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Friday, June 4, 2021

Posted By on Fri, Jun 4, 2021 at 6:29 PM

click to enlarge Law Firm That Advised Quiros on EB-5 Projects to Pay $32.5 Million Settlement
JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR ©️ Seven Days
A chart detailing the alleged inappropriate flow of funds within the Jay Peak and Q Burke EB-5 projects
The law firm accused of helping the former owner of Jay Peak resort defraud investors has agreed to pay $32.5 million to the court-appointed receiver untangling the mess left behind by the massive scandal.

Michael Goldberg, the receiver, filed the settlement agreement with the firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp Friday in U.S. District Court in Southern Florida. The firm provided legal advice to Ariel Quiros, the Miami businessman accused of bilking investors in development projects in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.

Goldberg argued that the firm “breached [its] fiduciary duties and aided and abetted the fraud orchestrated by Quiros” and therefore was responsible for the fraud going on as long as it did.

Quiros and his partner, William Stenger, were accused of misusing $200 million of $350 million raised through the state EB-5 program, which financed development projects funded by foreign investors hoping to obtain green cards.

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Thursday, June 3, 2021

Posted By on Thu, Jun 3, 2021 at 5:49 PM

click to enlarge Businesses Skipped Over for Pandemic Relief Get Preference for New Grants
Tim Newcomb ©️ Seven Days
Vermont businesses that have not received state or federal COVID-19 relief funds will go to the front of the line when the state starts handing out $30 million in relief grants next week.

They'll be given priority for the first 30 days of the new Economic Recovery Bridge Program, which will give them first crack at $10 million of the program's funds and will provide grants of up to $150,000 per business.

“It seems hard to believe, but in 2020 there was a group that wasn’t eligible for our grants, and they were essentially out of luck,” said state Economic Development Commissioner Joan Goldstein. They includes businesses that, because they opened in 2020, couldn’t demonstrate a loss compared to a prior year. “We want them to stay in business. We don’t want them to just close up shop,” she said.

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Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Posted By on Wed, Jun 2, 2021 at 11:56 PM

click to enlarge Faith Group Calls for Quicker Cultural Change at Women's Prison
File: Luke Awtry ©️ Seven Days
Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility
The Vermont Interfaith Action group pressed state corrections officials and lawmakers on Wednesday to improve conditions for women held at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington, which has been rocked by sexual misconduct allegations in recent years.

A cultural change promised for Vermont’s only prison for women isn’t happening fast enough, members of the group said.

“As faith communities, we believe there is a moral imperative to change the culture of the Vermont Department of Corrections to a new paradigm,” Linda Wentworth said during a Zoom meeting at which the group called for reforms.

That new model would replace a damaging “power and control dynamic” with a “culture of wellness” similar to what's been created for women prisoners in Maine. That model embraces “measures to improve and maintain [their] physical, emotional and spiritual health," Wentworth said.

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Posted By on Wed, Jun 2, 2021 at 5:35 PM

click to enlarge Vermont Lawmakers Vow to Override Gov. Scott's Vetoes
Kevin McCallum ©️ Seven Days
Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint (D-Windham) speaking outside the Statehouse Wednesday
Less than two weeks after adjourning for the year, legislative leaders on Wednesday vowed to return in coming weeks to try to override Republican Gov. Phil Scott’s latest vetoes, including ones blocking communities from giving noncitizens voting rights.

From the Statehouse steps, Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint (D-Windham) confirmed that lawmakers did not intend to let Scott stand in the way of key legislation passed by the General Assembly.

“You can bet we’ll be back for a veto session,” Balint vowed.

She stressed that she still needed to confirm details with House Speaker Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington), but a spokesperson for Krowinski removed any doubt that the battle lines were being fortified.

“These vetoes sealed the deal,” Conor Kennedy, Krowinski’s chief of staff, confirmed.

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Posted By on Wed, Jun 2, 2021 at 4:11 PM

click to enlarge Vermont Is Planning to Install Rattlesnake Road Crossings
Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department
Timber rattlesnake
When endangered timber rattlesnakes wake from their winter hibernation area in Rutland County, many of them need to cross Route 22A to reach their feeding grounds.

As they slither across the busy two-lane road, some of the cold-blooded creatures stop to curl up on the warm spring asphalt — and never make it to the other side.

“That’s where truckers are hitting 60 miles per hour on their way up from Route 4 into the Champlain Valley,” said Jens Hilke, conservation planner for the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.

So when the road is rebuilt in the coming years, it will likely have the state’s first ever wildlife crossing — for rattlesnakes.

The five tunnels are proposed to cross the roadway under a mile-long section near West Haven. The project was mentioned this week in a New York Times story on wildlife crossings around the country.

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Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Posted By on Tue, Jun 1, 2021 at 7:53 PM

Scott Vetoes Noncitizen Voting Proposals, Signs Bupe Bill
File: Jeb Wallace-Brodeur ©️ Seven Days
Gov. Phil Scott
Gov. Phil Scott on Tuesday vetoed a pair of bills that would have granted local voting rights to noncitizen residents of Winooski and Montpelier, asserting that the topic needed "further consideration and debate."

