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Friday, May 31, 2019
Crime Break-Open Ticket Sales Lead to an Embezzlement Case in Colchester
Posted
By Matthew Roy
on Fri, May 31, 2019 at 10:22 PM
The former owner of Colchester pub the Spanked Puppy was charged with felony embezzlement related to the establishment’s robust sales of break-open tickets to benefit a local hockey nonprofit, according to Vermont's Division of Liquor Control.
Seven Days highlighted the ticket sales at the Spanked Puppy last year in one of the stories in Give and Take, a series that examined Vermont’s massive and lightly regulated nonprofit sector. While most gambling is illegal in Vermont, for-profit entities such as the Spanked Puppy are allowed to sell break-open tickets, provided the proceeds go to a nonprofit.
The pub’s former owner, Michelle Simms, 61, was cited in February to appear in court for felony embezzlement, according to Skyler Genest, the chief investigator and director of compliance and enforcement for the Division of Liquor Control. The Colchester Sun first reported on Simms' case.
“We did a forensic audit of their accounting practices,” Genest said. “We found what would be described as loose, at best, accounting procedures for those proceeds, and some large discrepancies that there was really no justification for.”
Seven Days highlighted the ticket sales at the Spanked Puppy last year in one of the stories in Give and Take, a series that examined Vermont’s massive and lightly regulated nonprofit sector. While most gambling is illegal in Vermont, for-profit entities such as the Spanked Puppy are allowed to sell break-open tickets, provided the proceeds go to a nonprofit.
The pub’s former owner, Michelle Simms, 61, was cited in February to appear in court for felony embezzlement, according to Skyler Genest, the chief investigator and director of compliance and enforcement for the Division of Liquor Control. The Colchester Sun first reported on Simms' case.
“We did a forensic audit of their accounting practices,” Genest said. “We found what would be described as loose, at best, accounting procedures for those proceeds, and some large discrepancies that there was really no justification for.”
Burlington Church Street Marketplace Director Ron Redmond to Resign
Posted
By Courtney Lamdin
on Fri, May 31, 2019 at 4:53 PM
Ron Redmond is stepping down after more than 20 years running the Church Street Marketplace.
In a press release Friday, Mayor Miro Weinberger said Redmond helped the Marketplace become "one of the Northeast's great urban places."
"I am grateful for Ron’s service to the City and the Church Street Marketplace, helping to grow and strengthen the Marketplace as a downtown destination for residents and visitors,” Weinberger said.
In a press release Friday, Mayor Miro Weinberger said Redmond helped the Marketplace become "one of the Northeast's great urban places."
"I am grateful for Ron’s service to the City and the Church Street Marketplace, helping to grow and strengthen the Marketplace as a downtown destination for residents and visitors,” Weinberger said.
News
Vermont Hemp Company and Grower Agree to Settle Lawsuit
Posted
By Sasha Goldstein
on Fri, May 31, 2019 at 12:00 PM
A Burlington woman who sued the Vermont Hemp Company last year has settled with the business.
Cynthea Hausman said she drained about $15,000 in savings before agreeing to settle her lawsuit in October 2018.
“I just ran out of money,” Hausman told Seven Days on Thursday.
Cynthea Hausman said she drained about $15,000 in savings before agreeing to settle her lawsuit in October 2018.
“I just ran out of money,” Hausman told Seven Days on Thursday.
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Election 2020 / Fair Game Extra / U.S. Politics
Walters: VTGOP, Gov Welcome Scott Walker as Protesters Jeer
Posted
By John Walters
on Thu, May 30, 2019 at 11:49 PM
Gov. Phil Scott and former Wisconsin governor Scott Walker headlined a Thursday evening fundraiser for the Vermont Republican Party. About 160 people attended the dinner at the Hilton Burlington. (Twenty or so of them paid extra for a closed-door reception with the two governors.) Before the event, roughly 500 people held a protest across Battery Street from the hotel.
Scott has sought to distance himself politically from Walker, who pursued conservative, anti-union policies as governor. “I didn’t invite the speaker,” Scott said at a Thursday press conference in Waterbury. “But I felt an obligation to make sure that we welcome governor Walker to our state.
“Vermonters know me,” Scott added. “I’m a centrist and I’m open-minded and I’m willing to listen to other points of view, and that should be the message here.”
