Vermont news

• Chloe Learey: The long-running debate over ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ toys

  16-03-2018 23:55 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Chloe Learey, the executive director of Winston Prouty Center for Child and Family Development in Brattleboro. She is a member of the Building Bright Futures State Advisory Council, a governor-appointed body which advises the administration and Legislature on early childhood care, health and education systems. She recently was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce.
  Playing is one of the main ways children learn about
  
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• Chloe Learey: The long-running debate ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ toys

  16-03-2018 23:55 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Chloe Learey, the executive director of Winston Prouty Center for Child and Family Development in Brattleboro. She is a member of the Building Bright Futures State Advisory Council, a governor-appointed body which advises the administration and Legislature on early childhood care, health and education systems. She recently was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce.
  Playing is one of the main ways children learn about
  
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• Insanity defense for driver of car in crash that killed five teens

  16-03-2018 22:48 via vtdigger.org
  Steven Bourgoin was arraigned in a makeshift courtroom at the University of Vermont Medical Center where he was being treated for injuries in the crash. Pool photo by Glenn Russell/The Burlington Free Press
  BURLINGTON — Steven Bourgoin, awaiting trial on charges of second-degree murder from a fatal head-on collision that killedfive teenagers in the fall of 2016, will raise an insanity defense, according to newly filed court documents.Bourgoin, 37, already had entered a not-guilty plea to t
  
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• Bennington sets vote on recommended charter changes

  16-03-2018 22:37 via vtdigger.org
  Bennington Selectboard Chairman Thomas Jacobs. File photo by Jim Therrien/VTDigger
  BENNINGTON — With a transition to mayoral government at least temporarily off the table, the Selectboard has scheduled a special town meeting for June 5 to consider some less drastic charter changes.
  The board also has scheduled two public hearings to discuss revisions to the town charter, recommended following a review by a citizens’ committee last year.Get all of VTDigger's political news.You'll neve
  
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• Contractor pulls out of school health insurance program

  16-03-2018 21:46 via vtdigger.org
  Vermont Senate and House conference committee members shake hands last May after approving a bill that led to changes in teacher health care benefits. File photo by Tiffany Danitz Pache/VTDigger
  Vermont’s new teacher health care plans have hit a major snag less than three months after they began. Almost 250 teachers have unpaid claims and the company hired by most school districts to administer the reimbursements has abruptly decided to pull out of contracts as of May 31.
  The contractor, F
  
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• Scott administration decreases workers’ compensation insurance rates

  16-03-2018 20:10 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Office of the GovernorWednesday, March 14, 2018
  Media Contact:Rebecca Kelley, Office of the Governor802-828-6403 / [email protected]
  Stephanie Brackin, Department of Financial Regulation802-828-4872 / [email protected]
  Vermont Employers to Save $10 Million
  Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott today announced that workers’ compensation insurance rates will continue to improve for a second year in a row. It will cost less for most Vermont empl
  
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• Green Mountain Academy and SVMC present palliative care, hospice, and end-of-life issues lecture

  16-03-2018 20:02 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Southwestern Vermont Medical CenterMarch 14, 2018
  Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning and Southwestern Vermont Medical Center Present Palliative Care, Hospice, and End-of-Life Issues
  BENNINGTON, VT—March 14, 2018—Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) and Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning (GMALL) will partner to present a “Medicine Today” lecture about palliative care.
  The talk, Palliative Care, Hospice, and End-of-Life Issues,
  
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• North Country Hospital board names interim CEO

  16-03-2018 19:56 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — North Country HospitalMarch 12, 2018
  Contact:Wendy Franklin, Development & Community [email protected]
  Newport, VT: North Country Hospital Board of Trustees has named Chief Operating Officer, Tom Frank, as the interim CEO of North Country Hospital effective April 1, 2018, replacing long-time CEO Claudio Fort. Fort is leaving to fill the position of CEO of Rutland Regional Medical Center.
  Chairman of the North Country Hospital Board of Trustees, Fra
  
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• Department of Public Safety gives winter recreation safety tips

  16-03-2018 19:53 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Department of Public SafetyMarch 14, 2018
  Contact:Neil Van DykeSearch & Rescue CoordinatorVermont Department of Public [email protected]
  Recent snow storms have been a welcome sight for outdoor enthusiasts, but they have also created hazards for those who venture into the backcountry. Deep snow accumulations on top of an earlier freeze/thaw cycle snow layer has created extremely unstable conditions in steep terrain. The recently reported
  
