Current News

by John Herrick vtdigger.org The Vermont Air National Guard on Friday released what they say is a “roadmap” to mitigate the environmental impacts of the F-35 fighter jet when it arrives in Burlington in 2020. “The plan is an initial roadmap,” said Vermont Air National Guard Colonel TJ Jackman at a news conference Friday. “The plan is a living document and will likely be updated several times before the F-35s arrive here in 2020.”

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org Several hundred Vermonters descended on the Statehouse steps on Thursday for the Vermont Workers Center’s annual May Day event.

The center, and a coalition of unions and advocacy groups for poor and disabled Vermonters, had a lot to celebrate.

Migrant Justice, a group that advocates for migrant dairy workers from Mexico and central America, marked the passage of a new law that requires all law enforcement agencies in Vermont to adopt bias-free policing policies.

Demonstrators rallied at the Statehouse on Thursday for May Day. Photo by John Herrick/VTDigger

by Laura Krantz vtdigger.org The House Friday concurred with a Senate bill that bans the sale and possession of powdered alcohol.

The ban on powdered alcohol, sold under the brand name Palcohol, is a last-minute addition to a broader alcohol bill, S.299, passed by the Senate earlier this week.

Rep. Tom Stevens, D-Waterbury, explained the powdered alcohol amendment as well as a new amendment about lottery ticket sales. The ban would be in effect until January 2015. By then the state should produce a report on risks associated with powdered alcohol, the bill says.

Powdered alcohol can be snorted, Stevens told House legislators.

“Just the concept of snorting powdered alcohol itself is really nothing that we want to move forward on,” Stevens said.

Verizon Wireless recently expanded fourth generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) network coverage in Wilmington, Vermont. 4G LTE empowers Verizon Wireless customers with compatible devices to surf the Web, post status updates and photos, and download files wirelessly at speeds up to 10 times faster than customers on 3G networks.

Governor Peter Shumlin was joined today by US Senator Bernie Sanders and state Transportation officials to announce the launch of “Fast Fix 14,” the largest pavement treatment program in the state’s history to repair a record 145 miles of Vermont state highways, in addition to the 230 miles of federally funded paving in the annual Capital Program.

This comes on the heels of a brutal winter maintenance season in which the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) responded to nearly 100 storm events. The Agency of Transportation expends on average $20.6 million on winter maintenance and uses 87,500 tons of salt on state highways. This past winter, maintenance expenditures were approximately $28.5 million and VTrans used 131,700 tons of salt, setting new records for expenditures and salt usage.

The US Department of Agriculture has awarded the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS) at Vermont Law School and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT) a $500,000 grant to strengthen farmers’ market organizations through legal education.

by Laura Krantz vtdigger.org The Vermont House Thursday night revived an attempt to ban the use of handheld cell phones while driving, attaching it to a broad transportation bill legislators passed just after 8 p.m. The move is an attempt by House lawmakers to revive another bill on the same subject stalled in the Senate. Several days ago the bill appeared all but dead.

Rep. Bill Johnson, R/D-Canaan, introduced the cell phone amendment Thursday night. He entertained his tired colleagues with a series of cell-phone related jokes.

The cell phone bill originally got strong reception in the Senate, Johnson said.

by John Herrick vtdigger.org In the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene, Vermont learned several lessons about how to prepare for the wrath of climate change, state officials often say. Now Vermont is sharing what it learned with the Obama administration, as the nation responds to drought, heavy rain and other extreme weather patterns linked to a changing climate. President Barack Obama’s principal environmental policy adviser toured the state Thursday to witness first-hand Vermont’s recovery from the damage left by Irene in 2011.

“We got a chance to see some of the impacts that are still quite visible from Irene,” said Michael Boots, acting chair of the White House Council of Environmental Quality. “But also some of the really innovative, and creative, and really pragmatic work that people here in Vermont have been doing to respond.”

by Morgan True vtdigger.org The House of Representatives passed a health care reform bill Thursday by an 89-44 margin after a heated debate over when the governor should produce a financing proposal for the state’s planned universal health care program. It’s a debate that has played out several times on the House floor, with Republicans seeking to introduce amendments that would compel the administration to show its work. Those efforts failed again Thursday.

“I find it disturbing that this Legislature refuses to hold the administration accountable,” said Rep Kurt Wright, R-Burlington, who like many Republicans is incredulous that there has been no repercussion to Governor Peter Shumlin’s repeated delays in presenting a financing plan.

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org New exemptions to Vermont’s open meeting laws are on notice for a Senate vote, likely Friday morning. The changes will make it easier for public bodies to hold closed-door meetings with legal counsel. An earlier version of H.497, passed by the House, carved out an allowance for executive sessions to discuss “pending” lawsuits to which the public body may be a party.

The Senate version, recommended by the Senate Committee on Government Operations, loosens that exemption. Public bodies would be able to enter a closed executive session for “pending or probable” litigation, or for any confidential attorney-client communications.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org The House of Representatives gave preliminary approval Thursday to a bill that changes current practices for treating people with severe mental illness and streamlines aspects of the judicial review process to medicate a small number of patients against their will. The House voted 132-6 in favor of the legislation, which must be reconciled with the Senate-passed version before landing on the governor’s desk.

Supporters say the bill strikes a difficult but necessary balance between protecting people’s rights and providing appropriate treatment to them when they lack the capacity to be involved in treatment decisions because they’re experiencing acute psychosis.

Vermont Tech announced Thursday that David Blittersdorf, well-known renewable energy entrepreneur and president and Chief Executive Officer of Williston-based AllEarth Renewables, has committed $120,000 to support the launch of the college’s new Renewable Energy bachelor’s degree program.

The new Bachelor of Science program will prepare graduates to play a hands-on role in implementing the State of Vermont’s goal of achieving ninety-percent renewable energy by 2050. The program will launch in the fall of 2014 and is currently accepting students.