Friday, February 15, 2019
The bill, H.57, had previously been approved by the House Human Services Committee. Judiciary made a number of changes in an effort to clarify its intent.
Supporters say the bill is necessary in case the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, the decision that established a legal right to abortion.
Opponents have claimed that H.57 would open the door to unlimited abortion rights — even for late-term abortions. Not so, said legislative counsel Brynn Hare. "Any procedure prohibited under federal law would continue to be prohibited under H.57," she told the committee.
Tags: Tom Burditt , Selene Colburn , Brynn Hare , abortion , Statehouse , Image , Web Only
The legislation, which will move to the Senate Finance and Appropriations committees before consideration by the full Senate, would establish a statewide Cannabis Control Board tasked with setting up regulations and a permitting system for Vermont.
Senate Judiciary Committee chair Dick Sears (D-Bennington) said that the legislation may get a full Senate vote before Town Meeting Day, which falls on March 5.
Tags: Cannabeat , marijuana , tax and regulate , cannabis , Dick Sears , S.54 , Vermont , Senate , bill , Statehouse , Image , Web Only
Thursday, February 14, 2019
More than 100 students and faculty rallied to protest what they said was an undemocratic presidential search process.
They also railed against staff and faculty cuts in the humanities in response to declining enrollment and accused administrators of having an "edifice" complex that puts expensive buildings ahead of investments in teaching and learning.
Bloated administrative salaries and a "widget" mentality that looks at students as "data points" also came under fire at the rally, where protestors bemoaned a budget model they said is leading to the death of intellectualism at the school.
Tags: Suresh Garimella , University of Vermont , president , search , Tom Sullivan , humanities , budget , Image , Web Only
In a decision issued Thursday, the hearing panel concluded that Macias, who is on leave from his job, was guilty of three out of seven alleged licensing violations that were leveled at him last year.
He shouted at one employee, ridiculed another and "unreasonably impaired" colleagues' ability to perform their duties, which constituted misconduct, the panel determined.
Macias also showed incompetence and inability to perform the basic duties of his job, another violation, according to the panel. Macias further violated standards by inappropriately engaging in conversation with a student about the licensing charges against him, the panel found.
Tags: Mario Macias , Burlington , guidance director , Burlington High School , licensing , revoked , Dan French , Agency of Education , Image , Web Only
The recently released Vermont Department of Health data offers "measurable evidence we are in fact advancing as a community," Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said. About two dozen health officials, law enforcement officers, politicians and nonprofit leaders touted the progress at a press conference in the Queen City.
At the same time, the total number of Vermonters who died of an opioid overdose continued to increase. The state tallied 110 such deaths in 2018, up from 108 the previous year. The total sets a new record for opioid-related deaths in Vermont.
Tags: Brandon del Pozo , Miro Weinberger , Mark Levine , Sarah George , Bob Bick , opioids , Image , Web Only
The governor praised the Fair Haven community for its "courage in supporting each other."
The arrest of 18-year-old Jack Sawyer and the revelation of his detailed plans to shoot "as many as I can get" proved to be a turning point for Scott. In the aftermath, the governor reversed his longstanding opposition to gun-safety legislation. In April, he signed a package of gun bills into law.
Brooke Olsen-Farrell, superintendent of the Addison-Rutland Supervisory Union, spoke of the "tremendously resilient community" at the high school. "Everyone has banded together to really support one another," she added.
Tags: Phil Scott , Jack Sawyer , Brooke Olson-Farrell , Don Tinney , Fair Haven , school shooting , Parkland , attack , Image , Web Only
The proposed legislation would force insurance companies to automatically cover drugs used in medication-assisted treatment (MAT) without requiring doctors to get prior authorization from the insurer.
Advocates and physicians supporting the legislation say patients can struggle while awaiting that approval.
“It can be two days before that would be authorized,” said Dr. Kathleen McGraw, the chief medical officer at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. “When somebody’s coming in and saying, ‘I’m ready for help,’ in two days they will be going through dramatic withdrawals.”
Tags: opiates , methadone , buprenorphine , naltrexone , heroin , recovery , health insurance , medication assisted treatment , medication assisted therapy , narcotics , Image , Web Only
The new five-level garage would cost $9.7 million and accommodate roughly 300 vehicles. It would be built on what is now a dirt parking area along Abenaki Way, adjacent to the Community College of Vermont building. The city-owned lot is just seven-tenths of an acre.
The city is also proposing a land swap that would allow developer Adam Dubroff to build a roughly 90-room hotel on the lower part of the same lot. He had previously proposed building a boutique hotel on a 0.18-acre parcel two blocks away, wedged between the historic Champlain Mill and the Main Street bridge that spans the Winooski River.
That proposal hit a buzzsaw of opposition from neighbors, though. Some feared it would crowd the historic mill and block downtown views of the Winooski River falls while taking over what is now a sliver of green space.
Tags: Winooski , parking garage , Town Meeting Day , Adam Dubroff , Jessie Baker , Town Meeting Day , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency indicated in a letter Monday that a proposal put forth by Gov. Phil Scott’s administration passes muster. The determination is based on the assumption that the legislature will approve the funding plan.
Scott’s proposed state budget includes new funding for clean water from the estate tax, which is expected to provide $9 million or more each year.
The February 11 letter, signed by acting regional EPA administrator Deborah A. Szaro, is part of an ongoing effort to bring Lake Champlain and other Vermont waterways into compliance with the Clean Water Act. The state is under a federal order to reduce the amount of phosphorus that flows into the lake, which fuels smelly and potentially toxic algae blooms.
The federal stamp of approval marks a significant milestone for the Scott administration, which was warned last year that the state’s continued failure to come up with a long-term funding plan could jeopardize its "provisional" passing grade on water cleanup. Under the Vermont Clean Water Act of 2015, Scott's administration was required to release a long-term funding proposal by the end of 2017. The administration didn't come up with a proposal, frustrating last year's efforts to set up a funding source.
Tags: Julie Moore , Phil Scott , Environmental Protection Agency , Agency of Natural Resources , Lake Champlain , TMDL , EPA , lake cleanup , Deborah Szaro , Statehouse , Image , Web Only
Monday, February 11, 2019
Mohamed Jafar vowed to stay in the race for Burlington's South District city council seat despite a VTDigger.org story published Monday that described a series of sexist tweets the candidate had sent as recently as January 2016.
"I sincerely apologize to those I’ve offended. I sincerely apologize to those who were really surprised" by the tweets, Jafar, 22, told Seven Days. "My personality and character have evolved since then."
The messages of 140 characters or fewer included misogynistic statements and allusions to violence. “Somebody hold my earrings, I’m about to beat this bitches ass,” Jafar wrote on Twitter in 2015, when he was a sophomore at Colby-Sawyer College.
“I’ve never hit a women before but I’m bout to make you my first…the closest thing to a women I’ve ever hit is my sister," he tweeted in 2013.
Tags: Mohamed Jafar , Shay Totten , Rights & Democracy , Burlington City Council , elections , Town Meeting Day , South District , Image , Web Only