Friday’s hot headlines from Vermont media.
Jummai Nache not part of mainstream media coverage of Covid-19
Vermont media have run news stories about Covid-19 skeptics in Oklahoma contracting the disease and now on respirators. But nary a word about Minneapolis missionary Jummai Nache suffered chest pains just three days after her second Pfizer vaccine shot in February. Since then she has suffered blood clots, cardiomyothapy, and amputation of both legs below the knee – with amputation of her hands to follow soon.
VW settlement pays for all-electric bucket truck
Thanks to money garnered by the State of Vermont from a multi-state settlement with Volkswagen over falsified emissions statements, the state’s largest utility has purchased an all-electric power line maintenance bucket truck.
Bob Beeman: fix-it man at the Olympic Games
Despite high heat and humidity and ever-present protocols, Bob Beeman of Morristown is enjoying his seventh Olympic games.
Tree wardens are the real life Lorax
Appointed by local selectboards, tree wardens make determinations about public shade trees. A new state law requires more reporting but also offers educational opportunities.
States weigh ban on ransomware payoffs
At least three states—New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania—are considering legislation that would ban state and local government agencies from paying ransom if they’re attacked by cybercriminals. A bill in the Vermont Legislature would study possible ransomware prevention and enforcement measures.
Jewish group plans protest at Ben & Jerry’s
A Jewish community group will rally Sunday at 11 am at the Ben & Jerry’s plant on Rte. 100 in Waterbury to protest the company’s July 19 boycotting of ice cream sales in disputed territories in Israel.
Water Cooler: 71% Burlington property owners see tax hike / vax ‘breakthrough gap’ narrows / Leahy wants $2.1 billion for more capitol security
Brattleboro’s new black, woman police chief promises a new perspective.
Roper: So-called ‘Smart Growth’ forces Vermonters into flood zones
The ‘Smart Growth’ concept of building homes in urban areas would force Vermonters to live in high-risk flood zones. Good idea? Maybe not.
News report: Act 250 delayed Waterbury gun shop, stopped sugarhouse at Mormon historic site
A sugarhouse near an historic site and a firearms shop expansion both faced unexpected, questionable opposition during the Act 250 review process, according to today’s Burlington Free Press.
Lake Monsters on 19-2 tear draw record crowd
Tuesday night’s record crowd at Centennial Field in Burlington shows that local baseball fans are noticing that the Vermont Lake Monsters are playing like, well, champs.
Thayer: Rise Up
Instead of teaching that our great Country was founded on the desire to be free and choose one’s own destiny, Critical Race Theory teaches that America was founded on racism and oppression. This is not about promoting the American dream for all citizens, it’s about pitting people against each other in a never-ending power struggle.
William Shatner brings Star Trek to North Country
William Shatner brought the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise with him to Ticonderoga, NY last week.
Cops seek masked armed robber
Wearing a disguised that included a surgical mask, an armed man robbed a Fair Haven gas station yesterday.
Exciting news about how the Vermont Daily Chronicle is growing – and how you can help
This July saw the best-read day, week, and month in the history of the Vermont Daily Chronicle. My heartfelt thanks to you.
Water Cooler: Covid up but restrictions unlikely; replacing Bible at VA; septic waste fertilizing stops; register women for draft?; winery won’t reopen; VT’s ‘Boston Tea Party’ celebrated
Will Bibles be taken from the NH VA? A farmer stops spreading septic waste on his fields. Covid cases up, but restrictions unlikely. These and more headlines from VT media.
Runner, rower, and patriotic rugby player represent VT in Tokyo
A dairy farmer’s wife, a disgruntled skier, and a patriotic rugby player represent Vermont in the “2020” Tokyo Olympics.
Covid aside, how healthy is Vermont?
For a state often called “the healthiest in the nation,” Vermont has some troubling health risk indicators.
Commentary: communism the ‘second oldest faith’
When Marx was asked what his objective in life was, he said, “To dethrone God and destroy capitalism.”
Stalker put GPS on woman’s vehicle
A Manchester man is scheduled to appear in court today on charges he placed a GPS on the vehicle of a woman he was stalking.
Black critic of CRT to speak in Bennington, Montpelier
Coming to Vermont August 5-7 is K. Carl Smith, retired U.S. Army officer and nationally recognized author, speaker and the creator of the Frederick Douglass Republican Engagement Strategy.
Commentary: There’s no affordable housing in Realtor’s hometown. He knows why
In East Warren, there were trailers, modest homes next to mansions, with no issues. Now we only have mansions.
Commentary: 15-year-old urges VT to become first to end homelessness
Theoretically, many homeless people could use the $2500 from the State to acquire more permanent housing. There’s only one problem: there is no housing available.
