Vermont news

• Scott vetoes toxic pollution liability bill

  23-05-2018 23:26 via vtdigger.org
  Gov. Phil Scott. File photo by Anne Galloway/VTDigger
  Gov. Phil Scott vetoed a bill Tuesday that would allow Vermonters who are exposed to toxic pollution to sue polluters for the cost of monitoring for medical conditions.
  In a letter to lawmakers, Scott said the legislation would have forced companies to shoulder an expense that could hurt their ability to turn a profit.Under the legislation, Vermonters who have been exposed to toxic substances from a large company would have the right to sue f
  
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• Entering The Workforce With Autism Spectrum Disorder dlvr.it/QTt0my https://t.co/KtoZtAUIvR

  23-05-2018 23:08 via twitter.com
  
  Entering The Workforce With Autism Spectrum Disorder dlvr.it/QTt0my https://t.co/KtoZtAUIvR
  
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• Bennington delegation faces shakeup with 2 retirements

  23-05-2018 21:53 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. Bill Botzow, D-Bennington, second from right, speaks during a public hearing in November in Manchester. File photo/Bennington Banner
  BENNINGTON — The House delegation from the Bennington region is headed for a significant reshuffle, with at least two incumbents declining a re-election bid and a third yet to make an announcement.
  Reps. Bill Botzow and Rachael Fields, both Bennington Democrats, confirmed recently that they won’t run again this fall.Get all of VTDigger's political
  
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• SiX condemns governor’s vetoes of legislation to raise the minimum wage and provide paid family leave

  23-05-2018 20:29 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — State Innovation ExchangeMay 22, 2018
  Contact:Katy [email protected]
  Gov. Phil Scott vetoed the two pieces of legislation over demands from working families and advocate organizations
  MONTPELIER, Vt. — On Tuesday, the State Innovation Exchange (SiX) condemned Gov. Scott’s vetoes of legislation to raise the minimum wage and give Vermonters access to paid family leave.
  “By passing these bills, the legislature stood up for working fami
  
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• Slow Living Summit explores the future of farm & food entrepreneurship

  23-05-2018 20:24 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Slow Living SummitMay 22, 2018
  Contact:erika elder | Strolling of the Heifers | marketing directorwww.strollingoftheheifers.comoffice: 802-257-2699. cell: 802-275-8059
  BRATTLEBORO, VT – The eighth annual Slow Living Summit will take place in Brattleboro, Vermont on May 31 and June 1, 2018.
  Presented by the Strolling of the Heifers Windham Grows, this year’s Summit asks – “How can you create and grow a resilient food business that affects your communit
  
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• Paid leave, minimum wage vetoes likely to be election themes

  23-05-2018 20:24 via vtdigger.org
  House and Senate leaders blasted Gov. Phil Scott for vetoing paid family leave and minimum wage legislation. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  Democratic leadership in the House and Senate took aim at the Republican Gov. Phil Scott at a press conference after he vetoed two key progressive bills yesterday.
  The two bills, H.196, which would have establish a paid family leave program funded through a payroll tax, and S.40, which would have gradually raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour, were both
  
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• Humane Society of Chittenden County welcomes new president and CEO

  23-05-2018 20:19 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Humane Society of Chittenden CountyMay 11, 2018
  Contact:Jen Cypress, Interim President & CEO802.862.0135 x. 12, [email protected]
  SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT – The Board of Directors of the Humane Society of Chittenden County (HSCC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Joyce Cameron as President & CEO. Cameron comes to HSCC after nearly two years with the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum where she most recently served as Co-Executive Director. In addition,
  
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• Public invited to tour Kingdom Community Wind this summer

  23-05-2018 20:15 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Green Mountain PowerMay 22, 2018
  Contact:Kristin Kelly, 802-318-0872
  Popular Free Tours by Green Mountain Power Back for Sixth Season
  Colchester, Vt. – You can see wind energy in action this summer as Green Mountain Power brings back its free tours of the 21-turbine Kingdom Community Wind project in Lowell, Vermont. The popular summer tours are open to Vermonters and tourists alike, and draw more than 1,200 people to the site each June, July and August.
  “Green Mo
  
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• Your gift is vitally important to comprehensive coverage. Please support our reporters today!

