Wednesday, November 26, 2014
"Our readers want to know what's happening in Montpelier," says publisher and coeditor Paula Routly. "They want to know how decisions are made, who's making them and why."
Tags: Seven Days , Burlington Free Press , Gannett , Vermont Statehouse , media , Terri Hallenbeck , Nancy Remsen , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
On Tuesday he announced that he'll use a plan — created in 2001 at then-mayor Peter Clavelle's request — to guide his administration's involvement in the project. That document calls for housing "of all types" on the property but also recommends that a "generous portion of the land should remain open space."
Tags: Miro Weinberger , Burlington College , Peter Clavelle , Image , Web Only
Vermont continues to be among the least active states in the country in sending records of mentally ill people to the national firearms background check system.
Federal records show Vermont is one of nine states that have submitted fewer than 100 records of mental illness to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which licensed gun sellers must consult before closing a sale, according to a recently released report from the gun-control group Everytown for Gun Safety.
Tags: Guns , NICS , mental illness , background checks , Image , Web Only
Monday, November 24, 2014
Faculty — some of whom rely on public assistance — cite low pay and a lack of benefits and job stability as their major complaints. Seven Days recently wrote about working conditions for these professors and SEIU's effort to organize them.
An election is also being held for adjuncts at St. Michael's College. The results will be tallied next week.
Tags: Champlain College , Burlington College , SEIU , Image , Web Only
That was Burlington's new interim school superintendent's assessment of the role he's stepping into. School board members introduced Howard Smith, a recently retired Tarrytown, N.Y., superintendent to reporters at the Hunt Middle School on Monday afternoon.
Smith has agreed to serve as superintendent through the end of the school year but doesn't plan to seek the position permanently. He said the temporary nature of his position will allow him to be "brutally objective."
He's taking over at a pivotal time. The administration is beginning to prepare its budget for next year, which promises to be a contentious process. Residents rejected the school budget for the first time in years last March and since then a series of financial errors and subsequent budget cuts have created more frustration.
Smith said bringing "financial stability" to the district is one of his main goals.
Asked why he wasn't interested in seeking the position permanently, Smith told reporters, "I do have other interests and have reached a point where I'm happy that I don't have to ... work full-time indefinitely."
Tags: Burlington school board , Howard Smith , superintendent , Image , Web Only
Friday, November 21, 2014
Vermont Department for Children and Families workers failed to protect two abused children who were later killed because they were bent on reunifying them with their families — despite the obvious dangers lurking in their homes, a review panel concluded in a scathing report issued today.
The Vermont Citizens Advisory Panel, tasked with reviewing the state's handling of two cases in which infants under DCF care were killed this summer, issued a 28-page report that found failure in nearly every part of government charged with protecting children, from judges to prosecutors and police and guardians at litem.
But most of their criticism was directed at DCF, which allowed 2-year-old Dezirae Sheldon of Rutland and 15-month-old Peighton Geraw of Winooski to remain at home despite reports of abuse. Both were allegedly killed by loved ones shortly after having contact with DCF.
The panel's report describes an agency in which caseworkers were poorly trained, misunderstood their basic responsibilities, failed to communicate with others involved with the case, and ignored parents' drug abuse and other signs that children shouldn't be left at home.
Most alarming, the report found that caseworkers and others involved with protecting children don't even understand their basic responsibilities.
"An incorrect perception appears to exist among casework staff, the family courts and others in the system that 'reunification at all costs' is the formal policy of the department, and indeed of the entire child protection system," the report says. "This misinterpretation of the Juvenile Proceedings Act appears to result in incorrect assumption that reunification takes priority over the best interests of the child."
Tags: DCF , Peighton Geraw , Sheldon , Peter Shumlin , Image , Web Only
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Standing in front of its recently opened L.L.Bean store, Devonwood Investors managing partner Don Sinex outlined a sweeping vision for the aging shopping center. It would include a vast expansion of the mall's retail and office space, 250 new apartments, a hotel and convention center, an underground parking garage and a rooftop park.
"I think this is a big day for Burlington and Burlington Town Center," Sinex said. "This mall has captured my energy and all my passion."
Sinex was joined at the announcement by dozens of business and community leaders, several of whom praised what they said would be a "public-private partnership" between Devonwood Investors and the city's residents.
Tags: Burlington Town Center , Church Street , Don Sinex , Image , Web Only
Interim president Mike Smith told reporters in late October that the school planned to sell 25 acres to either Farrell, who plans to construct a large housing development on the site, or a conservation group. The memorandum with Farrell starts the clock on the second option — interested groups have 60 days, as of November 14, to make an offer.
College spokesperson Coralee Holms said the college hasn't received formal proposals from any groups at this point. Seven Days wrote about this scenario several weeks ago. Most conservation groups said the city administration would need to take action before they got involved, and so far Mayor Miro Weinberger has given no indication that he plans to do so.
The college, which would retain seven acres, desperately needs cash, according to Smith. Without an immediate infusion of money, he has said the small liberal arts school would likely have to close next year. The sale, Smith said, will reduce the school's debt from $11.4 million to $4.3 million and reduce its debt payments from $735,000 to less than $300,000 in future years.
Tags: Burlington College , Roman Catholic Diocese , conservation , Image , Web Only
Farrington's Mobile Park, located in the New North End across from the Ethan Allen shopping plaza, has 120 lots, 117 of which are currently occupied, according to the notice. The rent is roughly $300 a month.
State law gives residents the chance to form a cooperative or to work with a nonprofit to purchase the property themselves. If a majority of residents choose to pursue this option, they would have 45 days to notify the owner of their plans. The law requires the owner to then give them an additional 120 days and to negotiate with them in good faith.
The asking price for the park is $5 million.
The park has been owned by the Farrington family since it was founded in 1923. Rumors about a potential sale have been circulating since the park's owner, Sandra Farrington, passed away in August. Her four children inherited the property. Reached Thursday, her son, Robert Farrington, said that his mother had stipulated in her will that the property be liquidated, leaving them no choice but to sell. But he also pointed to the challenges of running the park.
Tags: Burlington , Farrington's Mobile Park , New North End , housing , Image , Web Only
Now, according to Politico, Shumlin is expected to hand over the DGA reins to a new chairman: Montana Gov. Steve Bullock.
Bullock, a freshman governor whose own reelection bid is slated for 2016, would succeed [Shumlin] in the position, POLITICO has learned. A source familiar with DGA leadership discussions added that Bullock is likely to step down from the post after a year to focus on his reelection.According to Politico, Bullock may be succeeded in the heavy election year of 2016 by Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy.
The DGA is convening in early December to vote on its new leadership slate. A Bullock aide confirmed that the governor is asking colleagues to back his bid at that meeting.
Tags: Peter Shumlin , Democratic Governors Association , Steve Bullock , Image , Web Only