Water Cooler: Air quality advisory for northern VT, Climate Council makes recommendations, free tuition a big hit, Brattleboro names VT’s first black woman police chief
Hot headlines from VT media.
Guv unaware of state employee ‘equity audit’
Gov. Phil Scott stands behind the need for equity and diversity training of state employees, but said he is unaware of any plans to implement an ‘equity audit’ on state employees.
Strafford mine cleanup almost finished
An EPA Superfund mine cleanup 22 years in the making is nearing completion.
Calling Out the Big Lie
It’s time for Vermonters to heed Alexandr Solzhenitsyn and “live not by lies.”
Climate science settled? Not so much
Disciple of physicist Richard Feynman says scientific honesty requires an open mind on the lasting effects of climate change.
Water Cooler: Police seek violent attacker; selectboards saying the Pledge (no)?; impossibly tight VT rental market; Burlington property taxes rise steeply; another VT mask mandate?
Have you seen the man police say viciously assaulted someone in South Burlington? Could Vermont have another mask mandate?
Opinion: Sanders, AOC offer death sentence for the poor
Senator Sanders continuously rants about economic inequality being a death sentence for the poor. What he and the Ocasio-Cortez squad advocates is the real culprit.
Pride Parade watchers weigh in on transgender, CRT issues
Reporter Aaron Warner asked some direct questions of two women at Saturday’s LGBTQ ‘Pride Parade” in White River Junction. They answered in kind.
Wet July means powdery mildew in garden
The region’s wetter-than-usual July is seeing an increase in powdery mildew while home gardeners and landscapers around the state are seeking a remedy to save plants.
Fernandez: Free scoops of propaganda at Ben & Jerry’s
What the media did not report last week is that Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in 1995 hired a well-known anti-Zionist activist. She is now Chairman of the Board at Ben & Jerry’s.
Flemming: Sacrificing the sick to Vermont’s Green Energy plan
“So much of my work involves impacts to minorities, and I don’t mean necessarily the BIPOC populations. I mean people who are in the minority compared to everything else. And so, what we are doing in Vermont is a policy of sacrificing people,” Annette Smith of Vermonters for a Clean Environment told a Vermont Climate Council Subcommittee July 21.
Stella: school board should unMask the kids
“Todd and I are trying to make final decisions about our children’s education, and do not want our children suffocated by masks. Masks impair communication, breathing and have adverse physiological impacts.”
UPDATE: Crystal Lake drowning victims identified
The bodies of a man and woman were recovered in Crystal Lake in Barton this morning. They apparently drowned after leaving a pontoon boat Saturday.
Evslin: U.S. must walk the vaccination walk
by Tom EvslinThe US government talks the talk about Covid vaccination but doesn’t walk the walk. The CDC and the FDA say “get vaccinated” but they don’t act as if they really […]
Opponents silence GOP’s Felker on FB, steal his signs
Earlier this week the Progs kicked a Burlington GOP candidate off a prominent Facebook page. Now the Progs are stealing his signs, campaign manager Brad Broyles says.
Burlington businesses offer ‘safety escorts’
Faced with growing crime and less police protection, the Burlington business community is taking downtown safety into its own hands – peacefully.
Water Cooler: State colleges mandate vax / Just back from P-town? Get tested / Cops apologize for Essex arrest / UVM applications up / Teen pleads innocent to attempted murder
Hot headlines from VT media: teen pleads innocent to attempted murder. Provincetown visitors should get tested. State colleges will require student EUA Covid vaccination.
Levine leaning toward masking students this fall
More details are expected next week, but Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine seems to favor masking Vermont public school children this fall.
Revenue surplus adds $52 million to pension fund
A revenue surplus powered by a resurgent state economy has added $52 million to the state pension fund.
CRT/Equity Townhall 7/30 in Brattleboro
Friday, July 30 at 6:30 pm four speakers will take to the stage at The Whetstone Church in Brattleboro for a two hours discussion on Critical Race Theory/Equity.
Licata: persecution in Burlington
Religion, reason, and fair elections are all victims of the ideological persecution now being perpetrated on a Burlington City Council candidate.
Endangered Species Act foils e-car manufacturing
A rare plant could become the spotted owl or snail darter to bedevil the electric car industry.
2019, 2020 Game Wardens of the Year recognized
Two Vermont State Game Wardens were recognized by Governor Phil Scott and Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Louis Porter today in Montpelier for their exceptional performance. Warden Asa Sargent of Hartland received the […]
Felker calls for ‘positive policing’
Burlington’s business community shouldn’t need to pay for their customers’ safety escorts because the anti-police City Council has defunded law enforcement.
Water Cooler: Montpelier postpones homeless decision / Nuclear waste storage / renewable natural gas / free food $$ extended / GOP opposes vax passports / coke bust
Hot media headlines from around the state.
