Vermont news

• Vermont LGBT youth four times more likely to attempt suicide, survey shows

  05-06-2018 23:51 via vtdigger.org
  A new survey found that high school-age lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students in Vermont are over four times more likely to attempt suicide than their cisgender and straight peers.
  The 2017 Youth Risk Behavior survey released by the Department of Health found that 33 percent of LGBT high school students reported having planned suicide, while 18 percent reported attempting suicide.
  That’s compared to 8 percent of cisgender and straight students who reported planning suicide, and 4
  
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• No settlement in sight; Rutland bar owner’s bias suit against city rages on

  05-06-2018 23:41 via vtdigger.org
  A lawsuit brought by the owner of the now-closed The Local nightclub in downtown Rutland failed to resolve at a recent mediation session with the city. The owner alleges that the city Police Department’s discriminatory practices forced him to close, a contention the city denies. The city last week asked a judge to throw out the lawsuit. Photo by Alan Keays/VTDigger
  Rutland — A recent mediation session did not lead to a resolution in the case of a former bar owner suing Rutland City o
  
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• WCAX pays settlement for improperly showing nude body of Melissa Jenkins

  05-06-2018 22:37 via vtdigger.org
  BURLINGTON – The former owners of WCAX-TV in South Burlington have agreed to pay a substantial out-of-court settlement for improperly showing the naked body of a brutally murdered teacher from St. Johnsbury Academy more than three and a half years ago.
  Richard Jenkins and his wife, Phil Ann, of Newport filed the civil lawsuit in March 2016 claiming they suffered severe emotional distress when the CBS-affiliate displayed a video of their dead, nude, adult daughter, Melissa Jenkins, during t
  
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• McKibben joins Poor People’s Campaign for fourth Statehouse protest

  05-06-2018 22:34 via vtdigger.org
  Bill McKibben speaks at Poor People’s Campaign protest at the statehouse. VTDigger/Elizabeth Gribkoff
  Health care access and climate change were at the top of the agenda during an unseasonably chilly afternoon outside Vermont’s Statehouse, where the state chapter of the national Poor People’s Campaign held its fourth protest Monday in as many weeks.
  “Seems a little disconnected, right, health care and the environment?” Kate Kanelstein, co-director of the Vermont Wor
  
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• LISTEN: New York's Dannemora Prison Break Inspires YA Novel Exploring Race dlvr.it/QWJK5y https://t.co/z3k1XCiOLr

  05-06-2018 22:33 via twitter.com
  
  LISTEN: New York's Dannemora Prison Break Inspires YA Novel Exploring Race dlvr.it/QWJK5y https://t.co/z3k1XCiOLr
  
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• Sexual harassment law goes into effect July 1

  05-06-2018 22:24 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. Sarah Copeland Hanzas discusses new legislation aimed at curbing workplace sexual harrassment. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  A bill aimed at changing workplace culture around sexual harassment will become law July 1.
  Gov. Phil Scott signed an anti-sexual harassment bill into law on May 30 that improves statewide sexual harassment reporting, bans policies that make it difficult for survivors to report misconduct and kick-starts an education campaign to foster safer internal reporting by v
  
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• Bennington officials concerned about charter vote turnout

  05-06-2018 21:55 via vtdigger.org
  The former Hotel Putnam is one of three historic buildings that would be renovated in the first phase of the $53 million Putnam Block project in Bennington. File photo by Holly Peczynski/Bennington Banner
  BENNINGTON — A package of town charter revisions that has generated minimal public comment is headed to the voters on Tuesday.
  And local officials wonder if that’s a bad sign. Select Board Chair Thomas Jacobs worries that the lack of controversy could result in low voter turnout.
  &l
  
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• Scott calls another E-board meeting; expects $11 million more in revenue

  05-06-2018 21:54 via vtdigger.org
  Gov. Phil Scott speaks at a press conference on Wednesday, May 16. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDiggerGov. Phil Scott has invited the heads of legislative money committees for another E-board meeting in the coming days to approve projections of some $11 million in additional revenue, on top of the $44 million that was approved during a meeting last month.The E-board, which is chaired by the governor and composed of officials and lawmakers involved in budget and tax decisions, usually meets twice a
  