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• Women United hosts event to highlight Vermont’s working women

  16-03-2018 19:49 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Women UnitedMarch 14, 2018
  Contact:Alison DeFisherMarketing & Communications ManagerUnited Way of Northwest Vermont(802) 861-7838 / (802) 864-7401 (fax)www.unitedwaynwvt.org
  South Burlington, VT: Women United — a diverse network of women within the community of United Way of Northwest Vermont — will host an evening of networking with a panel discussion illuminating the value female workers bring to our economy and how to best support their success.
  Relationsh
  
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• Young chefs test their skills in Iron Chef Competition

  16-03-2018 19:43 via vtdigger.org
  News Release –Vermont Food Education Every Day (VT FEED)March 14, 2018
  Contact:Kim Norman Mercer(802) 274-3043
  Photos – http://vtfeed.org/jrironchefvt/photos
  Vermont’s culinary competition for middle and high school students is scheduled for this weekend at the Champlain Valley Expo Center
  Essex Junction, VT – On Saturday, March 17, 68 teams of young chefs from across Vermont will compete in Jr Iron Chef VT a timed cooking competition at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex
  
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• Leahy statement on dismissal of Secretary of State Tillerson

  16-03-2018 19:39 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Sen. Patrick LeahyMarch 13, 2018
  Press Contact:David Carle(202) 224-3693
  Statement Of Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patrick Leahy On The President’s Sudden Dismissal Of Secretary Of State Tillerson
  The only predictable thing about this President is that nothing he says or does survives the test of time. Cabinet officials are fired without even the courtesy of a phone call. Policy pronouncements made with fanfare yesterday are repudiated today. One minute a corrup
  
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• Scott statement in response to House passing H.906

  16-03-2018 19:36 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Office of the GovernorWednesday, March 14, 2018
  Media Contact:Rebecca Kelley, Office of the Governor802-828-6403, [email protected]
  STATEMENT BY GOVERNOR PHIL SCOTT IN RESPONSE TO THE HOUSE PASSING H.906, AN ACT RELATING TO PROFESSIONAL LICENSING FOR SERVICE MEMBERS AND VETERANS
  Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott today issued the following statement in response to the House passing H.906, an act relating to professional licensing for service members and vet
  
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• Students ‘Disrupt the Stone Age’ with 2018 Solutions Conference on Law and Technology

  16-03-2018 19:33 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Law SchoolMarch 15, 2018
  Contact:Maryellen Apelquist, Director of Communications, Vermont Law Schooloffice: 802-831-1228, cell: 802-299-5593, [email protected]
  SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt., March 15, 2018––Scholars, lawyers, and technology disruptors will join Vermont Law School students for their annual Solutions Conference, this year titled “#VLSLegalTech—Disrupt the Stone Age,” from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, March 23, in Chase Community
  
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• State barn and historic preservation grants awarded to 33 projects across Vermont

  16-03-2018 19:29 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Division of Historic PreservationThursday, March 15, 2018
  Media Contact:Caitlin Corkins, Vermont Division of Historic Preservation802-828-3047 / [email protected]
  Rebecca Kelley, Office of the Governor802-828-6403 / [email protected]
  Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott recognized the recipients of 16 State Historic Preservation Grants and 17 Barn Preservation Grants at a ceremony held at the State House Thursday. The 33 grants, totaling $46
  
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• LISTEN: Gov. Scott On Gun Bills, Budgets And School Spending dlvr.it/QLJ3SW https://t.co/1bwl6OCAHZ

  16-03-2018 19:21 via twitter.com
  
  LISTEN: Gov. Scott On Gun Bills, Budgets And School Spending dlvr.it/QLJ3SW https://t.co/1bwl6OCAHZ
  
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• SCOV Law Blog: Probation conditions challenged

  16-03-2018 17:00 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This piece from the SCOV Law Blog is by Elizabeth Kruska.State v. Urban, 2018 VT 25
  Probation conditions! Again! We should be good at this by now.RELATED STORIESSCOV Law Blog: Denial of continuation of unemployment benefits appealedSCOV Law Blog: Appealing a lewd and lascivious convictionSCOV Law Blog: Exempt from Act 250?SCOV Law Blog: A case of primary eligibilitySCOV Law Blog:A last minute pull-out from arbitration
  So here we go into this one. Mr. Urban was convicted of s
  
