Vermont news

• Karen Tronsgard-Scott: The mass shootings-domestic violence connection

  23-03-2018 23:55 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Karen Tronsgard-Scott, who is the executive director of the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. She began her career in the 1980s as a volunteer at a school for children with developmental disabilities in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and was executive director of a domestic and sexual violence services organization in Ohio for 13 years prior to coming to Vermont.
  As community members and leaders across Vermont engage in important discussions ab
  
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• Elayne Clift: What we don’t read under the radar

  23-03-2018 23:50 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Elayne Clift, who writes about women, culture and social issues from Saxtons River.
  Have you had enough of Donald Trump’s narcissistic rallies featured regularly on mainstream media? Tired of the debate about guns in schools? Seen enough of Sunday morning talking heads rehashing the week’s old headlines? Maybe it’s time for editors and producers to remember what constitutes news and to realize that there’s a world out there about
  
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• Settlement allays concerns about Vermont Yankee sale

  23-03-2018 23:46 via vtdigger.org
  Vermont Yankee as seen from the air in winter. File photo by Kristopher Radder/Brattleboro Reformer
  BRATTLEBORO – Cleaning up Vermont Yankee will be a “fully transparent and public process” if NorthStar Group Services is allowed to buy the nuclear plant, the company’s top administrator said Thursday.
  NorthStar Chief Executive Officer Scott State’s comments matched the general tone of collaboration and optimism of a meeting at Brattleboro Union High School, where Sta
  
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• Judge leaves August date for Butler murder trial in place

  23-03-2018 23:43 via vtdigger.org
  Timothy Butler, 31, of Sunderland has been charged in the stabbing death of an Arlington woman.
  BENNINGTON — Attorneys preparing for the Timothy Butler murder trial disagreed Thursday about the need to delay an August start date because of the pace of discovery submissions.
  During a status conference at Bennington Superior Court Criminal Division, defense attorney Brian Marsicovetere said delays in receiving material from the criminal investigation have pushed back his schedule for deposit
  
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• Nigerian men plead guilty in scheme targeting state employees

  23-03-2018 23:05 via vtdigger.org
  A bank surveillance photo of Eneye Dania filed in the federal criminal case alleging he and another man committed wire fraud.
  Two Nigerian men pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges related to a scheme that targeted Vermont state employees with phishing emails in order to steal personal information.
  Osariemen Isibor and Eneye Dania pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Rutland.
  Federal authorities say the two men circulated emails to state employees and others tha
  
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• Welch nearly draws line on Mueller investigation; highlights tax help

  23-03-2018 22:54 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. Peter Welch speaks at a news conference Friday, March 23, in Burlington.BURLINGTON — Congressman Peter Welch, D-Vt., said he would be “very open” to support impeachment measures should President Donald Trump move to oust Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
  Welch said that Mueller’s investigation in entitled to protection, and took to the House floor this week to rail on Trump and his allies for attacki
  
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• Special education funding bill sails through House

  23-03-2018 22:28 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. David Sharpe, D-Bristol, chair of the House Education Committee. File photo by Bob LoCicero/VTDigger
  The House has passed legislation that makes sweeping changes to the way Vermont pays for and delivers special education.
  On a unanimous vote Thursday, lawmakers approved a plan that spreads special education money across the entire student population and frees up teachers to better help struggling students while avoiding excessive red tape.
  Education Committee Chair David Sharpe, D-Bristol,
  
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• Ways To End Hazing In Sports dlvr.it/QM9H7S https://t.co/W9B2vGp1ft

  23-03-2018 21:59 via twitter.com
  
  Ways To End Hazing In Sports dlvr.it/QM9H7S https://t.co/W9B2vGp1ft
  
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• Burlington man sentenced to 96 months in prison for crack cocaine trafficking

  23-03-2018 21:55 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — U.S. Department of JusticeMarch 22, 2018
  Contact:Tim AtkinsonUnited States Attorney’s Office, District of [email protected]
  Burlington – The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on March 22, 2018, Travis Barrow, 31, was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison after his guilty plea to the charge of possession with intent to distribute more than 28 grams of cocaine base. United States District Court
  
