Thursday, June 6, 2019
Gov. Phil Scott has asked Attorney General T.J. Donovan to review the decision to dismiss charges in three major cases involving insanity defenses, two of which involved gruesome murders in broad daylight in Burlington.
Scott said he was “at a loss as to the logic or strategy” behind the decision by Chittenden County State's Attorney Sarah George not to prosecute the defendants in the three cases, all of whom claimed they were insane at the time of their crimes.
“These cases are among the most violent crimes committed in Vermont in recent memory, and with their dismissal, there is no longer a possibility of supervision by the Department of Corrections or conditions of release to protect Vermonters,” Scott wrote in his letter.
Tags: Sarah George , Burlington , Phil Scott , TJ Donovan , cleaver , stabbing , insanity , Miro Weinberger , Brandon del Pozo , Web Only , Image
Scott praised Gobeille for two signal accomplishments: straightening out the troubled Vermont Health Connect, which was a mess inherited from the administration of governor Peter Shumlin, and holding the line on the Human Services budget.
Gobeille will return to Gobeille Hospitality, the Burlington restaurant business he operates with his wife, Kim. "I'll be making creemees and washing dishes," he joked.
Gobeille said the decision had been in the works "for the last few weeks." When asked why now, Gobeille said, "There is no good time to leave, but it's not good to leave during an election year or legislative session, or when the agency is developing a budget. That leaves June and July."
Scott mentioned that he expected "a return to public service" by Gobeille at some point in the future, which prompted a question about plans to run for elective office. "Not against him," Gobeille said, pointing to Scott.
Tags: Al Gobeille , Phil Scott , Martha Maksym , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
The Senate had hoped that House members, frustrated by the collapse of negotiations on a minimum wage and paid family and medical leave package, would reconsider their abrupt Friday decision to adjourn until January 7.
Alas, it was not to be.
“We are sorry that we had to ask you to come back for this,” Senate Majority Leader Becca Balint (D-Windham) told her colleagues during a caucus before the brief afternoon floor session, “but it felt important enough for us to leave that possibility open.”
Tags: Vermont , legislature , Senate , House , Phil Scott , governor , Mitzi Johnson , Tim Ashe , Web Only , Image
Saturday, May 25, 2019
At a rally on the Statehouse lawn, Sanders thanked "the people of the state of Vermont, who have given me an opportunity that, when I was a kid, I never would've dreamed of in a million years." Serving as mayor of Burlington and then in the U.S. House and Senate had been "the honor of my life," he said, "and I thank you all."
Sanders used his Montpelier homecoming to hail "the history of our small but proud state," asserting that it had "held its head high in the struggle for human freedom and justice." He also used it to highlight his own accomplishments in Vermont: helping to establish the Burlington Community Land Trust, build a network of community health centers and improve care for veterans.
"And now, as we assemble today here in front of our beautiful state capitol in this pivotal and unprecedented moment in American history," he said, "I am here today to ask for your support to help me win the Democratic nomination."
Tags: Bernie Sanders , campaign , Election 2020 , Montpelier , rally , senator , Web Only , Image
Friday, May 24, 2019
A standoff between the Democratic leaders of the Vermont House and Senate deepened Friday as one chamber attempted to adjourn for the year and the other vowed to remain in session.
At issue were bills to raise Vermont’s minimum wage and enact a paid family and medical leave program. Though a majority of lawmakers in both chambers appeared to support the proposals, House and Senate leaders failed, after days of intense negotiations, to resolve remaining differences.
After declaring an impasse Friday afternoon, House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero) gaveled out her chamber and summoned Republican Gov. Phil Scott to deliver a customary end-of-session address. But the Senate had other ideas.
In an unexpected twist, Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) refused to adjourn for the year and scheduled another Senate session for next Wednesday. He called on House members to change their minds and return next week to reach a deal.
“We’ve created an opening,” Ashe said of his last-ditch legislative gambit, “and we believe it wouldn’t take much time really to close that last gap.”
On his way out of the Statehouse Friday evening, Scott shook his head in disbelief at the Dems’ disarray.
