Washington
The Valley Reporter – Burns runs as Independent candidate for Washington-2 state rep seat
John J. Burns, Moretown, is running as an Independent candidate for the Washingtin-2 legislative district, representing Moretown, Waitsfield, Warren, Fayston and Duxbury in the Vermont Legislature.
VR: Why are you running for office now?
During veto override week I learned that only two candidates were running for the two seats representing this district. I believe we need choices and alternatives to have a healthy political system. Additionally, there is a lot of discontent across the state with our Democratic majority in the Legislature and the two candidates are Democrats. I felt compelled to put my name on the ballot so people have a choice and a bit of hope for this upcoming election in November.
VR: What is your background and experience?
I was born and raised in Burlington and graduated from UVM in 1992 with a political science degree, and was commissioned as an Army officer. I moved to Moretown in 2007 and retired from the Vermont Army National Guard in 2020 with over 30 years of service. Fifteen years of this was full-time service which included two deployments to Afghanistan and numerous years as a practitioner of ‘non-lethal’ operations. These operations include engagements, negotiations, and cultural awareness factors which enable a military commander to avoid using force. When not serving full-time, I was an entrepreneur, working on and developing my properties and helping others with their property needs. I also taught ROTC college students for five years at Norwich University. I complemented my experience with education by completing business programs at UVM and Champlain College, completing a ‘sustainable building’ program at Yestermorrow Design/Build school, and getting my Master of Public Administration degree at Norwich.
VR: What are your priorities if elected, first, second, and third?
My first priority is to do everything I can to help people not be taxed and expensed out of their home The ‘affordability’ issue is damaging the fabric of our state by gutting our communities. This is probably my second and third priority too but for the sake of the question, I’ll say the second priority is addressing climate change here in Vermont, within our geographic border and fiscal capability. My number three priority is to bring a sense of respect and decorum back to the Legislature.
How can Vermont deal with a changing climate and back-to-back flooding?
Good question because it contains its answer. Vermont can deal with a changing climate by doing some real projects to prevent future flooding. New Orleans has developed solutions to contain flood waters and hold the ocean back, we can probably do some real projects with our rivers by restoring flood plains, or channeling where necessary to protect developed locations. We can also continue to help Vermonters insulate and upgrade their inefficient buildings, and build new energy-efficient housing. That brings up another issue, the housing shortage. Well, there is a synergy there that can be capitalized on once the legislature stops being so polarized. There are real hands-on things we should do in Vermont to address climate change, and our current legislature is fixated on extravagant carbon credit schemes that nobody understands.
Why are you running as an independent?
I began seeing myself as an independent back around the John McCain era. I was from a solid Democratic family, but I grew out of that and I didn’t fit into the Republican party either. I am a fiscal conservative and have a libertarian streak. I believe we are stronger when we strive to maintain what we have built. We know that change and progress are always a factor in life, and I believe this should be planned and managed, not experimented with as our current Legislature is doing. Being Independent allows me to better ascribe to these principles and beliefs.
Reach out to Burns as follows:
https://independent4vt.onepage.me/
(802) 328-8001 |
A man wanted in connection with the fatal stabbing of a University of Washington student was arrested after photos of him were released to the public, authorities said on Thursday, May 14.
The Seattle Police Department did not name the suspect, but said in a statement that a 31-year-old man had turned himself in to the Bellevue Police Department. In a separate statement, the Bellevue Police Department said the suspect was arrested at about 10:42 p.m. local time on May 13.
The suspect was then transferred to the custody of Seattle Police Department homicide detectives and was booked into the “King County Jail for investigation of Murder,” according to police.
The arrest comes after police released photos taken from security camera footage of the suspect on May 13 and asked for the public’s assistance in the investigation. The photos appeared to show the man inside a laundry room.
On May 10, University of Washington police officers responded to the Nordheim Court apartments, an off-campus housing complex for undergraduate students, and found a woman stabbed to death in the laundry room. The victim, who a local official previously said was a 19-year-old transgender student, was identified by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office as Juniper C. Blessing on May 14.
