Thursday, September 18, 2014
Mark Davis
Scott Milne, Republican candidate for governor, speaks to the Colchester-Milton Rotary Club.
“After Tuesday — we can’t even get a website to work," Milne told the Colchester-Milton Rotary Club during an afternoon campaign stop. "There’s not good management of the people’s money by the Shumlin administration. It’s obvious, when you look at Vermont Health Connect, it’s $100 million flushed down the toilet.”
During the 45-minute appearance, Milne criticized Shumlin and Statehouse Democrats for pursuing what he called a “radical progressive agenda” that is straining taxpayers.
Milne offered few specifics of his agenda. At various times, he told the 30 people in the crowd that he would release his own plans for health care, education and job creation in the coming weeks.
Courtesy Photo
Congressman Peter Welch on a May 2013 trip to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Germany and the Turkish-Syrian border.
"I do not believe that that plan has any reasonable prospect of success," Welch said in a web video recorded shortly before he cast a 'no' vote on the House floor.
Welch joined 71 Republicans and 84 other Democrats in opposing the Syria amendment, which was attached to a stopgap spending bill. They were overpowered by a bipartisan coalition of 159 Republicans and 114 Democrats who backed the measure after Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and other top administration officials personally lobbied House members to stand behind the White House. Welch also opposed the underlying spending bill, which passed by a vote of 319 to 108.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
As Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) travels the country to gauge interest in a presidential campaign, a longtime nemesis is attacking him back home.
Gasoline distributor and retailer Skip Vallee, a prominent Republican fundraiser, has produced a 60-second television advertisement accusing Sanders of hypocrisy for railing against "golden parachutes" while benefiting from one himself. The ad notes that the senator's wife, Jane O'Meara Sanders, received a $200,000 severance package when she stepped down as president of the now-financially struggling Burlington College in October 2011.
Vallee distributed the ad to Vermont reporters Wednesday morning and plans to air it on local television stations starting Thursday morning. He says he's already invested $10,000 in a weeklong run on WCAX-TV, adding, "That's just the initial buy."
"I think the ad makes a point that I think the mainstream media should be making: Bernie is going to run on a theme of railing against golden parachutes and excesses, which is going to be a tough thing to do when he took his own golden parachute," Vallee says.
Sanders' spokesman, Michael Briggs, responded to the ad by calling Vallee "pathetic" and a "junior varsity version of the Koch brothers." Briggs said the senator "will not be intimidated by a millionaire who has crawled into the gutter and bought TV ads attacking Bernie's wife for a sabbatical she earned from a college where she was president for seven years."
Gasoline distributor and retailer Skip Vallee, a prominent Republican fundraiser, has produced a 60-second television advertisement accusing Sanders of hypocrisy for railing against "golden parachutes" while benefiting from one himself. The ad notes that the senator's wife, Jane O'Meara Sanders, received a $200,000 severance package when she stepped down as president of the now-financially struggling Burlington College in October 2011.
Vallee distributed the ad to Vermont reporters Wednesday morning and plans to air it on local television stations starting Thursday morning. He says he's already invested $10,000 in a weeklong run on WCAX-TV, adding, "That's just the initial buy."
"I think the ad makes a point that I think the mainstream media should be making: Bernie is going to run on a theme of railing against golden parachutes and excesses, which is going to be a tough thing to do when he took his own golden parachute," Vallee says.
Sanders' spokesman, Michael Briggs, responded to the ad by calling Vallee "pathetic" and a "junior varsity version of the Koch brothers." Briggs said the senator "will not be intimidated by a millionaire who has crawled into the gutter and bought TV ads attacking Bernie's wife for a sabbatical she earned from a college where she was president for seven years."
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , U.S. Senate , elections , Skip Vallee , Presidential Campaign , environment , Image , Recommended Reading , Video , Web Only
File this under the category of unplanned — but unsurprising — announcements: Miro Weinberger will run for a second three-year term as Burlington's mayor.
The election isn't until next March, and there won't be a campaign kick-off until January. But when Burlington Free Press reporter April Burbank asked Weinberger in an interview last Friday whether he planned to seek another term, he said he did.
"Rather than dodge the question, he was just very transparent," explained Mike Kanarick, Weinberger's chief of staff and his campaign spokesperson. "It was not a formal announcement by any means," Kanarick said, speaking by phone on Tuesday.
City Councilor Kurt Wright (R-Ward 4) said he was sitting next to the mayor at a city meeting on Monday evening when Kanarick told his boss that the Free Press had posted a story about his reelection bid. "He looked kind of sheepish" about having spilled the beans, Wright recalled. The councilor (who lost to Weinberger during the 2012 election) said he told his former opponent, "What's the big deal? Everyone knows you’re running."
The election isn't until next March, and there won't be a campaign kick-off until January. But when Burlington Free Press reporter April Burbank asked Weinberger in an interview last Friday whether he planned to seek another term, he said he did.