Abortion at 17 – and still regretting it
My abortion represents the 99% of abortions performed. Even so, for me, It was an indescribable horror, nothing to be celebrated or cheered in favor of. That is MY experience.
Burlington GOP candidate blocked on local Facebook page
In Burlington, social media operators cancel a gay Republican candidate for City Council. Soooo ‘inclusive.’
Roper: OF COURSE the rent is too high
The next time a politician laments on the campaign trail that the rent is too high, take a moment to see if their voting record helped make it so.
From Baghdad to Berlin, VT: Iraqi immigrant serves in VT National Guard
Ali Aljarah emigrated to Vermont with his family from Baghdad, Iraq, after anti-U.S. militia targeted his family with bombs.
VT to get $60 million in opioid settlement
Vermont’s cut of a national legal settlement with opioid manufacturers is about $60 million.
Waiving pitchforks on Front Porch Forum
A university professor scheduled to speak at s Friday night public gathering on CRT was called “an open white supremacist” on Underhill’s Front Porch Forum. Another speaker, organizer of a Jan. 6 bus ride to Washington D.C., was called a ‘traitor.’
School choice at last! New Hampshire pays tuition to private schools
Across the Connecticut River, state tuition may now go to private schools. What’s stopping Vermont?
Fiery, fatal crash
A Richmond man died in a fiery crash this morning. Speeding is believed to have been a factor.
UI computer upgrade lacks details, IT analyst says
A state analyst says the State of Vermont is moving too quickly on its plan to replace its decrepit unemployment insurance computer.
Killing millfoil on Lake Iroquois
Hated millfoil is being reduced on one Vermont lake after another.
Water Cooler: Beaches, Baptist Church close / White paint leads cops to burglar / Record-high OD deaths / Safety escorts
Crime doesn’t pay. Especially when the cops find you by following the trail of white paint.
‘Support Our Police’ sign ordered removed after ‘racist’ complaint
A Woodstock police officer was told to remove a “Support Our Police” sign from in front of the police department because, he was told, someone complained it’s racist.
Sanders bill shifts power over military from president to Congress
A bill introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders would shift power over the U.S. military from the president to Congress.
Utility execs join new broadband board
Governor Phil Scott has appointed Vermont utility executives Patty Richards and Dan Nelson to the newly established Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB). Richards will serve as chair and Nelson will fill one of four board member positions.
Bat get into your house?
One little part of my brain knows the bat in my house isn’t going to hurt me. But all the rest of me is like, I AM GOING TO DIE.
Cuba, Bernie’s Fantasy Island
Sanders should speak to Florida’s Cuban population before he decides to sing the praises of a murderous tyrant like Fidel Castro.
Opinion: Catholic school OK to not hire lesbian
A Catholic school in Morrisville should not be required to hire a lesbian teacher.
Committee favors legislative live-streaming, room capacity limits
A straw poll taken by a legislative committee today favors live streaming committee meetings and restricting the number of people in committee rooms.
Feared school shooter shows ‘run, hide, fight’ student response protocol
Vermont State College students are taught to fight off armed intruders – but only as a last resort.
Water Cooler: UVMMC wants outpatient surgical center / downtown Burlington can’t fill jobs / homeless in Montpelier city parks / heating fuel costs to rise
As Montpelier considers putting homeless people in city parks, a Burlington-based hospital wants to build an outpatient surgical center. And a propane dealer says costs will rise this winter.
Vaxxed Vermonters may visit Canada August 9
The Canadian government will open its borders to vaccinated Americans who successfully apply for entry online.
Sign health freedom scroll July 25 in Lyndonville
Sunday, July 25 in Lyndonville will be the first stop for the “We the People Declare Health Freedom” scroll, which attendees will be able to sign, before it embarks on its statewide journey.
Keelan: what’s next, Legislature? UVM sports boycott?
Will Vermont join California in boycotting other, less woke states? And if so, will UVM sports be the tool?
11 deaths, 68 serious Vermont vaccine ‘adverse events’ reported
According to a CDC registry, 11 Vermonters have died as a result of Covid-19 vaccination.
Page: Ben & Jerry’s boycotts Israel, embraces China
Left-leaning Ben & Jerry’s boycotts Israel, but still makes a big killing on Bing Keeling in China.
CRT ‘pernicious,’ UVM Prof says
CRT forces people to define themselves as either a good person or “some unhuman composite,” UVM Prof. Aaron Kindsvatter claimed.
Senate “tackled” pensions? Not really
That can of pension underfunding the Legislature kicked down the road is now the size of a bulk tank.
Water Cooler: Cost of rent outpaces wages / Admiral George Dewey & Olympia / Elder care labor shortage / Amtrak returns today / Fireworks damage neighbor’s home / Swimmer rescued from falls
Amtrak returns to Vermont today. Wage earners can’t afford the rent. Nursing homes need workers. A swimmer was rescued from beautiful, perilous Bingham Falls.
