Friday, June 30, 2017
But in an interview with Seven Days Friday, that source — Vermont House Minority Leader Don Turner (R-Milton) — disputed Toensing's characterization of their May 2016 conversation and called into question Toensing's allegation. Turner described the information he provided Toensing as nothing more than "hearsay" — and hardly evidence of wrongdoing.
"There's no way I'd file a complaint or anything like that," said the Milton Republican, who has not previously been identified as Toensing's source.
Turner's remarks appear to undercut the most explosive charge that Toensing, a Charlotte attorney, has leveled in recent years at the senator and his wife. But they don't directly contradict another of the Republican official's allegations: that O'Meara Sanders committed federal loan fraud by overstating fundraising commitments when applying for a $6.5 million loan on behalf of Burlington College, the now-defunct school she once ran.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Jane O'Meara Sanders , Burlington College , Brady Toensing , Don Turner , Jeff Weaver , federal investigation , Image , Web Only
Thursday, June 29, 2017
The Mad River Valley resident has been a partner at Summit Ventures NE, which owns Sugarbush Resort, since 2002. He has served in the legislature since 2009, carving out a reputation as a fiscal conservative. He replaces Andy Pallito, who announced in late April that he would leave the post on July 1 to become director of health system finances for the Green Mountain Care Board.
Greshin will occupy a crucial post in state government. The finance commissioner is responsible for writing budgets and providing accurate fiscal information — and must have a comprehensive understanding of state finances. The new commissioner served for seven years on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. Greshin is also a chartered financial analyst, and before assuming co-ownership of Sugarbush’s parent company he served as research analyst and lead portfolio manager for 16 years in the global bond group at Scudder Stevens & Clark.
Tags: Adam Greshin , Phil Scott , Andrew Pallito , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Craig Mosher's 1,800-pound Scottish Highland bull was loose on Route 4 in Killington in July 2015 when it was struck by a car with two people inside.
Jon Bellis, 62, of Connecticut, was behind the wheel and died at the scene. His wife, Kathryn Bellis, was injured.
In the weeks before the fatal collision, police twice responded to reports that Mosher's bull had gotten loose on Route 4. Minutes before the fatal accident, another motorist called police and said he had narrowly avoided the bull while driving on the road. (That person also notified Mosher that the bull was loose.) A Vermont State Police trooper was en route when the fatal collision occurred.
Tags: Craig Mosher , Rose Kennedy , Killington , Rutland , bulls , livestock , farming , Image , Web Only
“I enjoyed that, putting myself in the shoes of others and learning different aspects of the challenges of Vermont,” Scott said at his weekly press conference Wednesday, at which he signed the state budget bill.
This time, the Jobs Tour would have a twist: He would concentrate on state government. Scott already knows plenty about elected office, having spent 10 years in the state Senate and another six as lieutenant governor.
Tags: Phil Scott , Everyday Jobs Tour , Thunder Road , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
The first-time candidate won 610 votes, more than double the tally of his nearest competitor, Republican Vince Dober, who finished with 302 votes. Independents Ellie Blais and Chris Trombly earned 47 and 29 votes, respectively. Dieng will be the only nonwhite member of the council and the second New American to ever serve on the city's legislative body.
Dieng will replace Democrat Tom Ayres, who stepped down to take a new job in Randolph.
Tags: Tom Ayres , Ali Dieng , Vince Dober , Ellie Blais , Chris Trombly , Ward 7 , Burlington City Council , Image , Web Only
Citing privacy issues in cases involving minors, authorities released few details about the suspects and the investigation that led to them. Officials released no information about the second defendant, except to say that he lives out of state.
Authorities said the incident is potentially connected to other national incidents of "swatting," in which callers claim an emergency to draw a SWAT team response and create chaos.
"It's connected to a larger national investigation that remains active," Essex Police Chief Brad LaRose said.
