Vermont

Vermont Legislature returns to try to override Republican governor’s vetoes

Published

1 year ago

June 20, 2023

Vermont Legislature returns to try to override Republican governor’s vetoes

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The Democratic-controlled Vermont Legislature returns to the Statehouse on Tuesday to try to override a number of Republican Gov. Phil Scott’s vetoes, including his rejection of the state budget bill and key social programs that lawmakers passed.

The Legislature, which adjourned last month, passed bills to expand child care, subsidize free school meals for all public school students and fight climate change, among other things. Scott has said while he shares many of the goals of the Legislature, he believes it was spending too much money.

“Vermonters have made their ongoing concerns about the affordability of our state abundantly clear,” the governor wrote in a message to lawmakers last week when he allowed the free school meals legislation to become law without his signature.

“Despite these concerns and my efforts, legislative action this year has added a new, approximately $100 million payroll tax; $20 million in unnecessary DMV fee increases; hundreds of millions in additional cost pressures that will come as a result of the override of my veto of the clean heat standard bill; an unsustainable $70 million increase in base budget spending over my recommendation; an eventual doubling of their own pay and benefits; and more.”

Legislative leaders have vowed to overturn his veto of a bill that would have expanded child care subsidies for some families, which Scott said he objected to because of the payroll tax to partially pay for it.

“This bill will be our number one priority for the veto override session, at which time we will speak loudly, in the only way that matters in the end,” Democratic Senate President Pro Tempore Philip Baruth said in a statement. “We will vote to end the childcare deserts in our state, and we will vote to pay childcare professionals a respectable wage. Vermont’s kids can’t wait any longer.”

The Legislature’s $150 million child care plan would have expanded child care subsidies to families with incomes up to 575% of the federal poverty guidelines. It would have also increased pay for child care workers and would be paid for with help from a 0.44% payroll tax split between employers and employees.

Scott also vetoed the proposed $8.4 billion budget, the largest in state history, saying it would unfairly raise taxes and fees on state residents.

Democratic House Speaker Jill Krowinski has said that lawmakers followed the will of the people, who she said wanted them to do more about issues such as affordable child care and universal school meals. The House passed the child care subsidies bill by a large enough margin that they will have the two-thirds votes needed to override Scott’s veto.

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Vermont

The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, July 3-9

Published

6 hours ago

July 2, 2024

Press Room

The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, July 3-9

click to enlarge

Courtesy Of Phil Bobrow
Fourth of July Parade and Festivities

Marching Orders

Thursday 4

The town of Warren steps lively at its singular 4th of July Parade and Festivities. The procession of quirky floats and merry musicians is followed by hot dogs, a street dance and a unique get-to-know-your-neighbors scheme: Pay $1 for a numbered “Buddy Badge,” then find the other person in the crowd with the same number and you’ll both win a prize.

Truth to Power

Friday 5

click to enlarge Reading Frederick Douglass - COURTESY

Courtesy
Reading Frederick Douglass

Rokeby Museum in Ferrisburgh marks Independence Day with its annual Reading Frederick Douglass event. Audience members take part by reading portions of the abolitionist, orator and statesman’s famous address “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” Douglass first gave the powerful speech on July 5, 1852, as the keynote at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Come Together

Saturday 6

click to enlarge Bondeko - COURTESY

Bondeko bring a multicultural mélange to the Next Stage Arts Bandwagon Summer Series in Putney. The musicians in the Portland, Maine-based outfit span generations and originally hail from Albania, Guinea, Paris and Austin, Texas, creating a sound that’s an unlikely — and unforgettable — collaboration.

Into the Woods

Saturday 6

click to enlarge Ellen "LN" Bethea - COURTESY OF CATHERINE ARANDA-LEARNED

Courtesy Of Catherine Aranda-learned
Ellen “LN” Bethea

Vermont Humanities marks two anniversaries — its own 50th and the 100th of Vermont State Parks — with its Words in the Woods series. In the second of five gatherings, listeners soak in the natural beauty at Kill Kare State Park in St. Albans as spoken word poet Ellen “LN” Bethea (pictured) shares her work. Stay and enjoy the day at the park afterward: Entrance fees are covered for participants.

Swan Song

Sunday 7

click to enlarge Cynthia Huard - COURTESY

The Rochester Chamber Music Society salutes one of its own at the Federated Church of Rochester when pianist Cynthia Huard plays her final concert, a coda to her 30 years as the group’s artistic director. She’s joined by cellist Ani Kalayjian and violinists Adda Kridler and Mary Rowell in a bittersweet program that includes works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Gabriel Fauré and native Vermonter Nico Muhly.