The incident sparked a law enforcement investigation and prompted authorities to advise Nordheim Court residents to stay in their homes and lock their doors and windows for several hours.
In a statement on May 14, University of Washington President Robert Jones announced an arrest had been made “in connection with the horrific act that took the life of one of our students on Sunday night.”
“I hope the arrest brings some sense of relief to our community,” Jones said. “But this arrest does not lessen the profound shock and grief that the victim’s loved ones and our campus are still experiencing or bring back a beloved, promising and talented member of our university.”
“Much is still unknown about what caused this tragedy, and while this development is important, we will be looking closely at the circumstances in which this event occurred as part of our continued efforts to keep our campus community safe,” he added, noting that the university “remains committed to offering resources for those who need support, including our LGBTQIA+ community, during this difficult time.”
University of Washington student was found dead in laundry room
The University of Washington also confirmed on May 14 that the suspect arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing was the man in the photos shared by police. The Seattle Police Department had described the suspect as a Black man, about 5 feet, 7 inches tall, with short black hair and a “goatee with ingrown scruff around the jaw.”
Police added that the suspect was wearing rimmed eyeglasses; a long-sleeve, dark blue full zip shirt with a white collared shirt underneath; dirty blue jeans; and “dirty dark, possibly gray shoes with a light sole.”
University of Washington police officers responded to a report of a stabbing at about 10:10 p.m. local time on May 10 at Nordheim Court, according to the Seattle Police Department. Responding officers discovered a victim in a laundry room, the Seattle Police Department said in a statement on May 11.
Responding officers and the Seattle Fire Department “attempted lifesaving treatment,” but the Seattle Police Department said the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. After campus police cordoned off the area, the Seattle Police Department took over the investigation, and detectives arrived to process the scene.
In an emergency campus alert sent at about 10:40 p.m. local time on May 10, the University of Washington said campus police were investigating a death that occurred at the Nordheim Court apartments building. The alert advised residents of Nordheim Court to “stay indoors and lock doors and windows.”
By around 11:05 p.m., the university said the area had been secured but urged residents to remain indoors. Shortly before 1 a.m. on May 11, the university told residents that they no longer needed to remain indoors but noted that the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Both police and the university later confirmed on May 11 that a student had been killed in the laundry room at Nordheim Court. The housing complex is privately managed and operated by Greystar, according to the university’s website and Balta.
Nordheim Court offers 454 units ranging in size from studios to four bedrooms, the university’s website states. The housing complex consists of eight buildings, and laundry facilities are located in Building 1 and Building 7.
The university said the student was found dead in Building 7.
‘Juniper was simply the most amazing human being we have ever known’
In a statement shared by the Human Rights Alliance of Santa Fe on behalf of Blessing’s family, the LGBTQ+ advocacy group said the family was “currently in a state of profound shock and heartbreak, processing an unimaginable loss.”
“This loss has devastated not only those closest to their child but also many others throughout the Seattle, Santa Fe, and LGBTQIA2S communities who are mourning as well,” the organization said, adding that Blessing’s family has asked for privacy.
In the statement, the family said Blessing was born in Princeton, New Jersey, and attended Littlebrook School and Princeton Middle School until they moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2018. Blessing’s family described them as a “gifted singer with a transcendent voice,” who studied at the New Mexico School for the Arts from 2020 to 2024.
The family noted that Blessing loved weather since early childhood and intended to study atmospheric science at the University of Washington while also pursuing minors in music and philosophy. They added that Blessing was “courageously living their life as who they were until it was cut tragically short.”
“Our family has been shattered by the loss of our child, Juniper Blessing, to an act of unspeakable violence near the University of Washington campus in Seattle,” according to the statement. “Juniper was simply the most amazing human being we have ever known – highly intelligent, extremely talented, and deeply sensitive to the needs of others. Juniper’s loss not only devastates us but diminishes the world.”
