Monday, September 29, 2014
Though the governor had previously resisted entreaties to divest the $4 billion pension funds of carbon-heavy assets, he appeared to embrace the notion in an interview with journalist David Goodman on WDEV's "The Vermont Conversation."
"It's going to take some time to make the transformation, but I think it's a good idea," Shumlin said on the radio program, which is paid for by Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.
But less than a week later, the governor retreated to his previous position when asked about his evolution during a gubernatorial debate on Vermont Public Radio.
"There's been a discussion in Vermont about divestiture, and what I have said, in concert with [state Treasurer] Beth Pearce, is that we believe that having a seat at the table — owning the stocks and having a seat at the table with the oil companies — is a good place to be," Shumlin said, adding that he was "willing to look at any suggestions" to combat climate change.
"So what I said about divestiture is I'm willing to take a look at it. I didn't say I would call for it," the governor clarified. "Because I think we should look at everything that we can do to advance the ball more quickly. I don't think that's the sharpest knife of all the things that we could do, but I certainly am always willing to look at it."
McKibben, a Middlebury College scholar-in-residence and founder of 350.org, didn't think much of the governor's explanation.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
After 26 years at Virginia-based Gannett Company, Inc., which owns the Free Press and 80 other papers, Fogler is leaving journalism next week for ... a costume shop. According to editor Adam Silverman, he has taken a new job as vice president of business development at Party City, which describes itself as "the leader in the party goods industry."
The Rockaway, N.J., chain operates some 800 stores throughout the country. Just last week, it opened a new, 26,000-square-foot store in South Burlington, which, as the Free Press dutifully reported, "dwarfs the company’s average-size store of 12,000 square feet."
Following the retirement of cofounder Bob Sherman at the end of the year, KSE Partners will pick up Alex MacLean as partner and head of the firm's strategic communications practice. The news was first reported by VTDigger's Anne Galloway.
A Northeast Kingdom native, MacLean served as a Statehouse aide to former House speaker Gaye Symington and Shumlin, then Senate president pro tem, before managing the latter's 2010 gubernatorial campaign. She joined the Shumlin administration in 2011, serving as secretary of civil and military affairs and as deputy chief of staff. After managing the governor's 2012 reelection campaign, MacLean left Team Shumlin to run her own strategic communications business, called ASM Strategies.
"I'm excited to get back to an office setting and to be surrounded by colleagues and the talented folks at KSE," MacLean says. "KSE is the preeminent communications firm in the state, so I'm looking forward to being a part of it."
Says partner Todd Bailey, "Alex is a great hire because she's incredibly talented, incredibly smart. She understands strategy as well as anyone in the state and has the ability to communicate with anyone in the state. When you have those talents, it's an obvious choice of someone to add to the partnership."
It's no secret that both organizations regularly accept six-figure corporate contributions from the likes of Pfizer, Aetna and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America — and, in the case of the DGA, from the nation's largest labor unions. It's also no secret that, in exchange for that cash, those donors get to schmooze with governors at weekend retreats and "policy conferences," which Shumlin regularly attends.
What's less clear is the price of admission to those gatherings.
In Thursday's New York Times, congressional reporter Jonathan Weisman shines a light on what top donors pay — and what they get. Based on a trove of internal documents unearthed by the Democratic watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Weisman's story focuses on the RGA's fundraising practices. Those donating at the $250,000, $100,000 and $50,000 level, he finds, receive invitations to "exclusive" and "intimate" meals with Republican governors and members of their staff.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
The unexpected appointment, which was approved at a board retreat in Fairlee, is a blow to Gov. Peter Shumlin, for whom Spaulding has served as a loyal deputy and trusted ally. But according to retiring chancellor Tim Donovan, it’s a coup for the struggling public college consortium.
“We are very fortunate that Jeb was willing to step into this role,” Donovan said Wednesday, adding that when he was asked who should replace him, “His was the first name that came out of my mouth, because I think so highly of Jeb.”
First elected to the Vermont Senate in 1985, Spaulding served eight terms in the legislature, chairing both the Appropriations Committee and the Education Committee. After four terms as state treasurer, Spaulding resigned the position in January 2011 to serve as Shumlin’s secretary of administration.
