All articles tagged with #vermont
Unionized support and technical staff at UVM Medical Center have authorized a strike after 82% of voters approved the action. The unions, representing 3,300 workers, seek better staffing protections and faster wage increases, while the hospital cites financial losses and proposes a three-year contract. No strike has been called yet, as both sides attempt to reach a final agreement.
Five protesters face federal charges for blocking entrances to an ICE facility in Williston, Vermont, following a series of state-level arrests. The federal charges come after the Vermont Attorney General’s office bypassed the local prosecutor to pursue state trespassing charges against 12 demonstrators. The defendants, who range in age from 22 to 80, have pleaded not guilty and face potential jail time and fines, while activists plan further demonstrations despite the legal escalation.
A Vermont jury convicted Jason Eaton, 51, of attempted murder for the November 2023 shooting near the University of Vermont that left Hisham Awartani paralyzed and wounded Tahseen Aliahmad and Kinnan Abdalhamid; rejecting his insanity defense that he acted on orders from the CIA and Mossad, Eaton faces up to life in prison with sentencing pending. The victims’ families described the act as a hate crime and expressed relief at accountability, while no hate crime charges were filed and psychiatric testimony was presented during the week-long trial.
A Vermont jury convicted 51-year-old Jason Eaton of attempted murder for shooting three Palestinian students near the University of Vermont in 2023, rejecting his insanity defense; he faces up to life in prison and awaits sentencing.
A Vermont man was convicted of attempted murder for shooting three Palestinian students near the University of Vermont campus. The gun, a Ruger .380, was found to be the weapon used and had been purchased seven months earlier from a Vermont store. The victims—Awartani (Brown University), Aliahmad (Trinity College), and Abdalhamid (Haverford College)—were visiting family and were wounded during the attack; Awartani was paralyzed. The jury’s verdict concludes the criminal case against Eaton, the suspect identified in prosecutors’ accounts, in connection with the holiday weekend shootings.
Opening statements in a Vermont courtroom describe a shooting outside an apartment near the University of Vermont in which three Palestinian students—Awartani, Aliahmad, and Abdalhamid—were wounded; Awartani was paralyzed, and the victims testified about the attack. The defense argues the defendant, Eaton, acted under delusions and believed he was following orders, while prosecutors portray the act as deliberate and racially/ideologically motivated, with witnesses detailing the moments he walked up and fired.
Dr. Anthony Robbins, a physician and health-policy pioneer, expanded care for low-income families by helping create Vermont’s statewide supplemental food program in 1974 and later directing the first national vaccine program; over a six-decade career he served as Vermont’s health commissioner, professor, editor and policy expert, shaping access to care and reducing stigma around public assistance.
Radio Bean, a beloved Burlington bar and music venue operating since 2002, will close within about a week after the owner says the insurer requires almost $30,000 for a liquor-liability policy premium by Sept. 9, a cost the business cannot afford; plans for sale are unknown as the community notes ongoing financial struggles affecting Burlington’s live-music scene.
Vermont businesses warn that President Trump’s renewed tariffs on Canada are bloating costs and wrecking budgets, jeopardizing operations from Jasper Hill Farm’s cheesemaking to cross-border tourism at Jay Peak, with a snow-equipment dealer warning they may have to close if tariffs persist; lawmakers have proposed repealing the 1930 law, but political gridlock makes relief unlikely.
A 24-year-old Winooski man, Hassan Haji, surrendered to police and faces a second-degree murder charge in the downtown Burlington stabbing that killed 24-year-old Deng Dau. Investigators tied Haji to the scene using surveillance video and blood evidence; he pled not guilty and is held without bail ahead of a weight-of-evidence hearing set for Aug. 27.
Police say 24-year-old Hassan Haji surrendered to police and faces a second-degree murder charge after a deadly downtown Burlington stabbing that killed Deng Dau, 24. Investigators say the trio—Haji, Dau, and Shuaib Mohamud, 22—were involved in a fight behind Courthouse Plaza on Main Street; Haji stabbed Dau once in the groin, and Dau died at the hospital. Haji is held without bail awaiting a weight-of-evidence hearing on Aug. 27.
Amanda Janoo, a 38-year-old economist and former UN analyst, won Vermont's Democratic gubernatorial primary, defeating Aly Richards by about 2.7 percentage points with 97% of votes tallied. A political outsider with a progressive reform agenda—including universal primary care funded by a high-earner surcharge and higher taxes on second homes and short-term rentals—Janoo now faces incumbent Republican Phil Scott in the general election.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has begun vaccinating wildlife along Vermont’s northern border to combat a spike in rabies cases, driven by expanding raccoon populations. About one million vaccine baits are being air-dropped from the border to just south of Burlington, with different methods for rural versus urban areas, in a bid to contain the outbreak while residents are advised on bait safety and pet protection.
A solar-powered home on 52.6 acres in Tunbridge, Vermont, designed for energy efficiency and privacy, is on the market for $595,000. The property features elm kitchen countertops, a wide glass slider with mountain views, a primary bedroom with a barn-door wardrobe, a vintage clawfoot tub in the bath, and an on-site studio that mirrors the home’s design near the historic Cilley Covered Bridge.
Ben & Jerry’s Foundation will shut down at year’s end after its corporate parent Magnum/Unilever cut funding and evicted staff following an independent audit flagging governance and conflicts-of-interest concerns. The foundation, which yearly grants about $600,000 to Vermont groups and has supported social‑justice causes for 40 years, is part of an ongoing SDNY lawsuit over whether the parent had authority to reshape governance and withhold funding. Magnum alleges the trustees ignored audit findings, while advocates say the move jeopardizes the foundation’s mission and the communities it serves, with no endowment and reliance on annual funding complicating the path forward.