Vermont reporters provide a roundup of ongoing local coverage of the coronavirus, the University of Vermont's plans to begin divesting its endowment from fossil fuels, and more for Wednesday, July 15.
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The latest coronavirus data:
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Vermont Department of Health reports 13 new cases of COVID-19
The Vermont Department of Health reported 13 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. Five of those cases were identified in Chittenden County, and two in Bennington County. Two cases were identified in Addison and Windsor Counties each, along with one each in Washington and Caledonia Counties.
There are currently five people hospitalized with confirmed cases in Vermont and 14 people hospitalized with symptoms or other circumstances under investigation. To date, 56 people have died from the disease.
The state has now tested 78,358 people and is offering free pop-up testing from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at the Flood Brook School in Londonderry, at Springfield High School in Springfield and at the Health Department's Brattleboro District Office, among other locations.
State health officials are monitoring a possible outbreak in Bennington County.
Currently, 76 people are being monitored as close contacts of confirmed cases of COVID-19.
- Abagael Giles
Norwich University cancels fall sports season
Norwich University has canceled their fall sports season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an announcement Wednesday, University officials said they will not participate in intercollegiate fall sports to maximize on-campus athletics in ways that advance the skills and student-athlete experience, while preserving NCAA eligibility.
- Karen Anderson
Quebec allows workers to return to offices at 25% capacity
Some Quebecois will be allowed to return to the workplace this weekend.
According to CBC News, employers in Quebec can call workers back to the office beginning Saturday, as long as spcae is filled to no more than 25% capacity.
Individuals heading back to the office must wear a face covering in all common areas, especially places like elevators or entrace halls, where physical distancing is not possible.
Provincial officials say working from home is still strongly encouraged.
- Karen Anderson
Vermont bears face food shortage
A hot and dry summer has left Vermont’s black bears especially hungry—and that’s leading to more conflicts with humans.
Trash, compost and bird feeders are attracting bears to homes and yards as they look for the food they need to survive.
Forrest Hammond—a biologist leading Vermont’s black bear management program—tells Vermont Edition our region doesn’t have a consistent food source for bears.
“Every other year, it tends to be a bad food year. In an even-number year like this year, there’s a shortage of bear food, especially during the summer time,” Hammond said. “Even into the fall, if a drought continues, we don’t expect to have as many nuts and berries as last year.”
It's estimated there are about 5,000 bears in Vermont — and wildlife officials say they’re now found in nearly every town.
Listen to the full conversation, as heard on Vermont Edition.
- Matthew Smith
Judge grants Springfield Hospital more time to develop financial plan
Springfield Hospital will get more time to put together a plan as it tries to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The hospital filed for bankruptcy about a year ago, and was supposed to come up with a plan to satisfy its creditors by the end of June.
But administrators asked for more time, saying the COVID-19 pandemic made it much harder to put together a plan.
A bankruptcy judge week said this week that the hospital could have another 120 days.
Springfield Hospital had hoped to partner with Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical System, but that deal is off the table for now.
- Howard Weiss-Tisman
Inmate at St. Johnsbury correctional facility tests positive for COVID-19
An inmate at a St. Johnsbury correctional facility has tested positive for COVID-19.
On Monday, 215 staff and inmates at the Northeast Correctional Complex were tested, and this is the only positive result. The inmate has been asymptomatic.
Officials say the facility was immediately put on lockdown and contact tracing begun. The inmate has been isolated.
This is the fourth inmate to test positive for COVID-19 at a Vermont correctional facility since June 11.
- Karen Anderson
Vermont hospitals push back on new reporting requirement
Vermont hospitals are pushing back on a proposal that would create a new reporting requirement.
The Green Mountain Care Board wants hospitals to put together sustainability plans to protect hospitals that have been losing millions of dollars each year.
But Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems president Jeff Tieman said the proposal represents government overreach with no clear benefits.
"We don't need a new regulatory process, which is what we're talking about now, in the state that already has the most onerous and elaborate regulation of hospitals in the entire country," Tieman said.
The Green Mountain Care Board released its sustainability plan framework at a meeting Wednesday.
