Tuesday, February 20, 2018
About 150 people, mostly University of Vermont students, gathered outside of the Waterman Building Tuesday afternoon to decry school administrators' response to campus racism.
The event kicked off with an address by John Mejia, a UVM staffer who has vowed to remain on a hunger strike until the university and the city of Burlington address a list of nine demands.
"As a non-black person of color, my place here is not to speak for my black family members," Mejia told the crowd. "My place here is as an accomplice, to throw my body into the twin, heartless gears of white supremacy and anti-black racism that run this city and university — to force them to grind to a halt."
Tags: John Mejia , Black Lives Matter , University of Vermont , Tom Sullivan , Ebony Nyoni , Infinite Culcleasure , mayor , Burlington , Annie Stevens , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan posted hundreds of his office’s documents online in a transparency campaign launched this week. The goal, Donovan said Tuesday, is to publish every public records request received by the office, along with its responses.
“If we’re going to release it to somebody, let’s release it to everybody,” he said.
The system is already online, showing some requests from 2018. Donovan's office said Tuesday that all of the records from 2017 are posted.*
“On average last year, we did one [records request] every three days,” Donovan said. “We produced over 10,000 pages of records.”
Tags: TJ Donovan , transparency , Brady Toensing , Jay Diaz , ACLU , public records , Image , Web Only
Monday, February 12, 2018
Porter made his decision partly in response to criticism over his late-night remarks about alleged racial bias and potential conflicts of interest at a recent school board meeting, he told Seven Days on Monday.
"I'm obviously not impartial, which is really something that the board chair has to be, because you have to represent 11 other people," Porter said. He added: "I just felt it best to step back and be fair and let everybody else have their say also." But Porter said he will continue to express his opinions. "I don’t want to be quiet anymore," he said.
Tags: Burlington , school board , Town Meeting Day , Mark Porter , Stephanie Seguino , Jeff Wick , Image , Web Only
“There were no guarantees with respect to definitive timelines, whether the crop could be sold at a profit or whether the crop could be sold at all,” wrote attorney Erin Miller Heins in a response posted on Vermont Hemp’s Facebook page. “Obviously, the ability to sell into the marketplace depends on market demand and the quality of the harvested crop, variables that are often unknown [at] the time of planting.”
Cynthea Hausman filed a suit last month alleging that the company's founder, Joel Bedard, guaranteed she’d make at least $45,000 on the sale of seven acres of hemp she grew on her family farm in Addison. Instead, she alleges, the company harvested the crop in late October and has yet to pay her any money. Hausman also claims she’s asked the company to return her hemp so she can sell it herself.
Tags: Cannabeat , hemp , Vermont Hemp Company , Joel Bedard , Cynthea Hausman , Image , Web Only
Saturday, February 10, 2018
In the end, the hate group never showed.
The crowd of approximately 150 people instead held a rally of its own, waving signs declaring support for minorities and immigrants while denouncing the alt-right Patriot Front group.
On Friday, word spread on social media that Patriot Front members planned to assemble Saturday at the Staples Plaza near the Burlington-South Burlington city line. Widely shared posts blamed the group for racist flyers posted around Burlington. Patriot Front claims credit on the internet for posters and banners hung in communities around the country.
A group of counter-protesters began circulating a call to arms, encouraging a peaceful rally of their own.
By 10:30 a.m., the large crowd, armed with signs, banners and even a sousaphone, lined the busy road at the plaza, not far from Interstate 89. Cars honked in support as the crowd waved. Several South Burlington police officers surveyed the scene from nearby.
Click below to see pictures of the crowd:
Tags: Anti-fascist , Burlington , rally , photos , Image , Slideshow , Web Only
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Ebony Nyoni submitted the necessary signatures to meet the filing requirements, Winooski city manager Jessie Baker confirmed Wednesday morning, ahead of a 4:30 p.m. deadline.
The racial justice activist is unopposed for a seat on the council that serves the 7,100-person city adjacent to Burlington.
Tags: Winooski , Black Lives Matter , Town Meeting Day , Ebony Nyoni , Winooski City Council , Image , Web Only
Monday, January 29, 2018
Waterbury-based Keurig Green Mountain will merge with soft drink giant Dr Pepper Snapple Group, the companies announced Monday morning.
Keurig will stay in the Green Mountain State, according to the announcement, and its CEO, Bob Gamgort, will hold the same title with the new combined company, Keurig Dr Pepper. Gamgort will be based in Burlington, Mass.
The two beverage companies combined earned an estimated $11 billion in revenue during 2017. Keurig makes popular single-serving coffee makers and includes Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in its empire. JAB Holding acquired the born-in-Vermont Keurig in March 2016 for $13.9 billion.
Tags: Keurig Green Mountain , Dr Pepper Snapple , merger , Image , Web Only
Friday, January 26, 2018
Records obtained by Seven Days show that Scott met with representatives of CoreCivic, formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America, during a February 2017 trip to Washington, D.C. According to Scott spokesperson Rebecca Kelley, the 15-minute meeting included CoreCivic's Ohio-based lobbyist, Dan Kaman, and the company's Vermont lobbyist, Andrew MacLean.
"I don't recall that there was any ask," the governor said. "They just wanted to say hello and wanted to have a chance to meet and congratulate me on the election."
Several months later, in July 2017, MacLean emailed the Vermont Department of Corrections to request a meeting with Commissioner Lisa Menard, according to separate records obtained by Seven Days. He wrote that CoreCivic had been "discussing different methods for financing the construction of human services infrastructure in Vermont." MacLean, who works for the Montpelier firm MMR, wrote that he had already spoken about the issue with Menard's boss, Secretary of Human Services Al Gobeille.
"As a result of that recent conversation with [Secretary] Gobeille, it was suggested that a meeting might be an efficient way for us to present ideas and thoughts about the best ways [for] the state to develop buildings and facilities to meet its needs," MacLean wrote.
Tags: CoreCivic , Department of Corrections , Al Gobeille , Phil Scott , Agency of Human Services , Image , Web Only
Thursday, January 25, 2018
The cut prompted concerns from Rep. David Yacovone (D-Morristown), who said it seems to contradict Scott’s governing platform of protecting Vermont’s most vulnerable.
“This is what’s most upsetting to me: It’s the fairness of, other people throughout this budget are going to get subsidies who have far more wealth, and yet these people are not,” Yacovone said of the disabled Vermonters using the Attendant Services Program.
Tags: Attendant Services Program , Phil Scott , governor , David Yacovone , Monica Hutt , budget , disability , Image , Web Only
Friday, January 12, 2018
Through his lawyer, Brooks McArthur, Shapiro denied any wrongdoing. McArthur issued a statement Friday that said Shapiro had expressed his displeasure with staff members over a serious "internal procedural error." As a result, one or more staffers filed a complaint with the Vermont Human Services Agency alleging that Shapiro created "a hostile or intimidating work environment," according to McArthur.
The public should understand that "this investigation and the allegations against him do not have any nexus to criminal activity nor involve any conduct of a sexual nature," McArthur's statement reads. "Dr. Shapiro will respect the investigative process and he looks forward to getting back to work."
Deputy Medical Examiner Elizabeth Bundock is handling some of Shapiro's responsibilities in the meantime. Shapiro went out on leave Tuesday.
Tags: University of Vermont Medical Center , medical examiner , Steven Shapiro , autopsies , Image , Web Only