Vermont news

• New plan for forest land promotes diversity in trees

  18-02-2018 22:57 via vtdigger.org
  A moose in the Nulhegan Basin Division of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge in Essex County. File photo by David Govatski/USFWS via Flickr
  The forests of the Nulhegan Basin in northern Essex County, heavily logged for 150 years, will be managed with an eye toward growing healthy forests that will sustain wildlife, support recreation, and still produce some income from the sale of forestry products, according to the draft habitat management plan for the Nulhegan Basin publishe
  
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• Tests on taps find lead in water of some older Vermont schools

  18-02-2018 20:18 via vtdigger.org
  The front entrance at Academy School, an elementary school in Brattleboro reporting a single tap with lead levels well above state and federal limits. File photo by Randolph T. Holhut/The Commons
  A state project to test for lead in the water of selected Vermont schools has found that about half the schools for which the results have come in have at least a few taps and faucets that exceed state andfederal limits.Three state agencies working together — the Department of Health, Department o
  
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• Then Again: What was this respected Vermont doctor hiding?

  18-02-2018 20:00 via vtdigger.org
  John Wilson posed for this daguerreotype about five years before he died, in 1847. Neighbors knew him as a cultured man who worked as a doctor and school teacher.
  Editor’s note: Mark Bushnell is a Vermont journalist and historian. He is the author of “Hidden History of Vermont” and “It Happened in Vermont.”John Wilson hated to be the subject of speculation. But people couldn’t help themselves. He remained the talk of the town, even as he moved from town to tow
  
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• Leahy leads congressional delegation to Cuba

  18-02-2018 15:30 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Office of Sen. Patrick LeahyFebruary 16, 2018
  Contact:David CarleOffice of Sen. Patrick [email protected]
  Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will head a bicameral congressional delegation that will visit Cuba next week, during the congressional recess.
  Leahy for two decades has been centrally involved in efforts to replace the failed 50-year-old U.S. Cuba policy of isolation with a new path toward normalization. Leahy is the Vice Chai
  
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• Speaker Johnson’s statement on report of discrimination in state government

  18-02-2018 15:25 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Office of the Speaker of the HouseFebruary 16, 2018
  Contact:Katherine LevasseurOffice of the Speaker of the [email protected]
  Montpelier – “I am deeply troubled by the recent reports of racial discrimination and harassment at the Vermont Psychiatric Hospital and across State of Vermont departments and agencies. This report is the latest of a troubling pattern of racial harassment and discrimination. Many Vermonters have voiced their
  
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• House Committee on Ways and Means holds public hearing on education funding system

  18-02-2018 15:20 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Legislative CouncilFebruary 16, 2018
  Contact:Sorsha AndersonVermont Legislative [email protected]
  Montpelier – The House Committee on Ways and Means will hold a public hearing onPotential Changes to the Education Funding System on Wednesday, February 21, 2018. The hearing will be held in Room 11 on the ground floor of the State House in Montpelier from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
  Materials outlining the potential changes to the education fu
  
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• Norwich Farm Creamery welcomes former Olympians to talk about the power of milk

  18-02-2018 15:15 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Norwich Farm CreameryFebruary 15, 2018
  Contact:Chris GrayNorwich Farm [email protected]
  Norwich – Recently, a group of former Olympic athletes from Norwich, VT gathered at the local Norwich Farm Creamery to learn about the health and nutritional benefits of milk. They came because milk is an official sponsor of the United States Olympic Committee and the hundreds of American athletes competing for Team USA in the Winter Olympic Game
  
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• Chaffee Art Center invites poets to join Poetry Writing Group

  18-02-2018 15:10 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Chaffee Art CenterFebruary 14, 2018
  Contact:Jim BoughtonChaffee Art [email protected]
  Rutland – The Chaffee Art Center is starting a Poetry Writing Group and is looking for members. The goal of this group is to connect people who want to share their craft with others and are looking for inspiration and encouragement in a non-threatening environment.The group will be made up of poets who want to share work in progress, get inspired, ask qu
  
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• Gov. Phil Scott named state co-chair of Northern Border Regional Commission

