Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will host a campaign kickoff next Tuesday afternoon at Burlington's Waterfront Park, his campaign announced Wednesday.
Vermont's independent senator announced three weeks ago via email that he would seek the Democratic nomination for president and held a brief press conference outside the U.S. Capitol later that day. Next week's event promises to be a more celebratory affair, featuring free Ben & Jerry's ice cream — of course — and music by Mango Jam, the Vermont-based Zydeco/Cajun band.
Feel free to bring your hula hoops, glow sticks and goo balls.
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Developer Eric Farrell purchased the 27 acres of forests and meadows earlier this year. At a meeting Tuesday night about potential development, members of Save Open Space Burlington complained repeatedly that the session's format was designed to squelch democracy. They tried unsuccessfully to hijack the proceedings to hold an open-mic, public forum-style discussion.
Instead, the event, cosponsored by the city, started with a presentation. Then attendees broke up into smaller groups for discussions as planned, despite the vocal objections of several of the 100 or so people who gathered at the Sustainability Academy on North Street.
"It's a pretense of democracy," said Charles Simpson, a Save Open Space member.
Ruby Perry was also frustrated. "It's totally managed," she said. Breaking into small groups didn't allow people to hear each other and get "inspired to collective action," she said.
July Sanders agreed. The format seemed designed to prevent critics of development from building any momentum or rising up as a group, Sanders said. The city needs to preserve accessible green space that people can walk to, Sanders said, adding: "It's what makes Burlington a great place to live."
Tags: Burlington , development , save open space , Image , Web Only
Toensing, the vice chairman of the Vermont Republican Party, wrote a committee of state's attorneys Tuesday requesting they consider two new allegations against Sorrell.
According to Toensing, Sorrell turned a blind eye to allegedly illegal spending by the Democratic Attorneys General Association on his own reelection efforts during the 2012 campaign. Toensing further alleges that Sorrell accepted legal representation in that case and others from a Burlington attorney, Richard Cassidy, who was arguing a separate matter before Sorrell's office. Toensing called the situation "an indisputable conflict of interest."
Neither Sorrell nor Cassidy immediately responded to requests for comment late Tuesday.
Tags: Brady Toensing , Bill Sorrell , campaign finance , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
The Vermont Department of Corrections announced Tuesday it has signed a two-year contract to send up to 675 inmates to a newly reopened 1,912-bed North Lake Correctional Facility, with options for two one-year extensions. Seven Days reported last week that the contract was likely. Inmate transfers will begin "during the second quarter of 2015," DOC announced. The contract with CCA ends June 30.
Vermont has long depended on out-of-state facilities to handle a prison population that has outgrown the state’s prisons. Prison-rights activists have argued against the practice, saying it puts inmates far from family support in for-profit facilities that have been criticized for skimping on security and health care. This year, in the newly passed state budget, legislators directed a legislative oversight committee to consider a new state facility to house all of the state's male inmates.
Tags: Vermont Corrections Department , Corrections Corporation of America , GEO Group , out-of-state prison , Image , Web Only
Monday, May 18, 2015
It’s highly unlikely that the resolution will change anyone’s salary — those decisions lie with the organization's leaders, not the council. Still, embroiled in a labor battle that’s dragged on for more than a year, the unionized workers were ready to rally around the minor victory.
The Howard Center provides mental health care, substance abuse treatment, counseling and other services to roughly 15,000 people each year, according to its website.
Bargaining on behalf of the center's employees, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has been in contract negotiations with management since April 2014. Seven Days wrote last year about the union's efforts to recruit members among Howard Center's ranks.
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Sunday, May 17, 2015
After weeks spent castigating the Vermont legislature for raising too much revenue and cutting too little spending, the third-term Democrat opted Saturday to forgo a messy veto fight with leaders of his own party. With just a few concessions in hand, he sealed a deal with House and Senate Democrats early Saturday afternoon, clearing a path to adjournment later that night.
In a closing address to the Vermont House, Shumlin put a brave face on a legislative session marked by his diminished influence over a Statehouse in which he has served for decades.
"Thank you for having the courage to come together to solve the problems that Vermonters sent [us] here to do," Shumlin told a partially filled House gallery. "Good work. Drive carefully."
With that, at 11:04 p.m., House Speaker Shap Smith (D-Morristown) gaveled out one of the strangest sessions in recent memory.
Tags: Vermont legislature , adjournment , Peter Shumlin , John Campbell , Shap Smith , Image , Web Only
Saturday, May 16, 2015
"You will be an extraordinarily tough act to follow," said Rep. Susan Hatch Davis (P-Washington), who represents Milne's hometown of Washington.
After the announcement, House members gave Milne a lengthy, standing ovation.
Tags: Don Milne , Bill Magill , Scott Milne , house clerk , Image , Web Only
Half a day after legislative leaders threatened to send Gov. Peter Shumlin a tax package he would surely veto, all sides stepped back from the brink Saturday afternoon.
Shumlin, who was described by legislators as disengaged from negotiations Friday, spent Saturday morning working toward a compromise with House Speaker Shap Smith (D-Morristown) and Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell (D-Windsor). At 1:50 p.m., the three men emerged from the governor’s office to announce they’d reached a deal on a $30 million tax bill.
“Everyone’s given a little,” Shumlin said, standing side-by-side with his erstwhile adversaries. “I think it’s an incredibly sensible plan.”
Having struck a deal, the trio said they believed they could muster the votes for passage later Saturday and adjourn until next January.
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Shumlin has spent weeks urging the House and Senate to trim their budget proposals and ditch income and sales tax hikes he opposes. But after a long day of closed-door meetings throughout the Statehouse, legislative negotiators unveiled a $30 million tax package at 10:30 p.m. that did not appear to meet with his approval.
Asked if he expected Shumlin to veto the plan, House Speaker Shap Smith (D-Morristown) said, "You know, I'm eternally optimistic, but perhaps it is unwarranted in this instance."
The governor himself remained out of view Friday, hunkered down in his ceremonial Statehouse office for much of the afternoon and evening. Members of his staff roamed the Statehouse halls but did not appear heavily engaged in deliberations with legislative leaders. The governor's spokesman, Scott Coriell, said he would not comment on the plan until Saturday.
Shortly before midnight, a House and Senate conference committee signed off on next year's $5.4 billion budget. Those charged with finalizing the tax bill and a health care bill left the Statehouse for the night without formally agreeing to either item. But Smith said he believed the legislature might still meet its goal of adjourning Saturday night.
Tags: Shap Smith , John Campbell , Peter Shumlin , Tim Ashe , Janet Ancel , Image , Web Only
Friday, May 15, 2015
Friday, Rep. Patrick Brennan (R-Colchester) spent a fair bit of time buttonholing senators, trying to find new life for a bill that would legalize the use of gun suppressors. The devices — also known as silencers — can prevent hearing damage and make peace with shooting-range neighbors, he argued to any senator who would listen.
The measure had been on an economic development bill that the House passed, but was jettisoned in that bill's conference committee. Brennan wasn't giving up.
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