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Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Posted By on Tue, Mar 16, 2021 at 4:21 PM

Vermont Could Be 'Close to Normal' Around July 4, Scott Says
File: Jeb Wallace-Brodeur
Gov. Phil Scott and Health Commissioner Mark Levine at a previous briefing
With a healthy supply of vaccine headed Vermont's way, Gov. Phil Scott said on Tuesday that he expects the state to be close to normal around the Fourth of July, a dramatic improvement in expectations.

Hospitality businesses and the organizers of fairs and parades have been wondering if they’ll be able to host events at all this summer. And while Scott didn’t make any guarantees, he floated a hypothetical where most Vermonters would have received or been registered for a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of May. If that happens, summer could look more like it did in 2019, he said.

“There are a lot of things that come into play with this,” the governor cautioned.

“But from my standpoint, it’s almost like we’re back to where we were pre-pandemic in terms of having businesses open and being able to freely travel throughout the United States,” Scott said of midsummer during one of his twice-a-week COVID-19 briefing.

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Posted By on Tue, Mar 16, 2021 at 1:08 PM

Vermont Senate Approves Universal Mail-In Voting Bill
File: Eva Sollberger ©️ Seven Days
Voters will be able to fix mail-in ballot mistakes under a new bill.
The Vermont Senate on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to making mail-in ballots a permanent fixture in the state.

The bill, S.15, would require town clerks to mail ballots to all active, registered voters ahead of general elections — the same way the state handled last year's presidential election. Voters could then mail their ballots, deliver them to the polls or vote in person.

The bill passed on a voice vote, with only three of 30 senators opposed: Sen. Brian Collamore (R-Rutland), Sen. Joshua Terenzini (R-Rutland) and Sen. Russ Ingalls (R-Essex-Orleans).

After passage, Gov. Phil Scott said at an unrelated press conference that he supports the bill, though he would prefer to see the mail-in provision expanded to cover all elections. Senators on Wednesday are expected to debate a proposal to do just that. They would then give final approval to the bill and send it to the House.

Presenting the bill on the floor, Sen. Jeanette White (D-Windham) said mail-in voting increases participation without sacrificing security. She noted that 75 percent of more than 372,00 ballots cast last November were sent through the mail.

"Elections are the very cornerstone of our democracy," White said, "and the [basis] of the election is the individual's voice." 

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Friday, March 12, 2021

Posted By on Fri, Mar 12, 2021 at 11:13 AM

click to enlarge Senate Panel Advances Slimmed-Down Gun Restriction Legislation
File: Taylor Dobbs ©️ Seven Days
Sen. Phil Baruth, the bill's sponsor
A bill that would limit where people can carry guns in Vermont has passed a key Senate committee, but only after the panel slimmed down the proposal to cover just hospitals.

The bill, S.30, would have initially made it a misdemeanor crime to bring guns into hospitals, childcare facilities and publicly owned buildings. But the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday passed a version that applies only to hospitals while calling for a study of whether there's a need for greater restrictions at the Statehouse Capitol Complex.

The committee advanced the measure by a  3-1 margin, with the lone no vote cast by Sen. Joe Benning (R-Caledonia). The committee's actual split may have been even closer: Sen. Jeanette White (D-Windham) was absent because of an illness but had consistently expressed opposition to the bill.

The bill will next come before the full Senate, where it is expected to pass given that 16 Democrats — a majority of the chamber — signed on to the initial version. It would then head to the House, where its fate is uncertain. Gov. Phil Scott has not weighed in on it.

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Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Posted By on Tue, Mar 9, 2021 at 5:03 PM

State Aims to Vaccinate More BIPOC Vermonters With New Rule
File: Jeb Wallace-Brodeur
Gov. Phil Scott and Health Commissioner Mark Levine at a previous briefing
A new state rule Vermont officials unveiled on Tuesday is intended to increase the rate at which Black, Indigenous, and other people of color are vaccinated against COVID-19.

Starting next week, BIPOC Vermonters eligible for a vaccine can bring household members to be inoculated, even if they aren’t otherwise eligible. The state employed a similar strategy for New American households.

The move comes in response to data that shows BIPOC Vermonters have been more likely to be infected with COVID-19, Health Commissioner Mark Levine said on Tuesday during one of two weekly briefings on the coronavirus. They are also less likely to obtain vaccinations than white, non-Hispanic Vermonters, he said.

BIPOC Vermonters make up only 6 percent of the state’s population but have had 18 percent of its COVID-19 cases, Levine said, with significantly higher rates of hospitalization. About 20 percent of white Vermonters have received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared to 9 percent of Black Vermonters and 3.8 percent of Indigenous Vermonters.

