The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Friday announced that it would be closing its historic Frank Furness/George Hewitt-designed building on North Broad Street for the next year. PAFA is undertaking renovation work that “focuses on upgrading the HVAC system,” according to a news release.

PAFA will close the building to the general public beginning July 8, a spokesperson said. Plans call for it to “reopen to the public in the fall of 2025, in advance of the building’s 150th anniversary in 2026,” according to the announcement.

The museum/school has been undergoing a series of broad institutional changes, including the elimination of its degree programs and changes to its buildings. Earlier this year leaders discussed a $10 million replacement of the HVAC system.

Back then, PAFA president and CEO Eric G. Pryor also spoke of a larger project of renovations, repairs, and addressing deferred maintenance, with a price tag of about $25 million. It was unclear Friday whether that project was still happening. A PAFA spokesperson said no further details were available.

Pryor said several months ago that PAFA had received an anonymous $4 million “angel gift” to help pay for the new HVAC system and that another $1,128,477 toward the project had been raised. “But we’re going to need to find additional angels,” he said at the time.

He also spoke of selling naming rights to the building at Broad and Cherry Streets, which PAFA refers to as its Historic Landmark Building. “Someone could put their name on it for the right price. It is an amazing opportunity,” he said.

While the building will be closed to the public as of July 8, it will remain open for summer camps until renovations begin Aug. 10. During the closure, PAFA’s Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building will remain open with “a robust slate of exhibitions and public programs,” the announcement stated.

The Warwick-based company that previously worked on the westbound Washington Bridge before its sudden closure last December is the state’s choice to tear it down.

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation’s (RIDOT) public bid portal Friday afternoon revealed Aetna Bridge Co. was awarded a tentative contract to demolish the bridge by March 2025.

Aetna was one of two vendors that responded to RIDOT’s request for proposals. The other bidder was Manafort Brothers Inc., headquartered in Plainville, Connecticut, but has an office in Cumberland.

Manafort will receive $100,000 as part of the state’s incentive to attract bidders.

Aetna estimated the cost to demolish the bridge was $45.8 million — over $5 million more than the state’s price tag. Manafort’s bid was for $43.8 million. The overall cost to demolish and rebuild the westbound highway over the Seekonk River is tagged at over $400 million.

A technical review group found that Aetna’s plan was overall a better value and at they indicated they could do the work in 50 days fewer than the bid request asked for, said RIDOT Communications Director Liz Pettengill.

“Secondly, they are assuming all the risk,” she said.

The demolition process is divided into four parts: the Gano Street ramp, west end of the bridge, east cantilever spans, and east end of the structure. The initial RFP noted that the existing substructure “shall remain in place for the potential repair and reuse” in the reconstruction of the bridge.

RIDOT plans to impose a $30,000 daily “disincentive” if Aetna misses the March 20, 2025 completion date. Meanwhile, the department is still soliciting bids for the roughly $368 million contract to rebuild a new bridge by August 2026.

Final bids are due July 3.

Aetna had previously worked on the now-canceled $78 million rehabilitation of the Washington Bridge as part of a design-build team led by Barletta Heavy Division. The project came to a stop after engineers last December discovered broken anchor rods that put the westbound lanes of I-195 at risk of collapse.

The company was also one of 12 contractors that received a letter from lawyers for Gov. Dan McKee’s administration notifying them that they may be sued over Washington Bridge work. 

“Aetna Bridge Company is proud to be identified as the ‘apparent best value respondent’ by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation,” Aetna spokesperson Frank McMahon said in an emailed statement.

“With over 79 years of experience in bridge construction, repair, and demolition, our team is ready to get to work on this critical transportation infrastructure project for the State of Rhode Island,” he continued 

Aetna is also working on the ongoing rehabilitation of the Gold Star Memorial Bridge linking New London and Groton, Connecticut, via I-95. That project is expected to be completed June 25, 2025, according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

Two Vermont senators are suing Gov. Phil Scott over his controversial appointment of interim Secretary of Education Zoie Saunders.

In a lawsuit filed on June 19, Sens. Tanya Vyhovsky, P/D-Chittenden, and Richard McCormack, D-Windsor, accused Scott of violating the Vermont Constitution when he selected Saunders to serve as interim Secretary of Education after the Senate blocked her permanent appointment to the position.

The lawsuit argues that Scott is constitutionally obligated to “obtain the advice and consent” of the Senate before filling a secretary of state agencies seat.

“The governor can’t strip away the power granted to the senate by both the VT constitution and state law,” Vyhovsky said in a Facebook post about the lawsuit on June 21, “but by disregarding our unambiguous decision to reject his appointment for Secretary of Education he did exactly that.”

