Vermont news

• House committee advances clean water bill with hotel tax

  15-04-2018 22:18 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. David Deen introduced the hotel tax as a surprise amendment. File photo by Mike Polhamus/VTDigger The House Committee on Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife on Friday afternoon voted in favor of a bill creating a study committee to identify funding for federally-ordered water pollution reduction in Vermont’s public waters, amended to include a $2 per night hotel tax should the committee fail in its fund-finding mission.
  Committee chair Rep. David Deen, D-Putney, proposed the surcharg
  
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• Amid national focus on election security, town clerks have few concerns

  15-04-2018 21:23 via vtdigger.org
  Morristown Town Clerk and Treasurer Sara Haskins. Photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger
  ELMORE — When Sharon Draper first became clerk of this lakeside town, there were about 250 registered voters. That has grown over the years to approximately 700.
  But for many elections, the number of voters is still not robust enough to justify the expense of using a tabulator, so the paper ballots are counted by hand. As to fraud concerns, Draper says she doesn’t worry. She knows most of the people
  
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• Snake worms wriggle into region, threatening maples

  15-04-2018 20:18 via vtdigger.org
  Justin Richardson does worm research on Vermont’s Mount Mansfield in Aug. 2012, while a PhD candidate at Dartmouth College. Photo courtesy Justin Richardson
  This article by Matt Hongoltz-Hetling was published by the Valley News on April 14, 2018Crazy snake worms, an Asian invasive prized by fishermen for their aggressive wriggling, first came to the attention of Justin Richardson in 2011, when he began working on a doctorate at Dartmouth College.
  Richardson, currently an assistant professo
  
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• Education funding impasse, kicked down road last year, is back again

  15-04-2018 20:04 via vtdigger.org
  Commissioner of Finance and Management Adam Greshin. Photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger
  Lawmakers are bracing for another veto session over school spending. Various proposals are on the table to reduce expenses over time, but nothing that would come close to the $40 million that Gov. Phil Scott wants to save this year in the name of taxpayer relief.
  Scott’s administration says it will not dip back into local budgets that have already been passed, but nobody seems to have a better idea for
  
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• Then Again: Powerful newsman of the Civil War era had start in Vermont

  15-04-2018 20:00 via vtdigger.org
  As editor of the New York Tribune, Horace Greeley was a major voice in politics during the mid-1800s. Library of Congress photo
  Editor’s note: Mark Bushnell is a Vermont journalist and historian. He is the author of “Hidden History of Vermont” and “It Happened in Vermont.”Everyone starts somewhere. Horace Greeley, the anti-slavery newspaper publisher who greatly influenced politics during the Civil War era and urged President Lincoln to emancipate the nation’s
  
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• Bennington Armory project complicated by PCBs in old paint

  15-04-2018 19:57 via vtdigger.org
  The 94-year-old Bennington Armory is undergoing a three-phase remediation project expected to be completed in 2010. File photo/Bennington Banner
  BENNINGTON — The discovery of PCBs in decades-old wall paint at the Bennington Armory has triggered an intense, three-phase remediation project, now expected to be completed in 2020.
  The work in a downtown structure the town has expressed interest in acquiring was prompted by discovery of polychlorinated biphenyls in the paint, which dates back to
  
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• Vermont delegation criticizes lack of strategy in Syria strikes

  15-04-2018 19:28 via vtdigger.org
  President Donald Trump addresses service members in November 2017 at Yokota Air Base in Japan. Photo by Airman 1st Class Juan Torres/Air Force
  The members of Vermont’s congressional delegation say the airstrikes the United States military carried out in Syria lacked congressional approval, and raised concerns about the lack of a clear national strategy in the region.
  President Donald Trump announced Friday night that the U.S. had conducted a series of airstrikes in Syria in coordination wi
  
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• Lawmakers crafting bill to promote blockchain in Vermont

