Monday, January 30, 2017
That’s the advice University of Vermont President Tom Sullivan is giving to members of the campus community who have visas from Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Iran or Iraq.
President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order on immigration bars citizens of those seven countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days.
Sullivan is apparently worried the order could make it hard for UVM students and staff to get back into the U.S. should they leave. Sullivan emailed the campus community on Sunday.
Tags: Trump , immigration , UVM , Champlain , Vermont , Norwich University , Saint Michael's College , Image , Web Only
Sunday, January 29, 2017
They took to the streets two days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that suspended the refugee resettlement program and the entry into the U.S. of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Syria, Libya and Somalia.
The crowd assembled at the First Unitarian Universalist Society, then marched along Church Street to City Hall Park. Marchers stepped off singing "This Land is Your Land," and then chanted: "No hate! No fear! Refugees are welcome here!"
Several speakers addressed the crowd at the park, including Mayor Miro Weinberger; Susan Sussman, a caseworker from Senator Patrick Leahy's (D-Vt.) office; Jay Diaz, a staff attorney with the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union; and Community College of Vermont student Zeinab Bulle.
Tags: Donald Trump , refugees , immigration , Image , Web Only
Thursday, January 26, 2017
But they may be disproportionately targeting minorities, it says.
In 2016, 21 percent of arrestees were not white, and 24 percent of the people that police used force against were not white.
Those figures have held relatively steady since 2012, according to the report. Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo said the gap is "relatively small," and "may not be statistically significant."
But department officials acknowledge one worrisome statistic: Nonwhites in Burlington were 37 percent more likely to have a firearm pointed at them than whites, according to the department's analysis of six years worth of data documenting when officers use or threaten to use force.
Tags: Burlington police , use of force , law enforcement , bias , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
“The airport will continue to administer the program until we bring it to an end,” Richards told Seven Days Tuesday.
The resolution does little more than create anxiety for neighbors who want to sell, he added.
“We’ve had people crying and we’ve had people really stressed out about this,” Richards said. “It’s unfortunate.”
Tags: Burlington International Airport , F-35 , noise , South Burlington , Gene Richards , Image , Web Only
The majority of business owners, residents and councilors who testified at the meeting praised a scaled-back plan from New Moran, Inc. Tad Cooke, Erick Crockenberg and Charlie Tipper hope to break ground on the $15.4 million project by the end of 2017. A previous iteration from the same trio had a price tag of $34 million.
First, the group must get approval from the city. The Community and Economic Development Office will spend the next three months reviewing the plan.
Tags: Moran Plant , Noelle MacKay , New Moran , Inc. , Tad Cooke , Erick Crockenberg , Charlie Tipper , Image , Web Only
Friday, January 20, 2017
The blue velvet dress and matching wool coat that Ivanka Trump’s daughter wore at a pre-inauguration event Thursday is one of 11 pieces that former Charlotte resident and Saint Michael’s College grad Kate Bowen designed for the festivities.
Accompanying her parents and grandfather, Donald Trump, 5-year-old Arabella Kushner wore the blue ensemble to the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery Thursday. Seeing the outfit on TV was a thrill, said Bowen, in a telephone interview with Seven Days.
“Oh my gosh, I, like, couldn’t breathe for a minute. I was so excited.”
It’s possible that little Arabella will wear another Bowen-designed outfit to the post-inaugural prayer service at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Saturday.
Bowen founded her company, Petit Peony, when she and her husband were living on a dirt road in Charlotte, having moved to the town in 2013. Two of Bowen’s three young children had been born and it seemed like a good time to pick up a needle and thread.
“I was staying at home and that’s when I took up sewing, sewing my daughter’s clothing and it turned into a business,” Bowen said.
One of the investors in Petit Peony knew Ivanka Trump, herself a clothing designer, and she became a customer, said Bowen.
Bowen lived in Charlotte for three years before moving with her family to Duxbury, Mass., last June.
