Tuesday, August 14, 2018
City officials closed the old, ailing Myers Memorial Pool in 2015 after concluding it would cost more than $25,000 just to patch its leaks and keep the pumps going.
Tags: Winooski , municipal bond , pool , public pool , Myers Memorial Pool , Image , Web Only
Christine Hallquist became the first openly transgender major-party nominee for governor in the country when she won Vermont's Democratic primary election on Tuesday. With nearly every district in the state reporting results, she had earned about 40 percent of the vote.
In November's general election, the former CEO of the Vermont Electric Coop will face Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who on Tuesday bested challenger Keith Stern. Scott's win, with about 65 percent of the vote to Stern's 32 percent, put to rest speculation that he’d suffer a significant backlash at the polls for signing gun control reforms into law last April.
Hallquist handily defeated three other Democrats on the ballot: James Ehlers, executive director of Lake Champlain International, who won about 19 percent of the vote; Brenda Siegel, executive director of the Southern Vermont Dance Festival, who earned about 18 percent of the vote; and 14-year-old Ethan Sonneborn, who finished with about 7 percent of the vote.
Tags: governor , Christine Hallquist , James Ehlers , Brenda Siegel , Ethan Sonneborn , John Rodgers , Senator , Bernie Sanders , Vermont primary , U.S. Senate , U.S. House , Peter Welch , H. Brooke Paige , Vermont Senate , Vermont House , results , Governor's Race 2018 , Image , Web Only
Essex police later arrested Sheldon Rheaume in a Hannaford parking lot. Officers found the 23-year-old wearing a tactical vest and with a loaded 9-millimeter pistol in his car.
During a court appearance later Tuesday morning, a shackled Rheaume, wearing a white T-shirt and jean shorts, listened quietly and occasionally looked up at Judge David Fenster. Rheaume faces charges of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, offenses that carry heftier potential prison sentences for him because prosecutors consider the crimes motivated by hate.
In court documents, deputy Chittenden County state's attorney Zoe Newman argued Rheaume poses a continuing threat to the public.
"[Rheaume] went into a store, seemingly at random, and, unprovoked ... held a loaded gun to the victim's head because of her race and/or ethnicity," Newman wrote.
Tags: hate crime , race , racism , Sheldon Rheaume , Essex , Maplefields , gun , pistol , handgun , AR-15 , Image , Web Only
The newspaper originally filed a public records request in June for the district’s resignation agreement with Adam Provost, the former Burlington Technical Center interim director. Provost resigned in January, citing medical reasons, after he spent months on administrative leave, WCAX-TV reported at the time.
When members of the media or citizens request public documents, government entities typically either release the documents or explain why, under the law, they will not.
In this instance, the school district notified Provost of Seven Days’ records request. Through an attorney, the former school administrator consented only to the release of a redacted version of the agreement, the district said in documents filed in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington. The district, which took the position that the full record should be released, then took Provost to court — and also named Seven Days as a defendant. The district wants a judge to review the records and determine whether the agreement should be released in full.
Filing a lawsuit against a news outlet seeking records is highly unusual, as is asking a judge to decide, at that stage, which information is public.
Tags: Adam Provost , Burlington School District , public records , Seven Days , Image , Web Only
Not registered yet? No problem. In Vermont, you can register online until the Friday before the election to make sure your name appears on the voter rolls, or fill out a paper application (PDF) at your polling place.
Once you've confirmed your polling place, make sure you know who'll be on your ballot. Dive into all our election coverage, or dig into our coverage from a specific race:
Governor
- At GOP Gathering, Gun-Rights Activists Fail to Secure No-Confidence Vote in Scott
- Republican Super PAC Doubles Pro-Scott Spending Ahead of Primary
- After Challenge From Ehlers, Hallquist Swears Off Corporate Campaign Money
- In Race for Governor, Sen. John Rodgers Stands His Ground
- Meet Ethan Sonneborn, the Bristol Teen Running to Be Vermont's Next Governor
- Democratic Candidates for Governor Play Nice at Forum
- Guns and Taxes: Scott, Stern Face Off in First Gubernatorial Debate
- Another Vermont Pol Promises Broadband. Could It Work This Time?
- Dems Largely Unknown in Vermont Gubernatorial Race, Poll Shows
- Campaign Donations Are Light in Race for Governor
- Betrayed: Can Gun-Rights Activists 'Take Back Vermont'?
U.S. Congress
- Congressional Candidate Drops Out on Live Radio
- Sanders' Campaign Has $7.6 Million in Cash
- Fair Game: Congressional Candidates Say They're Being Denied Voter Data
- In a Third Term, Would Bernie Sanders Show Up to Work?