How well do you know Bernie Sanders and his Vermont political career? We combed through our archives for 10 trivia questions about his journey from Burlington mayor to iconic independent senator. Whether you’re a Sanderista or a skeptic, test your Bernie knowledge here:
Sorry, this quiz no longer functions. :(
Seven Days is on the Bernie Beat!
On his first day as mayor of the Queen City, Bernie Sanders shared a prediction with the alternative weekly Vanguard Press: “People will look back to Burlington, Vermont, 1981, and say: ‘It all started here.’” Socialist Sanders, who won the mayor’s seat by 10 votes, was likely envisioning some kind of populist revolution. Instead, what has turned out to be really popular is Bernie himself. Nearly five decades after he first ran for U.S. Senate on the Liberty Union ticket, Vermont’s outspoken independent is seeking the Democratic nomination for president.
How did he get here from there?
Seven Days lays it out on Bernie Beat, a digital guide to Sanders’ colorful political career through the eyes of the state’s independent media. Original articles and video from more than 30 years of Bernie-watching puts the iconic public servant in context. A multimedia time line, combined with ongoing coverage of Vermont’s junior senator in D.C. and on the campaign trail, tells the real story of the outsider who would be president.
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What'd you miss Tuesday night when four candidates for the state's top job — the Liberty Union Party's Peter Diamondstone, Libertarian Dan Feliciano, Republican Scott Milne and Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin — locked horns at Vermont Public Radio's Colchester studios?
Basically seven things. Here they are:
1. Milne rarely answered the question. When he did, he occasionally gave two answers.
After a weak performance 10 days earlier at the first gubernatorial debate in Tunbridge, Milne needed to accomplish one thing Tuesday night: reverse the solidifying perception that his campaign offers no real ideas.
The Republican nominee failed to do that.
Tags: cannabis related , Image , Web Only
Monday, September 22, 2014
Were they discussing whether non-citizens should be able to vote or whether people with marijuana-related offenses should be granted amnesty? No. Discussions about proposals to put those questions on the ballot — the former would require state approval; the latter would be non-binding — had been shelved earlier in the evening due to lack of support.
It was permitting, not pot, that prompted the unexpected recess.
Most people agree that the city's permitting process needs fixing, and city officials have long been looking for ways to streamline it. So a resolution on the city council’s agenda that made this point and asked Mayor Miro Weinberger to come up with a plan for reforming the system seemed like a bit of a sleeper item — even to the councilors who proposed it.
"It seems so noncontroversial," said Jane Knodell (P-Ward 2) before the meeting. Knodell, along with Kurt Wright (R-Ward 4) and Dave Hartnett (D-Ward 4) sponsored the resolution, which asks Weinberger to present the council with a "soup to nuts" plan to reform the permit system — with the goal of creating a "one-stop shop" — by January 2015. It also calls for a public forum on the topic in December.
Tags: Burlington City Council , cannabis related , Miro Weinberger , Image , Web Only
Tags: environment , climate change , activism , Slideshow , Image , Web Only
Friday, September 19, 2014
While Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) emphasized the need to act in concert with other nations and warned against the deployment of ground troops in the region, both said in written statements last Wednesday that they backed Obama's two-pronged strategy.
"He has authorized air strikes against ISIS and further support for Syrian rebels opposing ISIS, many of whom have been targeted by the cruel regime of [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad," Leahy said in his statement. "I support the President because I believe that ISIS must be stopped, that U.S. leadership is urgently required, and that he has no intention of allowing the United States to become entangled in another large-scale war in the Middle East."
Calling ISIS a "brutal and dangerous organization that must be defeated," Sanders said in his own statement that the U.S. must be joined in its efforts by "the international community" and "the people of Iraq and Syria."
"U.S. ground troops should not be sent back into combat," Sanders continued. "I support the president's airstrike campaign and help for the Syrian opposition."
But when the Senate voted Thursday night on whether to authorize the U.S. to train Syrian rebels, Leahy and Sanders joined eight liberal Democrats and 12 conservative Republicans in opposing the measure, which was attached to a larger spending bill. The vote was 78 to 22 in favor.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Patrick Leahy , Peter Welch , Vermont congressional delegation , Syria , Presidential Campaign , foreign policy , Image , Recommended Reading , Web Only