Vermont news

• As emerald ash borer broadens its base in Vermont, other alien insects lurk

  01-04-2018 23:05 via vtdigger.org
  An ash tree dying as a result of damage by the emerald ash borer. Photo courtesy of Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets
  This road is made for walking, inclining gently upward, not too muddy. A mountain stream rushes alongside, noisy with snowmelt. In summer it is cool, shaded by a mix of trees commonly found in the forests of northern Vermont — a scattering of hemlock, cedar in the low-lying areas, but mostly mixed hardwoods, birch, sugar maple, ash.So many ash trees, rising ta
  
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• Climate change viewed as serious threat to ski industry

  01-04-2018 22:57 via vtdigger.org
  Spruce Peak ski area in Stowe. Photo by Jim Welch/VTDigger
  BENNINGTON — The ski industry New Englanders have enjoyed for decades is sliding toward a meltdown, according to researcher Elizabeth Burakowski.
  The level of severity, she said during a lecture at Bennington College, depends on whether climate warming can be halted through a shift away from fossil fuel energy sources.
  “Ultimately, this comes down to reducing [carbon] emissions,” she said.
  An earth scientist who says sh
  
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• West Virginia public radio veteran to take the reins at VPR

  01-04-2018 21:41 via vtdigger.org
   
  Scott Finn will become president of VPR in May. Courtesy photo
  A public media leader with a strong background in journalism will soon be taking the helm of Vermont Public Radio.
  Scott Finn, the current CEO and executive director of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, will be become the president and CEO of VPR this May.
  He’ll be replacing Robin Turnau, who announced she would be departing from the station last year.
  Finn is taking the reins of the NPR affiliate a time when public rad
  
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• Margolis: Guns don’t protect freedoms, people do

  01-04-2018 21:08 via vtdigger.org
  Members of Vermont gun rights groups hold a banquet in the Statehouse cafeteria. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  Editor’s note: Jon Margolis is VTDigger’s political columnist.
  Like so many public debates these days, the argument over guns now roiling both Vermont and the rest of the country has become more tribal than substantive, with each side trying harder to score points than to make them.Get all of VTDigger's political news.You'll never miss a political story with our weekly he
  
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• Police probe into alleged school photo incident continues

  01-04-2018 20:41 via vtdigger.org
  Rice Memorial High School in South Burlington. Photo by Jim Welch/VTDigger
  SOUTH BURLINGTON — Police are continuing their investigation into an incident involving a high school teacher who allegedly took inappropriate photos of a student in school.
  Bryan Lynam of Burlington, who is music and theater director at Rice Memorial High School, has been ordered into court on a voyeurism charge for taking what police described as “upskirt” photos of the female student inside the Cathol
  
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• Then Again: Vermont’s seditious congressman

  01-04-2018 20:00 via vtdigger.org
  A portrait of Matthew Lyon hangs in the Vermont Statehouse. Courtesy of the Vermont State Curator’s OfficeEditor’s note: Mark Bushnell is a Vermont journalist and historian. He is the author of “Hidden History of Vermont” and “It Happened in Vermont.”The government braced for a military attack that seemed imminent. Congress, fearing any unrest would weaken the country, made it a crime even to criticize the president or the federal government. Critics bridled a
  
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• Legislature slow in embracing Scott’s plan to attract new residents

  01-04-2018 19:00 via vtdigger.org
  Commerce Secretary Michael Schirling. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  Although it’s been widely touted as one of Gov. Phil Scott’s key economic development proposals, his administration’s plan to attract hundreds of new residents to Vermont is struggling to gain traction in the Legislature.
  ThinkVermont/MOVE — an effort to lure new residents through a data-driven marketing campaign and financial incentives — failed to make it into the House budget proposal and the
  
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• Jay Peak receiver reaches $1.5M settlement with PeakCM

  01-04-2018 16:52 via vtdigger.org
  A federal judge has approved a $1.5 million deal between the court-appointed receiver for the Jay Peak Resort projects and PeakCM, one of the contractors for a series of developments at the resort.
  President and CEO of Williston-based PeakCM, Jerry Davis, originally sought $2.7 million in payment for work performed for a proposed biomedical facility in Newport. That project was swept up in a federal regulatory action, along with Burke Mountain and Jay Peak developments.RELATED STORIESUPDATED: Qu
  
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• Ashes at Sunset Trail: An Easter story

  01-04-2018 15:04 via vtdigger.org
  Quentin Andrea Lawrence stands beside the Pico Mountain gravestone of her grandparents, resort founders Brad and Janet Mead. Photo by Peggy ShinnKILLINGTON — Quentin Andrea Lawrence was skiing Pico Mountain one recent morning when, hitting a bump, a long-lost spirit miraculously sprang back to life.
  The 57-year-old Virginia visitor, sliding quietly onto the slopes, hadn’t told anyone she was the granddaughter of the 80-year-old resort’s founders, Brad and Janet Mead, or the dau
  
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• Hundreds turn out for gun rights rally

  01-04-2018 14:39 via vtdigger.org
  MONTPELIER — Hundreds of gun activists swarmed the Statehouse lawn Saturday afternoon to protest the passage of S.55, legislation that puts sweeping new restrictions on gun use in Vermont. Republican Gov. Phil Scott has promised to sign the bill into law. Get all of VTDigger's political news.You'll never miss a political story with our weekly headlines in your inbox.Daily
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• Lawsuit filed against founder of Hermitage Club

  01-04-2018 12:11 via vtdigger.org
  The Hermitage Club in Wilmington. Photo by Kristopher Radder/Brattleboro ReformerEditor’s note: This story by Bob Audette was first published in the Brattleboro Reformer on Friday, March 30.WILMINGTON — More than $2 million advanced to the Hermitage Club at Haystack Mountain was expected to go toward the construction of three townhomes at the private ski club founded by Jim Barnes. RELATED STORIESState shuts down Hermitage Club over unpaid taxesHermitage Club facing foreclosureState
  
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