- Howard Weiss-Tisman
Montgomery Center for the Arts to host 'The Paper Bag Mask Project'
When the Montgomery Center for the Arts had to cancel summer plans, members looked for a new idea that would be easy, inclusive and safe.
The result is The Paper Bag Mask Project. It's a virtual gallery on social media, plus a porch exhibit of some actual works that can be viewed safely.
Many of the masks are quite sophisticated, even though they're all just brown paper bags that have been drawn on.
Creative Director Sebastian Araujo said that the center's acting board president recommended using paper bags to create the masks.
“She said, ‘Well think about it. Everyone’s getting brown paper bags at the grocery store … and [has] a sharpie or crayons or paints or some way of making a mask’ … So that’s how the project began,” Araujo said.
The show opens July 20, 2020, online, at the Montgomery Center for the Arts website and Facebook page and on the center's front porch.
- Betty Smith
Republican candidates for lt. governor oppose carbon tax
The five candidates seeking the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor all say the imposition of a state carbon tax will hurt the future growth of the Vermont economy.
Backers of the tax say it's needed to discourage the use of fossil fuels and to provide money for home weatherization and energy efficiency programs.
One candidate, Meg Hansen, said in a VPR- Vermont PBS debate this week that the climate crisis facing this country is being blown out of proportion.
"Catastrophic climate change is speculated by computer models that have not been able to successfully predict anything," Hansen said. "The underlying premise is 'climate alarmism' and equating economic growth with pollution."
Dwayne Tucker of Barre, Dana Colson of Sharon, Jim Hogue of Calais and Scott Milne of Pomfret all said they also think it would be a huge mistake to impose a carbon tax at this time.
Watch or listen to the full debate, here.
- Bob Kinzel
VPR will be speaking with candidates running for office or nomination in August over the next few weeks. Look out for more coverage, as well as ways to participate and view live debates.
St. Albans Creamery owners break ground on $30 million in upgrades
The new owners of the St. Albans Creamery have broken ground on a $30 million project that will modernize the Franklin County milk processing plant.
The farmer-owned St. Albans Creamery was sold last year to Dairy Farmers of America, the nation's largest dairy co-op. The project now underway will add milk storage capacity and new receiving bays for milk trucks.
Harold Howrigan is the former chairman of the St. Albans co-op and now serves on the regional Dairy Farmers of America board. He spoke on video during a virtual groundbreaking ceremony.
"This is a three-year project," Howrigan said. "We're going to spent $18-20 million here this year, which is great for the local economy, great for us and great for our membership. Any time you increase plant capacity to handle our milk, it's good for the industry in general, and the Northeast and New England."
The project also includes investments in new trucks and trailers used to haul milk. About 300 Vermont farms belong to Dairy Farmers of America.
- John Dillon
N.H. will not require schools to reopen this fall
New Hampshire will not require any schools to reopen this fall, but is offering guidance on how districts can do so safely.
Gov. Chris Sununu on Tuesday outlined recommendations for screening, social distancing, hygiene and other safety measures aimed at preventing further spread of the coronavirus.
While President Donald Trump is demanding that schools resume in-person instruction, New Hampshire is leaving it to each school district to decide whether to fully return to the classroom, continue with remote instruction, or combine those two options.
Schools that do reopen must provide accomodations for students and educators who are not able to return due to underlying health concerns.
- The Associated Press
Piano sales pick up during the pandemic
The need to stay home and sequester during the pandemic has apparently given a boost to piano sales.
In Bristol, Ed and Emily Hilbert confirm that the national trend has reached their own piano sales and service business.
Ed Hilbert said the increase in demand began after people had been isolating for a while.
"The first month or two, nothing happened. But the past couple of months, we've had a number of people calling on the phone, asking about acquiring pianos. And we've had quite a few people coming through the store," Hilbert said.
The Hilberts said requests for piano tuning have picked up as well.
- Betty Smith
Republican candidates for lieutenant governor united on minimum wage
All five Republicans running for the party's nomination for lieutenant governor say they oppose legislation raising the state minimum wage to $15 per hour.
