Friday, August 21, 2015
Though the former Democratic state senator from Hartland claims he hasn’t yet decided whether to enter the race, his fledgling campaign sent three emails to supporters this week with messages from current and former lawmakers calling on him to run.
The first came Monday, when Rep. Kevin “Coach” Christie (D-Hartford) emailed Dunne’s supporters — and reporters — to describe his decades-long relationship with the almost-candidate.
“I know that as governor, Matt would stay grounded in the community values that are so important here in Vermont,” Christie wrote. “For that reason, I'm encouraging Matt Dunne to run for governor.”
Tags: Matt Dunne , gubernatorial campaign , Image , Web Only
Thursday, August 20, 2015
"It's associated with the racist policies of the Confederacy and we can't, you can't, get away from that," said Bob Walsh, a retired South Burlington High School teacher. (Walsh is no relation to this reporter.)
Walsh recalled an era when Confederate flags decorated school buses and a Captain Rebel mascot strolled onto the field at football games to the tune of "Dixie." He said the school district did not go far enough when, about twenty years ago, officials announced a compromise decision to technically drop the rebels as mascot and move away from Confederate images — but to allow the moniker to persist as a nickname.
Tags: education , south , burlington , rebels , Confederate , Bob Walsh , Image , Web Only
"I was very, very upset about the shooting," said city Councilor Jane Knodell (P-Central District) during a meeting of the city council's public safety committee Wednesday night at the Sustainability Academy on North Street, across the street from the shooting scene. She called it a "real signal that things have escalated." The committee is holding four meetings in different neighborhoods to address residents' concerns.
Both Mayor Miro Weinberger and incoming police chief Brandon del Pozo attended, as did Howard Center staff.
Residents wanted to know how they could assist police, but they also had plenty of advice for law enforcement. Several people reported having unpleasant or unhelpful encounters with police officers and dispatchers and wondered why officers weren't more aggressive about putting a halt to the blatant drug activity they've witnessed. Seven Days reported on similar complaints in a recent story that recounted how one woman in the city's lower Hill Section hung a sign in a tree to discourage drug activity.
Tags: Burlington , Old North End , Burlington Police Department , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Surrounded by family members and colleagues, House Speaker Shap Smith (D-Morristown) kicked off his campaign for governor Wednesday in his hometown of Morrisville, declaring that he would make Vermont “the state of opportunity.”
"I'm running for governor because the success of towns like Morrisville will be a vital part of Vermont's future and because I want every Vermonter to have the opportunities and the choices that I've had," he said.
With that declaration, the seventh-term House member and fourth-term speaker became the first candidate to officially declare his bid to replace Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin, who announced in June he will not seek reelection in 2016. Smith is expected to face stiff competition in a Democratic primary that could include former state senator Matt Dunne and Secretary of Transportation Sue Minter — and a general election that could include Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, a popular, third-term Republican.
Joining Smith for his announcement were dozens of current and former members of the Vermont House, who stood with him under a sweltering summer sun. He was introduced by a local childcare provider, Tracy Patnoe, and by his wife, physician Melissa Volansky.
“Shap understands how hard it is to juggle daycare, sick days, after-school, family meals, school lunches. He gets it because he lives it every day,” Volansky said. “And as anyone who works with him knows, he’s an intelligent, capable and determined person, who usually accomplishes what he sets out to do with honesty and integrity.”
Tags: Shap Smith , gubernatorial campaign , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Four years later, Sanders endorsed Jackson's 1988 campaign, introduced him at a University of Vermont speech and held a fundraiser for him at the Windjammer Restaurant.
Now, some three decades later, the tables are turned. During a brief fundraising trip to Chicago on Monday, Sanders — now a U.S. senator and candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination — sought Jackson's counsel.
While the precise nature of the meeting wasn't clear, a Sanders spokesman indicated in a brief statement that the two discussed matters related to racial justice. Twice this summer, the candidate has been confronted by Black Lives Matter protesters during public events, forcing a strained discussion about his commitment to fighting discrimination.
