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Welch warns Canadian tariffs will “threaten jobs and their profit margins” in Vermont – The Boston Globe

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Welch warns Canadian tariffs will  “threaten jobs and their profit margins” in Vermont – The Boston Globe


WASHINGTON — As Canada waits for President Donald Trump to follow through on imposing hefty tariffs on goods in February, Vermonters are bracing for the impact on their state’s economy.

Democratic Senator Peter Welch heard these concerns firsthand during a roundtable with his constituents on Monday in St. Albans, Vermont. His open dialogue included local business owners, farmers and state lawmakers who explained the impact that the 25% tariff threatened by Trump could have on their communities.

“One [concern they expressed] is that the tariffs are extraordinarily disruptive, and will threaten jobs and their profit margins. Number two, they say that whatever the tariff is, the only way they’ll be paid is by the consumer, so it’s going to increase prices,” Welch told the Globe in an interview. “It’ll increase our electric rates in Vermont and increase the cost of the products that these manufacturers are making.”

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Welch said tariffs could disrupt markets and worried about their impact on the cost of electricity and agriculture in Vermont.

“We get much of our power from Hydro-Québec, so if there’s a 25% tariff, that could add 25% to your electric bill overnight,” Welch said.

He added that the manufacturing industry could take a hit on products such as the Concept2 rowing machine which is manufactured in Morrisville, as well as the equipment for maple syrup evaporators.

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Vermont imports roughly $2.6 billion annuallyfrom Canada, its largest foreign trading partner, according to Connect2Canada. Energy, agriculture, equipment and machinery are the largest industries.

“There’s real-world consequences that are immediate that will affect jobs, companies and people in Vermont,” Welch said. “You could find that similar group of people in any state in the country, whether they voted for Trump or Harris, and they would say the same thing.”

“There’s a shared goal with Trump in that we all want a strong economy,” Welch continued. “Trump believes that the use of these tariffs will make us stronger, but what I heard today is they’ll make us weaker.”

Trump reiterated his threat to reporters on Friday, saying there was “nothing” Canada, Mexico or China, which Trump said will also have tariffs imposed, can do to head off the implementation.


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Kendall Wright can be reached at kendall.wright@globe.com. Follow him on X @k_wright4.





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Vermont

Levine stepping down as Vermont health commissioner

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Levine stepping down as Vermont health commissioner


BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont’s health commissioner is stepping down. The governor announced on Friday that Dr. Mark Levine will retire at the end of March.

Levine was appointed by Gov. Phil Scott to lead the Vermont Health Department in 2017, making him one of the administration’s longest-tenured commissioners.

Levine became a familiar face to Vermonters during the COVID pandemic, often standing by the governor’s side during news briefings, helping to shepherd the state through the trials and tribulations of the pandemic.

In a statement, Levine said serving in the position has been a career and life-changing opportunity.

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“The work we do is so meaningful, challenging, necessary, and gratifying. While proud of our accomplishments, none of them would have been possible without the professional, dedicated, resilient, and passionate team at the Department of Health. They join me each day in enthusiastically getting up for work and striving to honor and accomplish the mission of the department,” he said.

The governor called Levine a tremendous asset to the state and wished him well.

“Dr. Levine has been a tremendous asset, to not only me, but the entire State of Vermont. I know this decision weighed heavily on him, as he deeply loves helping others, which was apparent throughout his career in medicine as well as his last eight years in public service,” said Scott, R-Vermont, said in a statement. “I will be forever grateful for his advice and counsel over the years, but especially during the pandemic, as he appeared with me daily at press conferences during those difficult days, giving much comfort to Vermonters as our very own “Country Doc.” I wish him well in the next chapter of his life.”

There’s no word yet on who will replace Levine as health commissioner.

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Grand jury indicts woman charged in Border Patrol agent’s death in Vermont – The Boston Globe

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Grand jury indicts woman charged in Border Patrol agent’s death in Vermont – The Boston Globe


A woman charged in the fatal shooting of a Border Patrol agent in Vermont was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday, according to court documents.

Teresa Youngblut, 21, is facing two counts in connection to the death of Border Patrol Agent David Maland, 44, who was killed in a shootout last month on Interstate 91 in Coventry, Vt., near the Canadian border.

