Thursday, August 23, 2018
Burlingtonians who responded to a survey this summer want the 91-year-old building dedicated once again to its historic uses as an entertainment venue, civic gathering space and farmers market. Eighty-five percent of respondents also said they would "definitely support" or "probably support" the renovation of the building.
Jerry Lindsley, president of the consulting firm hired by the city to conduct the survey, presented the findings Thursday to about two dozen people at Burlington City Hall.
"There's an affinity for this building," said Lindsley, of the Center for Research & Public Policy, in summarizing the survey results. "It appears [a bond vote] would be successful."
Tags: Memorial Auditorium , Dave Hartnett , CEDO , renovations , Miro Weinberger , mayor , City Council , Burlington , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
The council is expected to consider the proposal and hear a presentation from school leaders on Monday.
The school board voted 9-1 in support of the resolution. Mike Fisher of Ward 5 voted against it, Martine Gulick of Ward 4 was absent and Clare Wool of Ward 6 abstained as chair of the board.
But in a press release, Wool expressed support for the bond.
Tags: Burlington , Burlington High School , city council , bond , renovations , school board , Image , Web Only
The crowd on Church Street, dressed in red and armed with signs and bullhorns, urged the hospital to offer its nurses better wages and increased staffing levels.
Their chants filtered into Burlington City Hall's Contois Auditorium, where the state's hospital oversight board would be tasked with reviewing, and eventually approving, the medical center's fiscal year 2019 budget.
At 9 a.m., top hospital brass lined up before the Green Mountain Care Board to testify for three hours on the institution's finances and plans for the future. But foremost in the officials' minds was the nurses, who have urged the board not to approve the budget until the sides agree on a contract.
Tags: Kevin Mullin , Green Mountain Care Board , John Brumsted , UVMMC , nurses , strike , Image , Web Only
Thursday, August 16, 2018
The medical center on Wednesday released its fiscal year 2017 Internal Revenue Service Form 990 just hours after administrators and nurses left the bargaining table the night before without coming to an agreement.
The documents show that Eileen Whalen, president and chief operating officer, made more than $1,050,000 in salary and benefits during fiscal year 2017, about 20 percent higher than the $866,000 she earned the previous year.
Tags: Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals , University of Vermont Medical Center , nurses , John Brumstead , Eileen Whalen , Laurie Aunchman , Deb Snell , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
The newspaper originally filed a public records request in June for the district’s resignation agreement with Adam Provost, the former Burlington Technical Center interim director. Provost resigned in January, citing medical reasons, after he spent months on administrative leave, WCAX-TV reported at the time.
When members of the media or citizens request public documents, government entities typically either release the documents or explain why, under the law, they will not.
In this instance, the school district notified Provost of Seven Days’ records request. Through an attorney, the former school administrator consented only to the release of a redacted version of the agreement, the district said in documents filed in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington. The district, which took the position that the full record should be released, then took Provost to court — and also named Seven Days as a defendant. The district wants a judge to review the records and determine whether the agreement should be released in full.
Filing a lawsuit against a news outlet seeking records is highly unusual, as is asking a judge to decide, at that stage, which information is public.
Tags: Adam Provost , Burlington School District , public records , Seven Days , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
In July, testing at a house on the northern part of Elmwood Avenue revealed two chemicals at levels above federal limits, according to Michael Nahmias, an environmental analyst for the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. The department has not yet found the source, he added.
The chemicals are known as perchloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE). PCE and TCE are commonly used for dry cleaning and can also be found in cleaning products and grease removers. The neighborhood was formerly home to two dry-cleaning businesses.
Exposure can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness and irritation, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Longterm exposure to PCE can lead to changes in memory and mood, and potentially to cancer.
Tags: Environmental Protection Agency , Department of Environmental Conservation , Old North End , PCE , TCE , environmental contamination , Image , Web Only
Monday, August 6, 2018
Del Pozo said the last thing he remembers on June 16 is coasting down the gradual, 4.5-mile hill on Route 73 in Keene Valley, N.Y., when the used bike he had recently bought started shaking uncontrollably.
He crashed, fracturing three bones in his skull, four ribs, two bones in his shoulder and his collarbone, he said. He was flown by helicopter to Burlington, and spent two days in intensive care and a third day in the hospital before being released.
Tags: Brandon del Pozo , Burlington police , bike accident , Image , Web Only
Friday, July 27, 2018
Red signs at Blanchard Beach in Oakledge Park and Leddy Beach in the city's North End warned visitors against entering the water. The closures came after a combined sewer overflow discharged thousands of gallons of dirty water into the Pine Street Barge Canal during an intense downpour Wednesday night. Authorities said the overflow was 90 percent stormwater "with a small wastewater fraction."
Robert Goulding, public information manager for the Department of Public Works, said the strong storm swept "animal waste, oils and litter" into the water, likely leading to the contamination.
Tags: Burlington , E. coli , wastewater , stormwater , combined sewer overflow , sewage , Lake Champlain , water quality , Leddy Beach , Oakledge Park , Blanchard Beach , Image , Web Only
Thursday, July 26, 2018
Dave Hungerford is sick of this shit.
After Burlington's wastewater treatment plant recently overflowed several times into Lake Champlain, Hungerford decided to take matters into his own hands. On Thursday morning, he stood in the rain on Williston Road in South Burlington holding a sign that read: "Burlington, Stop Dumping Shit Into Our Lake."
Tags: Burlington , Dave Hungerford , wastewater , sewage , treatment plant , rain , Lake Champlain , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
The Burlington City Council decided to move forward with a resolution promoting opiate treatment, but inserted key language saying that safe injection sites won’t happen anytime soon.
The council voted 9-3 to endorse buprenorphine treatment and appoint two councilors to the CommunityStat opiate study committee but will not take concrete steps toward establishing a safe injection facility "until the city council affirmatively votes to do so" in a separate vote.
It took two hours of debate and nine proposed amendments Monday night before the council issued its "yes" vote to the altered measure.
Tags: Brian Pine , Burlington , heroin , Jane Knodell , Karen Paul , opiates , Opioid Crisis , safe injection site , Selene Colburn , Image , Web Only