Friday, June 29, 2018
“We are all kind of reeling here,” said retiree Chris Pratt. He had intended to live in the park until he dies, he wrote in an email to Seven Days.
Under Vermont law, mobile home residents have the right of first refusal if an owner decides to sell, and they are given 45 days to consider the purchase. Lakeview’s residents have a few extra days since the state has not yet received notice via certified mail, according to Arthur Hamlin, the state’s housing program coordinator for mobile home parks. If the occupants choose to make the purchase, they have an additional 120 days to appraise the land and negotiate with the owner.
Tags: housing , mobile homes , Trey Pecor , Lakeview Mobile Home Park , Image , Web Only
Thursday, June 28, 2018
United States Border Patrol agents have for years established temporary checkpoints along Interstate 91 in southern Vermont to ask motorists about their citizenship and where they’re going. Some are detained for additional questioning. Because the checkpoint is within 100 miles of the Canadian border, federal law allows agents to do that without a warrant.
Federal law gives authorities expanded power near the borders in order to protect national security. But Leahy said in a statement that a range of 100 miles from the border is unreasonable. The new legislation, cosponsored by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington), would shrink the that zone from 100 to 25 miles.
"[T]his 100-mile zone is neither limited nor reasonable," Leahy said. "It includes marine borders. At present, it encompasses almost two-thirds of the population of the United States. This includes major cities such as New York, Seattle, Chicago, New Orleans and Los Angeles, even the 'border town' of Richmond, Va., as well as entire states such as Maine, Delaware, and Florida."
Tags: Border Patrol , fourth amendment , customs , Patrick Leahy , Patty Murray , Danielle Rochford , Image , Web Only
The business, owned by Roland and Lisa Gaujac, will continue to operate under the terms of a June 7 settlement that the couple reached with neighbors Adrian and Alison Wolverton.
“We're so grateful that it's over," Lisa Gaujac told Seven Days Tuesday. "We just want to get back to focusing on our business."
The lawyer for the Wolvertons, James Dumont, did not return a message seeking comment from him and his clients.
Tags: Old Lantern , Judge Thomas S. Durkin , Roland Gaujac , Lisa Gaujac , Image , Web Only
So digital editor Andrea Suozzo turned those thousands of filings into a database: the Vermont Nonprofit Navigator. Our reporters and editors have been mining it in search of stories, looking for patterns and aberrations.
Now you can, too, at nonprofits.sevendaysvt.com.
The database is a valuable resource. You can search by name, location, assets and annual revenue. Look up categories of nonprofits, such as those dedicated to the environment, arts and animals. Check out board members. A click of the mouse reveals top salaries.
Tags: Give and Take , nonprofits , database , Seven Days , Vermont , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
“I won’t pursue my dream there, and so I’ll exit as it’s possible,” Hall said in an interview with Seven Days Wednesday. Valley News first reported that he was abandoning the plan.
Tags: David Hall , NewVistas , Kevin Ellis , Joseph Smith , Royalton , Tunbridge , Strafford , Sharon , Image , Web Only
Monday, June 25, 2018
Gov. Phil Scott announced late Monday night that he will allow the legislature's latest budget plan to become law, a decision that will prevent a July 1 government shutdown.
"I’m left with no choice but to allow [the budget] to become law without my signature," Scott said in a statement Monday evening.
The budget is largely the same as the one Scott vetoed June 14. The House passed the proposal Friday, then revoted on it Monday — and approved it again — after allegations of a procedural error. The votes came after a compromise deal that would have ended the impasse fell apart Friday.
Tags: Phil Scott , Mitzi Johnson , Tim Ashe , budget , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Employees were notified Wednesday of job reductions that were expected to trim about 130 people from the semiconductor plant's workforce of roughly 2,600.
"I've heard from affected workers that it happened today," Vermont Labor Commissioner Lindsay Kurrle told Seven Days Wednesday afternoon.
A company spokesman confirmed the layoffs in an email Wednesday but would not say how many workers lost their jobs. The company also sounded an ominous note about Vermont's high utility costs and suggested the expense could drive future investments to a rival plant in New York.
Tags: GlobalFoundries , Essex Junction , economy , IBM , layoffs , Lindsay Kurrle , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Some say they'll have nowhere to go, given the shortage of affordable housing in Chittenden County.
"They are going to make us homeless," predicted Jamie Thompson.
Thompson works as an aide for a special-needs child and has lived in a one-bedroom efficiency at the motel for three years, she said. She pays $500 a month, and so does her roommate, who Thompson said works at a gas station and a Dunkin' Donuts.
It will be very difficult to find an equivalent $1,000-a-month rental anywhere nearby, Thompson said.
"I don't know what's going to happen," she said. "I really don't. It's a scary thing."
Tags: South Burlington , housing , gas , Skip Vallee , Maple Leaf Motel , Ernest Hoechner , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
in South Burlington, the NBC affiliate announced Tuesday.
The station's Plattsburgh bureau will stay open, but the technical hub located there now will move to the new location in the Technology Park at 30 Community Drive in South Burlington. The move will happen by next spring.
The station, known as NBC5, also announced that it will open a new bureau in Lebanon, N.H., and close the one it currently runs on the Vermont side of the Connecticut River in White River Junction.
The station's workforce of roughly 90 employees in New York and Vermont won't change in size. But some jobs will move from New York to Vermont, said Justin Antoniotti, president and general manager of WPTZ and WNNE, which serves the Upper Valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire.
Tags: WPTZ , WNNE , NBC , South Burlington , Colchester , media , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
The storm-damaged Colchester Causeway is now expected to be repaired by early July. Ferry operator Local Motion announced Tuesday that it will offer daily service as soon as the repair work is done. That's a reversal from last month, when Local Motion announced that the boat rides would be canceled because most of the causeway was expected to be closed all summer.
The Vermont Transportation Agency agreed to fund and contract for the repairs to the popular path that juts out into Lake Champlain, easing the burden on the Town of Colchester.
Tags: Local Motion , bike ferry , Aaron Frank , Colchester , Island Line Trail , Image , Web Only