"Rather than dodge the question, he was just very transparent," explained Mike Kanarick, Weinberger's chief of staff and his campaign spokesperson. "It was not a formal announcement by any means," Kanarick said, speaking by phone on Tuesday.
City Councilor Kurt Wright (R-Ward 4) said he was sitting next to the mayor at a city meeting on Monday evening when Kanarick told his boss that the Free Press had posted a story about his reelection bid. "He looked kind of sheepish" about having spilled the beans, Wright recalled. The councilor (who lost to Weinberger during the 2012 election) said he told his former opponent, "What's the big deal? Everyone knows you’re running."
Tags: Miro Weinberger , Kurt Wright , Burlington Free Press , Town Meeting Day , elections , Burlington , Chittenden County , Image , Web Only
Updated at 6:46 p.m.
With seven weeks remaining until Vermonters go to the polls, Gov. Peter Shumlin on Wednesday aired his first television advertisement of his campaign for a third term.
The 30-second ad, called "Working Hard," began running statewide Wednesday, according to campaign manager Scott Coriell. He would not say how much the Shumlin campaign spent on the ad, nor how long he expected it to stay on-air.
"I'm not going to get into details about our media strategy," Coriell said. "As you know, our campaign finance filings will provide information about our expenditures."
Notably, the gov's first TV blitz comes a full month earlier in the election cycle than in his 2012 race for reelection. Then, he waited until October 17 to grace the small screen.
With seven weeks remaining until Vermonters go to the polls, Gov. Peter Shumlin on Wednesday aired his first television advertisement of his campaign for a third term.
The 30-second ad, called "Working Hard," began running statewide Wednesday, according to campaign manager Scott Coriell. He would not say how much the Shumlin campaign spent on the ad, nor how long he expected it to stay on-air.
"I'm not going to get into details about our media strategy," Coriell said. "As you know, our campaign finance filings will provide information about our expenditures."
Notably, the gov's first TV blitz comes a full month earlier in the election cycle than in his 2012 race for reelection. Then, he waited until October 17 to grace the small screen.
Update 3/20/14: These tracks are previews of the full songs. The full versions are available on CD and for digital download.
Yes, dear reader, we here at Seven Days have been puzzling over the same question that is keeping you up at night: If Bernie Sanders runs for president, what will he choose as his campaign song?
Bill Clinton famously used Fleetwood Mac’s "Don’t Stop." Ronald Reagan had Bruce Springsteen’s "Born in the U.S.A." And, of course, who could forget William Howard Taft strolling onto stage to the sounds of "Get on the Raft with Taft."
But what song could possibly suit a man whose identity — Vermonter, native New Yorker, Socialist — seems engineered by a higher power to give Fox News commentators an aneurysm?
Well, a Sanders campaign theme song could be music recorded by … Bernie Sanders.
Tags: Mayor , Bernie Sanders , Presidential Campaign , Image , Recommended Reading , Web Only
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
The troubled Vermont Health Connect website will be down for weeks to give developers time to address technical and security flaws ahead of the critical open enrollment date of November 15, Gov. Peter Shumlin announced today.
Administration officials said they were being proactive in taking down the site on Monday night and hoping to avoid errors when the next large wave of applicants is expected to hit the site in November, when Vermonters who did not enroll earlier this year will be given the chance to join the program.
"We have more work to do to make sure Vermonters have a well-functioning website by November 15," Shumlin said at a press conference in Winooski. "I'm focused on that goal like a laser."
Officials repeatedly insisted that there had been no security breaches or other new problems with the Vermont Health Connect website that prompted the decision. Rather, they said, allowing experts to fix bugs without having to manage a constant stream of visitors is the best way to prepare for November.
But they repeatedly mentioned concerns about potential security breaches.
Lawrence Miller, Shumlin's senior adviser, said the move was prompted in part by "environmental changes from a threat perspective," including the recent breach involving information on millions of Home Depot customers.
"We are always emphasizing security. It is looking at the rest of the world and saying, 'Hey, we have some upgrades to make,'" said Miller. "This is precautionary."
Mark Davis
Lawrence Miller, senior advisor to Gov. Peter Shumlin, speaks at the press conference on the Vermont Health Connect website. Shumlin and Agency of Human Services Secretary Harry Chen are standing to the right of Miller. Representatives from Optum, the state's vendor managing the project, are also shown.
"We have more work to do to make sure Vermonters have a well-functioning website by November 15," Shumlin said at a press conference in Winooski. "I'm focused on that goal like a laser."
Officials repeatedly insisted that there had been no security breaches or other new problems with the Vermont Health Connect website that prompted the decision. Rather, they said, allowing experts to fix bugs without having to manage a constant stream of visitors is the best way to prepare for November.
But they repeatedly mentioned concerns about potential security breaches.
Lawrence Miller, Shumlin's senior adviser, said the move was prompted in part by "environmental changes from a threat perspective," including the recent breach involving information on millions of Home Depot customers.
