Monday, May 27, 2019
Burlington parent Rebecca Mack filed a complaint with GMT about the May 23 incident that reportedly began with students of color singing and clapping on the bus ride home, Mack wrote in a widely shared Facebook post.
The students, two of whom are Mack’s children, attend Edmunds Elementary and Middle Schools. The Burlington School District contracts with the local bus company for student transportation.
Mack was at Barrio Bakery on North Winooski Avenue around 3 p.m. that day when she saw a group of kids, ranging in age from 5 to 13 years old and all students of color, walking together on the street. They told her that the bus driver made them get off on North Street and asked Mack to record a video while they recounted the incident.
"They were very upset, and they were certain they were targeted on the basis of their skin color," Mack told Seven Days on Monday. "I can say for my own children, this was the most personally racist event that had ever happened to them, and it’s something that’s never going to go away."
Tags: Burlington , Green Mountain Transit , Edmunds Middle School , Edmunds Elementary School , Rebecca Mack , Ali Dieng , Max Tracy , Kurt Wright , Miro Weinberger , mayor , city council , bus , racism , Web Only , Image
Saturday, May 25, 2019
At a rally on the Statehouse lawn, Sanders thanked "the people of the state of Vermont, who have given me an opportunity that, when I was a kid, I never would've dreamed of in a million years." Serving as mayor of Burlington and then in the U.S. House and Senate had been "the honor of my life," he said, "and I thank you all."
Sanders used his Montpelier homecoming to hail "the history of our small but proud state," asserting that it had "held its head high in the struggle for human freedom and justice." He also used it to highlight his own accomplishments in Vermont: helping to establish the Burlington Community Land Trust, build a network of community health centers and improve care for veterans.
"And now, as we assemble today here in front of our beautiful state capitol in this pivotal and unprecedented moment in American history," he said, "I am here today to ask for your support to help me win the Democratic nomination."
Tags: Bernie Sanders , campaign , Election 2020 , Montpelier , rally , senator , Web Only , Image
Friday, May 24, 2019
A standoff between the Democratic leaders of the Vermont House and Senate deepened Friday as one chamber attempted to adjourn for the year and the other vowed to remain in session.
At issue were bills to raise Vermont’s minimum wage and enact a paid family and medical leave program. Though a majority of lawmakers in both chambers appeared to support the proposals, House and Senate leaders failed, after days of intense negotiations, to resolve remaining differences.
After declaring an impasse Friday afternoon, House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero) gaveled out her chamber and summoned Republican Gov. Phil Scott to deliver a customary end-of-session address. But the Senate had other ideas.
In an unexpected twist, Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) refused to adjourn for the year and scheduled another Senate session for next Wednesday. He called on House members to change their minds and return next week to reach a deal.
“We’ve created an opening,” Ashe said of his last-ditch legislative gambit, “and we believe it wouldn’t take much time really to close that last gap.”
On his way out of the Statehouse Friday evening, Scott shook his head in disbelief at the Dems’ disarray.
“It’s very bizarre,” said the governor, who has served in state government since 2001. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Tags: Mitzi Johnson , Tim Ashe , paid family leave , minimum wage , Phil Scott , Becca Balint , Alison Clarkson , Pattie McCoy , Web Only , Image
Thursday, May 23, 2019
Lawmakers eager to adjourn for the Memorial Day weekend found themselves waiting to see if Democratic leaders of the Senate and House could hammer out a grand compromise around their two remaining — some would say competing — legislative priorities.
Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) announced Thursday evening that negotiators were making “good progress” on “a few of the outstanding issues” and that it made sense for the Senate to adjourn until 10 a.m. Friday.
He cited a Senate colleague’s past advice that “sometimes the best thing to do is have a night’s sleep and make sure you don’t make any mistakes and come back fresh.”
Tags: paid family leave , minimum wage , Tim Ashe , Mitzi Johnson , Randy Brock , Pattie McCoy , Becca Balint , Web Only , Image
Lobbyists, reporters and observers spent the day searching desperately for scraps of information and trading rumors of dubious parentage. It was possible to hear completely contradictory tales within minutes of each other: Talks have broken off! A deal is imminent! They're still trying! They've given up!
Whenever negotiators showed their faces, they'd quick-walk down the hallway or march in a tight huddle or hunch over their smartphones. Anything to avoid the pleadings of the press corps.
Going into the day, the two chambers were at odds over fundamental aspects of the two issues. The House wanted a robust family leave program, while senators were deeply concerned about its cost. The Senate favored a substantial raise in the minimum wage and balked at a House version that charted a longer, less-certain course to the magic number of $15 an hour.
