Wednesday, August 17, 2016
The companies — R.L. Vallee, SB Collins, Wesco Oil and Champlain Oil — are being sued by plaintiffs who allege they colluded to set retail gas prices in northwestern Vermont, where the cost of filling up is often higher than in other parts of the state.
In this week's Seven Days, Mark Davis reported that the defendants had asked the Chittenden Superior Court to throw out the case, but Judge Helen Toor denied the request. The companies then sought to appeal to the state's highest court. On Wednesday, the Vermont Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal, allowing the case to move forward.
It's far from the last legal hurdle the plaintiffs will encounter. As Davis reported, the Charleston, W. Va.-based firm Bailey & Glasser, which is representing the six residents who brought the case, has issued subpoenas seeking evidence. In response, the defendants have asked Toor to quash the subpoenas.
Tags: Vermont Supreme Court , Chittenden Superior Court , R.L. Vallee , Image , Web Only
Teachers reduced their raise proposal from 5.3 percent to 4.6 percent. The board offered 2 percent and said the city can’t afford more without laying off teachers.
The Burlington Education Association’s offer “remains unaffordable and would require additional cuts to teaching staff and other important services,” said a statement that the board released.
Board chair Mark Porter said in the statement that he wants to return to the table. “The board remains confident that we can reach an agreement that broadens student learning, keeps teacher pay competitive, and is fiscally sustainable for our community,” he said.
Tags: Burlington , schools , unions , Fran Brock , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Now, a Vermont Republican contends that both Sanders and Pearson violated state campaign finance laws in the process.
Brady Toensing, a Charlotte attorney and Vermont Republican Party vice chair, filed the complaint Tuesday with state Attorney General Bill Sorrell.
At issue is a May email Sanders sent to the vast network of supporters he established as a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. Sanders urged recipients to split a contribution between him and eight like-minded state legislative candidates around the country, including Pearson, who worked for Sanders in the late 1990s.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Chris Pearson , Brady Toensing , Image , Web Only
The valuation on airport land and buildings will drop from $77 million to $52 million under an agreement approved by the South Burlington and Burlington city councils Monday night.
Airport director Gene Richards predicted the settlement will save the airport about $800,000 annually. Last year, Burlington paid South Burlington about $1.59 million in airport property taxes and payments in lieu of property taxes.
The roughly 870-acre airport is owned by the city of Burlington but is located in neighboring South Burlington. The host city dramatically increased the airport’s assessment and tax bill in 2012. Burlington protested and a four-year court battle ensued.
Tags: Burlington International Airport , Burlington , South Burlington , taxes , BTV , Image , Web Only
Monday, August 15, 2016
Vermont's five major gubernatorial candidates spent a collective $5.3 million contesting last week's primary election, according to final reports filed Monday with the Secretary of State's Office. That makes the race the most expensive of its type in state history.
Far and away the biggest spender was Republican Bruce Lisman, who dropped $2.1 million — or $118 per vote — in his failed attempt to win the GOP nomination. Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, who prevailed in that race, spent just $806,000 — or $29 per vote. Scott defeated Lisman 60 to 39 percent.
On the Democratic side, Sue Minter and Matt Dunne spent close to $1 million apiece: $984,000 for Minter and $999,000 for Dunne. A third candidate, Peter Galbraith, doled out $372,000. Minter won with 49 percent of the vote. Dunne picked up 37 percent and Galbraith 9 percent.
The final fundraising figures show Minter got the best bang for her buck. She spent $27 per vote, while Dunne spent $37 and Galbraith $56.
At the start of their general-election contest, Scott has a slight financial advantage. He has $158,000 in the bank, while Minter has just $54,000, according to their respective campaigns.
Tags: Vermont gubernatorial race , campaign finance , Sue Minter , Matt Dunne , Peter Galbraith , Phil Scott , Bruce Lisman , Image , Web Only
A potentially deadly strain of heroin is being dealt in central Vermont, the Northeast Kingdom and other parts of the state, according to state health officials.
The Vermont Department of Health issued a warning Monday morning after emergency responders reported at least 10 overdoses over the weekend that required more than one dose of Narcan to revive the person. The news release notes that some of those incidents have been linked to a strain of heroin labeled "Game of Thrones," which may be laced with fentanyl, a synthetic painkiller that can be up to 50 times more potent than heroin.
Tags: fentanyl , heroin , Narcan , Opioid Crisis , Vermont Health Department , Image , Web Only
Friday, August 12, 2016
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s … really friggin’ loud!
Some Burlington residents are making noise about the loud and low passes made by military jets and aerobatic aircraft ahead of this weekend’s Wings Over Vermont air show. Both Thursday and Friday, aircraft buzzed the Burlington waterfront, getting ready for a spectacle that organizers said could draw up to 40,000 people.
But the loud practice runs prompted some concerned citizens to vent online — or call the police. Chief Brandon del Pozo said “numerous” calls about the noise had the potential to clog the dispatch switchboard and hinder the response to an actual emergency.
“Please advise the public that no number of calls to the police will alter the plans for the show or the level of noise it creates,” del Pozo said in a press release.
Tags: Burlington , Wings over Vermont , Burlington air show , Image , Web Only
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Wind Works VT is a coalition of individuals and wind power developers, said Kyle Martel of KSE Partners, a Montpelier government affairs and strategic communications firm that represents the group.
Arguing that public opinion polls show strong support for wind power, the group has launched online ads to make the case that wind is a locally generated, clean and renewable source of energy critical to meeting the state’s renewable energy goals.
The individuals and developers behind the group don’t want to be identified, Martel said, “because of the way the anti-wind crowd has bordered on harassment.”
Tags: Sue Minter , Phil Scott , Wind Works VT , KSE Partners , Vermonters for a Clean Environment , Image , Web Only
But you won’t see the Vermont Flight Academy among the list of sponsors.
The local pilot training school, based at Burlington International Airport, paid to have a table with promotional material on the waterfront during the aviation extravaganza.
“At the last minute we got notified that they said they had a contractual arrangement that prohibited us from participating in the show,” said Ed Antczak, executive director of the academy.
Tags: burlington , aviation , Image , Web Only
The 35-page decision by Judge Geoffrey Crawford, released Wednesday, removes one of the last major impediments to delivering 18 F-35s, which are larger and louder than the F-16s currently based at the airport, to the Vermont Air National Guard in 2019.
A group of Winooski and South Burlington residents, along with the city of Winooski, sued after the basing decision, arguing that the Air Force had failed to conduct a thorough review of the environmental impact of the F-35s. They asked Crawford to block the planes and order the Air Force to conduct a new review, known as an environmental impact statement (EIS).
But Crawford was not persuaded.
Tags: F-35 , Vermont Air National Guard , James Dumont , Judge Geoffrey Crawford , Image , Web Only