Baitfish banned in brook trout ponds
Baitfish pose a threat to native brook trout that have existed in Vermont ponds for thousands of years.
Updated: Balloon pilot Boland owned small airport, museum
The airport owner and balloon pilot who fell to his death Thursday told videographer Ryan Miller that ballooning is a ‘zen’ act in which one gives up control.
Three beltless drivers die over weekend
Three Vermonters died in single-vehicle accidents on rural highways over the weekend, Vermont State Police said. All three victims were driving in good weather conditions. All were thrown from their vehicles. None wore seat belts.
Vet Town Hall, protecting Civil War monuments on agenda in Fair Haven
Veterans are organizing to maintain war memorials in public parks.
Opinion: Welcome Cubans craving freedom
Cubans love freedom. Let’s give it to them.
UVM mandates ’emergency use’ Covid vax for all students
Without waiting for final FDA approval, the University of Vermont will require all students to be vaccinated for Covid-19.
Watercooler: Enough is enough: revolving door for repeat offenders / mold in women’s prison / Warning issued after lawmaker’s electric car fire / Universal school meals urged
Police are getting fed up with the revolving door for repeat offenders. There’s a bad mold problem in the women’s prison. After the EV owned by a Vermont lawmaker caught on fire, warnings were issued about not over-charging.
Flanders: Left threatened by King’s ‘Content of Their Character’ dream
My classmates learned that I could exceed expectations of even the average girl. And our Math Teams WON while I was Captain.
Vaccinated Americans may enter Canada by mid-August
Americans should be able to cross the border into Canada by mid-August – but only if fully vaccinated, Premier Justin Trudeau says. The U.S. – Canada border should open by mid-August – but only for vaccinated Americans,
Police struggle with pandemic road rage
Across the country, road rage altercations already were a problem before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. But in some areas, police say they’ve seen incidents spike during the past year and a half, as people have become more stressed and tensions have flared more easily.
656 state workers earn $100K or more
656 Vermont state employees earn $100K or more – up 13% from June, 2019, according to data.vermont.gov.
Reeve Lindbergh ends term with Vermont Arts Council
Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974), and author Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906-2001), has ended her long-serving role as a trustee of the Vermont Arts Council.
Johnson to join Metaxas, Chang in Vermont Sept. 10-11 re: Chinese Communist Party
Popular podcaster Will Johnson will join China expert Gordon Chang and radio host/biographer Eric Metaxas in Vermont September 10-11 to educate Vermonters about the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Windham, Bennington counties among 10 ‘least religious’ counties in U.S.
Vermont’s two southernmost counties are among the 10 least religious counties in the U.S..
Water Cooler: Stabbings at Burlington homeless camp / Former priest accused of child sex abuse / Passport desperation / School principal sentenced in sex case / Hallquist outlines broadband plans
Vermonters desperate for passports are converging on the federal building in St. Albans. A former priest is accused of child sex abuse and a school principal is sentenced for a sex offense. Gov. Scott’s one-time challenger outlines her plans for Vermont broadband. These headlines and more from Vermont media.
Climate councilors back carbon tax
Members of the Vermont Climate Council agreed (not so regretfully) that paying for carbon emission programs will require a carbon tax.
Condos backs election bill Ted Cruz calls ‘Corrupt Politicians Act’
Both Sen. Patrick Leahy and Secretary of State Jim Condos say voters should trust Congress to make the rules for state elections. Sen. Ted Cruz says the For The People Act proves just the opposite.
Water Cooler: porn guilty pleas/ Starbucks, housing in Berlin/ free courses at UVM / Delta variant in VT
Today’s hot media headlines from around the state.
Iowa farmboy Tom Breuer became accomplished engineer, entrepreneur, philanthropist
When not leading his various businesses or engaging in philanthropic work, Tom Breuer enjoyed getting back to his Iowa dirt-farmer roots on his “hundred-acre wood” in the mountains of Stowe.
No door-to-door vaccine evangelists in Vermont, Scott says
The State of Vermont will not participate in President Biden’s proposed door-to-door campaign to urge vaccination in low-vaccination rate communities.
McClaughry: Parents are waking up
What parents are awakening to is that their children are being told the lie that America has made little or no racial progress and therefore its legal, economic and political systems must be turned upside down.
Fernandez: the veiled history of Arab-Moslem Slavery
Are Vermont students even being taught the 1300-year record of the black slave trade beneath the whip of Arab-Moslem masters?
Scott talks infrastructure with Biden at White House today
Gov. Phil Scott will meet with President Biden today about spending on infrastructure.
Cairns: Advance child tax credit a landmine
The Advance Child Tax Credit is an entitlement that needs to be repealed. However, it will do a lot of damage in the meantime, a Stowe tax advisor says.