Increasing the minimum wage has been a top Democratic priority at the Statehouse for the past few sessions.
Scott Milne, a business owner from Pomfret, said it's a mistake for the state to require all Vermont companies to boost their wages.
"Number one problem we have as a Vermont business prior to COVID - and I think it's going to change a little bit - is attracting talent," Milne said. "We should let the market determine how to do that, and most employers that can afford to do that are doing that without the government telling them to do it."
The other GOP candidates include: Meg Hansen of Manchester, Dwayned Tucker of Barre, Dana Colson of Sharon and Jim Hogue of Calais.
Watch or listen to the full debate, here.
- Bob Kinzel
VPR will be speaking with candidates running for office or nomination in August over the next few weeks. Look out for more coverage, as well as ways to participate and view live debates.
Republican candidates for lt. governor offer their perspectives on cannabis
Vermont's five Republican candidates for lieutenant governor have very different views on a proposed "Tax and Regulate" plan to legalize marijuana.
Republican candidate Jim Hogue of Calais supports the legalization of marijuana in Vermont, but he doesn't want the state to regulate and tax it. Both Hogue and Dwayne Tucker of Barre said they favored the immediate legalization of marijuana.
However, speaking at a VPR-PBS debate on Tuesday, Hogue said he opposes a plan being considered by the Legislature that would have the state oversee the taxation and sale of marijuana in much the same way it currently regulates alcoholic products.
"It's not like alcohol," Hogue said. "It should be legalized and the government should stay out of it. There are so many wonderful products connected to it."
Two other candidates in the race have indicated their support for a state regulated system; including Tucker and Dana Colson of Sharon.
Colson said he would support a state system, if a roadside test is required to determine driver impairment.
"If you could satisfy the law enforcement concerns first, then I have no issue with it," Colson said.
However, state officials say such a test doesn't exist at this time.
Scott Milne of Pomfret said the issue should be dealt with at the federal level.
Meanwhile, Meg Hansen of Manchester is the only candidate in the race who opposes the legalization of marijuana in Vermont.
Hansen is a former director of a Vermont health care think tank.
At the same debate, she said if marijuana is legalized, the state should impose a significant tax on it, even beyond what is levied on alcohol sales.
"No, and I think that we shouldn't be comparing with alcohol, but with the way that Vermont legislates e-cigarettes," Hansen said. "And then by that measure, it would be prohibitory."
Watch or listen to the full debate, here.
- Bob Kinzel
VPR will be speaking with candidates running for office or nomination in August over the next few weeks. Look out for more coverage, as well as ways to participate and view live debates.
Castleton University moves all fall courses online
Castleton University announced Wednesday that it will move all fall classes online but still allow students to live on campus.
Under the plan, any student who chooses to live in the residence halls must sign a pledge to adhere to social distancing protocols.
School officials said the hyrbid plan will allow them to be flexible in case the COVID-19 pandemic gets worse.
- Karen Anderson
University of Vermont to begin multi-year effort to divest from fossil fuels
The University of Vermont will begin a multi-year process to divest its endowment of fossil fuel investments.
Tuesday's action by the Board of Trustees won't immediately pull funds out of fossil fuel investments. It will take until July 2023 to fully divest public investments and it could take longer for other investments.
Ron Lumba, chair of the UVM Board of Trustees, said the university will put its money into different funds.
"We will only do so in funds that have declared they're fossil free," Lumba said. "So it's essentially moving from funds where they have not declared that they're fossil free, to funds that have declared and other investments that are similar to that."
Nearly 7% of UVM's $536 million endowment touches fossil fuels, according to university officials.
- Liam Elder-Connors
St. Albans City Council considers citizen oversight of the police
Some St. Albans City residents are calling for police oversight after recent incidents of excessive use of force.
The St. Albans City Council met online Monday night to consider a citizen oversight board, according to the St. Albans Messenger.
Advocates want the board to have the power to investigate complaints, review policies and participate in hiring.
Opponents voiced concern over having civilians involved in the day-to-day operation of the police department.
- Karen Anderson
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