Miro & the Burlington City Council – This is the kind of sickness and perversion you have wrought. Just an hour ago, while walking my dog, I found this pamphlet taped on a telephone pole at the corner of South Prospect & Cliff. Let me quote its entirety [profanity, racial and sexist epithets edited]:
Connecticut woman dies in Mt. Holly snowmobile accident
A Connecticut woman died yesterday in a snowmobile crash in the Rutland County town of Mt. Holly.
Do masks work? Arguments pro and con published today
Since last March, Vermonters have debated the most fundamental Mask Question: do they prevent transmission of Covid-19? Today, in an effort to transmit useful information and stimulate fact-based public discussion, Vermont Daily presents two opposing perspectives.
CDC Science Brief: Community Use of Cloth Masks to Control the Spread of SARS-CoV-2
CDC position on masks: SARS-CoV-2 infection is transmitted predominately by respiratory droplets generated when people cough, sneeze, sing, talk, or breathe. CDC recommends community use of masks, specifically non-valved multi-layer cloth masks, to prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Masks are primarily intended to reduce the emission of virus-laden droplets (“source control”), which is especially relevant for asymptomatic or presymptomatic infected wearers who feel well and may be unaware of their infectiousness to others, and who are estimated to account for more than 50% of transmissions.
Masked to Death
Early on in my research, back in March 2020, as the virus began to spread, I sought the most reputable sources of information for which masks were most effective if any. Any good scientist knows the Random Controlled Trial (RCT) is the gold standard for deriving scientific evidence for determining efficacy or lack thereof. As I poured over the research it was abundantly clear – masks do not work for stopping viral transmission. Neither in hospitals, nor in communities – nowhere could I find even one study that concluded masks available to the public could help prevent the spread of any virus, including this new one.
Buttle named Game Warden of Year
State Game Warden Sergeant Travis Buttle of Shaftsbury is Vermont’s Game Warden of the Year. A game warden since 1996, Buttle was nominated by his peers and received the award in recognition of his excellent service.
Cambridge, MA approves group marriage – as predicted by VT Attorney General in 1998
Almost 23 years before the Cambridge, Massachusetts city council Monday legalized polyamory – ‘group marriage” or domestic partnerships with more than two spouses – similar action in Vermont was predicted by Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell in a 1998 argument against civil unions.
Sexton asks sheriff to charge senators with perjury
Second Amendment Rights activist Jim Sexton of Essex Junction today presented a written petition to Washington County Sheriff Sam Hill to remove from the State House and charge 16 Vermont senators who – Sexton says – “have committed perjury by violating their oaths of office” by supporting gun control legislation.
Vermont Daily Water Cooler for Wed, Mar 10
Don’t miss breaking news! Vermont Daily Water Cooler is a roundup of important headlines from around the state. Publication Headline Published WCAX As weather warms, Vt. schools eye return to outdoor classrooms […]
Scott official urges peer pressure on vax undecided
The Scott administration yesterday strongly urged Vermonters to encourage family and friends to “step up when it’s their turn” to choose vaccination. It also spoke about BIPOC vaccination, vaccines developed with stem cells. And there’s info about the pandemic and Pickleball.
Keelan: My apple pie will now be taxed
The Commission contends that broadening the tax base could reduce the sales tax rate from its present amount of 6% to 3.6%. As a long-time student of taxes, I don’t believe the rate of 3.6% will be around long before it is raised to 4% and higher in the not-too-distant future.
Condos backs “For The People” bill
We are seeing an unprecedented, all-out assault on voting rights in states around the country. According to the Brennan Center, there are 165 bills in 33 states aimed at making it harder for eligible Americans to vote, grounded in baseless and disproven claims of widespread voter fraud. It’s my understanding this number has grown since their data collection, now surpassing 250 bills. This opportunistic gambit is cause for alarm.
Covid, ethics, reapportionment bills passed in House
Most committees have passed a small number of priority bills. A few bills have been approved by either the House or the Senate. Even fewer have cleared both chambers. Here is a breakdown of bills that have passed either House, Senate or both.
Vermont Daily Water Cooler for Tue, Mar 09
Don’t miss breaking news! Vermont Daily Water Cooler is a roundup of important headlines from around the state. Publication Headline Published VPR How Women Are Bearing The Brunt Of The Economic Impact […]
Meteor flashes over northern Vermont sky
A loud, fiery 10 lb. six-inch wide meteor flashed over Northeastern Vermont Sunday evening, according to NASA Meteor Watch. It took about 5-6 seconds to burn up, which made it easy to see. Its passing sounded “like big trucks crashing,” according to young eyewitnesses in Johnson.
Open Letter to Sen. Patrick Leahy on Equality Act – and his response
Heterosexual marriage must not be denigrated as a “stereotype.” Both human history and modern academic studies show us that heterosexual marriage is not only the most enduring bond between adults, it is by far the most beneficial to children. By any meaningful standard – emotional security, educational and employment achievement, freedom from substance abuse, future family happiness – heterosexual marriage benefits children the most. While government should not discriminate against parents who do not fit this mold, government should unapologetically support the heterosexual family – not denigrate or dismantle it.