Scott, however, said back in April that he had followed historical precedent, contending that former Gov. Howard Dean also bypassed Senate opposition to appoint his nominees, according to VTDigger. VTDigger, however, pointed out that none of the nominees Dean reappointed held cabinet positions.

More: Vermont Legislature makes history, overrides six vetoes

Scott spokesperson Amanda Wheeler disparaged the lawsuit as “another example of legislators focusing more on partisan political maneuvering than the hard work to help schools, kids and taxpayers.”

“And make no mistake, it’s no coincidence this was announced the same week the legislature imposed a 14% property tax increase,” Wheeler said, referencing the “yield bill” Scott has consistently lambasted for being economically irresponsible. “They’d like nothing more than to change the subject and distract Vermonters and the press.”

Vyhovsky denied any ulterior motives for the lawsuit, calling accusations that she and McCormack are trying to divert attention from their legislative actions “not just incorrect but wildly off-base.” She also rejected claims that they filed the lawsuit because of “political parties or divides.”

“Sen. McCormack and I are doing this because it’s the right thing to do, not because of the letters after our names, and because we both took an oath of office to protect and uphold the Vermont Constitution,” Vyhovsky wrote on Facebook, adding that she believes “the overreach of executive power leads us away from democracy to authoritarianism unless it’s challenged at every point.”

What led to the lawsuit?

Scott announced on March 22 that he had selected Saunders – a former education administrator from Florida – to serve as secretary of education from a pool of candidates recommended by the state Board of Education. When Saunders took office on April 15, her position had been vacant for roughly a year, with Deputy Secretary Heather Bouchey serving as interim in the meantime.  

Scott’s pick immediately came under fire from critics – both constituents and lawmakers – who expressed concern about Saunders’ work experience. For instance, Saunders had only spent three months in public school leadership prior to accepting the secretary of education role in Vermont. She also had never served as a teacher, principal, school district administrator or superintendent like past secretaries of education had.

Additionally, some Vermonters questioned Saunders’ charter school experience, especially her connection to Charter Schools USA, whose founder emerged from the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation.

Scott defended Saunders in a March 28 statement, accusing critics of “spreading or believing misinformation, making assumptions and levying attacks on her character” before even getting to know his nominee.

Despite Scott’s admonishment, the Senate voted 19-9 to reject Saunders as secretary of education.

“Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the Senate heartily endorses the appointee, but in this case a majority of the Senate found Zoie Saunders’ resume a mismatch with the current moment,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, D-Chittenden, in a statement.

Immediately following the Senate vote, Scott named Saunders the state’s interim secretary of education – the reason for Vyhovsky and McCormack’s lawsuit.

“Zoie’s professionalism, grace, and class throughout this process, despite the unfair, ill-informed treatment, has been truly remarkable and honorable,” Scott said in a statement. “I’m very proud of her and how she has handled these hurtful, false attacks, which makes me and my entire team more confident than ever that she is the right person for the job.”

Vyhovsky reiterated on Facebook that the Senate’s feelings about Saunders is not why she and McCormack filed the lawsuit.

“This is not about the person Gov. Scott submitted for appointment nor is it about the work that she’s done,” Vyhovsky wrote. “It’s about the governor’s decision to overrule the senate and make that appointment without our legally required consent. It’s about making case law that tells any governor who comes after Scott that Vermont enforces the separation of powers.”

What are the plaintiffs’ goals?

In the lawsuit – which also lists Saunders as a defendant – Vyhovsky and McCormack are asking the Vermont Superior Court to rule that Scott cannot circumvent the Senate’s authority by appointing a candidate they rejected to an interim version of that cabinet position. (The statue referred to in the lawsuit does not explicitly state interim appointments must be approved by the Senate, just secretary of state agencies appointments in general.)

The plaintiffs are also asking the court to declare that the Senate’s rejection of Saunders is the chamber’s “final act” on the matter for the 2024 session, since Scott did not resubmit his nominee’s name for consideration on or before the day the Legislature graveled out.

Vyhovsky and McCormack are asking the court to rule that Saunders has not “validly functioned” in her role as secretary of education – due to the reasons above – thereby nullifying any actions she’s taken since she assumed the position at the end of April.

Who is paying for the lawsuit?

Vyhovsky told the Free Press in an email that Vermonters “across the political spectrum” have stepped up to donate over $11,000 toward the plaintiffs’ attorney fees. She and McCormack plan to fund the rest, assuming the donations don’t already cover everything, Vyhovsky said.

“It’s unfortunate that two Senators needed to use private resources to sue to enforce the separation of powers as defined in both the VT constitution and state law,” Vyhovsky wrote, but added that “retaining private counsel was the only viable option” as she and McCormack needed to take immediate legal action.

All donations will be paid directly to a IOLTA trust account belonging to one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers.

Megan Stewart is a government accountability reporter for the Burlington Free Press. Contact her at mstewartyounger@gannett.com.