Thursday, December 13, 2018
It was the beginning of six months behind bars for Vo, a Vietnamese citizen who has lived legally in the U.S. with a green card since 1999, when he was 6. He got out in March on supervised release. But officials have since told him that he must wear a GPS tracking device until he's deported to Vietnam in February because of a 2016 conviction for marijuana possession.
Along with his fiancée, Desiree Mora, and close friends, Vo is trying to raise money and publicity to fight the government’s decision.
“My whole immediate family is over here. Everybody,” Vo said in an interview. “I’ve been here for 20 years. I’ve made my mistakes, but I’ve never blamed anybody for my mistakes.”
Tags: Cannabeat , Thao Vo , Immigration and Customs Enforcement , Vietnam , immigration , deportation , ICE , marijuana , Illinois , cannabis , Vermont , Burlington , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Twigg, who replaced Tricia Coates in March 2015, said he's moving with his wife to Boulder, Colo., where he’ll work as a policy analyst for the Boulder Board of County Commissioners. “Unlike Vermont, Colorado has a pretty robust county government system,” he said.
As Welch's top Vermont staffer, Twigg oversees the congressman's outreach and constituent service operations, coordinates his in-state schedule and serves as Welch's eyes and ears in the district.
Of his time in Welch's office, Twigg said, “It’s been an especially interesting time to be in national politics, with the 2016 elections." It required, he continued, “trying to not just respond to the tweet of the day but think about long-term solutions to real challenges and issues that Vermonters have.”
Before he went to work for Welch, Twigg was public affairs director for the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation.
Welch’s office has yet to hire a replacement, according to Twigg.
Tags: Peter Welch , George Twigg , Vermont Energy Investment Corporation , Image , Web Only
Sunday, December 9, 2018
The former vice president and senator avoided all but an ambiguous hint when it came to discussing a possible 2020 presidential run, and he steered clear of any direct attacks on President Donald Trump — even as he came to the home turf of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a possible 2020 competitor.
Instead the 76-year-old appeared intent on offering a more personal message. For those who are grieving or bereaved, he told a packed house at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, "There's a reason for hope, believe it or not."
Tags: Joe Biden , Flynn Center for the Performing Arts , 2020 presidential campaign , Jodi Picoult , Image , Web Only
Friday, December 7, 2018
That leaves him with nearly $8.8 million, which could be transferred to a campaign for president, should he decide to run.
Sanders' expenses are consistent with those of a probable presidential candidate. They include about $113,000 on events; nearly $92,000 on salaries to 31 individuals; more than $64,000 on travel by car and plane; more than $60,000 on research, including $52,000 to the polling company Tulchin Research; and more than $37,000 on lodging.
His travel expenses also included a $6,800 payment to the private charter plane company Apollo Jets, as well as $5,000 in carbon offsets to NativeEnergy to compensate for his air travel. According to a previous FEC filing, Sanders spent nearly $300,000 on chartered planes earlier in the campaign season, as VTDigger.org reported last week.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Patrick Leahy , Peter Welch , Organizing for Bernie , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
The company, R.L. Vallee, subpoenaed Sanders aide Daniel McLean last month and demanded a wide range of internal communications — some pertaining to the lawsuit and others to political matters.
In a response last Thursday in U.S. District Court, the senator's office argued that federal employees such as McLean could not be subpoenaed in their official capacities and that the company's request was an overbroad "fishing expedition."
The competing motions reignite a long-simmering feud between Sanders and R.L. Vallee's CEO, Rodolphe "Skip" Vallee, a former U.S. ambassador and Vermont Republican Party official. The senator and his staff have accused Vallee of "ripping off consumers" and being a "junior varsity version of the Koch brothers." Vallee, in turn, has run television advertisements accusing Sanders' wife, Jane O'Meara Sanders, of wrongdoing and publicly contemplated running against the senator.
Indeed, among the documents Vallee's company is seeking, according to the subpoena, are those pertaining to "the possible 2012 or 2018 United States Senate candidacy" of Vallee or former Republican governor Jim Douglas — including communications with O'Meara Sanders.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Skip Vallee , Tristram Coffin , Dan McLean , Vermont , gasoline , Image , Web Only
Thursday, November 29, 2018
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, actress Susan Sarandon, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis were among those scheduled to address such topics as climate change, housing and criminal justice reform during the Sanders Institute Gathering.
