Monday, May 22, 2017
Michael Foreste, who was profiled by Seven Days in April for his participation in an unusual prison treatment program, told U.S. District Court Judge William Sessions III that his time spent in prison and the counseling he has received in recent months has changed his outlook.
"I now know what these pills do to the community," Foreste said. "I never wish to cause this kind of harm again."
Tags: Christina Nolan , drug dealing , Mark Kaplan , Michael Foreste , opiates , Opioid Crisis , William Sessions , Image , Web Only
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Those were among the pieces of wisdom that author and Atlantic Monthly national correspondent James Fallows doled out to thousands of students and their families during his commencement address at the University of Vermont Sunday morning.
Oh, and one more thing. "Get in the habit of being happy," Fallows told the UVM class of 2017.
Tags: Burlington , University of Vermont , James Fallows , Phil Scott , Image , Web Only
Friday, May 19, 2017
And if there is no agreement by July 1, the state government could shut down.
The governor seemed to have the upper hand. The single unresolved issue was how to negotiate public school teacher health insurance: at the school board level, at the state level, or in some other way? The governor had seized the political high ground by repeatedly emphasizing the potential taxpayer savings — the fabled $26 million — that could be realized by changing the system.
And then, at a Friday afternoon press conference, he strongly defended his position — but also acknowledged that he would rather lose on the issue than risk a government shutdown.
Tags: Phil Scott , Mitzi Johnson , Tim Ashe , teacher health insurance , Vermont budget , Vermont legislature , Image , Web Only
In a ruling handed down this week, U.S. District Court Judge Geoffrey Crawford upheld most claims brought by Shamel Alexander, who in 2013 came to Bennington from upstate New York in a taxi cab and was arrested with 11 grams of heroin in his possession. The civil case will be allowed to proceed.
After Alexander, a first time offender, served three years of a 10 year sentence, high court justices unanimously overturned his conviction, saying the police stop and search appeared to be racially motivated.
Tags: Bennington police , cannabis related , Geoffrey Crawford , Helen Toor , racial bias , Shamel Alexander , Vermont Supreme Court , Image , Web Only
“Please understand it gives me no satisfaction to say so,” Scott told the Senate in a brief adjournment speech to the chamber. “But I truly believe we can eventually find common ground.”
Tags: Phil Scott , Vermont legislature , adjournment , Image , Web Only
Thursday, May 18, 2017
“They’re not working,” she agreed.
Five or so key political players, including Gov. Phil Scott, House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero) and Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden), conversed behind closed doors throughout the day Thursday. They were discussing a possible compromise on the teachers’ health insurance issue, one day after legislative leaders declared an impasse. (Scott apparently made overtures to the two Democratic leaders Thursday morning.)
But as of 6 p.m., nothing had been made public. That left most of the 150 House members and 30 senators, not to mention legions of lobbyists, with nothing to do and little sense of how long they’d be there. Meanwhile, a dozen or so reporters dutifully documented the stasis, which has stretched on nearly two weeks after the legislature was supposed to adjourn.
Tags: Vermont Statehouse , Phil Scott , Tim Ashe , Mitzi Johnson , Image , Web Only
The rules would impose a 42-decibel daytime noise limit and a 39-decibel limit at night. There would also be a setback requirement of 10 times the turbine's height, meaning that a 500-foot-high turbine would need to be sited at least 5,000 feet away from any occupied building.
The PSB issued a set of draft rules in March, and then held a series of public hearings. The final standards are essentially the same as the draft version; the biggest change is that the nighttime limit was increased from 35 decibels to 39.
Tags: Mark MacDonald , Sarah Wolfe , David Blittersdorf , Annette Smith , wind turbines , Image , Web Only
Senate Secretary John Bloomer delivered the bill, S.22, to the governor's office Thursday morning. By law, the governor has five days to respond. Saturday counts but Sunday doesn't.
The first-term Republican governor indicated Wednesday that he doesn't know whether he will sign the bill, veto it or allow it to become law without his signature.
He said that while he is not philosophically opposed to legalizing possession of marijuana, he has concerns about highway safety and youth access to the drug. "I have to do what I think is right for the state throughout from a public safety standpoint," he said.
Tags: Cannabeat , marijuana legalization , Phil Scott , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, has repeatedly said he’ll only sign a budget that includes a plan to reduce teachers’ health insurance costs. Scott, though, wants to realize the savings by bringing collective bargaining to the state level while most Democrats do not.
After several weeks of negotiations, legislative leaders announced Wednesday that they would go ahead and pass the budget on their terms, with or without the governor’s blessing. A vote could come as soon as Thursday.
If Scott follows through on his veto threat, the Democrat-controlled legislature would break and then return to hold a “special session,” likely in mid-June.
Tags: Phil Scott , Vermont legislature , budget veto , Mitzi Johnson , Stephen Klein , Image , Web Only
Legislators plan to fold an affordable-housing bond that Scott strongly favors into the budget bill. If he vetoes the budget, he essentially kills his own puppy.
The move came hours after legislative leaders pulled the plug on stalled negotiations with the governor over what to do with savings from less expensive teacher health insurance. Lawmakers expect to hash out their own teacher health care solution and sign off on the budget bill as early as Thursday.
Rep. Sam Young (D-Glover) said he and fellow House and Senate conferees on the housing bill settled final differences Wednesday afternoon over how to fund debt service for a $35 million housing bond. In the process, they agreed to fold the bill into the budget bill that the governor is threatening to veto, he said.
Tags: Vermont legislature , Phil Scott , affordable housing , veto , budget , Image , Web Only