Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Important documents and checks have been lost or stuck in limbo. And Hunt says her efforts to get answers by contacting the U.S. Postal Service carrier station on Pine Street in Burlington have often been unproductive.
"I feel when you do call the post office, they don't seem to really care, and they don't seem to know what's going on, either," Hunt told Seven Days.
She's not alone. Hunt is among several people in the neighborhood just south of the Burlington line who have taken to Front Porch Forum to express frustration with erratic delivery.
"I've called Pine Street to complain and just get a song and dance. Something has to be done," another Proctor Avenue resident wrote on Front Porch Forum February 16.
Tags: South Burlington , U.S. Postal Service , delivery , mail , Web Only , Image
Vermont House lawmakers voted 100-49 Tuesday to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of a minimum wage increase, handing Democratic leaders a razor-thin and much-needed legislative win.
With the Senate voting last week to override the Republican governor’s veto, the bill now becomes law, having achieved the two-thirds majority necessary in the 150-member House. It will hike the current minimum wage of $10.96 per hour to $11.75 in 2021 and to $12.55 in 2022 before increases will again be tied to inflation.
“Today's vote reaffirms the legislature’s commitment to Vermont’s working families,” said House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero) in a statement. House Majority Leader Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington) shared that sentiment.
“This is a really good day for hardworking Vermonters who deserve and need a raise in their wages,” she said.
Tags: Vermont House , minimum wage , veto override , paid leave , House leadership , Mitzi Johnson , Web Only , Image
Sanders' campaign is planning a rally next Tuesday, March 3, at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction, according to two town officials and a third source with direct knowledge of the plans. Campaign spokesperson Sarah Ford later confirmed it.
The rally would come as results arrive from the 14 states that vote on Super Tuesday. With roughly a third of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention on the line, a solid showing by Sanders could solidify his grasp on the nomination.
Planning is well under way, town officials said Tuesday. Lt. Robert Kissinger of the Essex Police Department said his agency is in discussions with the Expo over logistics, though "nothing has been finalized." According to Town Clerk Susan McNamara-Hill, Halvorson's Upstreet Cafe has requested a liquor permit for a "Bernie Sanders rally" next Tuesday at the Expo.
The campaign later announced details of the event: Doors open at 5:30 and the program begins at 7:30. Entry is on a first come, first served basis. Those interested in attending can RSVP here.
During his 2016 presidential race, Sanders held a Super Tuesday rally at the same location. Some 4,000 people attended that event, which featured speeches from Vermont politicians and music from Ben Folds and local artists.
Sanders has held just one other public campaign event in Vermont since joining the 2020 race: a Memorial Day Weekend rally in Montpelier last May.
Tags: Bernie Sanders , Election , Election 2020 , Primary 2020 , Senator , Super Tuesday , Web Only , Image
Monday, February 24, 2020
The House Appropriations Committee voted 6-5 in favor of advancing S.54 to the full House, where lawmakers expect to take up the measure Wednesday.
If it passes, it would then head to a conference committee, where House and Senate negotiating teams would seek to reconcile their versions of the bill, which offer different tax structures and competing philosophies on how much local control should be given to municipalities.
Tags: Cannabeat , S.54 , cannabis , marijuana , Vermont House , Appropriations , Web Only , Image
Saturday, February 22, 2020
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination, dominated the Nevada caucuses on Saturday.
With 43 percent of precincts counted, Sanders was on track to win nearly 47 percent of the state’s county convention delegates — more than twice as many as his next closest rival, former vice president Joe Biden, who had 21 percent. Former mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., was trailing with 15 percent and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) with 10 percent.
Speaking at a rally in San Antonio after the Associated Press called the race for him, Sanders hailed the “multigenerational, multiracial coalition” that led him to victory in Nevada and predicted it would “sweep the country.”
Indeed, entrance polls in Nevada — the first nominating contest with a sizable nonwhite population — showed him winning more than half of the state’s Latino vote, along with a plurality of the white vote. Every age group under 65 backed Sanders, including 65 percent of those age 17 to 29.
Tags: Bernie Sanders , democrats , Election , Election 2020 , president , Primary 2020 , senator , Web Only , Image
Friday, February 21, 2020
According to the Washington Post, U.S. officials have told Sanders that the Russians were seeking to bolster his campaign as part of a broader effort to interfere with the 2020 election. The story did not describe how the Russian government was doing so.
Calling Putin "an autocratic thug who is attempting to destroy democracy and crush dissent in Russia," Sanders said he stood "firmly against their efforts."
“I don't care, frankly, who Putin wants to be president," he said in the written statement. "My message to Putin is clear: stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do."
During his 2016 presidential campaign, according to former special counsel Robert Mueller, the Russian government used social media to support Sanders and President Donald Trump. In Friday's statement, Sanders suggested that the Russians were using similar tactics in this election. "Some of the ugly stuff on the internet attributed to our campaign may well not be coming from real supporters," he said, echoing a similar sentiment he voiced at Wednesday's Democratic debate in Las Vegas.
On Thursday, the New York Times reported that intelligence officials had told members of the U.S. House that Russia was seeking to bolster Trump's reelection in part by meddling in the Democratic primary.
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The powerful House Ways and Means Committee stripped from a bill proposed fee increases meant to pay an estimated $600,000 annually for a centralized, professional review board that would have taken over many responsibilities of volunteer local review panels.
“I don’t think the new professional board is a good idea,” said Janet Ancel (D-Calais), chair of the committee. “I think it's overly expensive, I think it will reduce access to the process, and I think it will result in more lawyering up.”
Even members of the House committee that voted last week in favor of the proposal seemed content to let it collapse.
Tags: Act 250 , Janet Ancel , Amy Sheldon , Web Only , Image
Thursday, February 20, 2020
A Winooski police officer pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he strangled, assaulted and repeatedly threatened his girlfriend.
Christopher Matott, 31, faces seven charges, including two felonies for aggravated domestic assault and unlawful restraint. Other charges include three counts of domestic assault and two counts of criminal threatening.
Matott did not speak during his brief arraignment in Vermont Superior Court in North Hero. Attorney Robert Katims entered pleas on his behalf and told Judge Samuel Hoar that his client had entered counseling.
Tags: Christopher Matott , Winooski Police Department , Drug Enforcement Administration , domestic violence , Grand Isle County , extreme risk protection order , Robert Katims , Web Only , Image
Legislators favored the Global Warming Solutions Act by a vote of 105 to 37 — a strong showing for a bill that Republican Gov. Phil Scott has warned would put the state in unnecessary legal jeopardy.
Supporters praised H.688 as leverage to ensure that the state meets emission-reduction targets that it has missed for years.
“(The bill) creates a strong and effective path to cut pollution and will increase climate resilience for all of our communities,” said Majority Leader Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington).
Tags: climate change , Rep. Tim Briglin , Global Warming Solutions Act , Web Only , Image
In defending his ownership of three homes during Wednesday’s Democratic presidential debate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) listed each and the justification for buying it.
One is in Washington, D.C., where he works much of the year. A second is in Burlington, where he served nearly a decade as mayor.
“And like thousands of other Vermonters, I do have a summer camp,” Sanders said, referring to the $575,000 lakefront home in North Hero he purchased in 2016. “Forgive me for that.”
So is Sanders right? Do thousands of Vermonters own summer camps?
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