Vermont news

• Julie Moore: Reuse and redevelopment celebrated

  18-03-2018 23:55 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore.
  One of my favorite writers, David Quammen, penned an article for National Geographic more than 10 years ago, titled “Hallowed Ground: Nothing Is Ever Safe.” In it he notes: “In the world of conservation professionals, there is a dour saying: All our victories are temporary; only the defeats are permanent.” He goes on to conclude the article, however, with a slightly more
  
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• Commissioners defy Allco solar developer, approve town energy plan

  18-03-2018 19:33 via vtdigger.org
  Solar panels on Route 7A in Bennington. Solar facility siting dominated discussion during a hearing on the proposed new town energy plan, which is before the Selectboard for review. Bennington Banner file photoBENNINGTON — Despite last-minute letters from a solar developer warning of dire consequences, regional planning commissioners were unanimous Thursday in approving Bennington’s new energy plan.
  In a letter, Michael Melone, of Allco Renewable Energy, Ltd., accused the commissione
  
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• Sears accuses colleague of kowtowing to special interests

  18-03-2018 19:13 via vtdigger.org
  ​Sen. Ann Cummings, D-Washington, is the chair of the Senate Finance Committee. Photo by Erin Mansfield/VTDigger
  A lawmaker who pulled a bill off the Senate floor Thursday that would make companies liable for toxic pollution has been accused of delaying action on the legislation at the behest of industry lobbyists.Sen. Ann Cummings diverted the bill from the Senate floor Thursday in a move critics say was unorthodox. They accused her of acting on behalf of insurance and manufacturing indus
  
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• Then Again: Zadock Thompson, chronicler of all things Vermont

  18-03-2018 19:00 via vtdigger.org
  The beluga whale skeleton discovered by railroad workers in Charlotte in 1849 is now on display at the Perkins Geology Museum at the University of Vermont in Burlington. Photo by Mark Bushnell
  For Zadock Thompson, few moments could have competed with that summer day in 1849 when he visited a construction site in Charlotte to examine a strange discovery laborers had made. As the state naturalist, Thompson had worked to catalog the multitudinous species that inhabited Vermont. But this was somethi
  
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• Senate backs program that would prevent childhood trauma

  18-03-2018 16:56 via vtdigger.org
  Sen. Ginny Lyons, D-ChittendenThe state Senate has approved a bill aimed at addressing the long-term health and social effects of severe childhood trauma.
  The legislation, S.261, which now goes to the House, is designed to bolster the state’s support for children and families who have experienced “toxic stress.” Exposure to severe stress has been shown toalter brain chemistry and affect behavior.
  A major provision of the bill is the addition of a new “director of preventi
  
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• New book taps into Vermont’s ‘Meanings of Maple’

  18-03-2018 16:02 via vtdigger.org
  Vermont anthropologist Michael Lange is author of the new book “Meanings of Maple: An Ethnography of Sugaring.” Provided Photo.Vermonters may live amid trees spiked with sap taps, but anthropologist Michael Lange believes a majority are blind to their native sweet spot.
  “Maple syrup is poorly understood by most of the people who consume it,” Lange says. “It’s even less understood by those who prefer artificially flavored corn syrup.”
  That’s why the
  
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• Philanthropic pioneer David Rahr dies at age 79

  18-03-2018 15:41 via vtdigger.org
  As former Vermont Gov. James Douglas tells the story, David Rahr had worked four comfortable years as Middlebury College’s development director when a group of peers had the audacity to ask the school official to leave his job and lead the formation of a statewide charitable fund.
  “I remember thinking, ‘A secure job at the college for a startup venture? Wow, he’s taking a risk.’”
  Douglas wasn’t surprised when Rahr turned the resulting Vermont Community F
  
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