Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Douglas Wolinsky will temporarily manage the Homestead at Harborview in St. Albans. Since last week, he has been overseeing the three other properties: the Homestead at Pillsbury in St. Albans and Pillsbury Manor South and Allenwood at Pillsbury, both in South Burlington.
Combined, they house some 200 seniors.
Andrew White, the founder of East Lake Capital Management, which owns the properties, was not present at a Montpelier court hearing Wednesday morning on the merits of the receivership. State officials allege that complaints about his facilities included lack of staffing and adequate food. Residents and their family members had complained that White was not cashing rent checks for months.
Tags: Senior care , Vermont , Andrew White , Pillsbury Manor South , Homestead at Harborview , Homestead at Pillsbury , Allenwood at Pillsbury , Image , Web Only
Friday, November 9, 2018
Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan said Allenwood at Pillsbury Manor and Pillsbury Manor South, both in South Burlington, and Homestead at Pillsbury in St. Albans were in control of a receiver tasked with stabilizing the homes’ finances and keeping them open.
“When you talk about running out of food, that’s when you gotta step in and protect people,” Donovan said. “And that’s what we did.”
Tags: Andrew White , TJ Donovan , East Lake Capital Management , Allenwood , Homestead at Pillsbury , Pillsbury Manor South , St. Albans , South Burlington , elder care , independent living , Monica Hutt , Image , Web Only
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Protesters chanted, "Two, four, six, eight, we want Mueller to investigate," and "Let Bob do his job," as they marched a winding route through downtown Burlington. Police escorted the protest, which blocked rush hour traffic. Some drivers honked in support of the demonstrators as they passed.
Tags: Senator , Nobody Is Above the Law , protest , Burlington , Robert Appel , Ryan McLaren , Peter Welch , John Tracy , Patrick Leahy , Jessica Early , Bernie Sanders , Donald Trump , Jeff Sessions , Matthew Whitaker , Madeleine Kunin , Image , Web Only
In an interview Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) would not say whether Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) should reclaim the speaker's gavel. Welch said he had not committed, publicly or privately, to back Pelosi or any potential challenger.
"At this point, what I want is to make certain we get some reforms [to the legislative process] that'll apply whoever is speaker," he said.
Pelosi, the only declared candidate, served as speaker during Welch's first two terms in office, from 2007 through 2010. Now that Democrats are poised to control the House for the first time in eight years, she is hoping to return to the post.
Tags: Peter Welch , Nancy Pelosi , Congress , U.S. Rep. , Vermont , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
"Good riddance!" Welch said. "This guy is the worst attorney general in my lifetime. I mean, he's the enforcer of family separation, condones voter suppression, the Muslim ban. This guy's absolutely awful."
But Welch, who won his seventh term in Congress the day before, does have one fear: "President Trump is pretty good at finding bad people, and he might replace [Sessions] with somebody that's worse."
For now, Sessions' chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, will serve as acting attorney general, according to the White House. He will oversee Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and allegations of obstruction of justice by the president and his associates.
That has Welch and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) worried, because Whitaker has supported defunding the investigation and limiting its scope. Both men said Wednesday that Whitaker should steer clear of the Mueller probe.
"I am strongly in favor of him recusing himself," Welch said. "It would be a way of him providing more reassurance that they're not going to mess with Mueller."
Vermont's third member of Congress, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), did not respond to an interview request.
Tags: Senator , Patrick Leahy , Peter Welch , Bernie Sanders , Jeff Sessions , Matthew Whitaker , Image , Web Only
By Wednesday afternoon, he decided to embrace the victory after all. Bissonnette announced that he will keep the seat, changing his plan to move out of Winooski this year and retire.
"I told people not to vote for me," 73-year-old Bissonnette explained to Seven Days. "Seeing I still got elected, it seems to me that the people want me to go back to Montpelier."
The Democratic lawmaker won a primary in August. But the next month, he announced his intention to retire to the Northeast Kingdom, where he and his wife, Sharon, had purchased a home. He resigned from the House. He told voters he didn't really want to be on the ballot — but it was too late to remove his name.
