Thursday, August 11, 2016
The longtime owners of the Rutland Herald and Barre-Montpelier Times Argus have agreed to sell the Vermont newspapers to a company headed by a Maine publisher and a semiretired New Hampshire printing executive.
Herald Association president R. John Mitchell, whose father bought a stake in the Herald in 1947, announced the sale on the paper’s website late Wednesday in a story written by his son, editor in chief Rob Mitchell. It appeared on the front page of the Herald and Times Argus Thursday morning.
“We have always held these newspapers in trust for the public,” the son quoted his father as saying. “While we’ve always been a privately held company, we believe they are an asset of the communities they serve and of the state of Vermont.”
If completed, the sale would bring to a close 222 years of local ownership. The Herald was founded in 1794 and has billed itself as “the oldest continuously family-owned newspaper in the United States published under the same name in the same city.”
The buyers — Reade Brower of Camden, Maine, and Chip Harris of Center Harbor, N.H. — said they are committed to turning the papers around.
“I don’t have a cut and slash personality,” Brower told Seven Days Thursday afternoon. “I believe that you can’t save your way to prosperity. People are willing to pay for something if it’s good. I’m only interested in properties that I believe still serve their communities and are viable — and these two papers sort of fit the mold.”
Tags: Rutland Herald , Barre-Montpelier Times Argus , R John Mitchell , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
“Phil Scott is going to be a great governor,” Lisman told the audience at the party unity rally.
The remarks were a marked departure from what had gone down just days earlier: Lisman had accused Scott of election fraud, of an inability to resolve a “blatant” conflict of interest and of being unwilling to challenge Democrat Peter Shumlin’s policies.
But hours after the primary election results came in, the GOP on Wednesday was all about coming together. Over a breakfast of scrambled eggs and hash browns, 125 Republicans made every outward indication that they were ready to set aside their differences and work together.
Tags: Phil Scott , Bruce Lisman , Scott Milne , David Sunderland , Vermont Republican Party , election 2016 , vermont primary election , Image , Slideshow , Web Only
But despite plenty of interest in his contest, Connelly said Wednesday that he hasn't received enough entries to follow through on his offer. His rules stipulated he must get at least 700. He's extending the contest, which was scheduled to end Thursday, for another 40 days, until September 20.
A press release didn't state how many entries Connelly has received, and his press contact could not immediately be reached for comment.
Tags: Hardwick Gazette , Ross Connelly , Vermont , Image , Web Only
The board voted unanimously to adopt a one-year plan to improve the racial climate for district employees.
In June 2015, three African American employees complained about “outright discrimination and harassment.” They were Nikki Fuller, director of the diversity, equity and community partnership office; Henri Sparks, director of equity; and Da Verne Bell, who left the city school system earlier this year after working as diversity education director.
The three filed the complaint to the school board Diversity & Equity Committee. The full school board then agreed to hire an independent investigator to examine the claims. The report, completed this spring, found no specific instances of racially motivated conduct or retaliation, according to the school board, but it did find a culture of “pervasive racism” that needs to be addressed.
Tags: Burlington , education , race , diversity , Image , Web Only
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Lisman spent much of his career on Wall Street. But in his unsuccessful bid to become Vermont’s next governor, he didn’t get much of a return on his investment.
Preliminary campaign finance and voting data indicate that Lisman spent more than $113 for every vote he received in Tuesday’s primary.
That figure is likely to grow once Lisman and his fellow candidates report updated fundraising and spending information next week to the Secretary of State’s Office. For now, we know that Lisman spent nearly $1.85 million before July 15 and another $200,000 since on mass media, such as television and mailings. What we don’t know is how much he spent on non-media expenditures — such as payroll — in the nearly four weeks since his last comprehensive report.
Even without that information, we know that Lisman, who largely self-funded his campaign, spent at least $2.05 million to pick up 18,115 votes.
The Shelburne Republican’s campaign manager, Shawn Shouldice, argued Wednesday that such operations are inherently expensive — particularly for a newcomer to politics.
Tags: Bruce Lisman , Phil Scott , Peter Galbraith , Sue Minter , Matt Dunne , election 2016 , Image , Web Only
Seven minutes after the Associated Press declared Lt. Gov. Phil Scott the GOP nominee, the RGA hailed him in a statement as a “leader who can restore trust in state government and solve the challenges facing [Vermont] families.”
Tags: Phil Scott , Sue Minter , Republican Governors Association , A Stronger Vermont , gubernatorial campaign , Image , Video , Web Only
Tags: Sue Minter , Phil Scott , Bruce Lisman , Matt Dunne , Peter Galbraith , election 2016 , Image , Slideshow , Web Only
After securing a late-in-the-game endorsement from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) last week, Zuckerman went on to defeat House Speaker Shap Smith (D-Morristown) and Rep. Kesha Ram (D-Burlington) in the Democratic Party primary.
Zuckerman was quick to credit his political mentor Tuesday, after the Associated Press declared him the winner around 10:30 p.m.
“Bernie inspired so many people in this room,” Zuckerman said as jubilant supporters surrounded him at Sweetwaters restaurant in downtown Burlington. “We have real opportunity and an obligation to carry this message forward in Vermont’s policy.”
The 44-year-old organic farmer from Hinesburg led the field of three with 43 percent of the vote. Smith earned 37 percent, followed by 17 percent for Ram.
Tags: Senator , David Zuckerman , Bernie Sanders , Shap Smith , Kesha Ram , election 2016 , Image , Slideshow , Web Only
Johnson secured 772 votes to Andrew Julow’s 560 and Ben Joseph’s 550 in the two-seat Grand Isle County district. Johnson had been criticized for failing to bring back enough state resources to Grand Isle during the campaign.
Tags: politics , election 2016 , Selene Colburn , Mitzi Johnson , Norm McAllister , Tim Ashe , Virginia Lyons , Phil Baruth , Michael Sirotkin , Brian Cina , Image , Slideshow , Web Only
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
We've got you covered.
Tags: Election 2016 , primary , governor , lieutenant governor , live blog , primary 2016 , Image , Web Only