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• YWP: ‘Electric Galaxy’

  16-03-2018 16:45 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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• Join @GovPhilScott today for a talk about surprises in Montpelier, various #GunControl bills in the #VTleg, school… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  16-03-2018 15:08 via twitter.com
  Join @GovPhilScott today for a talk about surprises in Montpelier, various #GunControl bills in the #VTleg, school… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• Scott leads fundraising pack for gubernatorial race

  16-03-2018 12:42 via vtdigger.org
  Gov. Phil Scott has raised more than $120,000 toward his re-election bid for 2018 as of March 15, the reporting deadline for campaign donations recorded on the Vermont Secretary of State website.His main Democratic rival, Christine Hallquist, who just announced her bid for governor on Feb. 20 raised nearly $43,000 in that three week interim. Hallquist, the former longtime CEO of the Vermont Electric Cooperative, is the first transgender gubernatorial candidate in the nation. Get all of VTDigger'
  
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• Tax reform bill clears House Appropriations Committee

  16-03-2018 02:40 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. Kitty Toll, D-Danville, speaks on the House floor about the fiscal year 2018 budget. Photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger
  The House Appropriations Committee advanced a sweeping tax reform package Thursday that would make broad changes to Vermont’s income tax and education finance system.
  The committee voted 9-2 to pass H.911, a proposal crafted by the House Ways and Means Committee this session that would both protect Vermonters from paying about $30 million in additional taxes and chan
  
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• Fight against opioids gets boost from $28M tobacco settlement

  16-03-2018 02:32 via vtdigger.org
  Photo by Robin Danehav/Creative Commons
  Vermont will see a $28 million windfall after the state Attorney General’s Office settled 14 years of legal disputes with the tobacco industry.
  In announcing the settlement deal on Thursday, officials said $14 million will go toward the state’s ongoing efforts to combat the opioid-addiction crisis.
  The other $14 million is up for grabs. And it arrives at a fortuitous time, as lawmakers are working through the details of the state’s fiscal
  
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• House bill declares Lake Carmi ‘in crisis’

  16-03-2018 00:20 via vtdigger.org
  David Deen, D-Westminster, chair of the Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources Committee. File Photo by John Herrick/VTDigger
  The Vermont House voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill declaring Lake Carmi “a lake in crisis” on Thursday.The bill, H. 730, gives the Secretary of Natural Resources broad authority to designate as in crisis any lake in the state that has been determined to pose potential harm to public health, a risk to the environment or natural resources, or if it threatens
  
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• Condos sees ‘totalitarian’ undertones in federal election security measure

  16-03-2018 00:17 via vtdigger.org
  Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos on this week sharply criticized legislation that has passed the U.S. House and is pending in the Senate authorizing the president to send armed federal agents into polling places.“This action is more emblematic of a totalitarian government than the democracy that I and other elected officials, including the president and members of Congress, have sworn an oath to protect,” Co
  
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• Gun rights advocates vow to fight proposed restrictions

  16-03-2018 00:10 via vtdigger.org
  Chris Bradley, president of Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, in the blaze orange vest, testifies Thursday before the House Judiciary Committee in opposition to proposed gun legislation. To his right is Rep. Martin LaLonde, D-South Burlington, a committee member. Photo by Alan J. Keays/VTDigger
  A day after a House lawmaker proposed an amendment calling for sweeping restrictions on firearms, gun-rights supporters sat just feet away from him and voiced their strong opposition to his p
  
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• Calvin Moen: Psychiatric patients and prisoners have much in common

  16-03-2018 00:05 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Calvin Moen, the director of training for Vermont Psychiatric Survivors, an independent, statewide, mutual support and civil rights advocacy organization run by and for psychiatric survivors. He lives in Brattleboro and does grassroots organizing and education around alternatives to policing.
  By now you’ve probably heard about Gov. Phil Scott’s proposal to build a brand new, sprawling 925-bed prison “campus,” which would include
  
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• John Field: Scott needs to keep promise to most vulnerable

  16-03-2018 00:00 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by John Field, of Putney, who is a father and grandfather, and recently retired from his work as a family therapist and social worker.
  Gov. Phil Scott’s solemn pledge “to protect our most vulnerable citizens” convinced many Vermonters that Phil Scott had our backs. We Vermonters care deeply about our neighbors, and these words connected with people all across the state. But when the governor turned the tables on his own pledge, and took a
  
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