Essex police said they received a phone call on April 12 from a male who said he was in a position to harm students in the school. The threat prompted officials to put the school on lockdown as heavily armed law enforcement officers swarmed the campus.
Tags: Essex High School , Essex police , swatting , Brad LaRose , Sarah George , Eugenia Cowles , Image , Web Only
Monday, June 26, 2017
Consolidated Communications of Illinois will take over FairPoint
“The combined company will be more financially stable than FairPoint on a standalone basis, with stronger credit ratings, more flexible access to capital, and greater revenue and cash flow diversity,” the board said in its decision, released Monday evening.
In a memorandum of understanding with the state Department of Public Service, Consolidated has agreed to invest an average of 14 percent of its Vermont revenues in the Vermont telecommunications network. The company also pledged to spend $1 million to address areas of the state where service has been unreliable. Those investments were key to the sale’s approval, the board said.
Tags: FairPoint , Consolidated Communications , Public Service Board , telephones , Image , Web Only
The audits prompted a dismissive written response from Department of Human Resources commissioner Beth Fastiggi — although in a phone interview Monday morning, she took a much more conciliatory tone.
One of the audits covered complaints in three departments of the Agency of Human Services from 2014 through 2016: the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Corrections.
The second audit did the same for other state entities: the Agency of Transportation except for the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Buildings and General Services, the Department of Labor and the Vermont Veterans’ Home. It also included complaints involving civilian employees in the Department of Public Safety. (Separate audits were done because AHS conducts its own investigations of employee misconduct, while DHR investigates cases in the five entities covered in the second audit.)
Both audits are sharply critical of how complaints are recorded and documented.
The audits reveal that records are kept only for complaints that result in investigations. Other complaints are not recorded, nor is there any accounting for why those complaints didn’t trigger investigations.
Tags: Doug Hoffer , Beth Fastiggi , Image , Web Only
Friday, June 23, 2017
Donovan’s predecessor Bill Sorrell had served nearly two decades as attorney general; Donovan said it made sense to get an outside perspective.
“I figured after close to 20 years, we’d want to kick the tires, look under the hood, see what’s working, what’s not working, what needs to be tuned up, what doesn’t,” he said, calling it “a very useful process.”
Donovan agreed to an interview Thursday after Seven Days learned of the review and approached him with questions about it. As far as the review’s outcome is concerned, it’s unclear how much we will ever learn. A written report would be discoverable under public records law — but no such report has been produced. And Donovan gets uncharacteristically tongue-tied when asked about the review’s findings.
Tags: T.J. Donovan , Al Lama , Vermont Attorney General , management review , National Association of Attorneys General , Image , Web Only
Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) wife, Jane O'Meara Sanders, has obtained legal help amid a Federal Bureau of Investigation probe into a Burlington College property acquisition that occurred in 2010 while she was the college's president.
According to former college officials, the FBI has been investigating whether O'Meara Sanders overstated pledges from donors that allowed the college to obtain a $6.7 million loan from Peoples United Bank to buy the former Roman Catholic Diocese building on North Avenue in Burlington.
Lawyers from two firms representing O'Meara Sanders contacted Coralee Holm, former dean of operations and advancement for the now-defunct Burlington College, to ask about what the FBI had been seeking from her this spring, Holm said Friday. Holm told Seven Days she spoke with Matt Shagam, an attorney with Burlington lawyer Rich Cassidy's firm. She said that Jennifer Windom, a partner with a Washington law firm, left her a voicemail saying she was working with Cassidy. Holm said she didn't return that call.
VTDigger.org first reported on Thursday that lawyers were making calls about the land probe on O'Meara Sanders' behalf. Politico Magazine subsequently reported that Cassidy and Washington, D.C.-based defense attorney Larry Robbins have been hired to represent her. That story's author, Harry Jaffe, is a former Rutland Herald reporter and current editor at large for Washingtonian Magazine.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Jane O'Meara Sanders , Burlington College , FBI , Image , Web Only