Friday, July 21, 2017
Library director Mary Danko and Mayor Miro Weinberger condemned the act as hate speech in a statement issued Friday.
The custodian took a photo of the graffiti and then painted over it, according to Katie Vane, the mayor's communications and projects coordinator. The library employee told Danko about the graffiti when he saw her on Tuesday, and the library director immediately notified the Burlington Police Department.
Tags: Fletcher Free Library , Miro Weinberger , Mary Danko , hate speech , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Development company Redstone bought the triangle-shaped lot and ramshackle, one-story building in the Old North End last year. The Burlington Development Review Board on July 5 green-lighted soundproofing, new siding and new storefront doors — among other changes — at the former convenience store and bottle-redemption facility once a popular spot for "canners" who would bring around carts full of returnables.
"Everything is looking good and we're hopeful that it's going to be a cool element of creativity in the Old North End where Burlington-based bands and bands from other parts of the country can lay down tracks and make great music," said Redstone managing partner Erik Hoekstra.
Tank's owners did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.
According to Hoekstra, Tank is leasing the 3,200-square-foot space at 208-212 North Winooski and moving out of its space just down the road at 274 North Winooski.
The flies and sticky floors at the former redemption center will be a thing of the past.
"We are renovating and retrofitting the existing building. We are not tearing that building down, we are not starting all over," Hoekstra said. "We are working with what's there and trying to get rid of the sticky fly situation and breathe some new life into the building."
The Burlington Beverage Center closed last September after 38 years in operation. The closing forced many low-income neighborhood residents who collect returnables for income to find another redemption center — in some cases walking five miles to get there.
The zoning application indicated that up to six employees will work at the new studio, which anticipates maximum hours of 8 a.m. to 2 p.m, seven days a week.
The studio will help enliven an already vibrant corridor of shops, restaurants and residential buildings along the North Winooski corridor, according to the Redstone application to the DRB.
Tags: Tank Recording Studio , Burlington Beverage Center , Redstone , Image , Web Only
The University of Vermont slapped the frat, commonly known as Fiji, with a four-year suspension in March for alcohol and hazing violations.
The sanctions required that the chapter, at the corner of Main and South Willard streets, cease all activities for the duration of the suspension, thereby opening up a housing opportunity for Champlain.
The new beds mean the college can bring some students back to the heart of its Hill Section campus. These students were being housed several miles away at Bayberry Commons Apartments because there was no available dorm space, according to college spokesman Stephen Mease.
Tags: Champlain College , Fiji , Phi Gamma Delta , fraternity , University of Vermont , Image , Web Only
Mary Alice McKenzie will step down after 10 years at the helm of the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington.
The club’s director of development and communications, Tanya Benosky, will succeed McKenzie, according to a news release issued Wednesday. Benosky started with the organization in 2008 as finance director. The formal transition will take place on August 18.
“Tanya is the right person at the right time to take over leadership of the Club, allowing a seamless transition for the kids we serve and the community at large,” said Brian Waxler, who chairs the club’s board. Waxler also praised McKenzie’s work “changing so many lives in this community.”
The Boys & Girls Club currently operates out of three locations in Burlington’s Old North End, and serves 250 children daily. The club provides food, tutoring, mentoring and athletics.
Tags: Mary Alice McKenzie , Tanya Benosky , Boys & Girls Club of Burlington , Image , Web Only
Monday, July 10, 2017
Not for long: After 72 years at the site — and 169 in Burlington — the facility will go quiet next year, making way for new owners who plan to transform the old manufacturing space. Blodgett Oven is moving after the company purchased a 180,000-square-foot facility in Essex from Miller Realty.
Now, Burlington business owner Russ Scully has bought the three-building, 16-acre property along the waterfront in Burlington's South End. The two parties closed the deal on June 23, according to Erica Havers, vice president and controller of Blodgett. Scully paid $14.3 million for the property, which is assessed at just over $4.1 million, according to city documents.
Scully has been tightlipped about his plans for the property, but he — along with his wife, Roxanne — already have a variety of water-related businesses in Burlington; now they also have some waterfront.
Tags: Blodgett Oven , Russ Scully , Roxanne Scully , Tom Torti , Noelle MacKay , Burlington , Miro Weinberger , Rachael Miller , Frank Cioffi , Image , Web Only
Thursday, July 6, 2017
Forty-eight percent of New North End residents reported satisfaction with the pilot project, which changed North Avenue from four lanes to three last year, compared to 45 percent who feel dissatisfied, say the results, released in mid-June.
The citywide results indicate a wider margin of support for the bike lane — 53 to 40 percent.
But the year-long pilot project has sown distrust and frustration over the city process.
"It's divided the neighborhood," said Councilor Kurt Wright (R-Ward 4).
Tags: Dave Hartnett , Kurt Wright , Chapin Spencer , Miro Weinberger , Nicole Losch , bike lanes , North Ave , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
The agreement requires Sinex to include an additional 200 spaces of parking in the basement of the development, which includes buildings of up to 14 stories. Sinex also agreed, in phase one of the project, to not sign a master lease to provide housing for Champlain College or other university students, according to a joint press release issued by both parties.
It also stipulates that any future development of Sinex-owned property at the Burlington Town Center site would not reach more than 10 stories.
Tags: Don Sinex , Miro Weinberger , Burlington Town Center , mall , redevelopment , Image , Web Only
Monday, July 3, 2017
The future of the coveted Lakeside Avenue property, with shoreline and expansive views of the Adirondacks across the lake, has been the subject of speculation for years. Investors using the name Lakeside Ovens LLC purchased it on June 23. The group paid $14.3 million — well above the grand list value of $4.1 million.
Matt Daly, the Burlington attorney representing the buyers, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.
Tags: Blodgett Oven , Miro Weinberger , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
The first-time candidate won 610 votes, more than double the tally of his nearest competitor, Republican Vince Dober, who finished with 302 votes. Independents Ellie Blais and Chris Trombly earned 47 and 29 votes, respectively. Dieng will be the only nonwhite member of the council and the second New American to ever serve on the city's legislative body.
Dieng will replace Democrat Tom Ayres, who stepped down to take a new job in Randolph.
Tags: Tom Ayres , Ali Dieng , Vince Dober , Ellie Blais , Chris Trombly , Ward 7 , Burlington City Council , Image , Web Only
Friday, June 23, 2017
Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) wife, Jane O'Meara Sanders, has obtained legal help amid a Federal Bureau of Investigation probe into a Burlington College property acquisition that occurred in 2010 while she was the college's president.
According to former college officials, the FBI has been investigating whether O'Meara Sanders overstated pledges from donors that allowed the college to obtain a $6.7 million loan from Peoples United Bank to buy the former Roman Catholic Diocese building on North Avenue in Burlington.
Lawyers from two firms representing O'Meara Sanders contacted Coralee Holm, former dean of operations and advancement for the now-defunct Burlington College, to ask about what the FBI had been seeking from her this spring, Holm said Friday. Holm told Seven Days she spoke with Matt Shagam, an attorney with Burlington lawyer Rich Cassidy's firm. She said that Jennifer Windom, a partner with a Washington law firm, left her a voicemail saying she was working with Cassidy. Holm said she didn't return that call.
VTDigger.org first reported on Thursday that lawyers were making calls about the land probe on O'Meara Sanders' behalf. Politico Magazine subsequently reported that Cassidy and Washington, D.C.-based defense attorney Larry Robbins have been hired to represent her. That story's author, Harry Jaffe, is a former Rutland Herald reporter and current editor at large for Washingtonian Magazine.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Jane O'Meara Sanders , Burlington College , FBI , Image , Web Only