Fête the Farm

Wednesday 10

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Pizza social at Miller Farm in Vernon - COURTESY

Courtesy
Pizza social at Miller Farm in Vernon

Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont hosts a Pizza Social at Miller Farm in Vernon, part of a summerlong series highlighting historic farms and hardworking farmers around the state. Foodies enjoy wood-fired pizza and soft-serve ice cream made from Miller Farm milk before a hayride and farm tour. Catch upcoming installments of the series in Middletown Springs, Shoreham, Johnson, East Hardwick and North Thetford.

Paint the Town

Ongoing

click to enlarge "Carnival at Royalton, VT" by Cecil C. Bell - COURTESY

Courtesy
“Carnival at Royalton, VT” by Cecil C. Bell

If you missed last summer’s attendance-record-breaking exhibitions of “For the Love of Vermont: The Lyman Orton Collection,” here’s another chance. The Vermont Historical Society presents a reprise showing at the Vermont History Museum in Montpelier. The selection of 20th-century works by Vermont artists is a love letter to the Green Mountain State.

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Vermont

Health officials warn of possible measles exposure in Upper Valley

Published

13 hours ago

July 1, 2024

Press Room

Health officials warn of possible measles exposure in Upper Valley

State health officials are investigating a possible measles exposure in the Upper Valley.

Vermont and New Hampshire health officials say there are currently no confirmed cases of the measles in either state.

But New Hampshire’s public health division is looking into a report of an international traveler contracting measles shortly after visiting the town of Hanover.

Officials say the traveler could have been potentially infectious while in various public places June 20-22, including Dartmouth College’s campus. The list of locations released by the health department is below:

June 20-22: Dartmouth College campus, Hanover
June 20-22: The Hanover Inn, 2 E Wheelock St., Hanover
June 20, 3 p.m.: Hanover Scoops, 57 S Main St., Hanover
June 20-22: Lou’s Restaurant and Bakery, 30 S Main St., Hanover (one meal, unknown date and time)
June 22: Dartmouth Coach Bus from Hanover to Boston Logan Airport (unknown time)

For people who were in the area on those days, and who aren’t vaccinated or haven’t previously had the measles, officials recommend monitoring for symptoms.
Those include high fever, cough, runny nose, and watery eyes several days before developing a body rash.

Officials ask that people who do feel sick to call their provider before getting treatment to help prevent possible spread of the virus.

Experts say the measles is a preventable disease, and that the vaccine for it is safe and effective.

Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message.

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Vermont

Chinese woman tried to smuggle turtles into Quebec: U.S. Border Patrol

Published

20 hours ago

July 1, 2024

Press Room

A woman from China has been arrested at a Vermont lake bordering Quebec for trying to smuggle 29 eastern box turtles, a protected species, into Canada by kayak, according to U.S. Border Patrol agents.

Wan Yee Ng was arrested on the morning of June 28 at an Airbnb in Canaan as she was about to get into an inflatable kayak with a duffle bag on Lake Wallace, about 50 kilometres southeast of Sherbrooke, according to an agent’s affidavit filed in federal court. U.S. agents had been notified by Royal Canadian Mounted Police that two other people, including a man who was believed to be her husband, had started to paddle an inflatable watercraft from the Canadian side of the lake toward the United States, according to an agent’s affidavit.

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The agents searched her heavy duffle bag and found 29 live eastern box turtles individually wrapped in socks, the affidavit states. Eastern box turtles are known to be sold on the Chinese black market for $1,000 each, according to the affidavit.

Ng is charged with attempting to export the turtles from the U.S., in violation of the Endangered Species Act. A federal judge on Friday ordered that she remain detained. The federal public defender’s office, which is representing her, declined to comment.

Border Patrol agents first spotted Ng at the Airbnb rental in May when they noticed a vehicle with Ontario plates traveling on a Vermont road in Canaan in an area used by smugglers, they said. Lake Wallace has been used for human and narcotic smuggling, the affidavit states. The vehicle had entered the U.S. in Alburgh, Vermont, near Lake Champlain, agents said.

Ng was admitted to the United States in May on a visitor visa with an intended destination of Fort Lee, N.J., the affidavit states. Border Patrol agents learned on June 18 that she had again entered the U.S. in Buffalo in a vehicle with a Quebec plate and was expected to arrive at the same Airbnb on Lake Wallace in Vermont on June 25, the affidavit states. They then started to surveil the property.

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