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• LISTEN: Sen. Leahy On The Spending Bill, The Mueller Investigation And Facebook Data Collection… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  23-03-2018 19:56 via twitter.com
  LISTEN: Sen. Leahy On The Spending Bill, The Mueller Investigation And Facebook Data Collection… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• The Deeper Dig: ‘Common sense’ in car inspections

  23-03-2018 19:07 via vtdigger.org
  Kip Sebans, right, and Mark Rochefort conduct electronic vehicle inspections at Vermont Tire and Service. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDiggerAfter the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles introduced an electronic vehicle inspection system in March 2017, many drivers began to notice their inspection-related repair bills creeping upward. A backlash ensued.
  The DMV’s guidelines haven’t changed, critics note, but the new, computerized system overrides mechanics’ ability to use “
  
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• "Mark Zuckerberg and others from his company should come before the Senate Judiciary Committee." @SenatorLeahy digital.vpr.net/post/live-noon…

  23-03-2018 17:47 via twitter.com
  "Mark Zuckerberg and others from his company should come before the Senate Judiciary Committee." @SenatorLeahy digital.vpr.net/post/live-noon…
  
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• Vermont hosts Organics Recycling Summit, April 5, 2018

  23-03-2018 17:46 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Composting Association of VermontMarch 23, 2018
  Contact:Natasha DuarteComposting Association of [email protected]
  Emma StuhlAgency of Natural Resources, Department of Environmental [email protected]
  Montpelier – Next time you toss that banana peel in the trash, you may want to consider composting it instead. Each year, Vermonters throw away almost 100,000 tons of organics, like food scraps and yard debris, a
  
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• "You ask questions on things that keep me awake at night." - @SenatorLeahy to a caller asking about possible Muelle… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  23-03-2018 17:33 via twitter.com
  "You ask questions on things that keep me awake at night." - @SenatorLeahy to a caller asking about possible Muelle… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• "It's time to be a grownup on this." - @SenatorLeahy on the President's threat to veto the omnibus spending bill. digital.vpr.net/post/live-noon…

  23-03-2018 17:14 via twitter.com
  "It's time to be a grownup on this." -@SenatorLeahy on the President's threat to veto the omnibus spending bill. digital.vpr.net/post/live-noon…
  
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• YWP: ‘By Poetry’

  23-03-2018 16:30 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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• SCOV Law Blog: State seeks to collect income tax from unfiled returns

  23-03-2018 16:00 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This piece from the SCOV Law Blog is by Elizabeth Kruska.Vermont Department of Taxes v. Montani, 2018 VT 21
  In the spirit of maple-sugaring season, I’m going to boil this way, way down. Then I might have some pancakes, because they’re basically just a syrup delivery system, and syrup is delicious and magical.RELATED STORIESSCOV Law Blog: Probation conditions challengedSCOV Law Blog: Denial of continuation of unemployment benefits appealedSCOV Law Blog: Appealing
  
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• We're asking @SenatorLeahy about President Trump's veto threat today live at noon. digital.vpr.net/post/live-noon… twitter.com/SenatorLeahy/s…

  23-03-2018 15:15 via twitter.com
  We're asking @SenatorLeahy about President Trump's veto threat today live at noon. digital.vpr.net/post/live-noon… twitter.com/SenatorLeahy/s…
  
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• Live At Noon: Sen. Leahy On The Spending Bill, The Mueller Investigation And More dlvr.it/QM774y https://t.co/Ow38RgNwWG

  23-03-2018 15:02 via twitter.com
  
  Live At Noon: Sen. Leahy On The Spending Bill, The Mueller Investigation And More dlvr.it/QM774y https://t.co/Ow38RgNwWG
  
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• Howard Center kicks off spring Community Education Series March 29

  23-03-2018 14:39 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Howard CenterMarch 22, 2018
  Contact:Martie MajorosHoward [email protected]
  Burlington – Howard Center’s Spring Community Education Series kicks off on Thursday, March 29, with a panel discussion, “Safe Injection Sites: Part of the Opioid Solution?” Jane Lindholm, host of VPR’s “Vermont Edition,” will moderate the discussion, and panelists include Tony Anderson; Adam Bunting; Brandon delPozo; Patti Fisher, M.
  
