Thursday, November 12, 2015
William D. Schenk, 21, who recently relocated from North Carolina, was arrested in Morrisville Thursday afternoon and was charged with two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct. The charges are considered hate crimes, which bring enhanced penalties — Schenk faces up to two years and 60 days on each charge.
"Oftentimes because of freedom of speech, people are allowed to discuss, rightfully, issues that make other people uncomfortable," Donovan said during a press conference. "This incident does not pass the freedom of speech test. It was a threat because of the history of the KKK, a history of violence and murder ... and hate."
Tags: Burlington , KKK , William Schenk , T.J. Donovan , Brandon del Pozo , Image , Web Only
“We're not booking the gym," Burlington Parks and Recreation director Jesse Bridges said Thursday, adding that the main reason for the decision is "so that we can wind down in order to make a decision about repair or reuse.”
The winter farmers market on Saturdays, Parks and Recreation basketball programs and other previously booked events will take place as scheduled, Bridges said. Events at 242 Main and the Burlington Generator space will also continue.
But the big auditorium space will be dark on First Night. Circus Smirkus, which normally performs in the auditorium during the city's big New Year's Even celebration, will perform in the Flynn Center this year. And it's unclear what the future will hold for the venue, where artists including Frank Zappa, K.D. Lang and B.B. King have performed.
Tags: Burlington , concerts , Memorial Auditorium , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Bowing to concerns voiced by artists and other South End locals about gentrification, both Mayor Miro Weinberger and the entire Burlington City Council in recent weeks declared their opposition to allowing housing in the corridor.
But that didn’t stop the Planning Commission from continuing the debate on Tuesday night.
Commission members Emily Lee, Jennifer Wallace-Brodeur and Lee Buffington called the proposal, which would allow for studios where artists could both live and work, a “win-win.”
“The intent of this proposal is to narrowly focus on strengthening the arts district by increasing studio space and providing affordable housing units for artists,” they wrote in a memo. “It is not intended to introduce or revisit the broader issue of housing of all types or price points.”
Tags: Burlington , South End , artists , Miro Weinberger , Image , Web Only
A revised design for the Burlington Town Center should be coming soon, and the mayor said he looks forward to a makeover of what "is essentially a suburban mall dropped down on the rest of our downtown."
And one more thing - save the date for Nov. 30. The city is holding a 7 p.m. public meeting on the proposed Champlain Parkway at Champlain School.
These news tidbits came up during Weinberger's constituent coffee klatch in the South End Tuesday morning. About 20 people showed for the 8 a.m. gathering to sip java and nosh bagels (not taxpayer-funded) at Feldman's on Pine Street. Outside, the sun shone on a rush-hour parade of cars, cyclists and school children on foot, while inside the mayor chatted about bike lanes, housing and lead abatement. Opinions flowed with the caffeinated beverages.
UVM sometimes acts as a "bully" in the community, and the mayor should push hard on the University to house more of its students, suggested Keith Pillsbury, a Ward 8 resident and former city school board member. Pillsbury said, "They are not going to do it unless there is political pressure to do it."
Tags: Burlington , politics , development , Mayor Weinberger , Image , Web Only
A detective on Monday interviewed the man, who admitted distributing the fliers, police said. Chittenden County State's Attorney T.J. Donovan is weighing whether to charge him with a crime, police said.
The man is cooperating with police, and his statements have been corroborated with video and fingerprint evidence, police said. Because he has not been charged with a crime, police said, they are refraining from revealing who he is.
Tags: Burlington police , KKK , Brandon del Pozo , T.J. Donovan , Image , Web Only
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Families and children gathered outside the Allen Street school that houses the program and shared stories about what it has meant to them.
Those who run it learned October 1 that its application for close to a half million dollars through the federal New Pathways for Fathers and Families "Dads" grant — a grant they've gotten for nine years — was turned down. The Family Room has since cut three veteran workers and reduced its programs. The Family Room is part of the Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties.
The Family Room's parent advisory council has organized three public meetings to discuss raising funds to restore the staff and programs.