The indictment charges Youngblut with one count of using a deadly weapon (firearm) “while knowingly and forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating, and interfering with an officer and employee of the United States.”

The second count charges her with carrying, brandishing, and discharging a .40-caliber Glock handgun “during and relation to a crime of violence,” according to the indictment.

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Youngblut has remained in custody after a federal judge ordered her held indefinitely in connection to Maland’s death.

Federal authorities allege Youngblut was driving a 2015 Toyota Prius hatchback with Felix Bauckholt, a German national, in the passenger seat when Maland stopped the car around 3 a.m. on Jan. 20, according to an FBI affidavit.

When multiple Border Patrol agents approached the vehicle, Youngblut allegedly “drew and fired a handgun toward at least one of the uniformed Border Patrol Agents without warning when outside the driver’s side of the Prius,” the affidavit said. “Bauckholt then attempted to draw a firearm. At least one Border Patrol agent fired at Youngblut and Bauckholt with his service weapon.”

Maland and Bauckholt were both killed during the shooting, officials said.

After the shooting, authorities seized a number of items from the Prius, including a ballistic helmet; a night vision monocular device; a tactical belt with holster; a magazine loaded with cartridges; two full-face respirators; 48 rounds of .380-caliber, hollow-point ammunition; a package of shooting range targets, some already used.

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Youngblut was also struck by gunfire and was taken to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire.

Youngblut’s parents had reported her missing in May after she moved out of the family’s home in Washington state, taking her personal belongings in duffel bags, including her passport and medical records, according to a police report.

Her parents said they “were concerned that [she] may be being forced to take these actions or that she may be in a controlling relationship,” the report said. They described her as “emotionally immature.”

The killing of Maland appears to be linked to a fringe group of vegan activists on the West Coast whose members have been tied to at least three other slayings, including the murder of a state’s witness in California and the killing of an older couple in Pennsylvania, the Globe has reported.

Youngblut’s fiance, Maximilian B. Snyder, was arrested last month on a separate murder charge in California for allegedly stabbing an 82-year-old man who owned an industrial lot in Vallejo, Calif., where members of the group had squatted years earlier.

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The guns allegedly used by Youngblut and Bauckholt in the Vermont shooting were purchased by someone federal prosecutors have described as a “person of interest” in the 2022 slaying of Richard and Rita Zajko in Chester Heights, Pa. The Zajkos’ daughter, Michelle Zajko, has also been linked to the West Coast activist group.

Before he joined the Border Patrol, Maland served in the Air Force and worked security at the Pentagon during the Sept. 11 terror attacks. His family told the Associated Press that he served nine years in the military and worked in the federal government for 15 years.

“He was a devoted agent who served with honor and bravery,” the family said in a statement to the wire service.


Nick Stoico can be reached at nick.stoico@globe.com.

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Vermont African American Heritage Trail tells stories of Black history in the state

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Vermont African American Heritage Trail tells stories of Black history in the state


Black history in Vermont includes some of the major events and personalities of Black history in America. The Underground Railroad passed through the Champlain Valley. Famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass delivered impassioned speeches in the state. The son of the Great Emancipator lived in a Vermont house that to this day hosts discussions about the inequalities of race in America.

There are also the quieter stories of Black history in Vermont. A Chittenden County farm became one of the largest African-American farms in the state. A small African-American community thrived in southern Chittenden County starting in the late 1700s. One Black Vermonter is said to be the first Black college graduate in the U.S., while another became the nation’s first African-American college president.

The state has designated these moments and more as part of the Vermont African American Heritage Trail consisting of buildings and markers commemorating significant moments in Black history. Consider visiting some of these sites in February to celebrate Black History Month. You might also want to keep them in mind to travel to when the weather is warmer and more of these sites are open, with the idea that Black history is a topic for every month of every year.

Sites in the Champlain Valley

Winooski United Methodist Church – Many of the renowned Buffalo Soldiers, a Black regiment known for fighting in the West and during the Spanish-American War, came to Fort Ethan Allen in Colchester in 1909 and became members of this nearby house of worship. “These church members played an active role in rebuilding the church, donating both time and money,” according to the church’s website.

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Clemmons Family Farm – This 138-acre site in Charlotte protects the historic farm as “a model for preserving other African-American owned agricultural land,” according to its website. The Clemmons Family Farm also collaborates with artists from the African diaspora and, as its website notes, strives to “build a loving multicultural community around African-American/African diaspora history, arts and culture.”