"We are always emphasizing security. It is looking at the rest of the world and saying, 'Hey, we have some upgrades to make,'" said Miller. "This is precautionary."
Tags: Health Care , Shumlin , Politics , Image , Web Only
Monday, September 15, 2014
The Lake Champlain Transportation Company agreed to pay $100,000 in penalties and to take steps to minimize air emissions to settle claims that it violated clean air laws, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday.
The company, which operates a ferry service on Lake Champlain between Vermont and New York, used paint with hazardous pollutants on its ferries, failed to keep records of using the paint and failed to submit required reports to state and federal officials, the EPA alleged. Regulators also alleged the company failed to obtain necessary permits when it acquired new paint spray guns, used for coating its ferries during maintenance operations, in 2005 and 2009, the EPA said.
The company, owned by Burlington's Pecor family, operates ship repair and painting facilities in Burlington and Shelburne.
Lake Champlain Transportation Company said it has already hired a consultant and taken the first steps to coming into compliance with the applicable laws. "LCT is fully cooperating with the EPA in resolving our non-compliance issues as it relates to record keeping and permitting requirements," it said in a statement.
LCT Operations Manager Heather Stewart said the violations involving the paint gun stem not from using the tool more than allowed, but rather from failing to document its use.
The paint contained hazardous pollutants that can damage lung tissue and is especially dangerous to the young and elderly and people with lung disease and asthma. The company will also have to submit written plans to the EPA to outline how it will comply with federal regulations in the future, and will apply for a permit from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, the EPA said.
The company, which operates a ferry service on Lake Champlain between Vermont and New York, used paint with hazardous pollutants on its ferries, failed to keep records of using the paint and failed to submit required reports to state and federal officials, the EPA alleged. Regulators also alleged the company failed to obtain necessary permits when it acquired new paint spray guns, used for coating its ferries during maintenance operations, in 2005 and 2009, the EPA said.
The company, owned by Burlington's Pecor family, operates ship repair and painting facilities in Burlington and Shelburne.
Lake Champlain Transportation Company said it has already hired a consultant and taken the first steps to coming into compliance with the applicable laws. "LCT is fully cooperating with the EPA in resolving our non-compliance issues as it relates to record keeping and permitting requirements," it said in a statement.
LCT Operations Manager Heather Stewart said the violations involving the paint gun stem not from using the tool more than allowed, but rather from failing to document its use.
The paint contained hazardous pollutants that can damage lung tissue and is especially dangerous to the young and elderly and people with lung disease and asthma. The company will also have to submit written plans to the EPA to outline how it will comply with federal regulations in the future, and will apply for a permit from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, the EPA said.
Tags: Environment , Lake Champlain , Image , Web Only
South Burlington cartoonist Harry Bliss, whose art appears in the New Yorker, Seven Days and several best-selling children's books, found a new subject to illustrate for Vermonters — the woebegone Vermont Health Connect.
In an eight-minute video posted to his Facebook page, Bliss entertains himself while being left on hold by representatives of the state-run health exchange. He had requested a printed invoice five months earlier, to no avail.
The customer service representative sometimes interrupts Bliss to explain that his problem isn't as urgent as some other people's. "We have thousands of these," she says. "Thousands."
"This actually makes me want to kill myself," he says while enduring some unspeakably bad elevator music, and holds a knife to his wrist and neck. The video also features some sweet dance moves, a sheep puppet and ... Well, see for yourself.
In an eight-minute video posted to his Facebook page, Bliss entertains himself while being left on hold by representatives of the state-run health exchange. He had requested a printed invoice five months earlier, to no avail.
The customer service representative sometimes interrupts Bliss to explain that his problem isn't as urgent as some other people's. "We have thousands of these," she says. "Thousands."
"This actually makes me want to kill myself," he says while enduring some unspeakably bad elevator music, and holds a knife to his wrist and neck. The video also features some sweet dance moves, a sheep puppet and ... Well, see for yourself.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Alicia Freese
Michael Smith addresses students, staff and reporters at a press conference at Burlington College last week.
Sitting in his new corner office at the college's North Avenue campus on Wednesday afternoon, Michael Smith summarized his challenge: "What I need to do is figure out a way to give this organization some breathing room because when you're going crisis to crisis, you’re only planning for that crisis ... How do I do that?"
Smith, who took over the position less than two weeks ago after Christine Plunkett resigned unexpectedly amidst a student protest, proceeded to answer his own question. "I ask for money. It’s as simple as that."
It does sound pretty obvious, but it's also a reversal of the college's stance up until this point. After the regional accreditation group put Burlington College on probation in late June, the college administration said it was putting fundraising on hold because, as board chairman Yves Bradley put it then, "The time to come to them is not when you are down and need a Band-Aid."
Asked to explain the turnaround, Smith responded, "I think we’re past that."
Tags: Burlington College , Michael Smith , Jane Knodell , David Coates , NEASC , Image , Web Only