  15-04-2018 19:02 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. Bill Botzow, D-Pownal, chairs the House Committee on Economic Development, which is considering a blockchain bill. File photo by Holly Pelczynski/Bennington Banner
  Lawmakers in the Vermont House are working on a bill that could pave the way for businesses and other organizations in the state to use blockchain technology.
  Blockchain is widely known as the technology underlying cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin.
  But tech experts and politicians see opportunity to apply blockchain to a variety
  
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• Vermonters chart their own course to Boston Marathon

  15-04-2018 19:00 via vtdigger.org
  Donna Smyth runs on an officially sanctioned dirt-road course her husband designed alongside Windham County’s Green River so she could qualify for Monday’s Boston Marathon. Photo by Jennifer Garrett
  VERNON — Vermonter Donna Smyth has raced her entire life, be it as a student sprinter or adult marathoner and 50-miler. But after suffering injury upon injury pounding the pavement, the 58-year-old physical education teacher has limited herself the past two decades to dirt roads and
  
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• Anglers seek lower catch limits for Vermont’s state fish (cold-water)

  15-04-2018 18:00 via vtdigger.org
  The brook trout is Vermont’s official state cold-water fish. Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  In the run-up to the start of trout season on Saturday, the Vermont Council of Trout Unlimited called for halving the daily catch limit for brook trout, Vermont’s official state cold water fish, from 12 per day to six.
  The state’s current regulations are “out of balance,” Clark Amadon, president of the Mad Dog Trout Unlimited Chapter, said in an interview on Wednesda
  
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• Anglers seek lower catch limits for Vermont’s state cold-water fish

  15-04-2018 18:00 via vtdigger.org
  The brook trout is Vermont’s official state cold-water fish. Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  In the run-up to the start of trout season on Saturday, the Vermont Council of Trout Unlimited called for halving the daily catch limit for brook trout, Vermont’s official state cold water fish, from 12 per day to six.
  The state’s current regulations are “out of balance,” Clark Amadon, president of the Mad Dog Trout Unlimited Chapter, said in an interview on Wednesda
  
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• Hunger Free Vermont: Proposed House Farm Bill would worsen hunger for Vermonters

  15-04-2018 15:45 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Hunger Free VermontApril 13, 2018
  Contact:Alida Duncan, Development and Communications DirectorHunger Free [email protected]
  South Burlington – Yesterday the House released a draft of the Farm Bill that aims to significantly erode nutrition programs that support millions of Americans, including SNAP (known in Vermont as 3SquaresVT), our nation’s largest hunger-relief program that helps 75,000 Vermonters feed themselves and their families
  
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• Scout Film Festival joins USA Today’s ‘A Community Thrives’ project on Crowdrise

  15-04-2018 15:40 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Scout Film FestivalApril 13, 2018
  Contact:Anna ColavitoScout Film [email protected]
  Stowe — Scout Film Festival (Scout) is participating in A Community Thrives, a fundraising project on CrowdRise, the largest crowdfunding platform for good. A Community Thrives is a USA TODAY NETWORK nation-wide program that is focused on helping organizations related to wellness, arts & culture, and education. Participating organizations will compete for $600,000 i
  
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• Southern Vermont Young Professionals unveil new logo at third annual gala

  15-04-2018 15:35 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Southern Vermont Young ProfessionalsApril 13, 2018
  Contact:Sarah Lang, SVEP ManagerBrattleboro Development Credit Corporation802-257-7731 [email protected]
  Brattleboro – The 3rd Annual Creative Black Tie Gala, held on March 3rd, 2018 at the Brattleboro Museum and Arts Center, was overflowing with young professionals from all over the region. With over 300 attendees, BMAC was packed to the brim with people, music, and raffle prizes. The cherry on top
  
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• City Market, Onion River Co-op celebrates Earth Week

