Thursday, April 19, 2018
Gov. Phil Scott has proposed using one-time money from elsewhere in the state budget to prevent a projected 5.5 cent increase in the statewide property tax rate.
Speaking at his weekly press conference on Thursday, Scott called the use of one-time money “an investment” in measures to cut school spending in future years.
“We may not be able to book immediate savings because I’m not asking the schools to go back and do anything with their budgets,” he said. “But if we could find an opportunity for savings over the next few years, we’d look at it as an investment utilizing one-time money this year.”
Scott is looking to fill a $40 million shortfall in the education fund, caused in large part by a 2017 deal with the legislature that involved spending reserves and one-time funds to reduce property taxes. He noted that that deal “wasn’t my initiative, as you may recall.” And he said he’s willing to use one-time money only if there are significant moves to cut costs measurably in the next few years.
Tags: Phil Scott , school spending , budget , education spending , governor , Vermont , Image , Web Only
Scott vetoed the bill, S.103, on Monday due to his concerns that the legislation would make the state less business-friendly without substantially improving public health. He specifically objected to a section of the bill that would give the commissioner of the Department of Health — a gubernatorial appointee — expanded power to require labeling or even ban the sale of products determined likely to expose children to harmful toxins.
Tags: toxics , consumer protection , Tim Ashe , Phil Scott , veto , Image , Web Only
A large coalition of Vermont nonprofits are concerned that a proposal currently under consideration in the state legislature would discourage large charitable donations.
The tax bill, which passed the House and is now under review in the Senate, includes a provision that would eliminate the tax deduction for charitable donations at the state level and replace it with a 5 percent tax credit, which would apply to contributions of $10,000 or less.
The University of Vermont, the Vermont State Colleges, Vermont Public Radio, the Vermont Foodbank and a number of other nonprofits wrote in a strongly worded letter to Gov. Phil Scott and the legislature that the change would send a message to potential donors that “Vermont does not encourage or welcome large, transformational gifts.”
“It is clear that deconstructing charitable giving in Vermont will have a detrimental effect on the state’s nonprofits, and most importantly, the people we serve,” the letter reads. “Attempting to raise revenue on the backs of the charitable sector is irresponsible and will hurt our communities.”
Tags: University of Vermont , Phil Scott , charitable deduction , Vermont legislature , Image , Web Only
Within two weeks of the permit approvals, on March 12, the T-Mobile PAC cut a $2,500 check to Welch's reelection campaign. Soon after that, on March 27, T-Mobile filed another motion with Cheney’s Public Utility Commission, this time to update equipment at a Jay Peak cell site.
Welch and Cheney maintain that neither was involved in the other’s dealings with T-Mobile. They say a strict firewall separates their respective careers.
But the episode demonstrates how their work with regulated utilities could raise at least the perception of a conflict of interest. It also raises questions as to whether Welch has abided by a 2016 pledge to refuse campaign contributions from companies appearing before Cheney’s board.
Tags: Peter Welch , Margaret Cheney , T-Mobile , Public Utility Commission , regulation , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Richard Monroe, 25, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Rutland to a firearms charge for fatally shooting Kevin DeOliveira, 23, and to conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Monroe's plea agreement calls for a 25-year prison sentence, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Federal authorities said that in late 2014, Monroe and DeOliveira argued about several ounces of cocaine that had been damaged. DeOliveira, a New Jersey native, claimed that Monroe owed him several thousand dollars. Monroe disagreed.
On the morning of January 2, 2015, Monroe approached DeOliveira's Greene Street apartment. When DeOliveira opened the door, Monroe shot him once though the eye with a .22 pistol, authorities said.
Tags: Kevin DeOliveira , Richard Monroe , Christina Nolan , Burlington , drugs , crime , cocaine , Image , Web Only
Weinberger granted Beth Anderson, who has been serving as interim chief administrative officer, a permanent post overseeing the city's finances and budget. Anderson, who was hired in June 2015 as the city's first chief innovation officer, was appointed to replace Bob Rusten, who retired in September.
Weinberger's current chief of staff, Brian Lowe, will move into Anderson's role as acting chief innovation officer. He'll take on the responsibility of improving the city's IT systems and build on "BTVStat," a program Anderson created to chart progress and measure the success of city goals.
Tags: Miro Weinberger , Jordan Redell , Brian Lowe , Noelle MacKay , Beth Anderson , CEDO , Bob Rusten , Image , Web Only
A coalition of Vermont gun groups sued the state Wednesday, arguing that newly passed ammunition magazine limits run afoul of the Vermont Constitution.
The plaintiffs — the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, the Vermont State Rifle and Pistol Association, two sporting goods stores and one gun owner — are being represented by Brady Toensing, vice chair of the Vermont Republican Party, and Cooper & Kirk, a Washington, D.C., law firm that has represented the National Rifle Association in multiple cases.
The suit, filed in Washington Superior Court, came one week after Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed into law sweeping gun legislation to mandate background checks, raise the purchasing age for firearms to 21 and ban bump stocks, in addition to establishing the magazine limits.
The law prohibits Vermonters from buying magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds for rifles and more than 15 rounds for handguns. The gun groups are seeking an injunction to prevent the law from being enforced while the case is argued.
Tags: Phil Scott , magazine limits , Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs , Brady Toensing , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Jack Sawyer, 18, who previously had been held without bail, could soon be heading to an inpatient mental health program. Sawyer's attorney, Kelly Green, said arrangements have been made for him to be admitted to the Brattleboro Retreat as soon as Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear if Sawyer would be released from jail. In an interview, Green said the Sawyer family would not post bail Tuesday but was "pursuing it."
Judge Thomas Zonay ordered that if Sawyer does post bail, he must be on 24/7 curfew at his father's home in Poultney. The judge also said he is open to having Sawyer go to the Brattleboro Retreat.
Tags: Jack Sawyer , Rosemary Kennedy , Thomas Zonay , Fair Haven Union High School , crime , school shooting , David Sawyer , Image , Web Only
The frigid temperatures during the most recent festival kept people at home, leading to a "substantial loss" for the organization, board chair Dave Mount explained in a press release. "Our reserves have been fully tapped," he wrote.
The board will pay off any outstanding debts from the 2018 event before disbanding First Night Burlington, Inc., at the end of April, according to the release.
Tags: First Night Burlington , Dave Mount , Burlington City Arts , Image , Web Only
The Vermont Supreme Court ruled last Wednesday that there was insufficient evidence to hold the accused teenager, Jack Sawyer, without bail. Sawyer purchased a shotgun, wrote in a journal and texted a friend about his plan to carry out a mass shooting at Fair Haven Union High School. But the justices concluded that those actions didn’t qualify as an attempt to commit murder.
Two days after the ruling, Gov. Phil Scott called on legislators to change state law. “I believe that anyone who takes so many specific steps to prepare to commit a horrific crime, and then confesses he is working to carry it out, needs to be held fully accountable,” he said in a press release.
The Fair Haven case prompted Scott and the legislature to pass an unprecedented package of gun legislation earlier this month.
On Tuesday, House and Senate committees began discussing substantial changes to a definition of "attempt" that’s prevailed for 112 years. Under current law, the perpetrator needs to make an "overt act" to be convicted of an attempted crime.
Tags: Vermont legislature , Fair Haven , Jack Sawyer , Phil Scott , Image , Web Only