“It’s very bizarre,” said the governor, who has served in state government since 2001. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Tags: Mitzi Johnson , Tim Ashe , paid family leave , minimum wage , Phil Scott , Becca Balint , Alison Clarkson , Pattie McCoy , Web Only , Image
Thursday, May 23, 2019
Lawmakers eager to adjourn for the Memorial Day weekend found themselves waiting to see if Democratic leaders of the Senate and House could hammer out a grand compromise around their two remaining — some would say competing — legislative priorities.
Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) announced Thursday evening that negotiators were making “good progress” on “a few of the outstanding issues” and that it made sense for the Senate to adjourn until 10 a.m. Friday.
He cited a Senate colleague’s past advice that “sometimes the best thing to do is have a night’s sleep and make sure you don’t make any mistakes and come back fresh.”
Tags: paid family leave , minimum wage , Tim Ashe , Mitzi Johnson , Randy Brock , Pattie McCoy , Becca Balint , Web Only , Image
Lobbyists, reporters and observers spent the day searching desperately for scraps of information and trading rumors of dubious parentage. It was possible to hear completely contradictory tales within minutes of each other: Talks have broken off! A deal is imminent! They're still trying! They've given up!
Whenever negotiators showed their faces, they'd quick-walk down the hallway or march in a tight huddle or hunch over their smartphones. Anything to avoid the pleadings of the press corps.
Going into the day, the two chambers were at odds over fundamental aspects of the two issues. The House wanted a robust family leave program, while senators were deeply concerned about its cost. The Senate favored a substantial raise in the minimum wage and balked at a House version that charted a longer, less-certain course to the magic number of $15 an hour.
As evening drew nigh, both chambers adjourned for the night with lawmakers skedaddling and leaders saying as little as possible. We were assured that progress was being made, communication remained open and leadership was doing everything it can to make a deal.
Tags: Tim Ashe , Mitzi Johnson , Phil Scott , legislature , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
The House voted 133-5 to concur with the Senate changes, meaning the bill now heads to Gov. Phil Scott for his likely signature.
"It looks like we're in a good place," Scott's spokesperson, Rebecca Kelley, told Seven Days after the vote.
The governor had proposed funding clean water from existing estate tax revenues, and while he still needs to review the final details, Kelley said he's encouraged that the legislature has embraced a similar principle.
The plan would take 6 percent of existing room and meals tax revenue that is normally committed to the general fund and divert it to the state clean water fund. The move would raise $8 million during nine months of next year and $12 million for water projects each full year thereafter.
Lawmakers argued that the state can afford the additional spending because revenues are tracking $50 million higher than expected this year, with projections of at least $15 million of that increase to recur in future years.
Tags: clean water , Vermont , House , Senate , Phil Scott , governor , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Senators called it a compromise between the Senate’s original minimum wage bill, which would have hiked wages to $15 by 2024, and the House version, which would have tied increases to inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, times 2.25. The latter proposal would have resulted in a $15 wage a couple of years later.
“It seems to be, in my mind, a compromise to get some money in people’s pockets,” Sen. Michael Sirotkin (D-Chittenden).
The proposal passed the Senate 22-8 on Tuesday afternoon and was quickly sent to the House for consideration on Wednesday. Senate Republicans objected to the move, saying the last-minute measure was rushed and lacked thorough analysis.
“I feel blindsided by this,” Sen. Randy Brock (R-Franklin) said.
Tags: minimum wage , paid family leave , Michael Sirotkin , Randy Brock , Mitzi Johnson , Brenda Siegel , Charles Martin , Web Only , Image
The 11-member board voted 8-3 Monday afternoon to seek new applicants for the vacant seats, one based in Bennington County and the other in the Northeast Kingdom.
A majority of the board felt it had the discretion to reopen the process, while a minority expressed concerns that Vermont statute provided no such authority, according to JNB chair Eleanor Spottswood.
She stressed that the board did not simply cave to pressure from the governor but listened to testimony from Scott’s general counsel, Jaye Pershing Johnson, at a meeting in Rutland on Monday and made its own decision.
“We had a really interesting discussion,” Spottswood said.
Tags: Judicial Nominating Board , Phil Scott , Eleanor Spottswood , Jaye Pershing Johnson , Marilyn Skoglund , gender balance , Web Only , Image