Vermont news

• Air Guard pushes back on F-35 ballot measure

  10-02-2018 03:31 via vtdigger.org
  Maj. Gen. Steven Cray says the ballot measure opposing the F-35 basing uses misleading language. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  Vermont National Guard officials spoke out on Friday against a ballot measure that will allow Burlington voters to signal opposition to basing F-35 fighter jets at the Burlington Airport.
  Maj. Gen. Steven Cray, Vermont’s Adjutant General, said at a press conference that the question “misleads the voter into thinking they are supporting the Air Guard.&rdquo
  
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• Leahy: drug pricing measure stripped from budget in 11th hour

  10-02-2018 03:10 via vtdigger.org
  Sen. Pat Leahy speaks to reporters last year. Photo by Erin Mansfield/VTDigger
  WASHINGTON — A bipartisan measure aiming to make generic drugs more readily available was scrapped late in negotiations on a budget package Congress passed Friday, according to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
  Leahy, who is a sponsor of the drug-pricing proposal along with several high-ranking Republicans, said the popular initiative was poised to be included in the budget deal lawmakers hammered out this week.
  However
  
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• Culcleasure rejects talk of joining Driscoll in mayor’s race

  10-02-2018 02:50 via vtdigger.org
  Carina Driscoll and Infinite Culcleasure, independent candidates for Burlington mayor, vie for the Progressive Party endorsement in December.Photo by Cory Dawson/VTDigger
  BURLINGTON — Independent mayoral candidate Infinite Culcleasure says he is “all in” until election day, rebutting reports that he may join forces with fellow Independent Carina Driscoll.The prospect of a partnership between Driscoll and Culcleasure was first reported in a Seven Days story profiling the three c
  
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• Desperate dairy farmers given lifeline in federal budget

  10-02-2018 01:56 via vtdigger.org
  Dairy farm barn in winter. Photo by Terry J. Allen/VTDigger
  BURLINGTON — Less than a day after passing a massive budget deal in Washington, Sen. Patrick Leahy was in Vermont touting a farming bill in the federal package that secured more than $1.1 billion in subsidies to to stabilize the dairy industry.Dairy farmers have seen their incomes steadily decline in recent years, and with milk prices at a 20-year low, there have been reports of farmers selling off their herds, or worse. Dairy co-
  
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• Dave Snedeker: Wind power from Canada

  10-02-2018 01:05 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by David Snedeker, who is the executive director of the Northeastern Vermont Development Association.
  In first hearing of Massachusetts selection of the Northern Pass project over 40-plus other potential bidders to negotiate a contract for renewable energy to serve Massachusetts, I was admittedly surprised. Based on all information publicly available, many of the other bidders offered better and more affordable projects, including the Northeast Kingdom&rsq
  
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• House panel advances saliva testing for pot

  10-02-2018 01:01 via vtdigger.org
  From smoke to saliva, tests will tell. File photo by Josh Larkin/VTDigger
  A panel of lawmakers voted in favor of a bill that would allow law enforcement officers to use saliva testing to detect the presence of drugs in motorists.
  The House Transportation Committee approved the bill, H.237, on Friday, by a vote of 10-0-1. Before it is taken up by the full House, the measure may first be sent to the House Judiciary Committee for further review.The bill was introduced following the passage last mon
  
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• John Klar: Gun legislation would restrict constitutional liberties

  10-02-2018 01:00 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by John Klar, a Vermont grass-fed beef farmer, and an attorney and pastor who lives in Westfield.
  Anti-gun groups have once again pushed an unnecessary and deceptive bill into our Vermont Legislature, wasting valuable political resources while fostering resentment and division. S.6, which seeks to impose a transfer fee on all private sales of firearms within the state, has been presented by these foreign-funded lobbyists as a panacea to gun violence. The e
  
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• Bob Stannard: Our inexperienced president

  10-02-2018 00:55 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.
  An inexperienced fighter telegraphs his punches. You can see his punch coming a mile away and thus defend against it. Likewise an inexperienced politician projects his true intentions.
  When you hear Donald Trump declare that there’s a witch hunt; he’s projecting. There is a witch hunt but it’s orchestrated by him against our law e
  
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• Tom Torti: An antidote for Vermont’s shrinking workforce

  10-02-2018 00:50 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Tom Torti, who is the president of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce.It was heartening to hear Gov. Phil Scott announce a new program to attract young people to live and work in Vermont during his Jan. 23 budget address. Employers and business leaders across the state will tell you that strengthening Vermont’s economy depends upon reversing current demographic trends of an aging population and rapidly shrinking workforce. We must ens
  
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• Tom Torti: An antidote for a shrinking workforce

  10-02-2018 00:50 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Tom Torti, who is the president of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce.It was heartening to hear Gov. Phil Scott announce a new program to attract young people to live and work in Vermont during his Jan. 23 budget address. Employers and business leaders across the state will tell you that strengthening Vermont’s economy depends upon reversing current demographic trends of an aging population and rapidly shrinking workforce. We must ens
  
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• ‘Lake in crisis’ targeted with new legislation

  10-02-2018 00:48 via vtdigger.org
  Lake Carmi was closed for months because of toxic algae blooms caused by pollution from local dairy farms. Photo by Mike Polhamus/VTDigger
  Lake Carmi is facing a “crisis” due to pollution from the surrounding dairy farms, according to a bill discussed at the Statehouse this week that would call for emergency action from the state.
  Residents living around the state’s fourth largest lake say pollution is not only making it unusable and unattractive — having been turned gree
  
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• Legislators act to take back net neutrality

  10-02-2018 00:28 via vtdigger.org
  Protesters rally for net neutrality outside the FCC in Washington. File photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger
  The Scott administration and members of the Vermont Legislature are in agreement that something needs to be done to maintain public access to the internet in Vermont, but they may be at odds over how to do it.
  The House and the Senate both have bills pending that provide pushback against the Federal Communication Commission’s December vote repealing Obama-era net-neutrality rules &mda
  
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• Legislators act to preserve net neutrality

  10-02-2018 00:28 via vtdigger.org
  Protesters rally for net neutrality outside the FCC in Washington. File photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger
  The Scott administration and members of the Vermont Legislature are in agreement that something needs to be done to maintain public access to the internet in Vermont, but they may be at odds over how to do it.
  The House and the Senate both have bills pending that provide pushback against the Federal Communication Commission’s December vote repealing Obama-era net-neutrality rules &mda
  
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