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• Vermont Housing Finance Agency executive director to retire

  05-06-2018 20:50 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Housing Finance AgencyJune 5, 2018
  CONTACT:Leslie Black-Plumeau(802) 652-3429
  BURLINGTON, VT – Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) announced today that later this year Sarah Carpenter, Executive Director, will be retiring, after twenty years at the agency’s helm. “As a result of Sarah’s vision and skill thousands of Vermonters have moved into decent, affordable homes since she arrived at VHFA in 1998,” said Randy Amis, chair of VHFA&rs
  
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• Vermont Association for Middle Level Education announces Outstanding Teacher Awards

  05-06-2018 20:46 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Association for Middle Level EducationJune 4, 2018
  Contact:Sue [email protected]
  The Vermont Association for Middle Level Education (VAMLE) announces the 2018-2019 Outstanding Teacher Awards. These leaders will be honored at the Annual VAMLE-NELMS Scholar Leader Awards Banquet on Wednesday, June 6th at Norwich University. The awardees were nominated by a colleague and selected by the VAMLE Awards Committee.
  The Rising Star in Middle Level Education is being award
  
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• Green Mountain Creamery supports Brattleboro Strolling of the Heifers

  05-06-2018 20:26 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Green Mountain CreameryMay 21, 2018
  Contact:Marilyn [email protected](857) 284-4826
  Green Mountain Creamery teams up with Strolling of the Heifersand the Vermont Foodbank to support local farms and residentsEvent sponsorship and food donations support community health and innovation
  BRATTLEBORO (May 21, 2018)​ — Green Mountain Creamery returned again this year as the top-tier sponsor of Brattleboro’s Strolling of the Heifers, a weekend-l
  
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• Housing Vermont to redevelop St. Johnsbury property

  05-06-2018 19:46 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Housing VermontJune 4, 2018
  CONTACT:ALEXANDRA [email protected]
  KEN [email protected]
  HOUSING VERMONT SIGNS PURCHASE AND SALES AGREEMENT FOR DEPOT SQUARE BUILDING IN ST. JOHNSBURY
  St. Johnsbury, Vt., – Housing Vermont has signed a purchase and sales agreement for the Depot Square property in St. Johnsbury. Housing Vermont will redevelop the building for affordable housing and commercial opportunities.
  The Depot Square
  
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• Howard Center receives support from National Life Group Foundation

  05-06-2018 19:36 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Howard CenterJune 4, 2018
  Contact:Martie Majoros(802) [email protected]
  BURLINGTON, VT— Howard Center recently received a $5,000 grant from the National Life Foundation to produce and distribute a free resource guide, “Suicide Prevention Across the Lifespan.” The publication complements other suicide prevention initiatives that are offered through Howard Center’s First Call for Chittenden County, a crisis intervention program that offe
  
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• Sen. Leahy: Lake Champlain funding plan for fiscal year 2018

  05-06-2018 19:26 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Sen. Patrick LeahyJune 4, 2018
  Contact:David Carle (202) 224-3693
  At-A-Glance Summary Of Senator Leahy’s Lake Champlain Funding PrioritiesFY2018
  In Senator Leahy’s first full year as Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, funding to protect and restore Lake Champlain is at an historic high water mark. This is despite a spending plan from President Trump and his administration that would have eliminated many clean water programs.
  The EPA Lake Champl
  
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• Autopsy shows Royalton man was shot in the head

  05-06-2018 17:48 via vtdigger.org
  Vermont State Police Lt. J.P. Schmidt, left, and Cpl. Paul Feeney exit a barn on a Norwich property owned by Bukk Carleton where they say they have found potential evidence in the case of missing Royalton teenager Austin Colson on Wednesday, May 23, 2018. Photo by James M. Patterson/Valley News
  Editor’s note: This article by By Mike Donoghue was initially published by the Valley News on June 4, 2018.Norwich — The 19-year-old Royalton man whose body was found off Beaver Meadow Road in
  
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• Peacock response to Supreme Court decision

