Thursday, September 14, 2017
But according to Ashley Edwards, chief of the Census Bureau's poverty statistics branch, the latest figures may represent a return to the norm, rather than a new trend. The state's 2016 poverty rate mirrors those from 2012 through 2014.
"If you look at the past five-year period, it actually looks like the 2015 period might be an outlier," Edwards said. "So although this reflects an increase, it's not statistically different than some of those earlier years."
Vermont continues to do better than most states. Only nine had lower poverty rates than Vermont in 2016, according to Edwards. Neighboring New Hampshire had the lowest, at 7.3 percent. Mississippi had the highest, at 20.8 percent.
Tags: Poverty , Vermont , Census Bureau , childhood poverty , Image , Web Only
Welch attended a meeting on Wednesday that included Trump and 14 members of Congress, split equally between Republicans and Democrats. Welch describes "a quite surreal atmosphere" in which the president talked of bipartisan action while congressional Republicans continue to freeze out the Democrats.
"The president indicated support for the Dreamers [those early arrivals who face deportation unless DACA is extended], but also mentioned security issues," Welch says. "I urged the president to not link security issues with the treatment of the Dreamers, and said that this calls for a Lincolnesque moment in presidential leadership, where we do the right thing because it’s the right thing."
Tags: Peter Welch , Donald Trump , Charles Schumer , Nancy Pelosi , Michael McCaul , Bennie Thompson , DACA , Dreamers , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
All Burlington public schools will be closed Thursday as 400 city teachers begin a strike.
The announcement came after the Burlington Education Association and the Burlington School Board negotiated for nine hours Wednesday in a final effort to avoid a strike.
The board said the union rejected a three-year contract that offered 2 percent raises each year for an average total raise of $6,000 during the life of the contract. The union said it compromised on some of its salary and health care requests, but not on schedule changes, particularly for elementary school teachers.
The labor dispute will put roughly 3,600 students out of school.
Tags: Burlington schools , Burlington teachers strike , education , Image , Web Only
The city will release letters of intent from the four remaining bidders on September 20, and allow nearly four weeks for public comment before selecting a buyer on October 16, Council President Jane Knodell (P-Central District) said at a press conference inside City Hall. A local accountant will also provide an independent analysis of the bids.
The changes will shed light on a process that has thus far taken place behind closed doors.
Tags: Miro Weinberger , Brian Lowe , Kurt Wright , Jane Knodell , Karen Paul , Burlington Telecom , Image , Web Only
Monday, September 11, 2017
Flanked by University of Vermont president Tom Sullivan, Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and fellow students at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Conde on Monday spoke at a press conference about his experience as an undocumented immigrant.
Conde is among the 800,000 people whose lives have been thrown into turmoil after President Donald Trump last week rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The directive gives Congress a six-month window to decide on the fate of the DACA recipients, who are commonly known as Dreamers.
In a letter that Conde sent to Welch last week — and which has since been made public — the first-year med student urged the congressman and his colleagues to "come up with a legislative solution to this issue."
Tags: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals , Peter Welch , Tom Sullivan , University of Vermont , Juan Conde , Mosaic Center for Students of Color , Sarah Childs , DACA , Dreamers , Image , Web Only
An Andersonville Farm employee on Friday morning found a swastika, the Nazi "SS" symbol, a racial slur and the words "#get out" spray painted on a hoop barn at the West Glover dairy, which produces milk for Jasper Hill's famed Bayley Hazen Blue cheese.
Mateo Kehler, head cheesemaker and cofounder of the award-winning Jasper Hill Farm, posted a photo of the vandalism Monday on the cheese company's Facebook page, announcing the reward and deploring the incident.
Tags: Vermont , racism , anti-Semitic , Jasper Hill Farm , Andersonville Farm , Nazi , swastika , Mateo Kehler , Image , Web Only
In a letter to U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke dated September 1, Scott said he was “very apprehensive” about the federal government's plan to acquire 60,000 acres of Vermont forest and farmland for the refuge, which spans four New England states in the Connecticut River watershed.
But Heather Furman, director of the Nature Conservancy's Vermont chapter, said the expansion has been in the works for more than a decade, spanning the terms of Vermont governors from both parties. She thought the state's concerns had been addressed, especially after a January decision by the federal government to go ahead with the expansion.
Tags: Phil Scott , Silvio O. Conte National Fish & Wildlife Refuge , Nature Conservancy , U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service , Image , Web Only
Friday, September 8, 2017
As a consequence, Vermont legislative leaders plan to cancel an October special session that was scheduled in anticipation of significant federal budget cuts.
“As soon as the president signs [the bill], we will cancel the October session,” said House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero). Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) will also hold off on officially canceling the session until the bill becomes law, although he said “it looks 99 percent certain.”
“This takes the immediate pressure off,” said Finance Commissioner Adam Greshin. “It means a continuation of the status quo. Under the circumstances, that’s good news.”
Tags: Senator , Donald Trump , Mitzi Johnson , Tim Ashe , Adam Greshin , Patrick Leahy , Peter Welch , Bernie Sanders , Image , Web Only
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Teachers voted to strike Thursday afternoon. The move escalated the tension in a messy labor dispute and created uncertainty for parents of the city's 3,700 public school students.
“Moments ago, my fellow members and I voted to authorize a strike beginning on September 13 if the board fails to come back to the table and stay there until we reach an agreement for a contract covering this school year,” said Fran Brock, Burlington Education Association president, in a press release issued late Thursday afternoon.
Brock, a Burlington High School history teacher, lashed out at the board for imposing contract terms last Friday and also accused the board of neglecting student needs.
Tags: Burlington teachers , Fran Brock , Mark Porter , teachers strike , Image , Web Only
The South Burlington City Council on Tuesday approved a three-year lease for the library to take over an empty retail space in the mall at a cost of $45,000 per year.
It's meant to be a stopgap arrangement as city officials work to raise funds and plan for a new five-story public building intended to house both city hall and the library.
City officials hope to open the mall space in mid-November in a storefront next to the Bon-Ton department store, on the north side of the building near the parking garage.
Tags: South Burlington , South Burlington Community Library , city hall , South Burlington High School , Kevin Dorn , City Center , TIF , Image , Web Only