Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Rep. Tim Briglin (D-Thetford), the chair of the House Energy and Technology Committee, said Tuesday that his panel plans to go into a rare executive session on Wednesday morning in order to protect the government’s information technology systems.
According to the committee’s schedule, the closed meeting will include testimony from Agency of Digital Services Secretary John Quinn and the agency’s chief information security officer, Nicholas Andersen.
“It’s simply checking in with the Agency of Digital Services on cybersecurity issues,” Briglin said. “My understanding is that it’s traditional to do that behind closed doors, simply because there’s some people that you don’t want to hear what your state’s cybersecurity strategy is.”
Tags: open government , open meeting law , transparency , cybersecurity , Agency of Digital Services , Tim Briglin , John Quinn , Nicholas Andersen , Statehouse , Web Only , Image
Monday, March 11, 2019
"Democratic primary voters are very concerned about ensuring that they [nominate] somebody who can defeat Donald Trump," senior adviser Jeff Weaver said Monday in a conference call with reporters. "I think that we have strong indicators from the 2016 race that, in fact, Bernie Sanders is the person who's best positioned to do that."
According to Weaver and campaign pollster Ben Tulchin, Sanders' ability to turn out independents, working-class voters, young people and first-time voters could make the difference in a general-election matchup against the Republican president. Tulchin pointed to the so-called "blue wall" states of Wisconsin and Michigan, which Trump won in 2016, as pickup opportunities for Sanders, were he to win the nomination.
"We believe polling data clearly shows that Bernie's extremely well-positioned to win the Democratic primary and to beat Donald Trump in a general election matchup," Tulchin said.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Jeff Weaver , Faiz Shakir , Ben Tulchin , Web Only , Image
Days after sending out a desperate plea for help, the shop's owners have raised enough money to pay a debt they owed the state. Darcee Alderman told Seven Days last Thursday that she and her husband, Sam, needed $20,000 to keep the 150-year-old store in business. The community responded by spending at the store and donating about $8,200 through a GoFundMe page started by a store employee.
"It was wonderful," Alderman said Monday. "I've already paid the state. Now I need to restock!"
The couple bought the store in 2007. With interest, fees and penalties, the couple owed the state tens of thousands of dollars in taxes and bottle deposits, she said. About $20,000 came due Saturday night, a deadline Alderman said the state extended until Monday.
Tags: Monkton General Store , Darcee Alderman , general stores , Vermont , Web Only , Image
Sunday, March 10, 2019
“To the people of New Hampshire, let me say that you helped begin the political revolution in 2016,” he said Sunday afternoon in Concord. “And with your help on this campaign, we are going to complete what we started here.”
Speaking to a crowd of hundreds at the Grappone Conference Center, Sanders recalled that when he first campaigned in New Hampshire in 2015, he’d been “way, way, way behind” in the polls and his ideas had been dismissed as “too radical.” He would go on to win the state’s Democratic primary by more than 22 points.
This time around, Sanders made his New Hampshire debut as a frontrunner. Early polls of the state show him leading every other declared candidate in the field — and holding his own against former vice president Joe Biden, who is considering a run.
More importantly, Sanders argued Sunday, “Those ideas that we talked about when we came here to New Hampshire four years ago … are supported by a majority of the American people and they are being supported by Democratic candidates from school board to president of the United States.”
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , New Hampshire , president , campaign , Donald Trump , Democrats , primary , Image , Web Only
Friday, March 8, 2019
Digger is seeking a total of 1.5 million pages of relevant documents. The state has refused to release them, citing ongoing litigation.
At first glance, Friday's press release appeared to signal a major step in the legal battle — but in actual fact, according to Galloway, it only included 100 or so pages.
She called the document release "minuscule," and added that, "We worked really hard to get them. We had a team of lawyers at work for at least four months." Galloway called it an "outrage that it takes so much effort to get so little."
Tags: Phil Scott , T.J. Donovan , Anne Galloway , Rebecca Kelley , Ariel Quiros , Bill Stenger , Vermont , EB-5 , Web Only , Image
The “digital strategist” position is being eliminated in favor of a “performance management model of client services,” Cox spokesperson Lisa Aloisio told Seven Days.
The company is eliminating 112 digital strategists across five locations. Half of those positions are in Vermont, Aloisio said, but affected employees will have “a really good amount of time to apply” for the new jobs.
Tags: Dealer.com , digital strategist , Cox Automotive , Dealertrack , Burlington , jobs , labor , Web Only , Image
Thursday, March 7, 2019
Darcee and Sam Alderman need the cash to pay state taxes to keep the place open. They're simply asking people to make some purchases. “I’m cautiously optimistic,” Darcee Alderman told Seven Days. “We have that in inventory here, so if we can just get the sales.”
The couple announced the news Wednesday night on Facebook. Customers responded Thursday, streaming in and out to buy gas, beer and wine, deli sandwiches, pizza, groceries, and other items sold at the small store on Monkton Ridge.
“It’s been amazing. I honestly had no idea that that many people cared. I’ve already broken down a couple times this morning,” Darcee Alderman said. “Just the outpouring of concern and wanting to help and keep us open has just been absolutely humbling.”
Tags: Vermont , general stores , Monkton General Store , GoFundMe , Darcee Alderman , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
The defeat by fewer than 200 votes was a disappointment, Town Manager Aaron Frank said Tuesday night.
"The selectboard will have to take a pause, do some reflection and figure out where do we go from here,” Frank said.
Inadequate private septic systems at homes and camps along the bay can leak human waste into the water, a problem the proposed sewer line was intended to mitigate. But critics said it was an expensive project that wouldn't actually solve complex pollution problems in the scenic and heavily used bay. They also worried the sewer line would accelerate development.
Tags: Colchester , Malletts Bay , sewer line , boats , septic system , Aaron Frank , Image , Web Only
The 33-year-old business analyst and her supporters whooped with joy as the results were announced at the Winooski Senior Center minutes after the polls closed at 7 p.m. She got 650 votes to Covey's 478.
Lott was still clad in a thick wool hat, ski pants and heavy boots that she had worn to spend the day greeting voters outside the polls. Lott vowed to make good on her platform to get residents involved in city affairs.
"My primary goal is just to make sure that residents really feel like they are a part of the decisions and engaged in the city," Lott said.
Tags: Christine Lott , Eric Covey , Ebony Kirkland , Mike Myers , Image , Web Only
The news drew cheers at the Progressive Party's gathering at Rí Rá on Church Street.
"It's a new time in Burlington, folks!" Vermont Progressive Party executive director Josh Wronski told the crowd.
After serving a total of 19 years on the council as a Progressive, Knodell lost the party's nomination at its caucus in January. She later decided to run as an independent, but couldn't overcome Freeman's impressive get-out-the-vote effort. Freeman earned 928 votes, about 54 percent of the total, compared to 643 votes, or 37 percent, for Knodell. Democrat Jared Carter earned 144 votes, or 8 percent of the total.
Tags: Miro Weinberger , Jane Knodell , Perri Freeman , Jared Carter , Mohamed Jafar , Joan Shannon , Paco DeFrancis , Richard Deane , Jack Hanson , Kienan Christianson , Franklin Paulino , Image , Web Only