As evening drew nigh, both chambers adjourned for the night with lawmakers skedaddling and leaders saying as little as possible. We were assured that progress was being made, communication remained open and leadership was doing everything it can to make a deal.
Tags: Tim Ashe , Mitzi Johnson , Phil Scott , legislature , Web Only , Image
Software from the New England Municipal Resource Center, based in Fairfax, had left taxpayers' bank information and municipal employees' Social Security numbers exposed and vulnerable to theft for years, a Vermont technology consultant told Seven Days in February. Municipalities use the firm's products to compile grand lists, track accounts payable and receivable, maintain general ledgers, and administer property taxes, among other tasks.
South Burlington-based IT firm simpleroute first reported the bugs to NEMRC and then disclosed them publicly on its website. The findings raised questions about whether municipalities could safeguard data.
The Attorney General's Office said in a press release Thursday that it brought in a team of security experts from Champlain College after learning of the problems. In about an hour, they were able to crack an algorithm that the software used to encode sensitive data.
Tags: New England Municipal Resource Center , Attorney General's Office , software , NEMRC , Charles Merriman , Web Only , Image
The City of Montpelier will seek voluntary reimbursement from Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) presidential campaign for costs associated with his Statehouse rally on Saturday afternoon. It's Sanders' first major Vermont event since he launched his second bid for the White House and is expected to draw a yooooge crowd.
According to assistant city manager Sue Allen, the move is a first for the capital city, which has previously absorbed the costs of police, firefighters, traffic control and site cleanup for any event in town.
On Wednesday, the Montpelier City Council directed municipal staff to pull together cost figures after the rally and send a letter to the Sanders campaign requesting a donation to cover the cost.
"We love hosting events," Allen said. "They make Montpelier vibrant. But we do want to keep track of what all this vibrancy is costing us."
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Sue Allen , Ashley Hill , City of Montpelier , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Those in favor included 20 Democratic and/or Progressive senators plus Sen. James McNeil (R-Rutland) and Richard Westman (R-Lamoille). The other four Republicans voted "no," plus Sens. Dick Mazza (D-Grand Isle) and John Rodgers and Bobby Starr (both D-Essex/Orleans). Sen. Chris Pearson (P-Chittenden) was absent from the floor during the roll call.
The resolution, S.R.5, got a thorough overhaul in the Senate Government Operations Committee before heading to the floor. The original wording repeatedly mentioned the F-35 fighter jet, which the Vermont Air National Guard is scheduled to begin flying from its base at the Burlington International Airport this fall. A group called Citizens Against Nuclear Bombers in Vermont pushed for the resolution over fears that the F-35 is capable of carrying nuclear weaponry.
But the version approved by the Senate barely refers to the F-35 at all. Instead, it describes Vermont's history as "a national leader in opposing the spread of nuclear weapons" and recounts committee testimony describing instances where the military apparently based such weapons in Vermont.
Tags: Anthony Pollina , Joe Benning , James McNeil , John Rodgers , Bobby Starr , Chris Pearson , nuclear weapons , Web Only , Image
The House voted 133-5 to concur with the Senate changes, meaning the bill now heads to Gov. Phil Scott for his likely signature.
"It looks like we're in a good place," Scott's spokesperson, Rebecca Kelley, told Seven Days after the vote.
The governor had proposed funding clean water from existing estate tax revenues, and while he still needs to review the final details, Kelley said he's encouraged that the legislature has embraced a similar principle.
The plan would take 6 percent of existing room and meals tax revenue that is normally committed to the general fund and divert it to the state clean water fund. The move would raise $8 million during nine months of next year and $12 million for water projects each full year thereafter.
Lawmakers argued that the state can afford the additional spending because revenues are tracking $50 million higher than expected this year, with projections of at least $15 million of that increase to recur in future years.
Tags: clean water , Vermont , House , Senate , Phil Scott , governor , Web Only , Image
Ariel Quiros, 63, and Bill Stenger, 70, stand accused of misleading foreign investors and EB-5 program regulators in order to embezzle millions meant for a biotechnology business in Newport that they proposed but never seriously pursued. Two of their business partners face indictments as well.
The men were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, wire fraud and making false statements. Quiros, who federal authorities painted as the ringleader, was also charged with money laundering in connection with a $6 million payment to the Internal Revenue Service and the purchase of a $46,000 Jeep Rubicon.
The EB-5 projects brought in hundreds of millions of dollars from investors, much of which was used not to create jobs in the Northeast Kingdom, but to enrich the four men, authorities allege. In a civil lawsuit brought in 2016, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission described the projects as "Ponzi-like."
Tags: EB-5 , Bill Stenger , Ariel Quiros , Newport , AnC Bio , Vermont , Jong Weon Choi , William Kelly , Web Only , Image