Scott based his rejection on the argument that the two charter change proposals lacked clarity on who exactly would be able to vote and would lead to inconsistent election policies across the state. He urged the legislature to develop a statewide policy or "uniform template" for municipalities seeking to expand voting rights.

"I understand these charter changes are well-intentioned," Scott wrote in a letter to lawmakers Tuesday evening. "But I ask the Legislature to revisit the issue of non-citizen voting in a more comprehensive manner."

The decision will come as a blow to the two cities, where voters overwhelmingly supported the proposals. The vetoes will also likely fuel accusations of paternalism from those pushing for more municipal freedom.

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Posted By on Tue, Jun 1, 2021 at 3:52 PM

click to enlarge Vermont Closes In on Vaccination Goal — and Considers Sending Shots to Canada
File: Ly Trần
Gốc Văn Trần gets vaccinated for COVID-19 at the Winooski Armory
Vermonters are closing in on the state’s goal of an 80 percent vaccination rate, raising expectations that Gov. Phil Scott will lift all remaining COVID-19 restrictions this month.

The state is still gathering vaccination data from Sunday and Monday, but as of Tuesday morning, an estimated 78 percent of eligible Vermonters had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Another 11,346 people need to get vaccinated in order to reach that 80 percent. If 1,000 a day were vaccinated, the state would fully reopen June 11, Human Services Secretary Mike Smith said during the governor’s regular COVID-19 news briefing Tuesday.

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Friday, May 28, 2021

Posted By on Fri, May 28, 2021 at 12:09 PM

Citing Vaccination Rate, Scott Lifts Curfew for Bars and Restaurants
File: Jeb Wallace-Brodeur
Gov. Phil Scott
Updated 1:45 p.m.

Night owls seeking a drink or some grub will soon have more options: Citing the state's vaccination progress, Gov. Phil Scott has lifted the 10 p.m. curfew for Vermont bars and restaurants, effective Saturday.

The move, which eliminates a monthslong curfew aimed at limiting transmission of the coronavirus, arrives ahead of the typically busy Memorial Day Weekend. Further, the number of Vermonters ages 18 to 29 getting vaccinated continues to climb; just over half that group has received at least one dose, representing a 20 percent jump during the last month.

"We felt there was no reason to keep the limit in place," Scott said at a press conference Friday.

Bars and restaurants must still obey all other COVID-19 mandates — at least for now. Those who aren’t vaccinated must still wear masks when not seated, for example, while establishments must provide six feet of space between tables and monitor capacity limits.

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Thursday, May 27, 2021

Posted By on Thu, May 27, 2021 at 6:45 PM

click to enlarge Canadian Company Plans to Purchase Koffee Kup Bakery
Matthew Roy ©️ Seven Days
A family-owned baking company based in Canada says it expects to purchase the assets of the recently shuttered Koffee Kup Bakery, bringing hope for dozens who abruptly lost their jobs last month.

Mrs. Dunster's Bakery — a New Brunswick baked goods distributor — announced its intentions in a press release on Thursday, saying it was facilitating the purchase through the newly-formed North Atlantic Baking Company, which will be based out of Burlington.

"We have been advised that North Atlantic Baking Company is the preferred purchaser of the Koffee Kup assets and we are focused on moving quickly to conclude negotiations which will lead to restarting operations very soon," wrote Blair Hyslop, who co-owns and runs Mrs. Dunster's with his wife, Rosalyn, in the release. VTDigger.org first reported the news.

The likely new owners say they are now negotiating a lease with a court-appointed receiver and hope to have it completed within the next few days. They said they plan to resume operations at Koffee Kup's two Vermont bakeries while they try to sell off a third facility in Connecticut.

"The lease agreement will allow us to quickly get employees back to work and products back on the shelves while we work through the formal transferring of assets, the details of which have been largely agreed to," Hyslop wrote.

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Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Posted By on Wed, May 26, 2021 at 7:39 PM

click to enlarge Rock Point School Removes Portrait of Bishop Who Supported Slavery
Courtesy of Rock Point School
Bishop Shannon MacVean-Brown speaking with students in front of the portrait of John Henry Hopkins that has been removed
Rock Point School, a small independent day and boarding high school located on Burlington property owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont, is reckoning with the racism of one of the church’s former leaders. Last week, students and faculty removed a large portrait of John Henry Hopkins, who in 1832 became the first Episcopal Bishop of Vermont, from the school's front hall because of his writings defending slavery.

Hopkins’ son built the school building in the late 1800s as a tribute to his father. It's on a large scenic parcel that includes Lake Champlain shoreline.

In 1861, the elder Hopkins penned A Scriptural, Ecclesiastical and Historical View of Slavery, a pamphlet in which he criticized abolitionists and argued that slavery was not a sin.

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