Vermont news

• Donovan joins call for end to arbitration in sexual harassment cases

  12-02-2018 23:35 via vtdigger.org
  Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan. File photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  WASHINGTON — Vermont’s attorney general joined a group of top legal officials from 56 states and territories urging Congress crack down on arbitration clauses regarding workplace sexual harassment.
  Attorneys general from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and five U.S. territories urged Congress to take action to ensure that victims of workplace sexual harassment can access the courts in a letter sent to Republi
  
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• House leaders press Senate to take up paid leave bill

  12-02-2018 23:22 via vtdigger.org
  Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe and House Speaker Mitzi Johnson discuss legislative priorities for 2018. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  Vermont would be the sixth state to offer paid family leave if the state Senate passes a House bill that was approved last year.Under the 1992 federal Family and Medical Leave Act, employees have the right to take up to 12 weeks off to care for a child, spouse or family member and retain benefits, such as health care, but there is no government or mandated e
  
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• UPDATED: Man shot and killed by police on I-89 said he wanted to ‘end it’

  12-02-2018 23:07 via vtdigger.org
  Col. Matthew Birmingham, director of the Vermont State Police, addresses a press conference Monday at the state police barracks in Williston about a officer-involved shooting on Interstate 89 in Bolton that left a Sheldon man dead. Photo by Alan J. Keays/VTDigger
  Vermont State Police say the man shot and killed by police Sunday afternoon on Interstate 89 was pointing a gun to his own head and walking toward the officers, refusing their orders to put down the firearm.
  Trooper Christopher Brown an
  
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• Man shot and killed by police on I-89 said he wanted to ‘end it’

  12-02-2018 23:07 via vtdigger.org
  Col. Matthew Birmingham, director of the Vermont State Police, addresses a press conference Monday at the state police barracks in Williston about a officer-involved shooting on Interstate 89 in Bolton that left a Sheldon man dead. Photo by Alan J. Keays/VTDigger
  Vermont State Police say the man shot and killed by police Sunday afternoon on Interstate 89 was pointing a gun to his own head and walking toward the officers, refusing their orders to put down the firearm.Trooper Christopher Brown and
  
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• LISTEN: Comedian Tina Friml Challenges Stigma With Jokes About Her Disability dlvr.it/QG4tdz https://t.co/ZwHOmXWadG

  12-02-2018 22:09 via twitter.com
  
  LISTEN: Comedian Tina Friml Challenges Stigma With Jokes About Her Disability dlvr.it/QG4tdz https://t.co/ZwHOmXWadG
  
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• Comedian Tina Friml Challenges Stigma With Jokes About Her Disability dlvr.it/QG4tq1 https://t.co/3yTF0EJ3xu

  12-02-2018 22:09 via twitter.com
  
  Comedian Tina Friml Challenges Stigma With Jokes About Her Disability dlvr.it/QG4tq1 https://t.co/3yTF0EJ3xu
  
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• CNSU uses grant for mental health services in schools

  12-02-2018 21:03 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Caledonia North Supervisory UnionFebruary 9, 2018
  Contact:Serena [email protected]
  Rural Mental Health Services- a successful and sustainable model
  Rural mental health services are difficult to access, especially for children. Schools across the nation are struggling to meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of a shockingly high number of children burdened by debilitating anxiety and depression. In many situations, the children have been affected by signi
  
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• Executive director of Brattleboro Housing Partnership to speak at Inclusion Center

  12-02-2018 20:56 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Inclusion CenterFeb. 10, 2018
  Contact:Julie TamlerDirectorInclusion Center802-387-5285
  Brattleboro, February 2018—Chris Hart, Executive Director of Brattleboro Housing Partnership (BHP), will be the guest speaker at Inclusion Center on Friday, February 16, at 1:00 p.m. She will discuss public housing for people with disabilities and medical concerns.
  BHP commissioners set overall policy and goals for BHP which, with the Executive Director, administrates all federally s
  
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• Scott proclaims Feb. 10 Active Play Awareness Day

  12-02-2018 20:50 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Office of the GovernorSaturday, February 10, 2018
  Contact:Rebecca Kelley, Office of the [email protected]
  HIGHLIGHTS HIS ADMINISTRATION’S COMMITMENT TO PREVENTATIVE HEALTH INITIATIVES
  Montpelier, Vt. – On Saturday, Governor Phil Scott joined the St. Albans community for RiseVT’s “Healthy Hearts” event, where he participated in activities promoting healthy behaviors and signed a proclamation to declare February 10, 20
  
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• Peak Pitch registration open for entrepreneurs and investors

  12-02-2018 20:46 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Fresh Tracks CapitalFeb. 8, 2018
  Contact:Holly [email protected]
  14th Annual Peak Pitch Event Gives Entrepreneurs a Lift
  Registration Open for Entrepreneurs and Investors
  Shelburne, VT ( February 8, 2018)—FreshTracks Capital announces the return of Peak Pitch, a start-up business pitch event on the slopes, scheduled for Thursday March 15th. Now in its fourteenth year, Peak Pitch brings aspiring entrepreneurs and investors together for a uni
  
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• Hal Colston announces candidacy for Winooski City Council as write-in candidate

  12-02-2018 20:39 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Hal ColstonFebruary 9, 2018
  Contact:Hal [email protected]
  Winooski resident Hal Colston has announced his candidacy for Winooski City Council as a write-in candidate. Colston has lived in Winooski for eight years and is the director for Partnership for Change which supports the Winooski and Burlington School Districts to shift to a student-centered, personalized and proficiency-based learning system so all students are successful in community, college and career
  
