Sunday, July 31, 2016
“If at this point in this saga anyone still gives a flying fish who I’m voting for, that would be Sue Minter,” McKibben, a Ripton resident and founder of the environmental group 350.org, said in a letter Sunday.
Friday afternoon, Dunne issued a statement saying he supports having communities vote on whether to allow wind projects within their borders. Renewable energy advocates say that runs counter to the practice of establishing energy projects that represent the whole state’s interests but may be opposed in a single community.
Dunne’s statement included praise from the third Democratic candidate, Peter Galbraith, who said: “Matt understands the anguish that large-scale wind projects cause many Vermont communities.” After Dunne released his statement, Seven Days asked McKibben for his thoughts, given that he had endorsed Dunne early in the campaign.
McKibben replied Sunday: “Ask a simple question and someone sends you a thousand-word answer.” Indeed, he did, adding, “and has the temerity to ask that if you want to use it you perhaps do so in whole, so people can read the chain of reasoning.”
Tags: Matt Dunne , Sue Minter , Bill McKibben , wind power , election 2016 , primary 2016 , Image , Web Only
Back home in South Hero, she’s in the middle of a competitive primary and the target of criticism that Grand Isle County doesn’t get its fair share of resources.
Johnson, 45, is one of four Democratic candidates seeking two seats in the August 9 primary. The winners face two Republicans in the November election.
Tags: Mitzi Johnson , Evan Hill , Ben Joseph , Andrew Julow , Vermont House , election 2016 , primary 2016 , Image , Web Only
Friday, July 29, 2016
“If a town says no to a large industrial wind project I would use all the power of the governor’s office to ensure that is the end of the project,” Dunne said in his statement. “I will ensure that no means no.”
Supporters of wind energy strongly oppose putting decisions about projects in the hands of voters in one town and have vehemently fought legislation to give towns power to veto projects.
The Public Service Board process is designed to consider the overall public good of the state over that of a select group of people, argued Rep. Tony Klein (D-East Montpelier), chair of the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee. “I’m pretty disappointed,” he said of Dunne’s position.
Tags: Matt Dunne , Peter Galbraith , Sue Minter , Tony Klein , wind energy , election 2016 , primary 2016 , Image , Web Only
Jeff Weaver, who managed the presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), went to bat Friday for Democrat Matt Dunne, sending Dunne supporters a fundraising email that prominently mentions Sanders.
“I have seen firsthand Bernie fight for seniors, women, and low- and middle-income workers — and I see that same dedication in Matt Dunne,” Weaver said in the email.
Weaver’s support of Dunne is not new. He also endorsed the former Windsor County state senator for governor in 2010, when Dunne came in fourth in a five-person Democratic primary.
This year, Dunne is in a three-candidate race for the Democratic nomination for governor in the August 9 primary. His opponents are Minter and former state senator Peter Galbraith.
For Dunne, Weaver’s endorsement is part of a concerted effort to link himself to the rock star popularity of Sanders. All three Democratic candidates for governor endorsed Sanders, but Dunne often points out he was the first to do so.
Will Sanders endorse any state candidates in primary races? That is to be determined, Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs said Friday.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Matt Dunne , Sue Minter , Peter Galbraith , Howard Dean , election 2016 , primary 2016 , endorsement , Image , Web Only
By Thursday night, the devoted Sanders supporter and Vermont Democratic Party chair was ready to embrace newly minted nominee Hillary Clinton.
"Hallelujah!" she shouted as red, white and blue balloons settled onstage, signaling the close of the Democratic National Convention. "This is a celebration. Hillary Rodham Clinton is awesome. [Vice presidential nominee] Tim Kaine was awesome. We've got something to fight for."
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Hillary Clinton , presidential campaign , DNC 2016 , Recommended Reading , Image , Web Only
The Public Service Board, which has yet to approve the company’s request to use eminent domain to take the Geprags parcel, will review the request next Thursday. In a widely criticized move, the PSB has decided to close that hearing to the public because protesters have repeatedly interrupted previous proceedings.