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Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Posted By on Wed, Feb 24, 2021 at 5:55 PM

click to enlarge Sirotkin Criticizes Grant Program — to a Larger Audience Than He Intended
Matthew Roy ©️ Seven Days
The Vermont Statehouse
Many have made the mistake, and on Monday, Sen. Michael Sirotkin (D-Chittenden) did: Whipping off a quick critique of some work his colleagues had completed in the House, the senator accidentally hit “reply all," sending his plainspoken rebuke to some of those House colleagues.

“Doug, having a real problem with what [House] Commerce proposed,” wrote Sirotkin, the chair of the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs, to state Auditor Doug Hoffer. Earlier that day, Hoffer had issued a memo to lawmakers about a proposed $10 million Gap Recovery Grants program. The program is part of a larger coronavirus relief measure that was first proposed by the Scott administration as part of the Budget Adjustment Act.

Hoffer noted that there’s no way for the state to recoup grant money if a business is later determined to have been ineligible.

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Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Posted By on Tue, Feb 23, 2021 at 5:41 PM

Universal Mail-In Ballot Bill Clears Key Hurdle in Vermont Senate
File: Eva Sollberger ©️ Seven Days
Voters will be able to fix mail-in ballot mistakes under a new bill.
A bill to make universal mail-in ballots a permanent feature of Vermont general elections, and to make it easier for voters to fix mistakes on those ballots, cleared a key legislative hurdle on Tuesday.

The Senate Government Operations Committee voted 4-1 to support the bill, S.15, which now heads to money committees that will assess the cost.

The measure would require town clerks to mail out ballots to all active, registered voters for general elections, pandemic safety issues or not. Every voter would have the chance to return their ballot by mail, deliver it to the polls, or vote as they always have in person.

A key element of the bill would allow people who make errors when filling out their ballots to fix the problem and still have their votes count. During last year’s dramatic expansion of voting by mail, the rate of defective ballots also spiked.

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Monday, February 22, 2021

Posted By on Mon, Feb 22, 2021 at 7:52 PM

click to enlarge Money for Business 'Safety Net' Inches Toward Approval in Vermont House
Tim Newcomb ©️ Seven Days
The newly renovated Inn at Water's Edge in Ludlow reopened for business in March 2020 — just in time for the COVID-19 pandemic to close it again. Now the owners of the 11-room inn are using money from an insurance company they own in Pennsylvania to pay the bills while they wait for restrictions to ease, and guests to start returning.

“We’re funding it at this point,” said Connie Rae, who with her husband bought the inn in the summer of 2019 and spent the autumn renovating it. Their son is the chef. “I don’t know how other people are doing this if they have no other means.”

The Inn at Water's Edge is one of many Vermont businesses that missed out when the state and federal government were handing out grants to help businesses stay solvent last year. While the inn did receive a $12,500 Paycheck Protection Program loan, it wasn’t eligible for any of the $340 million that the state gave out to businesses. It hadn’t been open long enough under its new ownership to show financial comparisons from the prior year, a requirement of the grant application.

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Monday, February 15, 2021

Posted By on Mon, Feb 15, 2021 at 8:26 PM

click to enlarge Vermont Democratic Party's Executive Director to Resign
Tim Newcomb
The executive director of the Vermont Democratic Party will resign to "pursue new opportunities," the party announced Monday night, just days after another staffer quit over what he called "a complete and utter failure" of leadership.

Scott McNeil, who took over as executive director of the party in September 2019 after two years in a similar role in North Dakota, will stay on for an undisclosed amount of time to "help ease this transition," the political org wrote in a three-paragraph press release.

The release did not quote McNeil, and he could not be reached for comment Monday night.

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Thursday, February 11, 2021

Posted By on Thu, Feb 11, 2021 at 5:53 PM

click to enlarge Vermont Democratic Party Staffer Quits, Citing 'Toxic Environment'
Courtesy Photo
Kevin Burgess (second from left)
Describing a "toxic" work environment, a Vermont Democratic Party staffer announced on Thursday his plans to quit his job because of "a complete and utter failure of party leadership," among other reasons.

"There is no vision, no plan, and no structure," Kevin Burgess, the director of party affairs and outreach, wrote in a scathing resignation email sent to party officials Thursday afternoon. "Multiple attempts to rectify this, through union representation and staff conversations, have not resulted in any remedies.

"Instead, leadership turns a blind eye to the concerns and needs of staff," he continued. "While I don't mean to speak for anyone else, I am not the only Vermont Democratic Party staffer who feels this way."

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Thursday, February 4, 2021

Posted By on Thu, Feb 4, 2021 at 2:42 PM

click to enlarge Vermont Senate Blocks Governor's Act 250 Reform Order
TIM NEWCOMB ©️ Seven Days
The Vermont Senate on Thursday blocked Gov. Phil Scott’s executive order that would reform how land-use permits are issued under Act 250.

The 22-8 vote by the full Senate follows the Natural Resources and Energy Committee's unanimous vote to reject the order last week.

Scott’s January 14 order sought to shift decision-making power from the nine district commissions that currently review development applications to a professional, statewide Natural Resources Board. 

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