Heather Sheppard
Today, as I prepare to write about crossover in the Vermont Legislature and a meteor that flashed across the Vermont sky Sunday night, my heart is with the family of a dear friend, Heather Sheppard, who blazed her own beautiful path until Sunday morning at 11:55 when she crossed over into eternity.
Pandemic, cyberattack contribute to $21.3 million loss for hospital network
March 11 will mark one year since the first patient diagnosed with COVID-19 received care from the UVM Health Network. Combined with the cyberattack and the suspension of surgery at Fanny Allen, it’s been a tough financial year for Vermont’s largest health care provider and employer.
“Thermal Energy Efficiency” charge just another carbon tax
After the push for the carbon tax fizzled out in 2018, the “climate change” game turned to enacting a carbon tax by disguising it as something else. The latest version is called “the Thermal Energy Efficiency Charge”, and Sen. Bray has become its most ardent promoter.
Wooly mammoth fossil discovered 1848 in Mt. Holly
A Vermont wooly mammoth fossil, discovered in a railroad right-of-way at Mt. Holly near Rutland, is still helping paleo-researchers understand what life was like in the Ice Age.
Sanders: What ARPA means to Vermonters
As a result of the bill that passed the Senate on Saturday, 428,000 adults and 145,000 kids in Vermont will be receiving direct payments averaging $2,230 per household. In other words, 89% of Vermont households will be receiving a direct payment under the Senate bill.
Welch votes for 16-year-old right to vote
Rep. Peter Welch voted yes an amendment to the HR1 “For the People” act that, had it passed, would have lowered the mandatory minimum voting age for federal elections to 16.
Legislature may need special summer session to spend new federal $$
The Vermont Legislature may need a special summer session to spend all of the money bestowed on the State of Vermont by the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, Vermont lawmaker David Yacovone (D-Morristown) said in the March 4 News & Citizen.
Senate bill would give farmers higher price for milk
A Senate bill would add five cents to the wholesale cost of every dairy product retail container and return the money to farmers in the form of higher milk prices.
Krauss: Wealthy VPR should restore citizen commentary
What would the outcome be if those ten newspapers, or all Vermont newspapers, suddenly decided for financial reasons to cancel the publication of letters and commentaries and reallocate the funds? Yet in all honesty, isn’t that what VPR did when it cancelled its Commentary Series?
Gun carry ban limited to hospitals
A new version of the S30, Chittenden Sen. Phil Baruth’s proposed ban on carrying firearms in many public places, strikes all the previous wording and establishes a single new criminal punishment for carrying a gun inside a hospital. It also includes a study to determine if the policy prohibiting firearms at the Statehouse is sufficient or if it needs to be “strengthened” through legislation.
Maria von Trapp: A place called Vermont
The story of the music-filled lives of the von Trapp Family Singers, their performance at the Salzburg Music Festival, how Maria met Capt. Georg von Trapp and his children, and the family’s escape from Nazi-annexed Austria in 1938 (just before war erupted), is well known. The family’s eventual relocation to the USA is also frequently recounted. But what few know is how the Von Trapps came to call Stowe, Vermont, their new home.
VT prison population down 44% – but activists want it lower
In 2010, Vermont had 2,248 incarcerated individuals under its watch. Today, that figure is just 1,258–a 44 percent decline. For supporters of criminal justice reform and lawmakers looking to lower Vermont’s inmate population, that’s good news – right? Wrong, say activists.
GMP buys Connecticut River hydro power
Colchester-based Green Mountain Power (GMP) announced on March 4 a power purchase agreement with Great River Hydro, based in New Hampshire, to provide power for customers.
Sanders office pushed for new food box distribution
A spokesperson for Sen. Bernie Sanders says his office sought to replace the vendor in charge of distributing Farmers to Families food boxes to local needy people. In the changeover, Vermont churches were left out of the distribution process.
Klar: The left’s hatred has escalated post-Trump
Donald Trump has passed from view, but the virus of New Leftism is thriving and easy to see. And what is visible is that it is a bitter, seething contempt, far wider than any one man.
Licata: In Burlington, the authoritarian children are in charge now
The children are largely in charge now – including Max and his band of comrades – with their cancerous form of postmodern, deconstructive, illiberal and authoritarian Social Justice Theory.
State trooper cited for domestic assault
Following an investigation that began in December 2020, the Vermont State Police has cited Nicholas Cianci, 25, of Bradford on suspicion of physically assaulting and threatening a woman with whom he was in a relationship.
Blakeney: Speak Truth Firmly to Evil
America has been the anchor of western civilization for the last century. Today we no longer articulate our values and principles. We listen constantly to leftist crap. This is the reason we have drifted so far off our moorings. It is time to stand for something.