Scott has sought to distance himself politically from Walker, who pursued conservative, anti-union policies as governor. “I didn’t invite the speaker,” Scott said at a Thursday press conference in Waterbury. “But I felt an obligation to make sure that we welcome governor Walker to our state.
“Vermonters know me,” Scott added. “I’m a centrist and I’m open-minded and I’m willing to listen to other points of view, and that should be the message here.”
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Statehouse Jilted by House, Vermont Senate Adjourns for the Year
Posted
By Kevin McCallum
on Wed, May 29, 2019 at 8:09 PM
Like a bride left at the altar, the Vermont Senate dutifully convened Wednesday, but their colleagues in the House stood them up.
The Senate had hoped that House members, frustrated by the collapse of negotiations on a minimum wage and paid family and medical leave package, would reconsider their abrupt Friday decision to adjourn until January 7.
Alas, it was not to be.
“We are sorry that we had to ask you to come back for this,” Senate Majority Leader Becca Balint (D-Windham) told her colleagues during a caucus before the brief afternoon floor session, “but it felt important enough for us to leave that possibility open.”
The Senate had hoped that House members, frustrated by the collapse of negotiations on a minimum wage and paid family and medical leave package, would reconsider their abrupt Friday decision to adjourn until January 7.
Alas, it was not to be.
“We are sorry that we had to ask you to come back for this,” Senate Majority Leader Becca Balint (D-Windham) told her colleagues during a caucus before the brief afternoon floor session, “but it felt important enough for us to leave that possibility open.”
Crime Father of Notorious Essex Teen Killer Charged With Child Porn
Posted
By Derek Brouwer
on Wed, May 29, 2019 at 6:30 PM
The 74-year-old father of Louis Hamlin III, who was convicted in 1982 of brutally raping a teenage girl and murdering another in Essex, was indicted this month for possession of child pornography.
Louis Hamlin II, of Huntington, was one of eight men charged in a recent sweep by local, state and federal officials.
His son, Hamlin III, became notorious decades ago when he was just 16. He and a 15-year-old youth, Jamie Savage, were arrested in 1981 for torturing two girls, ages 12 and 13, as they walked through the woods. The cases shocked Vermonters and led to changes in the state's juvenile crime laws.
Louis Hamlin II, of Huntington, was one of eight men charged in a recent sweep by local, state and federal officials.
His son, Hamlin III, became notorious decades ago when he was just 16. He and a 15-year-old youth, Jamie Savage, were arrested in 1981 for torturing two girls, ages 12 and 13, as they walked through the woods. The cases shocked Vermonters and led to changes in the state's juvenile crime laws.
Burlington Green Mountain Transit: Driver Broke Protocol, but Actions Weren't Race-Based
Posted
By Courtney Lamdin
on Wed, May 29, 2019 at 3:23 PM
Updated at 5:43 p.m.
Green Mountain Transit officials say a bus driver didn’t follow company protocol when he ejected students from his route last week, but his actions were not race-based.
Burlington School District officials met with the transit company Tuesday following Burlington mother Rebecca Mack’s viral Facebook post that claimed a bus driver forced only children of color to exit the bus for “singing and clapping.” Mack said the children, including two of her own, told her that white kids were allowed to remain seated.
The May 23 incident prompted the Burlington City Council to demand GMT attend its next meeting to explain what happened.
“This was the most personally racist event that had ever happened to them,” Mack, a white woman, told Seven Days about her children's experience. “It’s something that’s never going to go away.”
On Wednesday afternoon at its Industrial Parkway headquarters, GMT allowed Seven Days to watch onboard video of the incident. The bus cameras captured the scene from three different angles.
The footage shows bus No. 914 carrying a couple dozen children from Edmunds Elementary and Middle schools, the majority of them students of color. A group in the back begins chanting and banging on the windows soon after the bus departs shortly after 3 p.m. The driver, who identifies himself as Nate, tells them to stop.
Green Mountain Transit officials say a bus driver didn’t follow company protocol when he ejected students from his route last week, but his actions were not race-based.
Burlington School District officials met with the transit company Tuesday following Burlington mother Rebecca Mack’s viral Facebook post that claimed a bus driver forced only children of color to exit the bus for “singing and clapping.” Mack said the children, including two of her own, told her that white kids were allowed to remain seated.
The May 23 incident prompted the Burlington City Council to demand GMT attend its next meeting to explain what happened.
