Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Toensing had already split his time between Vermont and Washington, D.C., where he works at a law firm owned by his mother, Victoria Toensing, and step-father, Joseph diGenova. Toensing is leaving the firm and giving up his Vermont residency to live full-time in D.C.
The 51-year-old attorney declined to share additional details about his new job because the Department of Justice has strict policies governing who can publicly speak about its operations. According to the mission statement of the Office of Legal Policy, it is responsible for implementing criminal justice policies and advising the attorney general on policy matters.
Tags: Brady Toensing , Deb Billado , Vermont Republican Party , Donald Trump , Department of Justice , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
The increased noise is a factor both of the basing of F-35 fighter jets at BTV and an anticipated increase in commercial flights arriving at and departing the airport. Nearby residents got a preview the F-35s' volume late last week, when four jets on their way overseas were diverted to the airport. Homeowners within these high-noise zones could be eligible for soundproofing grants. Airport officials say they will apply for funds to protect housing values in the coming years. Use the map below to examine the estimated noise exposure zones and to find out what addresses fall within the zones. (And don't worry: We won't log any data you enter here.)
Projected Noise Impact of the Burlington International Airport in 2023
Data: btvsound.com • Locations of addresses are based on Google estimates, and may not be exact.
Tags: F-35s , BTV , Burlington International Airport , Winooski , South Burlington , jet noise , Web Only , Image
Friday, May 31, 2019
Cynthea Hausman said she drained about $15,000 in savings before agreeing to settle her lawsuit in October 2018.
“I just ran out of money,” Hausman told Seven Days on Thursday.
Tags: Cannabeat , Cynthea Hausman , Joel Bedard , Vermont Hemp Company , Katherine Desmond , hemp , cannabis , Vermont , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Ariel Quiros, 63, and Bill Stenger, 70, stand accused of misleading foreign investors and EB-5 program regulators in order to embezzle millions meant for a biotechnology business in Newport that they proposed but never seriously pursued. Two of their business partners face indictments as well.
The men were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, wire fraud and making false statements. Quiros, who federal authorities painted as the ringleader, was also charged with money laundering in connection with a $6 million payment to the Internal Revenue Service and the purchase of a $46,000 Jeep Rubicon.
The EB-5 projects brought in hundreds of millions of dollars from investors, much of which was used not to create jobs in the Northeast Kingdom, but to enrich the four men, authorities allege. In a civil lawsuit brought in 2016, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission described the projects as "Ponzi-like."
Tags: EB-5 , Bill Stenger , Ariel Quiros , Newport , AnC Bio , Vermont , Jong Weon Choi , William Kelly , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Fifty or so picketers bearing LGBTQ pride flags, bodysuits and hoodies flanked the entrance to the Expo grounds in an eccentric, polite protest of the preacher's anti-gay positions. One man played an accordion.
Rebecca Roose tied a pride flag around her neck like a cape and held a fluorescent sign that offered "Free hugs for sinners."
"I don't believe in the hate he is spewing, and I needed to do something, even though I have protest fatigue," she said.
Tags: Franklin Graham , Decision America Tour , LGBTQ , Champlain Valley Expo , Web Only , Image
Monday, May 20, 2019
Graham, son of the late Billy Graham, preaches a politicized form of evangelical Christianity that's outspokenly anti-LGBTQ. He's also described Islam as an "evil" religion and suggested that God helped President Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016. He supports so-called conversion therapy.
"He's not just a Christian evangelist," said protest organizer Carol Price, of Bristol. "He does have an underside, and that is hate speech and intolerance."
Tags: Franklin Graham , Decision America , homophobia , Islamophobia , Champlain Valley Exposition , Carol Price , Web Only , Image
It will have showers, public bathrooms, and a store, and will add boat slips to a waterfront where they are in short supply. The facility will entice more of the boaters who visit the area to stick around, said Burlington Harbor Marina co-owner and codeveloper Jack Wallace.
"There's a lot of boaters from Canada that cruise the lake," Wallace said at the site on Friday, as a crane lifted sections of floating dock into place.
The Lake Champlain marina is near the U.S. Coast Guard Station and the Burlington fishing pier. About 60 slips will be available for "transient" boaters who want to drop by for a day or a weekend. Of the remaining 100 slips, about 70 are booked for the season, which will run roughly from mid-May to mid-October.
Tags: Burlington Harbor Marina , Burlington , Lake Champlain , boating , Web Only , Image
Friday, May 17, 2019
Rep. Chris Bates (D-Bennington) was convicted of aggravated DUI in 2012, according to McHenry County, Ill., court records obtained by Seven Days. The charge stemmed from a 2010 arrest.
It was his third DUI, making it a felony.
Bates pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a lighter form of probation called conditional discharge. But the state sought to revoke the sentence in October 2013 because Bates missed a court date and failed to pay all fees. A judge issued a warrant for Bates' arrest that remains active, though Vermont is not among the states from which he may be extradited.
Tags: Christopher Bates , Kevin Hoyt , DUI , Vermont House of Representatives , arrest warrants , Bennington , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Last June, the Burlington School District had a small but potentially costly decision to make. Adam Provost, the Burlington Technical Center's interim director, had resigned in January 2018 after months on administrative leave, citing medical reasons. Seven Days requested a copy of the resignation agreement between Provost and the district.
District officials believed the resignation agreement was a public document. Provost did not, and he threatened to sue the district if it gave the unredacted agreement to Seven Days.
Rather than respond to the records request, the district asked a judge to decide, by making what in legal parlance is known as a request for declaratory judgment.
Tags: public records , Burlington School District , Adam Provost , Seven Days , Supreme Court , Web Only , Image
Friday, May 3, 2019
The medical marijuana business Champlain Valley Dispensary allegedly outsourced the growth of approximately 300 cannabis plants to a farm that wasn't licensed to grow pot, which grew them to maturity before the dispensary returned to harvest the crop.
A lab test conducted last fall by the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets found that a piece of plant debris recovered at Pete’s Greens vegetable farm in Craftsbury contained 21 percent THC, the psychoactive compound found in marijuana.
The farm had a license to grow hemp plants, according to an agency document, but the legal limit for THC in Vermont-grown hemp is 0.3 percent. Plants with a higher concentration of THC are considered marijuana and are subject to strict growing regulations that require a permit, locked facilities and other security measures.
Tags: Cannabeat , marijuana , cannabis , medical marijuana , diversion , Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets , Department of Public Safety , Cary Giguere , Champlain Valley Dispensary , Pete's Greens , Web Only , Image