  15-04-2018 15:30 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — City MarketApril 13, 2018
  Contact:Allison Hope, Director of Community EngagementCity [email protected]
  Burlington – City Market is celebrating Earth Week Monday, April 16 – Sunday, April 22 by partnering with Seventh Generation, Cabot Creamery, Frontier Co-op, and Albert’s Organics to give away free, reusable tote bags to highlight and promote the Co-op’s sustainability efforts. For this celebratory week, City Market will not hav
  
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• NVU-Johnson hosts fun run fundraiser, April 29

  15-04-2018 15:25 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Northern Vermont University-JohnsonApril 13, 2018
  Contact:Sylvia [email protected]
  Johnson — The Northern Vermont University-Johnson Chorale will sponsor a pirate-themed 5K run/walk April 29 on campus to raise money for its tour in Estonia, Finland and Latvia this summer.
  Registration for the run begins at 11 a.m. on the race day, and the race starts at 1 p.m. The registration fee is $20 per person. The first 50 registrants will rec
  
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• Castleton University study abroad program receives seal of excellence

  15-04-2018 15:20 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Castleton UniversityApril 12, 2018
  Contact:Courtney Widli, Assistant Director of University RelationsCastleton [email protected]
  Castleton – More than doubling the number of Castleton students taking advantage of study abroad opportunities, the Castleton Study Abroad Office was recently awarded the Generation Study Abroad Seal of Excellence from the Institute of International Education’s global organization Generation Study Abroad
  
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• Sanders slams Trump’s proposal to rejoin Trans-Pacific Partnership

  15-04-2018 15:15 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Sen. Bernie SandersApril 12, 2018
  Contact:Josh Miller-LewisOffice of Sen. Bernie [email protected]
  Washington, D.C. – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement Thursday after President Donald Trump said Thursday morning that he was directing his advisers to look into rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a deal he pulled out of immediately after becoming president:
  “In a series of broken promises President Trump made
  
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• Vermont Educators, App Developers Invited to ‘Reverse Pitch’ May 4

  15-04-2018 15:10 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — BTV IgniteApril 12, 2018
  Contact:Dennis MoynihanBTV [email protected]
  Burlington – Can a new generation of apps be developed – using virtual reality, augmented reality, telepresence and other 21st century technologies – that would engage Vermont students more deeply in their learning?
  A “reverse-pitch” competition – to be held May 4 at 4 p.m. in the Sullivan Classroom (MedEd 200) of the Larner College of Medicine Medical Education
  
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• Vermont Creamery wins three Specialty Food Association awards

  15-04-2018 15:05 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont CreameryApril 12, 2018
  Contact:Kara HerlihyVermont [email protected]
  Websterville – Vermont Creamery was once again honored with three SOFI™ Awards—the Specialty Food Industry’s most prestigious distinction, at the award ceremony held April 11 in New York City.
  Vermont Creamery’s new Clover Blossom Honey Fresh Goat Cheese was the New Product winner for the Cheese-Non-Cow Milk, Mixed-Milk category. Cremont won Gold in t
  
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• Speaker Mitzi Johnson’s remarks at the signing of the gun violence prevention bills

  15-04-2018 15:00 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Office of the Speaker of the HouseApril 11, 2018
  Contact:Katherine LevasseurOffice of the Speaker of the [email protected]
  Montpelier: Two months ago, Vermont awoke to the heartbreaking reality that we are not immune to the gun violence that we’ve watched unfold, unchecked, in schools, churches, theaters and communities around the country. The affidavit referenced by the Governor shook me to my core as well. When I read it, I understood c
  
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• GMP prepared for possible outages due to wintry weekend storm

  15-04-2018 03:33 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Green Mountain Power April 14, 2018
  Media Contact:Kristin Kelly, (802) 318-0872
  Winter Weather Advisories in Effect – Storm Bringing Snow, Sleet, Ice and Strong Winds
  COLCHESTER, Vt. – Latest National Weather Service forecasts show that a combination of ice accumulations and high winds could bring outages through the weekend and into Monday evening. Green Mountain Power is ready and is securing additional crews to respond as quickly as possible if needed.
  Vermont
  
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