  05-06-2018 17:29 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Brad PeacockJune 4, 2018
  CONTACT: 802-440-2791
  U.S. Senate Candidate Brad Peacock:“Right of free speech does not mean the right to discriminate.”
  Shaftsbury, VT —In response to today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, Brad Peacock, Independent candidate for U.S. Senate, issued the following statement:
  As a candidate running to be the first gay male U.S. Senator in our country’s history, I am disappointed by the Supre
  
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• Pride Center of Vermont response to Supreme Court ruling

  05-06-2018 17:15 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Pride Center of VermontJune 4, 2018
  Contact:Rex [email protected]
  Today the Supreme Court ruled by a 7-2 margin in favor of the Colorado baker who refused to bake a cake for a gay male couple’s wedding reception.
  Although Justices Alito and Gorsuch signed a majority opinion upholding lesbian and gay equality and the Court has made it clear that it is responding only to the decision by the Colorado’s Civil Right Commission, today’s ruling
  
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• Castleton University to host Early Childhood Education Institute

  05-06-2018 17:02 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Castleton UniversityJune 4, 2018
  Media Contact:Courtney Widli(802) [email protected]
  More than 200 childcare providers to attend annual collaboration.
  CASTLETON – Castleton University is once again partnering with the Vermont Early Childhood Education Consortium to offer the annual Early Childhood Education Institute running July 23-26, 2018. The institute consists of sixteen hybrid courses designed to promote Vermont’s core values for early ed
  
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• Copley Hospital and nurses union reach contract agreement

  05-06-2018 16:53 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Copley Health SystemsJune 1, 2018
  Contact:Leah Hollenberger802-888-8301
  Morrisville –Copley Hospital and the United Nurses and Allied Professionals Local 5109 have confirmed a new contract agreement. A tentative agreement on the contract was reached on Thursday, May 24, and was ratified unanimously by union members on Wednesday, May 30, 2018. The contract runs through May 2021.
  “Our contract negotiations were a very positive and collaborative experience,” s
  
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• Pam McCarthy submits petitions for state Senate run

  05-06-2018 15:36 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Pam McCarthyJune 1, 2018
  Contact:Lachlan Francis(802) [email protected]
  On Tuesday of this week, Pam McCarthy submitted her petition to appear on the ballot as a Democratic candidate for State Senate, representing Franklin County and Alburgh.
  “I’m honored and excited to be on the ballot in this critical year for the future of our communities here in Northwestern Vermont. Franklin County & Alburgh deserve a voice in the State Senate who will stand
  
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• AG calls on feds to change rule that could sour syrup industry

  05-06-2018 03:18 via vtdigger.org
  Attorney General TJ Donovan, center, talks about new FDA maple syrup labelling guidelines at Slopeside Syrup in Richmond. Photo by Xander Landen/VTDigger
  Vermont’s Attorney General is urging the Food and Drug Administration to change a proposed rule that would require producers of pure syrup to put “added sugar” labels on their products.
  The rule, which would go into effect in January of 2020 for some producers, has been widely derided as a misleading regulation that could harm
  
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• Lottery director calls for reforms in report on VTDigger investigation

  05-06-2018 03:07 via vtdigger.org
  Vermont Lottery scratch tickets and numbers games at the counter of a convenience store. Photo by Bob LoCicero/VTDigger
  The head of Vermont’s Lottery Commission has issued a report calling for administrative and policy changes following a VTDigger investigation that found that lottery agency owners, employees and their relatives were winning with eyebrow-raising frequency.
  In late April, Gov. Phil Scott asked Daniel Rachek, the lottery’s executive director and formerly Vermont’
  
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• Vermont to get three more assistant U.S. attorneys

  05-06-2018 02:29 via vtdigger.org
  U.S. Attorney for Vermont Christina Nolan. File photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  The federal prosecutor’s office in Vermont is going to be adding three more attorneys, increasing its staffing to take on violent crime and the opioid crisis, boost civil enforcements in the state and enforce immigration laws along the northern border.
  The announcement of the beefed up resources came from a statement issued U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and U.S. Attorney for Vermont Christina Nolan.Get a
  
