Vermont news

• Scott ‘disappointed’ by pace of progress on gun legislation at Statehouse

  03-03-2018 05:34 via vtdigger.org
  Gov. Phil Scott said “everything is on the table” with gun safety reform. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDiggerGov. Phil Scott said he was “disappointed” that a bill addressing gun violence did not make it to his desk this week after the House decided to move on its own “extreme risk” gun seizure bill rather than passing a similar bill already approved by the Senate.The bill that looked most likely to get out of the legislature first was S.221, which allows authori
  
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• State, NorthStar strike deal for sale of Vermont Yankee

  03-03-2018 04:00 via vtdigger.org
  Vermont Yankee as seen from the air in mid-December. Photo by Kristopher Radder/Brattleboro Reformer
  After 15 months of sometimes-contentious debate, there’s been a breakthrough in the proposed sale of Vermont Yankee to a New York decommissioning company.
  A deal released Friday calls for the plant’s current and prospective owners to set aside nearly $200 million in additional funds to support decommissioning at the Vernon site.
  Additionally, the companies agreed to new restoration st
  
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• Universal primary care bill moves forward

  03-03-2018 03:19 via vtdigger.org
  Sen. Claire Ayer, chair of Senate Health and Welfare. Photo by Erin Mansfield/VTDigger
  Legislators on Friday took a small but significant step toward establishing universal, publicly financed primary health care in Vermont.
  The Senate Health and Welfare Committee unanimously approved S.53, which would set in motion several years of work toward creating a primary care system that would take effect in 2022.
  The bill does not mandate creation of such a system. Instead, it orders detailed planning a
  
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• House advances bill to create artificial intelligence task force

  03-03-2018 01:18 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. Brian Cina, P-Burlington, wants to know more about AI before inviting its development in Vermont. File photo by Bob LoCicero/VTDigger
  The House advanced a measure Friday that would create a task force to keep track of the development of artificial intelligence in Vermont.
  The six-member body would make recommendations on how the state should both regulate artificial intelligence and support and promote emerging technology.Get all of VTDigger's political news.You'll never miss a political st
  
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• Former Air Force colonel commands F-35 opposition

  03-03-2018 01:18 via vtdigger.org
  
  
  Retired Air Force Col. Rosanne Greco has become the de facto voice of the F-35 opposition in the Burlington area. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  Rough Landing is a special series and podcast on the debate over basing F-35 fighter jets in Burlington. Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.
  For nearly three decades, Col. Rosanne Greco served her country in the U.S. Air Force. But for the past five years, she’s been engaged in a fierce battle with the military over the
  
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• Bradley Myerson: Civil liberties at risk under proposed seat belt law

  03-03-2018 01:05 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Bradley D. Myerson, of Manchester Center, where he has been practicing law for the past 35 years. I am a member of the board of directors for ACLU-VT, but the views expressed here are his own.
  A recent newspaper editorial supporting legislation giving Vermont police the ability to stop motorists solely for not wearing a seat belt, known as “primary enforcement,” ignores the serious threat to civil liberties if the bill were to become law.
  Th
  
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• Tom Rogers: Supporting the renewable energy initiative

  03-03-2018 01:00 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Tom Rogers, of Stowe, who works in wildlife conservation.
  Recently, my wife and I enjoyed dinner out in downtown Stowe, sitting at the bar due to the bustling Presidents Week crowds. The family at the bar next to us was in town from Boston and told us that this was their third year in a row getting rained out on a ski vacation in Stowe and they would likely not return as a result.The towns voting on the intitiave are Arlington, Bennington, Bethel, Bratt
  
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• Scott’s net neutrality order draws mixed response from firms

  03-03-2018 00:58 via vtdigger.org
  John Quinn, the chief innovation officer for Gov. Phil Scott, backs the waiver provision in Gov. Phil Scott’s executive order on net neutrality. File photo by Erin Mansfield/VTDigger
  Gov. Phil Scott’s executive order on net neutrality has drawn both support and resistance from internet companies in Vermont that could face new regulations in April, if the rules take effect.
  Scott signed an executive order Feb. 12 that would direct the Agency of Administration to ensure that internet p
  
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• Gas pipeline violates safety requirements, opponents say

  03-03-2018 00:52 via vtdigger.org
  The 41-mile Vermont Gas pipeline was completed a year ago. File photo by Morgan True / VTDigger
  Flaws in the Vermont Gas Systems Addison County pipeline, completed a year ago, amount to“widespread, repeated and potentially catastrophic violations of critical public safety requirements,” according to a motion filed Wednesday with the Public Utility Commission.The pipeline also was constructed in such a way as to cause potential harm to the wetlands it crosses, the complaint says.
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• Tom Evslin: Renewables are a means, not an end

  03-03-2018 00:50 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Tom Evslin, founder and chairman of NG Advantage, a natural gas delivery company, and an entrepreneur, author and former Douglas administration official. See his full disclosure at the end of this commentary. This post first appeared on his blog, Fractals of Change.An organization called 350Vermont has caused an advisory item to be placed on the town meeting agenda for my town of Stowe and many other towns around the state whose first plank is to &ldquo
  
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• Deborah Bucknam: Systemic racism

  03-03-2018 00:50 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Deborah Bucknam, of Walden, who was the Republican candidate for attorney general in November. She is a graduate of Vermont Law School in private practice in St. Johnsbury and past vice chair of the Vermont Republican Party.
  Recently, the Vermont General Assembly passed a resolution honoring Black Lives Matter. The resolution noted that there is “systemic racism” in Vermont.
  The resolution is correct. There is systemic racism in Vermont and
  
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• Case against former student accused in shooting plot may hinge on ‘attempt’

  03-03-2018 00:08 via vtdigger.org
  Jack Sawyer is greeted by defense attorney Kelly Green as he appears in Vermont Superior Court in Rutland for an evidentiary hearing. Pool photo by Glenn Russell/The Burlington Free Press)
  RUTLAND – The attorney for a former student accused of plotting to shoot up the high school he’d attended told a judge on Friday she will file a motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that prosecutors lack enough evidence to support the charges.
  Prosecutors called police and school officials to
  
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