Before the panel discussions, though, was a Thursday evening reception at the ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain featuring motivational speaker Simon Sinek and a keynote address from Sanders himself. The senator's wife, Sanders Institute cofounder Jane O'Meara Sanders, also spoke. In attendance were actors John Cusack —wearing a jacket that said “good night white pride” on the back — and Danny Glover.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Sanders Institute , Jane O'Meara Sanders , Cornel West , John Cusack , Danny Glover , progressive , 2020 , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
The House Democratic Caucus met Wednesday to choose its leaders for the congressional session that begins in January. Welch had refused to declare his position until just before that meeting. According to Welch, Pelosi got 203 votes, more than enough to secure the caucus' nomination. She will need at least 218 votes in January when the full House elects a speaker.
Welch had sought changes in how the House is governed, claiming that too much authority has migrated to its leadership. In a statement released before the vote, Welch said that Pelosi "has personally committed to me that she will reform the legislative process, make it more transparent, and allow the diverse ideas of all members to be considered."
Welch elaborated in a phone interview following the caucus. During the speakership of retiring House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Welch said, "power was concentrated in the speaker's office. The committees were completely bypassed." He said that major pieces of legislation were written by leadership and rushed through with little or no review or testimony. Restoring committee power, he added, would "produce better legislation."
When asked whether Pelosi might be weakened by having to negotiate for support, Welch demurred. "She ended up with 203 votes," he said. "That's a pretty solid majority." Thirty-two caucus members voted "no" on Pelosi, while three returned blank ballots, and one member — a Pelosi supporter — was absent.
Pelosi will need at least 218 votes in January, when the full House will elect a speaker. Welch doesn't see that as a problem. "She would need 14 votes out of the 35 who didn't vote for her [Wednesday]," Welch said. "That's very doable when the choice is between Pelosi and the Republican nominee. It's one thing for a Democrat to vote no in caucus. It's another to vote yes for a Republican."
Tags: Peter Welch , Nancy Pelosi , James Clyburn , Steny Hoyer , Hakeem Jeffries , Barbara Lee , Paul Ryan , U.S. House , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
The Border Patrol has not publicly announced its intention. But the delegation's staffers were recently briefed about the plan by Border Patrol officials, according to David Carle, spokesman for Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).
The Border Patrol has the authority to stop and search travelers without a warrant or reasonable suspicion within 100 miles of an international boundary or coastal body of water, a zone that includes about 90 percent of Vermont.
"We are concerned to learn of the U.S. Border Patrol’s plans to operate a number of immigration checkpoints in the interior of Vermont," the delegation said in a joint statement. "While these checkpoints will cause needless delays for travelers and hinder commerce between Vermont and Canada, we are not convinced that they will make Vermont or the United States any safer. Rather, they appear to be another escalation of the Trump Administration’s aggressive yet wasteful use of immigration enforcement resources."
Tags: Senator , Border Patrol , civil liberties , Patrick Leahy , Bernie Sanders , Peter Welch , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
A spokesperson for Jane O'Meara Sanders said Tuesday that federal authorities have concluded a long-running probe into her tenure as president of the now-shuttered Burlington College.
"Jane Sanders has been informed that the U.S. Attorney in Vermont has closed its investigation of the Burlington College land deal and has decided not to bring charges of any kind," spokesperson Jeff Weaver said in a written statement. In a phone interview, Weaver said the feds had shared the news with O’Meara Sanders’ attorneys in “the last couple of days.”
Federal authorities had not previously confirmed the investigation's existence. Kraig LaPorte, a spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Christina Nolan, said Tuesday that he could neither corroborate nor refute Weaver's statement, but he noted that his office does "communicate with represented parties."
The news lifts a cloud that has hovered over O'Meara Sanders and her husband, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), for nearly three years. It comes as Sen. Sanders contemplates a second run for president.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Jane Sanders , Jane O'Meara Sanders , Burlington College , Jeff Weaver , Image
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