“This was the most personally racist event that had ever happened to them,” Mack, a white woman, told Seven Days about her children's experience. “It’s something that’s never going to go away.”
On Wednesday afternoon at its Industrial Parkway headquarters, GMT allowed Seven Days to watch onboard video of the incident. The bus cameras captured the scene from three different angles.
Related Green Mountain Transit Investigating Racism Complaint
Green Mountain Transit Investigating Racism Complaint
Off Message
Military F-35s Diverted to BTV Provide an Unexpected Preview of What's Coming
Posted
By Molly Walsh
on Wed, May 29, 2019 at 3:10 PM
The first F-35s ever to land at Burlington International Airport touched down unexpectedly Wednesday.
Four F-35s from Hill Air Force Base in Utah landed around 7:45 a.m. after being diverted on their way overseas due to weather and refueling schedules, according to Vermont National Guard public affairs deputy Nathan Rivard.
The planes were expected to remain overnight and then depart, although Rivard would not say exactly when.
The visiting fighter jets provided a sneak preview of the 18 F-35s scheduled to arrive starting in August for permanent basing with the guard, which shares a runway with commercial operations at Burlington International Airport.
Four F-35s from Hill Air Force Base in Utah landed around 7:45 a.m. after being diverted on their way overseas due to weather and refueling schedules, according to Vermont National Guard public affairs deputy Nathan Rivard.
The planes were expected to remain overnight and then depart, although Rivard would not say exactly when.
The visiting fighter jets provided a sneak preview of the 18 F-35s scheduled to arrive starting in August for permanent basing with the guard, which shares a runway with commercial operations at Burlington International Airport.
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Burlington / F-35 / Military More Homes Are Inside High-Decibel Areas on New F-35 Sound Maps
Posted
By Molly Walsh
on Tue, May 28, 2019 at 7:44 PM
The arrival of the louder F-35 military jets at Burlington International Airport will nearly triple the number of homes affected by high noise levels, according to sound maps released Tuesday.
A total of 2,640 dwelling units will be affected by noise at or above 65 decibels in 2023, compared to 976 on sound maps for 2015.
The new projections, based on computer modeling, suggest high-decibel noise will affect larger portions of Winooski and Williston, and slightly less of certain parts of South Burlington.
A total of 2,640 dwelling units will be affected by noise at or above 65 decibels in 2023, compared to 976 on sound maps for 2015.
The new projections, based on computer modeling, suggest high-decibel noise will affect larger portions of Winooski and Williston, and slightly less of certain parts of South Burlington.
Burlington Weinberger Appoints Former Obama Staffer to Run CEDO
Posted
By Courtney Lamdin
on Tue, May 28, 2019 at 4:35 PM
Mayor Miro Weinberger has picked a former Obama staffer and small business consultant to lead the city’s Community Economic Development Office.
At a press conference Tuesday, the mayor announced his appointment of Lukas McGowan to run CEDO, the city department that oversees everything from a lead abatement program to housing policies and the city’s tax-increment financing districts.
McGowan, who currently lives in South Woodstock, worked as a regional field director for then-presidential candidate Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and later as vice president Joe Biden’s speechwriter. McGowan also served in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, according to his résumé. He earned degrees from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and from Columbia University.
McGowan left government in 2012 and went on to help run a San Francisco tech startup called Thumbtack, which connects consumers with services such as plumbers, photographers and other small businesses and sole proprietors, he said. The company started with 10 employees and grew to 400, Weinberger added.
McGowan’s wide-ranging experience in both the public and private sectors make him well suited for the job, the mayor said.
At a press conference Tuesday, the mayor announced his appointment of Lukas McGowan to run CEDO, the city department that oversees everything from a lead abatement program to housing policies and the city’s tax-increment financing districts.
McGowan, who currently lives in South Woodstock, worked as a regional field director for then-presidential candidate Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and later as vice president Joe Biden’s speechwriter. McGowan also served in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, according to his résumé. He earned degrees from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and from Columbia University.
McGowan left government in 2012 and went on to help run a San Francisco tech startup called Thumbtack, which connects consumers with services such as plumbers, photographers and other small businesses and sole proprietors, he said. The company started with 10 employees and grew to 400, Weinberger added.
McGowan’s wide-ranging experience in both the public and private sectors make him well suited for the job, the mayor said.
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