Vermont news

• House cancels meetings, Senate goes ahead after Zoom glitch

  28-05-2020 23:57 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Vermont Senate has been holding hearings over Zoom, which experienced technical problems. ScreenshotThe Vermont House cancelled its committee hearings while the Senate went ahead after a technical problem Thursday prevented the public from viewing the proceedings live online.
  The House halted its committee work around 10:30 a.m. while the Senate continued with its meetings as scheduled. The hearings were taped. 
  The Office of Legislative Council told House and Senate leaders that holdin
  
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• Woolf: Getting back to normal on jobs will be slow and painful 

  28-05-2020 23:20 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Vermont Department of Labor in Montpelier. Photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDiggerArt Woolf is a columnist for VTDigger. He recently retired as an associate professor of economics at the University of Vermont. The latest weekly update from the Vermont Department of Labor shows a continuing improvement in the state’s economy, although it is still far from normal or healthy.Last week, 1,480 Vermont workers applied for unemployment insurance, the seventh consecutive week of declining appl
  
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• Marlboro College announces campus sale to Democracy Builders

  28-05-2020 22:57 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Marlboro College campus. Courtesy photoThe parent organization of a national charter school network plans to buy the Marlboro College campus and hopes to establish a first-of-its-kind higher education program on the 500-acre property.
  The southern Vermont college on Thursday announced the deal with Democracy Builders, a nonprofit whose affiliate organizations include several charter school portfolios, including the nationwide Democracy Prep network and the Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Acad
  
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• Jay Peak sale process ‘ground to a halt’ due to Covid-19 pandemic

  28-05-2020 22:41 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Tram Haus Lodge at Jay Peak Resort on Friday, June 7, 2019. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThe coronavirus pandemic is delaying the sale of the Jay Peak ski resort, with the man in charge of overseeing that process not sure when it will move forward again. 
  Michael Goldberg, a court-appointed receiver managing the ski resort and others assets at the center of a massive alleged investor fraud scandal, wrote in an update filed in court this week that the process of selling the resort &ldq
  
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• Vermont hair salons prepare to reopen with special safety restrictions

  28-05-2020 22:32 via vtdigger.org
  
  Sonia Lamb, owner of Salon INK in Hinesburg, is looking forward to resuming operations while working within new state public health guidelines. Courtesy photoEditor’s note: Sunny Nagpaul is a reporter with Community News Service, a collaboration with the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.
  Two months after the coronavirus emergency mandated the closure of all non-essential businesses, unemployment numbers among hairdressers have soared, and some
  
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• Lake Champlain Chamber prepares for transition at the top

  28-05-2020 19:00 via vtdigger.org
  
  Cathy Davis at her home in Jericho on Wednesday. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerBURLINGTON — Leadership of the Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce will change this fall when Cathy Davis, now executive vice president, takes over the top job. President Tom Torti is stepping down in November to focus on the chamber’s foundation.
  The Lake Champlain Chamber, located in Vermont’s most populous area, covers Chittenden, Addison, Franklin and Grand Isle counties, though it has members th
  
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• Final Reading: Vermont’s hospitals could see a hefty bailout

  28-05-2020 18:00 via vtdigger.org
  
  VT Secretary of Agriculture Anson Tebbetts speaks during a press conference at the ECHO Center in Burlington on Tuesday, October 8, 2019. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger— Gov. Phil Scott on Wednesday said that he has made up his mind about running for re-election, but won’t announce his plans until Thursday, the deadline for candidates to file for primaries. “I’ll come out with a statement then. I have until five o’clock tomorrow, but I have arrived at a decisi
  
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• Tunbridge World’s Fair, North Haverhill Fair canceled for 2020

  28-05-2020 17:00 via vtdigger.org
  
  Mike Tambolio, presiding judge for the Tunbridge World’s Fair harness races, watches the finish line as harness racers and horses approach it. File photo by Charles Hatcher/ Valley NewsThis article by Alex Hanson was published by the Valley News on May 26.TUNBRIDGE — For the first time since World War II, the annual World’s Fair has been canceled.The board of the Union Agricultural Society, the Tunbridge nonprofit that operates the fair and its grounds, had planned to meet
  
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• Scott runs for reelection, but won’t campaign for now

  28-05-2020 13:32 via vtdigger.org
  
  Gov. Phil Scott speaks at a press briefing on COVID-19 on March 23, 2020. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDiggerGov. Phil Scott is running for reelection. But he won’t be campaigning “until the state of emergency is over,” he wrote in an announcement Thursday morning.“As our state and nation continue to navigate a once-in-a-century challenge, Vermonters need and deserve a full-time governor who is focused on leading Vermont through the public health and economic crisis COVID-19
  
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• Covid-19 Roundup: 2 cases, no hospitalizations; State hits testing goal

  28-05-2020 01:20 via vtdigger.org
  
  Signs direct patients to a pop-up testing site behind the Barre Memorial Auditorium on May 19, 2020. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger📈 Get the latest statistics and live updates on our coronavirus page.
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• Kit Harrington: Child care reopen plan is unsafe

  28-05-2020 01:05 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary was written by Kit Harrington, on behalf of the Coalition of Families for Vermont’s Future. She lives in Winooski, and is a mother, educator, and advocate for children and families. 
  In the early weeks of the pandemic, Gov. Phil Scott acted wisely, focusing on public health and slowing the spread of this deadly disease. The initial decision to use CARES Act funds to stabilize child care centers throughout the state alleviated a tremendous amount of
  
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• Deborah Riemer: A country that gives directives, not ‘guidelines

  28-05-2020 01:00 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Deborah Riemer, of East Rupert, who is a broadcast journalist, author, writer, editor and public speaker.
  I still have the laminated card from 1990 in my wallet. A picture of a gas mask on the front with two single lines in bold black lettering: 
  You Are Prepared! You are Protected! And in red the admonition: Open this Kit ONLY Under Clear Instructions from The Civil Defense. The flip side of the card has a list of color-coded instructions: What to
  
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• Suzanna Jones: What ‘Planet of the Humans’ reveals about us

  28-05-2020 00:55 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Suzanna Jones, an off-the-grid farmer who lives in Walden.The recently released documentary “Planet of the Humans” takes direct aim at the major threat to the Earth: us. It does this by asking fundamental questions: Can nature withstand continued industrial extraction; can humans — particularly those in the dominant West — persist in taxing the natural world to fulfill our own “needs” and desires; is “green&rdqu
  
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• Scott administration plans $300M relief package for health care organizations

  28-05-2020 00:38 via vtdigger.org
  
  A negative pressure room inside the emergency department at Central Vermont Medical Center may be used to isolate incoming patients showing symptoms of Covid-19. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDiggerThe Scott administration plans to put forward up to $300 million to bail out Vermont’s health care system, which has been crippled by the Covid-19 pandemic.
  Agency of Human Services Secretary Mike Smith told lawmakers and regulators Wednesday that he planned to make the relief package available to a
  
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