Tuesday, July 31, 2018
In the Republican gubernatorial debate that followed, Gov. Phil Scott gave a well-practiced performance, dubbing himself a “fiscal hawk,” while challenger Keith Stern accused him of “betraying our trust and breaking campaign promises.”
A few highlights from both:
Democrat Christine Hallquist, former CEO of Vermont Electric Cooperative, said she would not pursue a carbon tax, even though she reiterated her stance that charging for carbon pollution would be the most effective way to reduce emission of the greenhouse gas. Without offering specifics, she pledged to reduce carbon levels without a tax. “It’s not going to cost more money because we won’t let it cost more money,” Hallquist said.
Tags: Phil Scott , Christine Hallquist , James Ehlers , Brenda Siegel , Ethan Sonneborn , Keith Stern , Election 2018 , Image , Web Only
Monday, July 30, 2018
Running as a ticket, Audet and Ralston will challenge two Democrats — incumbent Chris Bray and Ruth Hardy, the former executive director of Emerge Vermont, which trains women to run for office — and Republican Peter Briggs, vice-chair of the Addison Selectboard.
Sen. Claire Ayer (D-Addison) announced in May that she wouldn’t run for reelection.
Tags: Addison County , Paul Ralston , Chris Bray , Marie Audet , Claire Ayer , Election 2018 , Image , Web Only
But at least one policy has changed: The hospital no longer collects union dues from nurses' paychecks.
Under the previous three-year contract, the hospital collected dues automatically from members' biweekly paychecks and passed the funds along to the union. That agreement became "null and void" when the contract expired, according to UVM Medical Center spokesman Michael Carrese.
Tags: UVMMC , nurses , strike , labor , union , Julie MacMillan , Deb Snell , Michael Carrese , University of Vermont Medical Center , Image , Web Only
Friday, July 27, 2018
Red signs at Blanchard Beach in Oakledge Park and Leddy Beach in the city's North End warned visitors against entering the water. The closures came after a combined sewer overflow discharged thousands of gallons of dirty water into the Pine Street Barge Canal during an intense downpour Wednesday night. Authorities said the overflow was 90 percent stormwater "with a small wastewater fraction."
Robert Goulding, public information manager for the Department of Public Works, said the strong storm swept "animal waste, oils and litter" into the water, likely leading to the contamination.
Tags: Burlington , E. coli , wastewater , stormwater , combined sewer overflow , sewage , Lake Champlain , water quality , Leddy Beach , Oakledge Park , Blanchard Beach , Image , Web Only
Tom Kavet and Jeffrey Carr presented their consensus report Friday afternoon to the Emergency Board, a panel that includes Gov. Phil Scott and the chairs of the four legislative money committees: House Appropriations, House Ways and Means, Senate Appropriations and Senate Finance.
"Any way you slice it, this is an upgrade," Carr told the board. "We have a reasonably positive outlook on the economy, at least in the near term."
Tags: Tom Kavet , Jeffrey Carr , Phil Scott , Vermont , emergency board , tax cut , revenue , Image , Web Only
Thursday, July 26, 2018
Weed cites articles published during the legislative session “bashing me on the issues." She said, "The articles align with [Leffler’s] positions.” Weed's chief complaint concerns stories about this year's debate over proposed gun laws, which Weed supported.
"The gun stories ran before my girlfriend was a candidate," Lamoureux contended. "I didn't know she was thinking about [running]."
Weed also complains of the paper’s restrictive policy on letters to the editor. The Courier almost never publishes letters from candidates or their close relatives during campaigns and has a limit of one letter per supporter per campaign.
Tags: Cindy Weed , Greg Lamoureux , Felisha Leffler , Mike Donoghue , Emerson Lynn , Paula Routly , Tim Ashe , Image , Web Only
Dave Hungerford is sick of this shit.
After Burlington's wastewater treatment plant recently overflowed several times into Lake Champlain, Hungerford decided to take matters into his own hands. On Thursday morning, he stood in the rain on Williston Road in South Burlington holding a sign that read: "Burlington, Stop Dumping Shit Into Our Lake."
Tags: Burlington , Dave Hungerford , wastewater , sewage , treatment plant , rain , Lake Champlain , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Managers at the South Burlington-based CBS affiliate informed staffers Tuesday that its production department would face deep cuts in the coming weeks. The department, which currently includes 13 full-time and seven part-time employees, will be reduced to roughly 10 full-time equivalent positions, according to WCAX vice president and general manager Jay Barton.
"We as an organization have been going through a massive amount of change," he said.
Barton attributed the staff reduction to a recent investment in automated equipment, including new television cameras. Over the next six weeks, he said, behind-the-scenes positions would be combined and existing employees would be retrained and evaluated. Some would then be let go, Barton said.
"Ultimately, there will be some jobs that are separated," he said.
Tags: WCAX-TV , Gray Television , Raycom Media , layoffs , Image , Web Only
Stern, a store owner from North Springfield, is Scott’s only Republican challenger in Vermont's gubernatorial primary.
The 45-minute debate, held Wednesday in front of an intimate audience at the Channel 17 studio in Burlington’s liberal Old North End and moderated by VTDigger founder Anne Galloway, never got heated. The closest thing to a zinger came after Stern, who’s criticized Scott for not doing more to reduce taxes, suggested he could cut spending in some areas without the legislature’s approval.
“Actually, you can’t, Keith, because they appropriate [the] money,” Scott said. “You’re gonna have to work within the system. It’s three separate legs of government.”
Tags: Phil Scott , Keith Stern , Republican primary , governor , Vermont , Burlington , VTDigger , Anne Galloway , Election 2018 , Image , Web Only
Monday, July 23, 2018
Vermont Superior Court Judge Robert Mello decided the case in favor of the city and against Da Capo Publishing, parent company of Seven Days.
The newspaper sought the email last year and challenged the city's denial in court.
Mello sided with city lawyers who said the email falls under a provision of the records law that shields communications between city departments when they are preliminary to policy determination or action.
Tags: Karen Paul , Seven Days , Judge Robert Mello , Jared Carter , Image , Web Only