Tuesday, November 30, 2021
A group called Vermont PFAS/Military Poisons Coalition says water samples it took at the Salmon Hole, just below the Winooski Falls dam, showed elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
That’s the same class of chemicals that contaminated hundreds of wells in the Bennington area, leached into the groundwater at the Air Guard base, and regularly seep out of operating and closed landfills in Vermont.
The group says its test samples contained 40.5 parts per trillion (ppt) for the five PFAS compounds regulated by Vermont for drinking water, which must be below 20 ppt for those five compounds.
Vermont has no specific threshold for surface waters such as those the group tested, but the state is conducting its own tests of surface waters and fish for the presence of PFAS.
Tags: PFAS , contamination , forever chemicals , Air National Guard , Winooski , Web Only , Image
Vermont hospitals were caring for 84 COVID-19 patients on Tuesday, 20 of whom were in intensive care — both record high figures.
The spike is putting renewed pressure on ongoing efforts to preserve hospital capacity, which state officials have said is a top priority as they shift toward managing COVID-19 as an endemic virus instead of an emergency pandemic. The number of COVID-19 patients overall far exceeds figures at any other point during the pandemic.
Tags: COVID-19 , COVID-19 hospitalizations , Vermont hospital capacity , ICU beds , Gov. Phil Scott , Michael Pieciak , Web Only , Image
Leahy’s campaign account is holding a little over $2 million, according to the Federal Election Commission, which maintains detailed reports about candidates’ donations and expenditures.
The FEC has strict rules about how candidates and campaigns can spend donations, both during campaigns and after. The money can be used for some of the costs of winding down the campaign committee, for charitable contributions, and for contributions to other federal, state, and local political candidates and committees.
Tags: Patrick Leahy , Congress , campaign finance , U.S. Senate , senator , Vermont , money , retirement , Web Only , Image
Monday, November 29, 2021
Dr. Elizabeth Bundock, the state’s deputy chief medical examiner since 2007, was appointed to the top post Monday following the retirement in April of Dr. Steven Shapiro.
Tags: Elizabeth Bundock , Steven Shapiro , Office of the Chief Medical Examiner , Vermont Department of Health , autopsies , death investigations , Web Only , Image
Sunday, November 28, 2021
Gov. Phil Scott and his administration are closely following the news about the Omicron variant of COVID-19, which has been detected in several countries — including Canada — but not yet in the United States.
Reports about Omicron, the newly identified variant of the virus, started circulating widely on Friday after it was detected in Britain and several countries in southern Africa. Among the concerns are the potential high transmissibility of the new strain and the possibility it can evade the vaccines now in use. Much is unknown, including the severity of disease it causes, and researchers are rushing to investigate the threat. The World Health Organization has called Omicron a "variant of concern," its most serious classification.
The U.S. will close its borders on Monday to travelers from eight countries in southern Africa, and New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency on Friday.
Tags: COVID-19 , Omicron , variant , legislature , Phil Scott , governor , Michael Pieciak , coronavirus , Delta , virus , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Released Tuesday, Mayor Miro Weinberger’s proposal would require people to mask up in buildings open to the public unless those establishments can verify that employees and customers have been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“We have reached a confusing and uncertain moment in our long battle against the global COVID-19 pandemic,” Weinberger said in a statement, noting that Vermont’s per capita case rate is among the highest in the country.
“In drafting this new mask mandate,” the mayor continued, “the City team has sought to strike a balance with a structure that both protects public health and supports the local businesses we are asking to partner with us on the frontline of our community pandemic response.”
Tags: coronavirus , pandemic , mask mandate , Burlington , Burlington City Council , Mayor Miro Weinberger , Web Only , Image
Monday, November 22, 2021
The bill passed the special legislative session by wide margins — 17-10 in the Senate and 90-41 in the House — but many lawmakers who voted for it said they did so only because Scott continued to oppose the broader mask mandate they preferred.
“What we need is a statewide response,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint (D-Windham). “We need our executive branch, our governor and our Department of Health to step up and protect the people of Vermont when we are facing the most challenging and difficult time of the pandemic in Vermont.”
Tags: COVID-19 , Phil Scott , Becca Balint , Mask Mandate , Web Only , Image
U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) will run for the Senate seat left open by the upcoming retirement of Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt).
In a brief statement, the congressman focused on the battle he’ll wage for a progressive agenda. “We are at a pivotal moment,” Welch said in the statement. “Vermont families are struggling through multiple crises: a global pandemic, the consequences of climate change, and a racial reckoning generations in the making.”
Tags: Peter Welch , U.S. Senate , Vermont , election , Patrick Leahy , senator , Web Only , Image
Sunday, November 21, 2021
The retail real estate market was soft before the pandemic, said Tony Blake, the principal broker at the Burlington real estate company V/T Commercial. He said parking problems and safety concerns have deterred customers from downtown Burlington in recent years. Online shopping has been making a dent in brick-and-mortar store sales everywhere for about a decade. Then COVID-19 safety measures closed stores and restaurants altogether in 2020.
“It was almost like the perfect storm,” Blake said. “COVID really blew this thing apart, and retail took it on the chin.”
Tags: Burlington , police , retail , retail , restaurants , Web Only , Image
Friday, November 19, 2021
The project will allow pedestrians to bypass the busy Route 2 and I-89 interchange, where they must use crosswalks to navigate heavy traffic on highway ramps. It'll enable easier and safer walking and biking from the University of Vermont campus and medical center to South Burlington's busy business district along the Dorset Street and Williston Road corridors.
South Burlington officials once envisioned using gondolas as a potential solution for safety issues, but opted for the bridge plan instead.
Tags: I-89 , Sen. Patrick Leahy , gondolas , bridge , burlington , south burlington , Web Only , Image