"Longtime friends, the senator and the civil rights leader held a very productive, hour-long meeting on important issues confronting the country and the African American community," spokesman Michael Briggs wrote in the statement.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Presidential Campaign , Jesse Jackson , Chicago , race , Recommended Reading , Image , Web Only
Monday, August 17, 2015
Billionaire businessman Donald Trump, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, had touched down on the fairgrounds earlier that day in his $7 million Sikorsky helicopter, offering free rides to children. As Sanders promised to lead a global response to climate change during his Soapbox speech, the chopper flew overheard, according to the multiple media outlets.
"There's Donald Trump," Sanders said, gesturing aloft. "What can we do?"
The crowd responded, "Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!"
"You know, I apologize. We left the helicopter at home," Sanders continued. "It's in the garage. Forgot to bring it."
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Donald Trump , helicopter , Iowa State Fair , Chuck Todd , Meet the Press , presidential campaign , Recommended Reading , Image , Video , Web Only
Friday, August 14, 2015
The people in the suits who took turns at the microphone promised they've got a solution that will clean the lake. "This really is a day of victory," declared Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Deb Markowitz.
But the longterm solution will be expensive and will require significant changes to the way farmers, loggers and developers do business, particularly around areas of the lake where pollution is most concentrated.
An agreement between the state and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, unveiled Friday, specifies that Vermont must reduce the amount of phosphorus going into the lake, called the Total Maximum Daily Load, by 34 percent in the next 20 years. Reductions will be more drastic in certain regions — 64 percent, for example, in Missisquoi Bay in northwestern Vermont.
Some communities may spend millions of dollars to upgrade wastewater treatment facilities with new technology. The agreement does not require upgrades to all 59 of the wastewater treatment facilities in the state. Vermont officials persuaded the EPA that wastewater plants as a whole produce only 3 percent of the lake's phosphorus. But the EPA will raise standards on 13 facilities in Missisquoi, Burlington and Shelburne bays, targeting them as heavier contributors to the phosphorus load.
Those changes could cost Burlington $30 million, according to a state Department of Environmental Conservation report. The total cost of the improvements in all the affected communities could be $78 million, according to the DEC.
Tags: Lake Champlain , TMDL , EPA , Peter Shumlin , Burlington , wastewater treatment , Image , Web Only
“How many of the 65,000 people covered by Blue Cross in Vermont will get a 6 percent raise next year?” asked Megan Sheehan, co-director of the Vermont Workers’ Center, which coordinates the Campaign for Health Care as a Human Right. “The Green Mountain Care Board is condemning thousands of Vermont residents to increased financial hardship."
The testimony of seven people affiliated with the Health Care as a Human Right at the Blue Cross rate hearing had put human faces on the potential impact of the increase. The board also received written comments from 450 people, many using a template provided by the Vermont Public Interest Research Group. Still, the board noted that 40 percent had added personal comments about the hardship an increase would pose.
One board member — Dr. Allan Ramsay — also disagreed with the board's majority and argued in his dissent that the Blue Cross rate increase could have been has low as 4.7 percent. He noted Blue Cross wanted a 9.8 percent increase in 2015 and was granted 7.7 percent.
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Politicians, business leaders and friends of the company gathered to toast the business and tour the redesigned facility, where "blah" is definitely not part of the corporate ethic. Think purple rugs, turquoise chairs and orange walls. The company café and event space could pass for a hipster New York City restaurant dining room, and yes, that espresso machine in the corner is for employee use.
Big windows show the green fields next to the building off Hinesburg Road. With a general absence of clutter in the office spaces, the Logic building seems designed to invite clear thinking.
"We're neat and tidy people," joked Lisa Groeneveld, chief operating officer, who founded the company with husband, Roland Groeneveld, and brought it to Vermont in 2004.
Tags: Logic Supply , Lisa Groeneveld , Image , Web Only
That was the lesson from the talk Captain Richard Phillips delivered Thursday to about 1,000 people at the Vermont Captive Insurance Association's annual conference in South Burlington.
While the crowd was assembled to network about the self-insurance market known as "captive," Phillips talked about a very different kind of captivity — the type where Navy SEALs come to the rescue instead of accountants and lawyers.
His message applied to all aspects of life: Don't quit. "Nothing is over until we choose to give up," Phillips said.
Dressed in a blue blazer and button-down shirt, Phillips could almost have passed for one of the many bankers, CPAs, lawyers and insurance gurus gathered at the Sheraton.
Tags: Pirates , Richard Phillips , captive insurance , Image , Web Only