Statehouse Races
- Fair Game: Nine Legislative Races to Watch
- Paul Ralston and Marie Audet to Run For Addison County Senate
- Fair Game: Chittenden Senators Run as a Slate
- Fair Game: Six Vie for the Senate in Washington County
- On Your Mark: Candidates Line Up for the 2018 Campaign
- Ruth Hardy Announces Run for Addison County Senate Seat
Other County and Local Races
- Three State's Attorneys Face Scrutiny Ahead of Tough Primaries
- Chittenden Sheriff Faces Challenge From His Own Deputy
- Campaign Cash Issue Roils Probate Judge Race in Chittenden County
This story was originally published on August 10, 2018.
Friday, August 10, 2018
"There are elements of S.55 that aren't going to make things safer," he said, and added that the legislation puts "Vermonters in the position of feeling that they are breaking the law."
His words were very similar to those of Sen. John Rodgers (D-Essex/Orleans), a Democratic write-in candidate for governor and strong supporter of gun rights. "All we did was turn law-abiding citizens into criminals," Rodgers said in an August 2 debate sponsored by VTDigger.org and Burlington's Channel 17.
Tags: James Ehlers , Christine Hallquist , Brenda Siegel , Ethan Sonneborn , John Rodgers , Phil Scott , Sarah Anders , Theo Fetter , Ed Cutler , Image , Web Only
Thursday, August 9, 2018
Just a few days in advance of next Tuesday's Vermont primary, U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) saw one of his two Democratic challengers drop out of the race and endorse the other.
He literally saw it, because it happened during a live debate on Vermont Public Radio Thursday with all three candidates in the same studio.
Ben Mitchell, an educator from Westminster, took part in the debate and then, during his closing statement, announced he was withdrawing and endorsing Dan Freilich, a physician from Brownsville. Both candidates have made campaign finance a centerpiece of their efforts to defeat Welch, who routinely raises most of his money from corporations and political action committees. As of July 15, Welch's campaign fund had a balance of nearly $2.1 million.
Tags: Peter Welch , Dan Freilich , Ben Mitchell , Election 2018 , election , primary , U.S. Congress , Image , Web Only
It was both a visceral display of the party’s ambivalence toward its standard-bearer and a sign that the anti-Scott ranks have yet to prove their clout.
More than 40 people packed into a small room in the Shelburne town offices for a meeting of the Chittenden County Republican Party. It was uneventful until Ed Gallo, the newly elected head of the Richmond Republican Town Committee, said his piece.
Mere days before Scott faces off against Republican challenger Keith Stern in the Aug. 14 primary, Gallo questioned the governor's GOP bona fides and called on the county committee to disown its only statewide officeholder.
Scott's decision to sign sweeping gun legislation earlier this year won praise from Democrats but provoked members of his own party, who have vowed payback at the polls this year. A Vermont Public Radio and Vermont PBS poll conducted in July found that 49 percent of Republicans approved of Scott and 35 percent disapproved — a higher disapproval rating than Scott's among independents and Democrats.
Tags: Chittenden County Republican Committee , Vermont Republican Party , Phil Scott , Election 2018 , election , gubernatorial election , governor , Ed Gallo , Mike Donohue , Robby Mazza , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
While each was quick to qualify his or her support, their statements will provide fresh fodder to the Vermont Republican Party, which has for years enthusiastically assailed Democrats who support such a plan. Proponents argue that a several-cent tax on gasoline, diesel, propane and home heating fuel would reduce the state's carbon emissions; opponents, including Republican Gov. Phil Scott, say it would drive up prices for consumers and make Vermont less affordable.
“I would be open to exploring it as governor,” said 14-year-old candidate Ethan Sonneborn, who was the first to receive the question from VPR reporter and moderator Peter Hirschfeld. “I’m absolutely not ruling it out.”
Christine Hallquist, former CEO of Vermont Electric Cooperative, was similarly evasive. She called such taxes "one of the most effective policy mechanisms you can have for mitigating carbon," while emphasizing the effect they can have on those with lower incomes. “It deserves a deep dive, but we have to be very careful how it impacts those who are living on the economic margins as well as recruiting other states [to participate].”
Declining to give a yes or no answer, she insisted that it “needs to be a collective and collaborative decision with the legislature and the people of Vermont.”
Tags: Vermont Democratic Primary , James Ehlers , Christine Hallquist , Brenda Siegel , Ethan Sonneborn , gubernatorial election , Election 2018 , governor , Governor's Race 2018 , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
In July, testing at a house on the northern part of Elmwood Avenue revealed two chemicals at levels above federal limits, according to Michael Nahmias, an environmental analyst for the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. The department has not yet found the source, he added.
The chemicals are known as perchloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE). PCE and TCE are commonly used for dry cleaning and can also be found in cleaning products and grease removers. The neighborhood was formerly home to two dry-cleaning businesses.
Exposure can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness and irritation, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Longterm exposure to PCE can lead to changes in memory and mood, and potentially to cancer.
Tags: Environmental Protection Agency , Department of Environmental Conservation , Old North End , PCE , TCE , environmental contamination , Image , Web Only