Tuesday, October 31, 2017
It was an anticlimactic ending to a four-hour meeting. Councilors were scheduled to decide between Ting's $30.5 million offer and the co-op Keep BT Local's $12 million bid. Instead, at 11:40 p.m., the council voted 8-3 to postpone the vote until November 6, when councilors will skip public forum and pick up where they left off.
Dave Hartnett (D-North District) requested the delay after councilor Karen Paul (D-Ward 6) recused herself from Monday's vote. Paul had previously backed Ting.
Paul said as the meeting began that she had discovered "a professional conflict" over the weekend relating to her work as a CPA at McSoley McCoy & Co. Paul refused to describe the conflict, though she said that the issue "has nothing whatsoever to do with the parties interested in purchasing Burlington Telecom."
Tags: Mayor Miro Weinberger , Burlington Telecom , Keep BT Local , Ting , Jane Knodell , Karen Paul , Dave Hartnett , Alan Matson , Elliott Noss , Russ Scully , David Lansky , David Provost , Joan Shannon , Brian Cina , Abbie Tykocki , Image , Web Only
Monday, October 30, 2017
The co-op's offer is "not even remotely commercially reasonable and not qualified," Kevin Fitzgerald wrote in an email Sunday night to city attorney Eileen Blackwood. A city council decision in favor of the KBTL bid would be "vigorously opposed by Citibank on several fronts including but not limited to immediate litigation."
Blue Water Holdings, which has loaned the city money and will benefit from the sale, also emailed the council, noting that they, too, have serious concerns about the co-op bid.
Michael Furlong, an attorney for Blue Water, expressed "serious concerns" about KBTL's ability to obtain a certificate of public good, a necessary step of approval granted by Vermont's Public Utility Commission.
Tags: Alan Matson , Chip Mason , Jane Knodell , Keep BT Local , Ting , Burlington Telecom , Joan Shannon , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
The trip will cost approximately $6,500 and will be paid for by Burlington Telecom, according to Katie Vane, Mayor Miro Weinberger's communications and projects coordinator. The councilors will fly out on Thursday evening and tour Ting offices and meet with management before returning to Burlington close to midnight on Friday.
On Monday, the city council will choose between Ting or the co-op Keep BT Local as the winning bidder for Burlington Telecom.
Tags: Burlington Telecom , Miro Weinberger , Adam Roof , Selene Colburn , Dave Hartnett , Max Tracy , Joan Shannon , Image , Web Only
Friday, October 20, 2017
The American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont is seeking to stop Burlington's plan to evict three people from a homeless encampment along North Avenue. ACLU attorney Jay Diaz filed a class action lawsuit on Friday morning against the city of Burlington.
A judge later on Friday issued a temporary restraining order that allows the campers to stay until the case is settled.
The city has given the campers until Monday to leave; they can face prosecution or fines if they do not, Diaz said.
Yesterday, city officials dismantled an encampment in Burlington's South End, arriving with dump trucks to clear out abandoned property.
Tags: Jay Diaz , ACLU , Brandon del Pozo , homelessness , Image , Web Only
Thursday, October 19, 2017
The city had anticipated needing to rent a storage locker to keep campers' belongings. But those at the camp gave permission to throw out the remaining tents, and in the end, city workers were able to collect and dispose of the unwanted stuff.
The city has reversed course on the issue several times, even in the last 24 hours.
Tags: Brandon del Pozo , homelessness , Image , Web Only
The store is expected to open in October 2018 and will employ about 75 people, according to a press release issued by the company. Vermont is the final state in the union without a Target, which has stores in Plattsburgh, N.Y., and Keene, N.H.
The venue will offer clothing, home supplies, health and beauty products, and even groceries, the company announced. That will bring a new competitor to the intensifying local grocery war that Seven Days recently reported.
"Our expansion to the Green Mountain State is long overdue and we are thrilled to meet our newest neighbors and community when our South Burlington store opens in 2018," said Mark Schindele, senior vice president for the company.
While Target has signed a lease for 60,000 square feet of space, the company said the store will be a "small-format" version of Target.
Tags: Kevin Dorn , Target , University Mall , Mark Schindele , Image , Web Only
The city of Burlington was not clearing out a South End homeless encampment that has previously been a source of safety concerns, Police Chief Brandon del Pozo said Wednesday — because the city has nowhere to put the residents' stuff. But on Thursday, he said officials are looking for a way to store the belongings that have accumulated there — and still planned to shut it down. Typically when belongings are confiscated, they're stored at the police station, said Lacey-Ann Smith, community affairs liaison for the Burlington Police Department. "It's usually like a pair of pants and a sleeping bag," Smith said. "There’s a lot of stuff down there and we don’t have any capacity."
Smith left an eviction notice at the encampment weeks ago, and had hoped that the campers would leave of their own accord — and bring their belongings with them. Three of the original seven campers are staying at Safe Harbor, she said; four remain.
The safety issues, which include allegations of drug dealing and use and domestic violence in the encampment, are still a concern, said del Pozo. But he accused the remaining campers of using the city's efforts to protect their property as a way to trespass on the land. Leaving their belongings, he said, "seems like a modus vivendi, a strategy to hamstring the city."
Tags: Miro Weinberger , homeless , Brandon del Pozo , Lacey-Ann Smith , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Burlington City Council members cast six votes in favor of the co-op and five votes for Ting in a four-hour meeting on Monday night. Republican Kurt Wright (R-Ward 4) offered the sole vote for the third company, Schurz Communications.
About 150 residents crowded into Burlington City Hall Auditorium to voice their support for the co-op's bid. They stood along the walls and sat on the floor, bearing signs with slogans in favor of Keep BT Local.
"How about we keep our internet & just sell Miro instead?" read one, taking a shot at Mayor Miro Weinberger. Read another, "Hands off our internet."
Tags: Keep BT Local , Ting , Burlington Telecom , Image , Web Only
Friday, October 13, 2017
A shackled Aita Gurung, 34, looked at the floor and showed no expression as an interpreter explained Judge Kevin Griffin's orders during an appearance in Vermont Superior Court. Gurung will be evaluated at the University of Vermont Medical Center and will be kept in the custody of the Department of Mental Health until it's complete, Griffin ruled.
Sara Puls of the Chittenden County Public Defender's Office, who represented Gurung in court, entered not guilty pleas on his behalf.
Authorities say that on Thursday afternoon, Gurung killed his wife, 32-year-old Yogeswari Khadka, and critically injured his 54-year-old mother-in-law, Tulasa Rimal. Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo said she was expected to survive. Gurung was charged with first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder.
Tags: Aita Gurung , murder , Burlington , crime , Brandon del Pozo , Image , Web Only
Thursday, October 12, 2017
A man released from a hospital where he'd sought mental health treatment returned to his Old North End home on Thursday, killed his wife with a meat cleaver and attacked his mother-in-law, Burlington police said.
Aita Gurung, 34, on Saturday sought “police attention for mental health issues and concerns about his deteriorating relationship with his wife,” Police Chief Brandon del Pozo said in a press release. Police called for emergency medical services, and he was taken to University of Vermont Medical Center.
Tags: Burlington , murder , Old North End , Brandon del Pozo , Image , Web Only