When Ivanka Trump called to see if Bowen was interested in designing outfits for the inauguration, she jumped at the chance. She flew to New York three times for fittings with Arabella and also designed inaugural rompers and pint-sized coats for her little brothers, ages 3 and 9 months.
In all cases, Ivanka Trump wanted “traditional, classic, tailored pieces,” said Bowen, who declined to say how much the garments cost.
The former Vermont resident, who grew up outside of Albany, N.Y., says she chooses not to mix fashion with politics. Bowen wouldn’t say whether she voted for Ivanka Trump’s dad, newly-sworn-in President Donald Trump.
“I don’t discuss my political views,” said Bowen, but added that she likes what Ivanka Trump stands for.
“I think her taking a leap of faith and reaching out to a small designer says something about her.”
Tags: Donald Trump , Vermont , Ivanka Trump , Petit Peony , Image , Web Only
Reaction was swift as the post went viral. The 44-year-old Burlington woman says she has been deluged with death threats, upward of 300 per hour.
The phone calls come from across the country, originating in states such as Texas, Illinois, Indiana, New York and South Carolina. She doesn’t answer the phone, which rings incessantly, but the callers leave voicemails saying some of the most nasty things imaginable.
“Go to hell, you’re a nasty woman,” one man hissed. “Oh haha, get a sense of humor! No shut the fuck up with your racist fucking jokes, bitch. Fuck you! I can’t wait for you to fucking die and go to hell. But I’m not going to do that; you’re just going to do that on your own you fucking son of a bitch, kill yourself.”
Tags: Heather Wick , Burlington , racism , Shawn Burke , FBI , Burlington police , Image
Thursday, January 19, 2017
“I view the position of State’s Attorney to be a non-partisan role, best filled by someone with a strong moral compass,” George, who has served as a deputy prosecutor since 2011, said in a prepared statement. “That is how I will approach this position, as I work to speak for — and fight on behalf of — victims and the community.”
George replaces former Chittenden County State’s Attorney T.J. Donovan, who won election as Attorney General in November. George will serve the remaining two years of Donovan’s four year term. She is a graduate of the University of Connecticut and Vermont Law School.
Tags: Sarah George , Phil Scott , Bram Kranichfeld , Chittenden County State's Attorney , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Seven Days obtained the agreement under a public records request earlier this month. The authority initially denied access to the pact. Seven Days was successful in appealing to BHA board chair Mike Knauer, citing state law that says compensation to public employees is a matter of public record.
Zumbrun’s rocky tenure at the public housing agency began April 1, 2016. He was placed on paid leave October 20 and resigned in December.
“BHA does acknowledge that it would have terminated Mr. Zumbrun for cause if he had not resigned and that he did not engage in misconduct or gross misconduct,” the signed agreement reads.
Zumbrun will be paid $100 an hour for any additional work he performs for the authority, the largest provider of subsidized rental housing in the region.
Zumbrun declined to comment Wednesday.
Tags: Burlington Housing Authority , Craig Zumbrun , Allyson Laackman , Christopher Barrett , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Members of the Coalition for a Livable City, a group that has opposed the mall plan, may adopt the label and dub themselves the “reactionary fringe,” said John Franco. He’s a veteran of the mayoral administrations of Peter Clavelle and Bernie Sanders, and an attorney who is representing the coalition.
“Trash talk doesn’t usually end well,” Franco said. The remarks will come back to haunt the mayor, he predicted.
Independent city council candidate Genese Grill, who is also a member of the CLC, characterized Weinberger’s comments as inaccurate and misdirected.
“In calling everyone who was against his rezoning of the downtown core a ‘reactionary fringe,’ Mayor Weinberger has insulted almost half of the people in this city,” Grill wrote in an email to Seven Days. In response, Grill is inviting others to join her in protest at next week’s city council meeting.
Tags: Burlington Democratic Party , Burlington Progressive Party , Mayor Miro Weinberger , Genese Grill , Jane Knodell , John Franco , Town Meeting Day 2017 , Image , Web Only