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• Animal Law Society presents symposium on protecting marine wildlife at VLS, March 27

  23-03-2018 14:32 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Law SchoolMarch 22, 2018
  Contact:Maryellen Apelquist, Director of CommunicationsVermont Law [email protected]
  South Royalton – The Animal Law Society (ALS) at Vermont Law School will present “Below the Surface: Diving Deep to Protect Our Ocean Animals,” a symposium on the status of marine wildlife conservation in the United States and beyond, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 27, in Chase Community Center at VLS. T
  
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• Differences narrow between House and Senate over gun seizure bills

  23-03-2018 03:14 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. Maxine Grad, D-Moretown, is the chair of the House Judiciary Committee. Photo by Bob LoCicero/VTDigger
  It appears differences are almost ironed out allowing for the advancement of two gun-related bills, one in the House and the other in the Senate, that both deal with authorities seizing firearms in certain situations.
  Lack of agreement earlier this month resulted in no gun legislation making its way to the desk of Gov. Phil Scott by Town Meeting Day as he had initially hoped in the wake of
  
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• Scott doesn’t support study into clean water funding options

  23-03-2018 02:29 via vtdigger.org
  Gov. Phil Scott at a press conference. File photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  Legislators and Gov. Phil Scott agree that Vermont needs to find a long-term funding source to clean up water pollution. But the governor says he opposes the only existing proposal to accomplish that — a bill that unanimously passed the Senate on Thursday.Just minutes after the bill passed, Scott said he was against it, despite admitting that he hadn’t read it. He said his staff had identified it as containi
  
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• Vermont delegation sees benefits for state in spending bill

  23-03-2018 01:54 via vtdigger.org
  Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Chuck Schumer, D-NY, (from left) at a Senate Democratic leadership press conference Tuesday. Photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger
  WASHINGTON — Congress is poised to pass a mammoth federal funding package that members of Vermont’s congressional delegation say will benefit the state in several important areas.
  They pointed to items that will provide a significant increase in funding for the effort to clean up Lake Champlain, more resou
  
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• Allen Gilbert: Voters had it right with school budgets

  23-03-2018 00:13 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Allen Gilbert, of Worcester, the former executive director of the ACLU-Vermont. He was chair of his town’s school board when it joined the ACLU’s Brigham lawsuit in 1995. He has remained active in education issues.
  There have been some very good ideas, and some very bad ideas, over the years about changing the state’s education funding system.
  One of the best ideas came more than a hundred years ago, when Gov. William Dillingham propos
  
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• Shelley Rinaldi: The financial stress of a major medical event

  23-03-2018 00:07 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Shelley Rinaldi, of Bakersfield, who is a member of Rights and Democracy.
  One night in August 2001 I woke up in the middle of the night with severe heartburn. I got up, grabbed the Pepto Bismol and chugged a healthy dose down. Going back to bed was not an option as it would intensify my acid reflux. So I warmed up the heating pad and settled into my glider to try to soothe my pain.
  This night would be different from the others though. I would not succee
  
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• Tim O’Connor: Trump caves on sensible gun control

  23-03-2018 00:05 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Tim O’Connor, who is a retired Vermont public school teacher and adjunct instructor for the Community College of Vermont.
  With miles to go and promises to keep, President Donald Trump has walked back his recent promise to embrace sensible comprehensive gun control. According to a March 12 New York Times article, “Conceding to N.R.A., Trump Abandons Brief Gun Control Promise,” after the Parkland massacre the president called for compreh
  
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• Maggie Lenz: Bucknam’s backward argument

  23-03-2018 00:02 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Maggie Lenz, who is chair of the Washington County Democratic Committee.
  I am writing in response to Deborah Bucknam’s March 2 op-ed, which reads, alarmingly, as a monolithic, ethnocentric diatribe of white supremacy. It is riddled with contradiction and reinforces racist stereotypes.
  Bucknam writes that “The [American public] educational system for African-Americans is something to get away from.” She attests that administrators toler
  
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