Federal authorities are planning a “summer surge” aimed at reducing crimes committed by young people in D.C. sources tell News4.
U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro is expected to announce Friday that the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force will do additional enforcement and get more resources, law enforcement sources said.
The move comes about two weeks after the D.C. Council chose not to vote on extending Mayor Muriel Bowser’s emergency youth curfew zones over the summer.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order in March 2025 that established the task force. He declared a crime emergency and temporarily federalized the locally run Metropolitan Police Department in August 2025.
Trump threatened to seize control of MPD after teens attacked then-Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee Edward Coristine, who was known by the nickname Big Balls.
Pirro has repeatedly railed against youth who commit crimes and told News4 she would like to see children as young as 12 prosecuted as adults.
“The time for coddling young people – 14, 15, 16, 17 – is over. And it’s time that we lowered the age of criminal responsibility,” she said in August.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
News4 sends breaking news stories by email. Go here to sign up to get breaking news alerts in your inbox.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The owner of a popular Washington Avenue restaurant says he was arrested after a dispute with city health inspectors over whether his business had a valid permit to operate.
Surveillance video recorded May 6 inside Betelgeuse Betelgeuse shows owner Chris Cusack speaking with Houston Health Department officials before he was taken into custody.
“I was pretty dazed, and all I could do is comply until it all got figured out,” Cusack said.
Cusack was charged with failure to comply with local health and sanitary laws after authorities accused the restaurant of operating without a food dealer’s permit.
The Houston Health Department says food dealer permits are valid for one year and must be renewed annually.
Cusack disputes the allegation, saying he has paperwork he believes proves the business had renewed its permit in March.
“I pulled it off the wall and showed it to him,” Cusack said. “He said it wasn’t the right business. I said it has my business’ name and address on it.”
Cusack said inspectors questioned whether the permit was tied to the correct business identification number.
“(The inspector) saw the first ID and said, ‘Ah ha, that’s the one you’re working under, so therefore this isn’t valid,’” Cusack said.
ABC13 reached out to the Houston Health Department with questions about the arrest. The department referred questions to the Houston Police Department.
According to HPD, the health department ordered the business closed in October 2025 for operating without a permit, though officials did not specify which type of permit was involved.
Police said the business was instructed to remain closed until it complied with health regulations. On May 4, inspectors learned the restaurant was open, according to HPD. Inspectors returned two days later, when Cusack was arrested.
Cusack said he was never told to shut down the business and questioned why inspectors waited months before returning.
The restaurant, known for pizza and drinks, reopened following the arrest and was serving customers again on Wednesday.
Cusack also expressed concern about what he described as aggressive enforcement targeting Washington Avenue businesses.
The entertainment district has faced increased law enforcement scrutiny in recent years as city leaders attempted to curb reckless behavior and nightlife-related crime.
“Washington Avenue business owners are just being confused by these intense raids on businesses for what are typically really basic scenarios,” Cusack said.
Court records show Cusack is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday on the charge.
Copyright © 2026 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.
-
San Francisco, CA11 minutes agoWhere to Find Free Street Parking for Shows in San Francisco | KQED
-
Dallas, TX17 minutes agoDallas Stars Forward Would Be Perfect Trade Target for NY Rangers
-
Boston, MA29 minutes agoJetBlue to pull out of N.H.’s largest airport amid capacity crisis, officials announce – The Boston Globe
-
Denver, CO35 minutes agoDenver area events for May 15
-
Seattle, WA41 minutes agoFriday Roundtable: Free Summer Shuttles
-
San Diego, CA47 minutes agoSix concerts to fill your musical soul this week in San Diego County
-
Milwaukee, WI53 minutes agoFive teenagers arrested following police pursuit in Milwaukee
-
Atlanta, GA59 minutes ago2 Giant Pandas Are Headed to This US Zoo. Meet Ping Ping and Fu Shuang