MONTPELIER The State of Vermont will receive a total of $157,500 in settlement payments from nine separate online sellers of electronic cigarettes and vaping products, settling allegations they did
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The Legislature got some rest last week during its Town Meeting break. Theyâre back to work now, and there will be more than enough to keep them busy as the House-Senate crossover deadline looms on Friday. As always, you can watch the House and Senateâs committees, either live streaming or at your convenience, by finding their agendas on the Legislatureâs web page.
If youâre seeking for one-stop shopping in the House, the Ways & Means Committee, including Reps. Emilie Kornheiser of Brattleboro and David Durfee of Shaftsbury, seems a good place to train your focus this week. After all, legislative proposals in bills tend to require spending, and what things cost often informs how much ambition the state can afford.
weekly political column. Tim Newcomb
Kevin Burgess, the Vermont Democratic Party s director of outreach, quit earlier this month, citing a toxic work environment and a complete and utter failure of party leadership. Days later,
Scott McNeil, the party s executive director, announced he s leaving, too. The Vermont GOP is also in disarray, split between fealty to and disdain for former president
Donald Trump. Burlington s 19-year-old GOP chair,
Kolby LaMarche, recently called on state party chair and Trump supporter
Deb Billado to resign. When that didn t happen, he stepped down himself. Meanwhile, groups such as Emerge Vermont, an affiliate of a national group that recruits and trains Democratic women to run for office, and the newly formed Bright Leadership Institute, a stand-alone, nonpartisan group supporting candidates of color, have taken up some of the functions former
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A coalition of lawmakers and prosecutors, inspired by personal stories of struggle against addiction from Bennington state Rep. Dane Whitman and Newfane activist Brenda Siegel, marked National Recovery Day by calling for substantial changes refocusing the stateâs attention on the opioid epidemic as a health crisis.
Participants, including two stateâs attorneys and several lawmakers, said the state needs a harm reduction and science-based policy based on lived experience and prioritizing harm prevention and saving lives.
Siegel pointed to the increase in overdoses in Vermont last year, during the pandemic â 134 though November, according to preliminary figures â and said the stateâs âhub and spokeâ treatment system is only reaching three out of every 10 people who need treatment.
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Vermont state representatives joined advocates today to discuss ways to deal with barriers to treatment and recovery and legislation that is planned this session to address the overdose crisis.
Governor Phil Scott signed a proclamation declaring Wednesday “Recovery Day” in the state. It’s an annual effort to celebrate recovery and reduce the stigma of substance abuse disorder.
2018 gubernatorial and 2020 Lieutenant Governor candidate Brenda Siegel hosted a panel with legislators regarding addiction recovery and opioid crisis bills planned for the upcoming session. Siegel, a recovery advocate with People’s Action and Rights and Democracy, has spoken before the U.S. House of Representatives on the overdose crisis. She says opioid policy must put prioritize science and harm reduction. “We are talking about one of the urgent crises that is facing Vermonters today: the overdose crisis. There is plenty of good data that tells us we are doing it wrong and new researc