Rokeby Museum – “Rokeby was the home of the Radical Abolitionist and devout Quaker Robinson family,” the Vermont Historical Society writes on its website about the Ferrisburgh home. “Rowland and Rachel Robinson wrote extensively, organized meetings, and lobbied on anti-slavery issues. They were part of the Underground Railroad network.” The museum presents exhibits and programs telling those stories.

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Middlebury College/Town of Middlebury – The college was the first institution to grant an honorary degree and a Bachelor of Arts to men of African descent and was the first to graduate a Black man and a Black woman, according to the brochure for the Vermont African American Heritage Trail. The town, the brochure reads, was the site of the founding of the Vermont Anti-Slavery Society.

Sites elsewhere in Vermont

Senator Justin S. Morrill State Historic Site – The U.S. senator who lived in a brightly toned Gothic Revival home in Orange County sponsored an 1890 act to prevent racial discrimination in admissions policies for colleges receiving federal funding. The home’s website notes that it celebrates Morrill’s work toward dismantling of slavery and affirming equal rights while acknowledging “the shortcomings and unfulfilled promises of some aspects of his work.”

Orleans County Historical Society/Old Stone House Museum – This Northeast Kingdom site tells the story of Alexander Twilight, who, the Vermont African American Heritage Trail brochure notes, was “an African American educator, preacher, and Vermont’s first Black legislator.” The museum’s website mentions that “Middlebury claims him to be the first African-American to earn a baccalaureate from an American college or university.”

Rutland Sculpture Trail – The sculpture trail in this central Vermont city covers many sites and stories, some of which highlight Black history in the region. The trail displays depictions of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment that included Black soldiers from Vermont as well as a bust of Martin Henry Freeman, an abolitionist, educator and first African-American college president (at the all-black Allegheny Institute).

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Hildene, the Lincoln family home – Robert Lincoln, the son of President Abraham Lincoln (“the Great Emancipator”), was president of the Pullman Palace Car Co. when he moved to southern Vermont in the early 1900s. “The site’s 1903 Pullman Car and ‘Many Voices’ exhibit highlight the history of the company and the story of the Black Pullman Porters,” according to the Vermont African American Heritage Trail brochure.

  • Hildene, the Lincoln family home, 1005 Hildene Road, Manchester. www.hildene.org

A selection of historic markers

Thaddeus Stevens – A marker in Danville commemorates the town native who became a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania and, according to the marker, “was both renown and reviled for his eloquent call for the abolition of slavery.”

Andrew Harris – Located at the University of Vermont in Burlington, the sign honoring the 1838 UVM graduate remarks that he was one of the first African Americans to earn a college degree and co-founded the American & Foreign Anti-Slavery Society.

Centennial Field – The Vermont African American Heritage Trail brochure notes that the three ballparks that have occupied the current’s park’s space at the University of Vermont hosted exhibition games for Negro League baseball clubs.

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Early Black settlers – A sign at Lincoln Hill and North roads in the town of Hinesburg pays tribute to “at least six related families by the end of the Civil War (who) cleared the land, joined the local Baptist church, had home manufactories, and exercised their voting rights at Freeman Meetings.”

The Great Convention” – “Frederick Douglass delivered a fiery abolitionist speech here in July 1843,” reads a marker on U.S. 7. “The Ferrisburgh meeting, organized by local activist Rowland T. Robinson, was one of the ‘100 Conventions’ sponsored by the American Anti-Slavery Society.”

Court Square – The first Addison County courthouse in Middlebury had an 1804 court case involving a man trying to reclaim an escaped slave. Justice Theophilus Harrington famously declared he would accept “Nothing short of a bill of sale signed by God Almighty Himself.” The former slave went free.

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If you go

Rokeby Museum in Ferrisburgh is presenting events during Black History Month in February:

  • 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, free museum day includes an opportunity to visit the site’s main exhibit, “Seeking Freedom: The Underground Railroad and the Legacy of an Abolitionist Family.”
  • 6-7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18, the virtual winter book discussion group talks about “The Life of Frederick Douglass” by David F. Walker, Damon Smyth and Marissa Louise
  • www.rokeby.org

For more information

Vermont African American Heritage Trail – www.vtaaht.org

Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com.



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