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• Scott signs mandatory health insurance bill

  05-06-2018 02:07 via vtdigger.org
  Gov. Phil Scott. File photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  Gov. Phil Scott has signed a bill mandating that Vermonters purchase health insurance as of 2020.
  Some details of the “individual mandate” are still up in the air. For example, officials have to figure out next year how to enforce the rule, and there is debate about whether a financial penalty or some sort of incentive might work best.Get all of VTDigger's health care news.You'll never miss our health care coverage with our weekl
  
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• Scott signs individual mandate health insurance bill

  05-06-2018 02:07 via vtdigger.org
  Gov. Phil Scott. File photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  Gov. Phil Scott has signed a bill mandating that Vermonters purchase health insurance as of 2020.
  Some details of the “individual mandate” are still up in the air. For example, officials have to figure out next year how to enforce the rule, and there is debate about whether a financial penalty or some sort of incentive might work best.Get all of VTDigger's health care news.You'll never miss our health care coverage with our weekl
  
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• Vail Resorts buys Okemo in $82 million deal

  05-06-2018 01:33 via vtdigger.org
  Okemo Mountain Resort. Courtesy photo
  Vail Resorts will buy Okemo Mountain Resort as part of a $82 million deal.
  Okemo and the two other properties owned by Triple Peaks LLC — Mount Sunapee Resort in New Hampshire and Crested Butte Mountain Resort in Colorado — will all be acquired by Vail Resorts in the acquisition announced Monday.
  Tim Mueller, who has owned and run Okemo with his wife Diane since 1982, said they were not planning to sell their business when Vail Resorts approached
  
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• Phil Scott: Building the best education system

  05-06-2018 01:05 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican of Berlin.
  Undoubtedly, many of you are aware of the disagreement between me and the Legislature over increasing statewide property tax rates.
  As I’ve said, I cannot accept an increase in statewide property tax rates and here’s why: I ran for office understanding state government needed to focus more of our efforts on making Vermont more affordable and growing the economy.
  Last year, with the help of the
  
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• Crime spree suspect who was shot by police denies charges

  05-06-2018 01:04 via vtdigger.org
  Allen Brothers Farm Market in Westminster was one of several stores that police say Mark Triolo robbed. Facebook photo
  BURLINGTON — A Texas man accused of going on a multi-state crime spree that ended when police shot him last month in Brattleboro has been released from the hospital and appeared in federal court Monday in Vermont to face a federal criminal charge.
  According to police, Mark Triolo, 46, of Lewisville, Texas, was not armed when they shot him earlier this month after he refuse
  
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• Laura Sibilia: Finding a compromise on education funding

  05-06-2018 01:00 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Rep. Laura Sibilia, an independent who represents the Windham-Bennington district in the Vermont House of Representatives.
  At the end of this year’s regular legislative session both education finance/tax and state budget bills passed by large tri-partisan majorities. The governor vetoed both — citing the property tax increases that the bills allow to go into place. This update will focus almost exclusively on the education finance aspects of
  
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• John McClaughry: The school property tax deadlock

  05-06-2018 00:55 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by John McClaughry, the vice president of the Ethan Allen Institute.Gov. Phil Scott and the Democratic-controlled Legislature are well into crunch time over the FY 2019 state general fund budget and the related education finance bill.
  The governor obviously takes very seriously his 2016 campaign pledge to hold state general fund spending to a growth of 2.36 percent a year, and to oppose – and veto – any increase in tax rates. However, the actua
  
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• Orleans man held without bail following not guilty plea in fatal shooting of his wife

  05-06-2018 00:44 via vtdigger.org
  Randall Swartz pleaded not guilty to a single charge of second degree murder in Orleans Superior Court in Newport. Photo by Ellen Bartlett/VTDigger
  NEWPORT — The husband of the Orleans woman who was fatally shot as she spoke to a 911 dispatcher, pleaded not guilty in Orleans Superior Court on Monday to a single charge of second-degree murder.
  Randall Swartz, 58, was charged in the May 15 shooting death of his wife, Thea Swartz, 54, in their home in Orleans.Get all of VTDigger's criminal ju
  
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