questions about t
  
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• Greg Guma: Claims that F-35 basing will protect jobs are overstated

  26-01-2018 02:21 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Greg Guma, the Vermont-based author of “Dons of Time,” “Uneasy Empire,” “Spirits of Desire,” “Big Lies,” and “The People’s Republic: Vermont and the Sanders Revolution.” His latest book is “Green Mountain Politics: Restless Spirits, Popular Movements.” He blogs at Greg Guma / For Preservation & Change. He was an independent candidate for mayor of Burlington in 2015.In Verm
  
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• Joseph Boutin: Home contractor/builder registration needed

  26-01-2018 02:17 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Joseph Boutin, of Sunderland, a master carpenter who has had a small renovation/remodeling business for the last 22 years. He is certified with the Building Performance Institute as a building analyst and envelope professional.
  The secretary of state’s Office of Professional Regulation is proposing mandatory registration of home-improvement and construction contractors for Vermont. This has been a long time coming and in my opinion desperately nee
  
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• ACLU launches campaign to cut state’s prison population in half

  26-01-2018 00:27 via vtdigger.org
  James Lyall, executive director of the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, speaks Wednesday at the Statehouse about an initiative to cut the state’s prison population in half. Photo by Alan J. Keays/VTDigger
  James Lyall says he is confident Vermont can cut its prison population in half, and he’s launching a campaign to help the state do just that.
  Lyall, who is executive director of the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, spoke at a Statehouse pr
  
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• Vermont Yankee sale settlement may be imminent

  26-01-2018 00:07 via vtdigger.org
  Crews prepare to lower a loaded spent fuel cask at Vermont Yankee last August. File photo courtesy of Entergy
  The current and prospective owners of Vermont Yankee are pushing for a quick settlement with state regulators who are reviewing the idled nuclear plant’s potential sale.
  But there’s no deal yet, and a status conference in the case scheduled for Thursday morning was canceled by the state Public Utility Commission.
  Nevertheless, new filings express cautious optimism that state
  
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