Thursday, December 17, 2020
"Honestly, at this point, it's just unforgivable," she said.
Tags: Mayor Miro Weinberger , Brandon del Pozo , chief , deposition , lawsuit , Twitter , social media , troll , police department , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Thirteen former residents of the St. Joseph’s Orphanage responded on Wednesday to the long-awaited investigative report released earlier this week, saying the psychological trauma of their childhood experiences continues to take an incalculable toll.
Walter Coltey, who lived in the orphanage from 1953 to 1959, said that he is estranged from his two grown children because he brought them up the only way he knew — with belt-lashings and severe punishments like he endured at the hands of the nuns who staffed the children's home.
Former resident Debi Gevry-Ellsworth said she didn’t experience a real hug until she was 13 years old. As an adult, she said, she was so afraid of hurting her own children that she withheld love and affection.
“I’m still trying to repair that damage,” Gevry-Ellsworth said.
Tags: St. Joseph's orphanage , Voices of St. Joseph's , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger knew more than he publicly let on about the Twitter trolling scandal that led his former police chief, Brandon del Pozo, to resign last December.
In a November 30 deposition in a civil case that was made public in a court filing on Monday, del Pozo asserted that he showed the mayor the @WinkleWatchers Twitter account that he created to troll a critic, before he’d tweeted from it. Weinberger acknowledged as much during an interview Tuesday, a departure from previous statements that implied he had learned of the account only after del Pozo used it and admitted he had.
Further, del Pozo said in the court filings that his badge and gun “were never taken” from him — despite Weinberger’s public comments to the contrary.
The new documents, filed roughly a week after Weinberger won the Democratic Party’s nomination to run for reelection this March, have breathed new oxygen into a scandal that became public in December 2019.
Tags: Burlington , Miro Weinberger , mayor , Brandon del Pozo , police department , chief , deposition , lawsuit , Jérémie Meli , Jan Wright , Twitter , social media , troll , Charles Winkleman , Image , Web Only
Friday, December 11, 2020
The department has 81 sworn officers, nine fewer than it did in June when the city council passed a resolution to reduce the force by attrition to 74 cops. Five of those cops said in exit interviews that they're leaving because of the council's efforts to "defund the police," Murad said.
And Murad expects the numbers to keep dropping. Two officers are expected to leave by early January, bringing the roster to 79. Six others could also leave next year: Three who are seeking other employment, two who will be on long-term military deployments and one who is taking a family leave. Still others could be tapped by the Vermont National Guard to help distribute the COVID-19 vaccine, Murad said.
When the number hits 76 officers, the department would have to cease coverage between 3 and 7:30 a.m., according to the chief. The officers on duty would be assigned to staff the police station and would only respond in person to the most serious calls, he said.
The shift "is not something that we are thinking about ending lightly," Murad said. "This is a serious move."
Tags: Jon Murad , policing , Burlington Police Department , defund the police , staffing , chief , Web Only , Image
Monday, December 7, 2020
After a protracted debate over procedure, the Burlington City Council on Monday voted to postpone deliberations on a handful of proposed charter changes until a special meeting next week.
The council instead heard hours of public comment, mostly on the proposal to create an "independent community control board" that would investigate police misconduct and have the power to suspend, demote or fire officers, including the chief of police.
The decision to postpone deliberations puts more pressure on councilors to vote on the charter change proposals by December 21, the deadline to get them on the March ballot.
Tags: Burlington , police reform , policing , city council , Battery Park Movement , charter change , just-cause eviction , Web Only , Image
Sitting in front of a wall of campaign signs bearing the slogan "Transparency, Unity, Action," Dieng promised to be a collaborative leader who will address "the critical problems of our time."
"Our city needs a trustworthy leader with an inclusive vision geared toward bringing people together and transforming Vermont's largest city into the best small city in North America," he said.
Tags: mayoral election , Ali Dieng , Max Tracy , Miro Weinberger , Burlington , elections , Town Meeting Day , Web Only , Image
Sunday, December 6, 2020
Weinberger, who is running for a fourth term, was uncontested in seeking his party’s nomination at Sunday's caucus. According to party results, 425 Burlingtonians cast votes in the virtual affair, which allowed for email and in-person voting between 2 p.m. and 5:15 p.m.
The sitting mayor will defend his seat against Max Tracy, the city council president who earned the Progressive endorsement on Thursday. Also running are at least two declared independent candidates: Councilor Ali Dieng (I-Ward 7) and South End resident Patrick White.
Tags: Mayor Miro Weinberger , Max Tracy , Kerin Durfee , Mark Barlow , Ali Dieng , Patrick White , KIenan Christianson , Joan Shannon , elections , Town Meeting , Web Only , Image
Friday, December 4, 2020
Video of the incident captured by police department security cameras shows the unidentified victim’s head bounce off the sidewalk. The man lays there nearly motionless as four fire department employees surround him. A police officer is visible exiting the building as the 35-second clip released by the city ends.
A timestamp on the video shows the incident happened around 10:45 p.m. on November 21. Kevan Mahoney was cited for simple assault around 10:35 a.m. the following day.
Mahoney “was immediately placed on administrative leave while an internal investigation into the incident was conducted,” the fire department said in a press release announcing the news on Friday afternoon. He quit once the investigation was complete.
Tags: Burlington Fire Department , Kevan Mahoney , assault , Web Only , Image
Thursday, December 3, 2020
Tracy earned approximately 787 votes, or about 55 percent, compared to 631 votes — about 45 percent — for fellow Councilor Brian Pine (Ward 3), according to party caucus results released Thursday. A record-breaking 1,420 people cast ballots online and in person as this year's event went virtual amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"I'm absolutely ecstatic. This is such a big win and such a big win for our party," Tracy said after the results were released. "I am so impressed with the turnout and the excitement that we have going into the general election."
Tags: Burlington Progressives , caucus , Brian Pine , Max Tracy , elections , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Progressive Burlington City Councilors Brian Pine (Ward 3) and Max Tracy (Ward 2) each made their case to become the next mayor of Burlington during a caucus Tuesday night that otherwise featured few contested races.
Nearly 1,400 people registered for the party’s first-ever virtual caucus, which was streamed on Zoom and the party’s Facebook page. Both Pine and Tracy promised that if elected, they’d bring change to Burlington after nearly nine years of leadership under Mayor Miro Weinberger. The three-term Democrat is running for reelection and is expected to win his party’s nomination at its caucus on Sunday.
Tags: Burlington , Vermont Progressive Party , election , Progressive caucus , Brian Pine , Max Tracy , Web Only , Image