Friday, September 28, 2018
More than 46,000 people have signed the Explain the Asterisk petition at change.org. The title refers to a practice by some colleges of putting an asterisk on transcripts indicating misconduct — but not specifying what kind.
The campaign is a personal one for its leader, Syd Ovitt, who says she was raped by a fellow UVM student last year after they met on Tinder and started dating. She spoke to Seven Days on Thursday, as the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh galvanized the nation. Christine Blasey Ford testified that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her while they were in high school.
Ovitt did not report her allegation to police, but did file a complaint with UVM a few months after the incident. She launched the campaign in April, while her sexual assault complaint was being reviewed under UVM's judicial process. That carries no criminal sanctions but can result in discipline up to expulsion.
Tags: Explain the Asterisk , Syd Ovitt , University of Vermont , Image , Web Only
In August, a new super PAC called Win Vermont registered with the Secretary of State's office. Such a political action committee can accept unlimited contributions but cannot coordinate with candidates or parties.
The new entity's unpaid treasurer and the only person officially affiliated with it is Arshad Hasan, who once served as executive director of Democracy for America, a PAC founded by former governor Howard Dean. A September campaign finance filing for Win Vermont showed that it hadn’t raised any money but “that won’t be true for long,” according Hasan. The next filing deadline is October 1.
Shap Smith, a Democrat who served as speaker of the Vermont House and also ran for lieutenant governor in 2016, participated in some informal discussions that led to the creation of Win Vermont. Hasan declined to identify the other participants.
Brainstorming began after the 2016 election, when a Republican Governor’s Association-backed super PAC called A Stronger Vermont spent nearly $3 million to support Phil Scott. On the other side, seven different PACs collectively spent about the same to support Democratic candidate Sue Minter.
“There was a real fracturing of the left,” Smith said, which left people looking for “a way to bring progressive groups together.”
Tags: super PAC , Win Vermont , Shap Smith , Republican Governors Association , Arshad Hasan , Vermont Democratic Party , Terje Anderson , Election 2018 , Image , Web Only
The decision is part of an effort to aid a new investigation into abuse claims at St. Joseph's, which closed in 1974. It comes as the bishop has repeatedly pledged to cooperate with a law enforcement task force overseeing the inquiry.
"They are now free to tell the story of what happened to them as they see fit," Coyne said in a prepared statement.
Some former residents of the Burlington orphanage sued the diocese in the 1990s and settled their cases. Coyne said that since 2002, the diocese has not asked survivors to sign NDAs as part of settlements.
Tags: Bishop Christopher Coyne , St. Joseph's Orphanage , Burlington police , Image , Web Only
"This has been a long and difficult road for all of us, and we are extremely proud of what we have accomplished," said Molly Wallner, lead negotiator for the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals. "We have shown the hospital, our community, and ourselves what we are capable of. "
The agreement gives nurses a 16 percent salary increase over the next three years. Some nurses will get raises of up to 30 percent.
Roughly 1,100 of the 1,800 nurses in the union cast votes, Wallner said, and 70 percent of them favored ratification. Negotiators had reached a tentative agreement on September 19.
Tags: University of Vermont Medical Center , nurses , strike , Molly Wallner , union , labor , Image , Web Only
Thursday, September 27, 2018
The political arm of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England gave its nod to four incumbents. It endorsed Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, a Progressive and Democrat, and incumbent Democrats Attorney General T.J. Donovan, Secretary of State Jim Condos, and Treasurer Beth Pearce. Neither incumbent Republican Gov. Phil Scott nor his Democratic challenger, Christine Hallquist, were mentioned in the political action committee's press release.
"We have decided we will not issue an endorsement in the governor's race," said Lucy Leriche, the PAC's vice president of public policy. "Both scored 100 on our candidates' questionnaire. Whoever is elected, we're looking forward to having a productive relationship with their administration."
Tags: Lucy Leriche , Phil Scott , Christine Hallquist , Jim Condos , Beth Pearce , T.J. Donovan , Doug Hoffer , Planned Parenthood , Election 2018 , Governor's Race 2018 , Image , Web Only
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) made the most of his brief opportunity to question Christine Blasey Ford about her accusation that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her in 1982 while a male friend did nothing to intervene.