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• LISTEN: House Bill Addresses Legal Questions Of Parenthood dlvr.it/QG49P9 https://t.co/xvYgkyFwYp

  12-02-2018 20:12 via twitter.com
  
  LISTEN: House Bill Addresses Legal Questions Of Parenthood dlvr.it/QG49P9 https://t.co/xvYgkyFwYp
  
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• The Home Team: VTDigger’s daily Olympic dispatch

  12-02-2018 19:03 via vtdigger.org
  Welcome to The Home Team, VTDigger’s daily Olympic dispatch. Every morning, we’ll feature the highlights of Vermonters competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Check out our full list of Vermont athletes on Team USA, and meet author Kevin O’Connor in our Olympic preview podcast.
  Monday, February 12
  Shiffrin sidelined by wind
  The U.S. Olympic Committee’s website deemed it the “event to watch on Monday.” But television viewers who
  
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• Vermont inmate denied treatment for failing eyesight

  12-02-2018 11:11 via vtdigger.org
  Block J at the Camp Hill prison in Pennsylvania is where Vermonters are housed. Photo by Jasper Craven/VTDiggerA Vermont inmate imprisoned in Pennsylvania says has been denied treatment for failing eyesight, and may go blind as a result.
  Joshua Darling, 33, who is serving time for a 2006 conviction for a drug-involved kidnapping and manslaughter, sued the Vermont Department of Corrections last week in the civil division of Washington Superior Court.RELATED STORIESFollowing inmate’s death,
  
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• Vermont State Police investigating officer involved fatal shooting on I-89 in Bolton

  12-02-2018 02:07 via vtdigger.org
  A Vermont State Police say they are investigating an officer involved shooting that left a man dead following a traffic stop Sunday afternoon on Interstate 89 in Bolton.
  Police have not identified the man who was killed. Police have also not released the names of the Vermont State Police trooper and Richmond police officer who they said shot the man.
  “The Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit and Crime Scene Search Team have been activated and are responding to the scene,” police sai
  
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• UPDATED: Vermont State Police investigating officer involved fatal shooting on I-89 in Bolton

  12-02-2018 02:07 via vtdigger.org
  A Vermont State Police say they are investigating an officer involved shooting that left a man dead following a traffic stop Sunday afternoon on Interstate 89 in Bolton.
  Police identified the man as Benjamin Gregware, age 42 of Sheldon. Police have also not released the names of the Vermont State Police trooper and Richmond police officer who they said shot the man.
  “The Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit and Crime Scene Search Team have been activated and are responding to the scene,&r
  
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• Affordable housing initiatives hurt by lagging Bennington economy

  12-02-2018 02:02 via vtdigger.org
  The People’s United Bank in downtown Bennington.
  Bennington Banner file photoBENNINGTON — Affordable housing initiatives face new challenges in the region, including a stagnant local economy, low wages, aging housing stock and an elderly population.Advocates highlighted these problems at the Southern Vermont Housing Summit Friday at Bennington College.Stephanie Lane, of Shires Housing in Bennington County, and Peter Paggi, of the Windham and Windsor Housing Trust, described their eff
  
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• Head of Vermont State Police tactical team taken off unit

  12-02-2018 01:28 via vtdigger.org
  The head of the Vermont State Police tactical team and one its members have been taken off the special unit, according to State Police Col. Matthew Birmingham.State Police Lt. Hugh O’Donnell, who led the tactical services unit, and Trooper Christopher Brown, a member of the team, are both now off the team, according to Birmingham, the director of the Vermont State Police.
  Birmingham said since it was considered a personnel matter, he could not provide further comment on the departures from
  
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• David Coates: More bad pension news for Vermont

  12-02-2018 01:05 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by David Coates, a retired managing partner at KPMG — Vermont and a member of the Vermont Business Roundtable. He was a member of the 2010 state Commission on the Design and Funding of Retirement and Retiree Health Benefits Plans for State Employees and Teachers. He lives in Colchester.
  More bad news has arrived for Vermonters, and especially Vermont taxpayers, with the release of the state actuary’s June 20, 2017, reports. The reports cover pe
  
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• Peter Berger: Presidential oaths

  12-02-2018 01:00 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Peter Berger, an English teacher at Weathersfield School, who writes “Poor Elijah’s Almanack.” The column appears in several publications, including the Times Argus, the Rutland Herald and the Stowe Reporter.
  I sometimes swear at lunch.
  That’s right. Sometimes I’m responding to insanities at school. Other times politics provokes me. Either way, there are days when I use language with my colleagues that I wouldn’t utte
  
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• Don Keelan: Poor treatment of a Gold Star Mother

  12-02-2018 00:55 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Don Keelan, a retired certified public accountant and resident of Arlington. The piece first appeared in the Bennington Banner.
  On Jan. 9, the Vermont Board of Libraries voted 7-0 to have Dorothy Canfield Fisher’s name removed from the annual children’s book award. It will now be up to Scott Murphy, state librarian, to act on the advisory board’s recommendation.
  Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1879-1958) was a longtime resident of Arlington.
  
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• Catherine Craig: State program is driving sustainable business

  12-02-2018 00:50 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Catherine Craig, of Vermont, the lead of the Vermont Green Business Program and a compliance assistance specialist at the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation.Vermont’s Green Business Program is 18 years old now. And like most 18-year-olds, it is time for us to make a big change. But instead of packing our family’s minivan with dorm room necessities, we are expanding our programs, increasing our visibility and working to increase
  
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