Tags: Family Room , VNA , Visiting Nurse Association , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
At 9 a.m. Sunday — one year before Election Day 2016 — Shutesbury, Mass., resident Peter Corbett will set out from Burlington on his unicycle and start pedaling toward the White House, 550 miles away, in hope of raising money for Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign, he says. "1 Wheel, 1 Nation, Government 4 All," he's dubbed the effort.
Corbett, 57, a Burlington native, plans to cover 25 miles a day and arrive in D.C. during the first weekend in December. He's hoping to raise money from curious passersby and internet fans, and be joined on the road by people using cars, motorcycles, unicycles, "fast pogo sticks" and whatever else they can use to keep up.
For each $100 he raises, Corbett says, he will put a ping-pong ball into his backpack, which, he hopes, will eventually swell into a ... wait for it ... super pack! Get it? (The Federal Election Commission did not comment on Corbett's plan, probably because we felt too self conscious to call and ask about it.)
Tags: Senator , Bernie Beat , Bernie Sanders , fundraising , Presidential Campaign , Image , Recommended Reading , Video , Web Only
Monday, November 2, 2015
Two Burlington police officers were legally justified in shooting and wounding a distraught Colchester man who threatened to kill police and brandished a rifle during a two-hour standoff in September, Chittenden County State’s Attorney T.J. Donovan said Monday.
Detective Richard Volp and Sgt. Brian LaBarge fired 15 shots at James Hemingway, 20.
“It’s clear that criminal charges … are not supported,” Donovan said during a press conference. Attorney General Bill Sorrell also cleared the officers of wrongdoing on Monday.
Volp and LaBarge turned off their body cameras prior to the shooting, fearing that the red light that indicates the cameras are activated would give away their location, Donovan said.
But Vermont Public Radio's Taylor Dobbs reported that the officers could have simply turned off the light without shutting down the camera. The camera's instruction manual has a section entitled “Turning off the Camera LEDs,” which explains, "for some situations, you may wish to turn off the lights on your camera.”
In response to the VPR story, Donovan told the radio station that he would review the statements that Volp and LaBarge gave to Vermont State Police about the shooting to see if they were "inaccurate."
Tags: Burlington police , T.J. Donovan , James Hemingway , body cameras , Jennifer Morrison , Image , Web Only
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Activists have asked the high court to hear their appeal of a March Vermont Supreme Court ruling, which said the airport did not need to obtain state land use permits to base the new jets at the airport.
The case is a long-shot to be argued in Washington, D.C.: The U.S. Supreme Court accepts about 1 percent of appeals annually.
But James Dumont, the Bristol attorney who represents the anti-F-35 activists, said the appeal was worth filing. "We respectfully disagree with the [Vermont] Supreme Court's opinion, and if possible, we'd like the nine justices of the Supreme Court to disagree."
The appeal was drafted by D.C. attorney David Frederick, along with a professor and students at the University of Texas School of Law.
Tags: F-35 , Burlington International Airport , James Dumont , Vermont Supreme Court , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Shortly after the press conference, a trio of park hangers-on weighed in on the plans for a new splash fountain, performance stage, walkways and outdoor cafe. They were drinking and smoking on the back steps of City Hall in a cold, late-afternoon drizzle and looking out at the square of green that serves as downtown's outdoor living room.
A new fountain would be great, said George Josler, but "you have to have a sign that says: 'No Bums Bathing.'"
He and two friends, all of them formerly homeless, but now with secure housing, didn't disagree with the subtle yet clear sentiments city leaders expressed at the announcement, revealing hopes that the renovation will bring wholesome activity to the park and discourage fights, drunkenness and drugs.
The park habitues liked the idea of more events and more police presence. The current scene at the park isn't as bad as some might think, though, they said. "Nobody's injecting things here," Josler said. "Nobody's snorting."
The big redo is scheduled to start in summer 2017.
Tags: Burlington , Tony Pomerleau , City Hall Park , Image , Web Only