"What is the strongest memory you have of the incident?" Leahy asked. "Something you cannot forget?"
"Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter, the uproarious laughter between the two," Ford replied, her voice breaking. "I was underneath one of them while the two laughed. Two friends having a really good time with one another."
The exchange came during a Thursday hearing of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, examining one of multiple sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the committee chair, restricted each member to five minutes of questioning for each of the two witnesses: Ford and Kavanaugh. Leahy used his five minutes to question Ford about her memory of the incident in an effort to bolster her credibility.
Later in the day, Leahy had a thoroughly antagonistic exchange with Kavanaugh.
Ford has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when she was 15 years old and Kavanaugh was 17. She has said that Mark Judge, a friend of Kavanaugh's, was in the room during the assault. At the beginning of the hearing, Ford retold the story, her voice frequently breaking as she did so.
Tags: Brett Kavanaugh , Christine Blasey Ford , Patrick Leahy , Rachel Mitchell , Chuck Grassley , U.S. Supreme Court , nominee , court , judge , hearing , Senate Judiciary Committee , Image , Web Only
Two clips of Tanner’s routine resurfaced Thursday morning when Republican operative Shayne Spence posted clips on Twitter.
Tanner, a Democrat, is hoping to beat Sen. Randy Brock (R-Franklin) or Rep. Corey Parent (R-St. Albans) for one of Franklin County’s two Senate seats. Brock’s seatmate, Sen. Carolyn Branagan (R-Franklin), is retiring at the end of her term.
Tanner said he was the one who originally posted the videos online, shortly after he performed the set as part of a stand-up comedy class. He took them down soon after announcing his run for Vermont Senate after someone contacted him anonymously and took offense.
Tags: Dustin Tanner , Corey Parent , Randy Brock , Shayne Spence , marijuana , cannabis , Vermont , senate , legislature , Election 2018 , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
In a letter Leahy and all nine other Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee sent Trump early Wednesday afternoon, the senators said that the president should reconsider his choice for the court. "Judge Kavanaugh has staunchly declared his respect for women and issued blanket denials of any possible misconduct, but those declarations are in serious doubt," they wrote.
The Judiciary Committee Democrats sent a second letter later Wednesday to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who chairs the panel. They called on Grassley to cancel a Thursday hearing in which Kavanaugh and another alleged victim, Christine Blasey Ford, are scheduled to testify, as well as a Friday committee vote on the nomination.
Tags: Senator , Patrick Leahy , Brett Kavanaugh , Peter Welch , Bernie Sanders , Image , Web Only
But when he woke up Tuesday morning, the stalks had been stripped. Plants that had been bursting with ready-to-harvest cannabis flower were barren.
Krawczyk was devastated.
“We put a lot of care and energy into the plants,” Krawczyk said. “It’s a bummer. We were excited it was legal.”
He and his wife had planted the cannabis behind chickenwire in their 2,000-square-foot garden shortly after Vermont legalized weed on July 1. The property is shielded from Route 7 by a hedgerow, and Krawczyk said the plants weren’t visible from the road, where cars go whizzing by at 55 miles per hour. He theorized that someone scoped out their property, likely from an adjacent hayfield.
Tags: Cannabeat , cannabis , marijuana , weed , Vermont , legalization , plants , recreational , hemp , pot , thefts , Image , Web Only , Video
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
One of only a handful of lawmakers of color in the Vermont legislature, Morris announced in late August that she was withdrawing from her reelection race but still planned to finish out her term. She told Vermont Public Radio at the time that she and her family had experienced racial harassment, threats and a home invasion, all of which contributed to her decision to step down.
Attorney General T.J. Donovan has said his office is investigating the allegations.
In a statement posted on Facebook Tuesday evening, Morris said she'd decided to resign immediately. “My husband is beginning the long physical journey of recovery following extensive open-heart surgery. We face continued harassment and seek legal remedies to the harm endured.”
Morris continued, “I step away now to focus on caring for and supporting my family during this time of transition and ensure our health, safety and well-being are prioritized. I want to thank the many individuals and organizations who continue to stand in solidarity with us, speak out, organize, donate and more as we press on the journey ahead. TEAM KIAH is all of us. Thank you.”
Tags: Kiah Morris , Vermont Statehouse , Bennington , Election 2018 , Image , Web Only