  23-05-2018 19:13 via vtdigger.org
  Dear Readers,
  Our reporters are some of the best in the state and we are deeply proud of their work — and deeply grateful to you for supporting them as they do the hard work of covering the twists and turns of the Vermont Legislature. Our gang of intrepid reporters barely had time to catch their breath after the formal end of the session, when the governor called them back for a special session that started today.
  We’re almost done with our spring fundraising drive. Thanks to the gen
  
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• Castleton University gains approval for online delivery

  23-05-2018 18:43 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Castleton UniversityMay 22, 2018
  Media Contact:Jeff Weld, Dean of Advancement(802) 468-6052
  MS in Accounting and RN-BS Programs go online this summer.
  CASTLETON, Vt. – Castleton University has received notice that the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) has formally accepted its proposal to offer distance education programming.
  “We’re thrilled that NEASC has approved this proposal which will open the doors for us to offer full programs i
  
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• Jim Harrison announces candidacy for new legislative term

  23-05-2018 18:37 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Jim HarrisonMay 22, 2018
  Contact:Jim Harrison(802) 236-3001
  Harrison Announces Candidacy for New Legislative Term
  Jim Harrison of Chittenden announces his candidacy for a new term as state representative for the Rutland-Windsor–1 district (Bridgewater, Chittenden, Killington and Mendon). Harrison was first appointed by Governor Scott in 2017 to complete the term of former Representative Job Tate, who was deployed by his US Navy Reserve unit.
  Harrison, an independent mi
  
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• Vermont child care programs to benefit from $455,500 from Vermont Birth to Five

  23-05-2018 18:33 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Let’s Grow KidsMay 22, 2018
  Media Contact:Nicole Haley, 802.391.0545 or [email protected]
  Vermont child care programs to serve hundreds more children thanks in part to $455,500 in grants and coaching from Vermont Birth to Five
  Burlington, Vermont — Vermont child care providers will be able to open their doors to hundreds more Vermont children thanks to $455,500 in grants and coaching from Vermont Birth to Five (VB5), a statewide initiative of the Permanent
  
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• State police announce increased enforcement over Memorial Day Weekend

  23-05-2018 18:06 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont State PoliceMay 21, 2018
  Contact:Adam [email protected]
  May 21, 2018 — This week through June 3rd, the Vermont State Police will be increasing enforcement efforts to promote safe, responsible driving in support of Operation C.A.R.E. (Crash Awareness and Reduction Effort) and Click It Or Ticket.
  Operation C.A.R.E. is a national campaign by state police agencies across the country to decrease human suffering on our highways, by reducing traffic
  
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• LGBTQ Victory Fund endorses Christine Hallquist as a game changer

  23-05-2018 18:02 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Christine for VermontMay 22, 2018
  Contact:Cameron H. RussellCampaign ManagerChristine for VermontMobile: 802.734.1561www.christineforvermont.com
  In recognition of Christine’s potential to have a game changing impact on LGBTQ representation in United States politics, Christine Hallquist has received the LGBTQ Victory Fund’s endorsement for Governor of Vermont.
  “I am honored to stand shoulder to shoulder with leaders like Tammy Baldwin (WI), Kate Brown (OR),
  
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• Lamoille Housing Partnership celebrates project completion

  23-05-2018 17:58 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Lamoille Housing PartnershipMay 22, 2018
  Contact:Kerrie LohrLamoille Housing Partnershipkerrie@lamoillehousing.org802-888-5714www.lamoillehousing.org
  $2.6 million affordable housing project in Hardwick
  Hardwick, VT, May, 18 2018. The Lamoille Housing Partnership (LHP) gathered residents, project development partners, funding partners, as well as local and state government officials on May 18th for a belated celebration of the completion of LHP’s affordable ho
  
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• Charcuterie course offered at Sterling College in June

  23-05-2018 17:52 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Sterling CollegeMay 22, 2018
  Media Contact:Katie Lavin, Director of Media Relations, Sterling College802.586.7711 x120 • [email protected]
  Craftsbury Common, VT — May 22, 2018 — Chef, butcher and business owner Jules Guillemette returns to Sterling College June 18-22, 2018 to teach “Charcuterie: the Artisanal Preparation and Presentation of Meat.”
  This five-day course provides students with the practical and scientific knowledge needed t
  
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• Role of receiver for Hermitage Club being determined

  23-05-2018 17:25 via vtdigger.org
  The Hermitage Club in Wilmington. Photo by Kristopher Radder/Brattleboro Reformer
  This story by Chris Mays was published in the Brattleboro Reformer on May 22.
  NEWFANE — The role of a receiver, who will take care and custody of foreclosed Hermitage Club properties before the company secures a loan to pay off debts or a public auction is held, is being ironed out.RELATED STORIESJudge allows receiver for Hermitage ClubHermitage Club seeks to use loan to avert foreclosureLawyer seeks to withd
  