  18-02-2018 15:05 via vtdigger.org
  News Release –Office of the GovernorFebruary 14, 2018
  Contact:Rebecca KelleyOffice of the [email protected]
  Newport – Governor Phil Scott and Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) Federal Co-Chair Mark Scarano were in Newport Wednesday to announce that Scott will serve as the Commission’s first state co-chair.
  “While the cities and towns across the Northern Border Region are unique, we face similar economic and social challenges,” s
  
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• AVSBM hosts conference on alternative governance structures for schools, Feb. 24

  18-02-2018 15:00 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — The Alliance of Vermont School Board MembersFebruary 14, 2018
  Contact:Jack Bryar, Research DirectorThe Alliance of Vermont School Board [email protected]
   
  Grafton – On February 24, The Alliance of Vermont School Board Members (AVSBM) will be convening a conference to help school systems attempting to institute what are called alternative governance structures, or AGS’s.
  The conference will take place on February 24 at the Montpeli
  
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• Legislation puts ‘unfair burden’ on independent surgical centers

  18-02-2018 14:05 via vtdigger.org
  Dr. Greg McCormick of Vermont Eye Surgery and Laser Center testifies Friday before the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. Photo by Mike Faher/VTDigger
  Administrators at Vermont’s two ambulatory surgical centers – one of which has not yet opened its doors – say proposed state regulations could jeopardize their existence.
  Representatives of Vermont Eye Surgery and Laser Center in South Burlington and the proposed Green Mountain Surgery Center in Colchester converged on the Stat
  
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• Quechee man fired from independent living facility

  18-02-2018 13:23 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This story by Nora Doyle-Burr was first published by the Valley News on Friday, Feb. 16.The administrator of The Woodlands, an independent living community that shares a campus with Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, has been fired.
  A letter distributed to residents on Thursday cited “a pattern of unprofessional behavior” as the reason for the termination of Timothy Martin, a Quechee resident who had managed the 63-unit independent living facility in Lebanon since
  
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• Mumps Cases Confirmed at St. Michael’s College and University of Vermont

  18-02-2018 13:08 via vtdigger.org
  For Immediate Release: February 16, 2018
  Media Contact:Vermont Department of Health802-863-7281
  BURLINGTON – The Vermont Department of Health is investigating an outbreak of mumps among students at St. Michaels College and the University of Vermont. Mumps is a contagious illness caused by a virus that can be spread through close person-to-person contact, such as coughing, sneezing or sharing drinking glasses. The virus causes fever, swelling of the parotid glands, and can affect other part
  
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• The Deeper Dig: Burlington candidates in conversation

  18-02-2018 12:51 via vtdigger.org
  Miro Weinberger, Infinite Culcleasure and Carina Driscoll at Thursday’s mayoral candidate forum. Photo by Bob LoCicero/VTDigger
  Livability issues dominated Thursday night’s mayoral candidate forum in Burlington. As Mayor Miro Weinberger highlighted his administration’s accomplishments in housing and infrastructure development over the past six years, independent candidates Carina Driscoll and Infinite Culcleasure suggested that the mayor runs the city t
  
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• School income tax to get public vetting

  18-02-2018 12:46 via vtdigger.org
  School tax chart from the Joint Fiscal Office.
  Changes to the education tax formula have been touted by the House Democratic leadership as a way to fix a shortfall in the education fund without raising property taxes.
  House Speaker Mitzi Johnson began a public campaign last week to back a proposal that promises to slash homestead property taxes in half and introduce a new school income tax.RELATED STORIESFinance commissioner says education funding proposal falls shortProperty taxes slashed in pr
  
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• Gov. Phil Scott’s schedule for the week of Feb. 1

  18-02-2018 12:07 via vtdigger.org
  Governor Phil Scott’s Public Schedule: 2/17/18 – 2/23/18
  Saturday, February 17
  12:30 – 1:00 PM
  Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont Winter Conference
  UVM Davis Center, 590 Main Street, Burlington, VT
  Sunday, February 18
  No public events scheduled
  Monday, February 19
  President’s Day
  7:30 – 9:00 AM
  Lamoille County Legislative Breakfast
  Johnson State College, Stearns Student Center, 337 College Hill Road, Johnson, VT
  Tuesday, February 20
  10:00 – 10:30
  
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