The 41-mile natural gas pipeline, which will run from Colchester to Middlebury, has spawned ongoing protests and encountered many setbacks, including major cost overruns.
The selectboard withdrew an earlier agreement with Vermont Gas after a public outcry. Under the new agreement, approved in a 3-2 vote Thursday evening, the board negotiated additional concessions from the company. Among them: Vermont Gas will use horizontal drilling to minimize the impact on the park’s wetland area, and it will pay the town $250,000 for easement rights. (Under the previous agreement, it would have paid $75,000.)
Tags: Vermont Gas , Hinesburg , Geprags Community Park , Public Service Board , Image , Web Only
The Burlington Police Department was hosting about 20 imams, ministers, rabbis and nuns. They sat around plastic tables making small talk. Some came in ankle-length gray robes and clerical collars; others wore floral skirts.
It was the third luncheon that Chief Brandon del Pozo has hosted for local clergy at the police department at 1 North Avenue — part of an effort to make inroads in the community at a time when mistrust toward police across the country is high.
Del Pozo and his visiting friend, Dean Esserman, who is the police chief in New Haven, Conn., did most of the sermonizing at first. They emphasized the importance of sharing ideas across departments; del Pozo noted that he cribbed the luncheon concept from Esserman.
Tags: Burlington police department , Brandon del Pozo , First Congregational Church , Tamir Rice , Cleophace Mukeba , Farhad Khan , Sally May , Image , Web Only
Thursday, July 28, 2016
"Bernie alienates his natural allies," Frank told Chris Graff, then the Associated Press' Vermont bureau chief, for a September 1991 profile. "His holier-than-thou attitude — saying in a very loud voice he is smarter than everyone else and purer than everyone else — really undercuts his effectiveness."
Frank kept up the criticism over the past year as Sanders ran for president, calling him ineffectual and unelectable. And in a brief interview with Seven Days Thursday at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, he wasn't ready to let it go.
"I think his approach to how you get things done is a mistake," Frank said at the Democratic National Convention. "I did think also that his criticisms of [Democratic nominee] Hillary Clinton were much too harsh and overdone."
The former congressman gave Sanders credit for his recent embrace of Clinton's candidacy but said the senator was "running up against his own, I think, excess."
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , presidential campaign , Barney Frank , DNC 2016 , Image , Recommended Reading , Video , Web Only
"I think she's really smart. I think she's not afraid to make a tough decision. I think she's had an executive role in state government. And I think she's most likely to beat Phil Scott, who I really like," Dean said, referring to the Republican lieutenant governor and gubernatorial candidate. "I like Matt Dunne very much, too."
Minter, a former transportation secretary, is locked in what's widely regarded as a tight race for the Democratic nomination with Dunne, a former state senator. Another former state senator, Peter Galbraith, is also in the race.
"He's very, very smart," Dean said of Galbraith. "But he's a little abrasive."
Tags: Howard Dean , Sue Minter , Matt Dunne , Peter Galbraith , Phil Scott , DNC 2016 , Philadelphia , Democratic National Convention , election 2016 , primary 2016 , Image , Web Only
The Vermont Judicial Conduct Board has initiated a disciplinary proceeding against a Windham County assistant judge accused of mismanaging the estate of an elderly woman who had Alzheimer's disease.
In a 13-page complaint, a conduct board attorney cites allegations made in a probate court case that Assistant Judge Paul Kane drained the estate of Catherine Tolaro, who died in 2014 at age 86.
Kane and his late wife, Marie, took Tolaro into their Westminster home in 2009. She was then 82 and showed signs of dementia, the complaint states. The couple gained power of attorney for Tolaro in 2010.
In subsequent Windsor County Probate Court filings, an attorney appointed to represent Tolaro's estate alleged that Kane used that to siphon away Tolaro's assets.
Tags: Paul Kane , Judicial Conduct Board , Windham County , assistant judges , side judges , Catherine Tolaro , Image , Web Only