Bishop: Employers say working from home is working
Many employers see the COVID crisis as a catalyst for change in the future of work, encompassing how people work, where, and with whom. Most employers are committing to a hybrid work model, where employees work from home regularly and frequent the office less.
Mazur: No ‘unity’ from Biden
President Biden’s inaugural address called for unity to bring the country together. His speech of healing showed promise of moderation. We soon learned that his actions speak louder than his words.
Redic: presence of school cop stopped mass killing – now Senate bill would ban them
The presence of a School Resource Officer deterred Jack Sawyer from carrying out his planned 2018 Valentine’ Day weekend mass shooting at Fair Haven Union High School, the school’s superintendent tells Ericka Redic on the latest episode of the Ericka Redic Show.
Vermont last in state funding in $1.9 trillion Recovery bill
Vermont ranks last in projected allocations to states from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act passed by the House of Representatives, according to a March 3 report by Congressional Research Service. The Act now goes to the U.S. Senate, where a tough battle is expected over its inclusion of a national $15 minimum wage and other controversial features.
Gagne: when some lives are dispensable, all are diminished
On Feb. 11th the Vermont House of Representatives introduced H248, a bill declaring that an unborn baby, beginning at 24 weeks gestation, is a legal person. Due to the miracles of modern medicine, babies have survived at even earlier than 24 weeks. At the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020 triplets at 22 weeks gestation were born at UVMMC to the McShane family. Cian, born 12/28/19, weighed 1.08 lb.. Declan, born 1/2/20 weighed 1.47 lb. and Rowan, born 1/2/20 weighed 1.08 lb.. These three babies were discharged from UVMMC on July 15th, 2020 after reaching normal milestones in growth and development.
Evslin: Starlink internet gamechanger for rural Vermont?
FAQ about a possible internet gamechanger for rural Vermont, from tech entrepreneur Tom Evslin of Stowe – who has no financial interest in Starlink.
Vermont Daily Water Cooler for Wed, Mar 03
Don’t miss breaking news! Vermont Daily Water Cooler is a roundup of important headlines from around the state.
As his committee attacks conservative news outlets, Welch suggests government funding of media
At a Feb. 24 public hearing, Welch said market forces created our polarized national media and suggested government funding as an alternative.
Next phase of vaccine rollout announced
Governor Phil Scott today announced that the next phase of the State’s vaccination efforts will begin on March 8 for Vermonters with certain high-risk conditions. With additional supply coming to the state, Governor Scott also unveiled a new track of the vaccine rollout starting next week to include school staff and childcare providers, as well as an expansion of the definition of first responders under Phase 1A.
Outbreak surges at Newport prison
There are 100 new cases of Covid-19 among incarcerated individuals and eight new staff cases in the outbreak at Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport, the Newport Dispatch reports. The cases were […]
Vermont: reactive or reactionary?
Our ship of state is captained from the stern. We scan our wake for bad signs. A corpse floats by — we need a law. A raw sewage dump or fish-kill fouls our wake — we need a law. A powerboat swamps a canoe — we need a law. The water doesn’t freeze in February — we need a law.
Churches pushed out of food box distribution
A Cambridge pastor laments a decision by government officials preventing his church from distributing Farmers to Families food boxes to local needy people.
Vermont Daily Water Cooler for Tue, Mar 02
Don’t miss breaking news! Vermont Daily Water Cooler is a roundup of important headlines from around the state.
Prison guards decry immunizing inmates, but not staff, during outbreak
Corrections officers at Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport say the State’s decision to vaccinate inmates before it vaccinates prison staff sends a terrible message to the workers and their families and is hurting staff morale.
Voting for children and against school budget
Life has changed so much in the last year – how I work, travel, and dress. Today I discovered the pandemic – or rather, our leaders’ misguided handling of it – has changed how I vote.
Doug Richmond: will children ever recover?
There are many effects, and digging very deep into our psyche, and in ways from which we will never fully recover. What is the most severe punishment for the worst possible deadly criminal? A single month in solitary confinement.
Gun control, vax refusal, race-based bills among Top 10
This week, lawmakers are Town Meeting break. Taking advantage of the respite, Vermont Daily looks back at the most-read, most-commented-on news stories from the 2021 Legislature.
New bottle bill would double cost of Walmart water
There is a proposal making its way through the Vermont House of Representatives to raise and expand Vermont’s bottle deposit law (H.175). The bill would double the cost of a standard bottle deposit from 5 cents to 10 cents.
‘Essential, necessary’ border town travel OK now, state says
Vermont residents who live within five miles of another state border may cross state lines into border towns on “essential and necessary” activity, the State of Vermont has announced in what it calls “common sense relief.”
Fixing error, State mails 180,000 1099s
The Vermont Department of Labor (VDOL) has mailed all-new 1099-G forms to 180,000 recipients, with the final batch in the mail today, according to a DOL statement.
