Thursday, March 22, 2018
S.260 is one of 13 bills that Scott named in a letter to the legislature as “problematic,” mostly on the grounds that they would raise taxes or fees.
“My request is simple,” he wrote in the letter. “[L]et’s work together to find ways for many of these proposals to advance, while respecting the need to provide Vermonters with another year of relief that begins to moderate the burden of taxes and fees.”
Tags: environment , clean water , fee , tax , Phil Scott , Image , Web Only
Vermont registered 107 non-suicide fatal overdoses in 2017, up from 106 in 2016 and 75 in 2015.
Health Department data make clear that the spread of fentanyl, a synthetic opiate many times more powerful than heroin, has been a major driver of the problem.
Two-thirds of the fatalities in 2017 involved fentanyl, up from 50 percent in 2016, according to the department. The number of opiate overdose fatalities involving fentanyl in Vermont has nearly quadrupled since 2014.
Meanwhile, fatal overdoses that involved heroin and prescription drugs fell in 2017, though many people overdose with a mixture of drugs in their system.
Tags: fentanyl , Health Department , heroin , opiate , Opioid Crisis , overdose , Tracy Dolan , Image , Web Only
Turnau announced in August that she would step down after a 29-year career at VPR and nine years at the organization's helm. Her tenure was marked by expansion of VPR's revenues and programming, including the establishment of a statewide network devoted to classical music and a $10 million capital campaign that funded, among other things, a new headquarters in Colchester.
The 46-year-old Finn was selected after a lengthy national search. In a VPR press release, Peggy Williams, chair of the VPR board, called him "a forward-thinking and experienced leader" with "extensive experience in public media."
Finn comes from a background in journalism, both print and public media, before moving into management. He spent the past five years at WVPB, where he oversaw an expansion of operations despite significant reductions in state funding, which once accounted for nearly half of the service's revenue.
Finn is scheduled to join VPR on May 7. Turnau will stay on until early May.
Correction, March 22, 2018: An earlier version of this story misstated Turnau's departure date.
Tags: Vermont Public Radio , Scott Finn , Robin Turnau , Image , Web Only
“This has been an issue as of recently, particularly at Springfield at the Southern State Correctional Facility,” Deputy Corrections Commissioner Mike Touchette testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday morning. “We’ve had about a dozen drones fly over that facility in the last year.”
Tags: drone , prison , corrections , contraband , crime , Mike Touchette , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
The bill, which passed 85-54, would shift $59 million in education funding from the property tax to the income tax. It would also cause tax rates to increase faster in school districts that spend more than about $12,000 per student, with the goal of discouraging high spending in future years.
Calling on her colleagues to be bolder, Rep. Heidi Scheuermann (R-Stowe) proposed an amendment that would have dramatically expanded the proposal, shifting about $120 million from the property tax to the income tax, among other changes.
“This is our chance to do something meaningful,” Scheuermann said. While many lawmakers complain that the current system is convoluted and contributes to high education spending, attempts to overhaul it have invariably failed.
Scheuermann's proposal, which was defeated on a 51-90 vote, closely resembled an early version of the bill that the Ways and Means Committee had previously ditched because it would have increased tax bills for low- and middle-income residents in high-spending districts.
Tags: Vermont Legislature , Phil Scott , education finance , Heidi Scheuermann , Image , Web Only
But according to ABC News, a letter coauthored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and then-senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) may have touched off a Federal Bureau of Investigation inquiry into whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied during his January 2017 confirmation hearing.
Leahy and Franken sent the letter in March 2017 to then-FBI director James Comey, asserting that Sessions had provided testimony that "appears to be discernibly false" regarding his contacts with the Russian government or its officials, which may have constituted perjury.
The senators asked Comey to "investigate all contacts the Russian ambassador, or other Russian officials, may have had with Attorney General Sessions or with his staff, and whether any laws were broken in the course of those contacts or in any subsequent discussion of whether they occurred."
Tags: Patrick Leahy , Jeff Sessions , Al Franken , Donald Trump , Andrew McCabe , Rod Rosenstein , James Comey , Robert Mueller , Image , Web Only
Hyde-Smith is Mississippi's GOP agriculture and commerce commissioner. She's set to replace Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), who announced his retirement earlier this month due to continuing health issues.
Rutgers University's Center for American Women and Politics keeps track of female representation and reports that Vermont and Mississippi were, until now, the only states to never send a woman to Congress.
"It's sad that we're last. We should be embarrassed to be last," said Ruth Hardy, executive director of Emerge Vermont, a nonprofit that trains and promotes Democratic women considering running for office. "I appreciate the work of our congressional delegation, but it's past time for us to send a woman to Washington."
"This is exactly why we started Emerge Vermont," said Rep. Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington), "to build a strong bench of women in politics."
Tags: Senator , Phil Bryant , Thad Cochran , Cindy Hyde-Smith , Ruth Hardy , Jill Krowinski , Cary Brown , Bernie Sanders , Peter Welch , Patrick Leahy , Jeanne Shaheen , Maggie Hassan , Carol Shea-Porter , Annie Kuster , Image , Web Only
It passed the committee in a 6-5 vote, with all four Republicans on the panel and Rep. Chip Conquest (D-Newbury) opposing the legislation.
After the vote, Conquest explained that he supports parts of the bill, such as raising the gun buying age to 21 and a ban on bump stocks like those used in the Las Vegas shooting last year.
Tags: guns , Tom Burditt , Janssen Willhoit , Eileen Dickinson , Chip Conquest , bump stocks , universal background checks , gun control , Image , Web Only
Weinberger, a Democrat, earned 48 percent of the vote on Election Day. Independent Carina Driscoll won 35 percent and Infinite Culcleasure, who also ran as an independent, tallied 16 percent.
Driscoll, who eschewed corporate campaign contributions, raised $58,400 and spent $52,800. Culcleasure pulled in more than $11,700 and spent $7,700.
Tags: Miro Weinberger , Carina Driscoll , Infinite Culcleasure , Mayor , campaign finance , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
A lawyer for developer Don Sinex and a group opposing his project are in a back-and-forth dispute over several proposed amendments to the downtown mall redevelopment plan. Each side has accused the other of violating a settlement agreement they reached last July.
Last week, after Seven Days reported that Sinex had received the necessary permits for more apartment units and alterations to the parking plans, John Franco — a lawyer representing project opponents — wrote to assistant city attorney Kimberlee Sturtevant and Sinex's lawyer, Brian Dunkiel, challenging the changes.
Tags: Don Sinex , John Franco , Coalition for a Livable City , City Place Burlington , Burlington Town Center , Brian Dunkiel , Image , Web Only