If he were not willing to serve, Republican Gov. Phil Scott would appoint someone to the seat. Now, that won't happen.
That's a double blow for Hal Colston.
He's the Winooski Democrat who decided to wage a write-in campaign for Bissonnette's seat. Colston, who ran a successful write-in campaign to get on the Winooski City Council in March, didn't manage a repeat this week.
The write-in votes totaled 939, while Bissonnette collected 1,184 votes and incumbent Rep. Diana González (P/D-Winooski) received 1,824 votes.
That tally gave González and Bissonnette return tickets to Montpelier — even though political observers assumed Bissonnette would decline the trip.
Colston said Wednesday that he had hoped, if he failed at the polls, to be considered for an appointment to the seat. Now that's not an option. But Colston still wants to go to Montpelier. "I'm interested in serving and I'll be running in the next election, on the ballot," Colston said.
Colston said he was pleased with the support he got as a write-in candidate. "I'm not feeling too shabby," he said.
"I wish him well," he said of Bissonnette.
The change of heart for Bissonnette came as the results filtered in Tuesday night.
"I did not campaign," he said. "I did not spend a cent on the election. The people still elected me."
He entered local politics in 1970 and has served as city councilor, mayor and legislator for the Onion City.
He and his wife aren't planning to sell their Winooski home until the spring of 2019, Bissonnette said. He might then rent a room in Winooski to finish out his term in the legislature. It's also possible he would resign before the full two years is up, he said.
Bissonnette said he is sure he's heading to the Statehouse in January.
He said, "We're going to Montpelier and we're going to take it day by day.’’
Tags: Winooski , politics , Clem Bissonette , Hal Colston , Diana González , Image , Web Only
According to data from the Secretary of State's Office, about 279,806 Vermonters cast ballots, roughly 57 percent of registered voters in the state.
Before Tuesday, the record high for a Vermont midterm came in 2006, when 262,568 people — 60.56 percent of registered voters at the time — cast ballots in the final midterms of president George W. Bush's tenure.
Secretary of State Jim Condos, who oversees Vermont’s elections, confirmed that 2018 may set a record for the most ballots cast in a midterm, but said the election likely won't set a record in terms of turnout percentage. He said that’s because the number of registered voters in Vermont is steadily rising.
Tags: Jim Condos , Terje Anderson , voter turnout , Donald Trump , motor voter , automatic voter registration , same-day voter registration , Image , Web Only
What else happened in Vermont on Election Day 2018? Seven Days has you covered. Click the links below or read on for our full coverage:
- Vermont Gov. Phil Scott Elected to Second Term
- Bernie Sanders Wins Third Term to U.S. Senate
- Zuckerman, Down-Ballot Democrats Win Vermont’s Statewide Races
- Walters: Democrats Gain Ground in Vermont Legislature
- Burlington, South Burlington Voters Approve Big Bonds at Polls
- Mr. Popularity: Scott Stands Alone on Bad Night for Republicans
Tags: Senator , Phil Scott , Christine Hallquist , David Zuckerman , Don Turner , T.J. Donovan , Janssen Willhoit , Bernie Sanders , Peter Welch , Mitzi Johnson , Kurt Wright , Slideshow , Image , Web Only
Big number, big question, big win.
The $70 million bond to rebuild Burlington High School passed resoundingly with 73.8 percent of the vote Tuesday. After all wards were tallied, the measure passed by a count of 13,383 to 4,734.
Although the price tag seemed scary to some residents, school and city officials got behind the proposal and, ultimately, so did voters.
"I voted yes," registered nurse Hannah Warren said while at the polls Tuesday. "I think investing in education is always beneficial for our community. The high school could definitely use some love."
Tags: Burlington , South Burlington , politics , bond votes , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, a Progressive and Democrat, will return to the Statehouse for a second two-year term.
The organic farmer from Hinesburg beat out Rep. Don Turner (R-Milton), the House minority leader, in the race for Vermont's No. 2 job. With all but six precincts reporting late Tuesday night, Zuckerman led Turner 57 percent to 39 percent.
Tags: David Zuckerman , Don Turner , lieutenant governor , election , 2018 , Image , Slideshow , Web Only