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• Runner Meb Keflezighi On The Vermont City Marathon And The Course Of His Career dlvr.it/QTqrlg https://t.co/avRh0U749P

  23-05-2018 16:14 via twitter.com
  
  Runner Meb Keflezighi On The Vermont City Marathon And The Course Of His Career dlvr.it/QTqrlg https://t.co/avRh0U749P
  
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• Author @UngLoung was just 5 when Khmer Rouge revolutionaries took control of home country of Cambodia. Nearly 2 mil… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  23-05-2018 15:36 via twitter.com
  Author @UngLoung was just 5 when Khmer Rouge revolutionaries took control of home country of Cambodia. Nearly 2 mil… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• David Kelley: The ghettoizing of rural Vermont

  23-05-2018 04:34 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by David F. Kelley, an attorney and a co-founder of Project Harmony (now PH International) who is a member of the Hazen Union School Board.
  The levels of poverty in many small, rural communities are 50 percent higher than in more densely populated communities.(1) That equates to an increase in alcoholism, drug addiction, teen pregnancies, food insecurity and lack of transportation. A classroom in Lowell, where 80 percent of the students are on free and red
  
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• David Schoales: Don’t let Scott gut public education

  23-05-2018 04:29 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by ​David Schoales, who is a member of the Brattleboro Town School Board and ​the Brattleboro Selectboard. The views here are his own.
  Open letter to Vermont educators,
  I hope you are all aware of the efforts teachers around the country and especially in North Carolina are making to improve their schools. Rather than focus only on salaries, they are pushing for new floor tiles and text books that were printed in the current century and windows
  
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• John Moran: Fair share and democracy

  23-05-2018 04:27 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by John Moran, who was a four-term state representative. He lives in Wardsboro and blogs at johnmoranvt.blogspot.com.
  In a time of increasing inequality, when workers have a decreasing say in our economy, the U.S. Supreme Court in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 is about to undo Vermont law and destroy our unions.
  Either we hang together or surely we will hang separately was Benjamin Franklin’s observation in our battle against George III; without solidar
  
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• Oliver Olsen appointed to education board he once antagonized

  23-05-2018 03:49 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. Oliver Olsen. File photo by Josh Larkin/VTDiggerGov. Phil Scott appointed former Rep. Oliver Olsen to the State Board of Education last week, putting the outspoken independent on a body that he has clashed with during debates around on education reform.Olsen, who represented Manchester, is Scott’s third appointment to the public school board — and another white male. He replaces Bonnie Johnson-Aten, a lifelong public school educator and a woman of color.Olsen has street cred whe
  
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• Police: Draper used pipe to strike man over the head, then burned body

  23-05-2018 03:00 via vtdigger.org
  The location where Allen Draper allegedlyset the house fire that left Timothy Persons dead. Photo by Alan Keays/VTDigger
  ST. JOHNSBURY – Allen Draper is being held without bail after police say he used a metal radiator pipe to strike a man over the head in a robbery that turned into murder as he then doused the man’s home with fuel before igniting it.
  That set off a blaze that left the man dead, his residence a burned pile of rubble, and an investigation that ran several days before
  
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• Anti-poverty protesters arrested for Statehouse sit-in

  23-05-2018 01:54 via vtdigger.org
  Members of the Vermont Poor People’s Campaign staging a sit-in at the Statehouse on Monday. Photo supplied
  Fourteen members of an anti-poverty campaign were arrested in Vermont’s Statehouse Monday evening after conducting an hours-long sit-in and refusing to leave the capitol building when it closed.
  Police charged the nonviolent protesters with misdemeanor counts of unlawful trespass at about 7:00 p.m., nearly three hours after the Statehouse shut its doors to the public, according
  
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• Scott whips out veto pen before special session

  23-05-2018 01:12 via vtdigger.org
  Gov. Phil Scott meets with Senate leaders to discuss expectations for the special session starting this week. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  Gov. Phil Scott set the stage for the special legislative session with four vetoes Tuesday, including on bills that raise the minimum wage and establish paid family leave.
  Lawmakers are due to reconvene in Montpelier on Wednesday.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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• Orange school district closes for day after shooting threat

  23-05-2018 01:02 via vtdigger.org
  Orange County Sheriff Lt. Scott Clouatre checks for unlocked doors on the campus of Randolph Union High School and the Randolph Career and Technical Center during a lockdown onMay 22. Photo by James M. Patterson/ Valley News
  Editor’s note: This article was originally published by the Valley News on May 22.Randolph — Authorities said the schools in the Orange Southwest Supervisory District are safe after police investigated an alleged shooting threat which prompted officials to cancel
  
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