The law would make fuel companies help pay for damages caused by climate change. The administration argues it’s unconstitutional.

@vermont The 2010 Citizens United decision by the US Supreme Court has allowed corporate "dark" money to buy political influence for an unnamed few. Prof Robert Reich suggests how we can act locally to nullify this decision. I urge Vermonters to explore this straightforward constitutionally sound solution. https://open.substack.com/pub/robertreich/p/how-to-get-rid-of-citizens-united

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/28248378

Interview about Union Workshop Event: https://lemmy.world/post/28247917

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Information:

1. UNION POWER ‘25 Conference
2. OUR POWER IS IN OUR LABOR!
3. BECOMING STRIKE READY IN THE GREEN MOUNTAINS!
4. Saturday, April 26, 10AM-4PM
5. O.N.E. Community Center, 20 Allen St., Burlington, VT 05401 US

Workshops On:

1. Organizing a Union!
2. Building Shop Floor Power!!
3. Bargaining To Win!!!
4. Becoming Strike Ready!!!!

Speakers On:

1. The Rise of Fascism & The Challenges Facing The Labor Movement
2. How Unions & The Working Class Must Organize To Meet These Threats & WIN

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Lead Sponsors: UVM Staff United (AFT), AFSCME Local 1674, AFSCME Local 3977, UFCW Local 1459

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Professional union childcare available if requested in advance. Contact: [Email, click link and scroll to this section.] The conference site is accessible.

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Event by:

1. UVM Staff United (AFT), AFSCME Local 1674, AFSCME Local 3977, UFCW Local 1459

Sponsored by:

1. Green Mountain Labor Council, AFL-CIO Montpelier, VT

Richard Spiese, a hazardous site manager with the Department of Environmental Conservation, said that Bennington has the most severe PFAS contamination problem in Vermont due to this groundwater spread.

As an environmental studies professor at Williams College, Martin focuses on environmental justice. She explained that PFAS, known as “forever chemicals,” have been shown to build up in the body over time and to persist in the food chain. However, the community harm and individual health concerns related to chronic exposure to industrial pollutants is hard to prove and quantify.

She added that regulation of chemicals in the United States places the burden of proof of harm on individuals and communities, rather than requiring companies to prove that their products are safe and not polluting the environment.

“There’s a couple of different barriers that rural communities like those in Vermont face when seeking justice for companies exposing them to pollutants,” Martin said. “One of them is the fact that these pollutants like PFOA cause injuries that take years to decades to manifest.”

Martin noted that Vermont’s limit on PFAS contamination in public drinking water — 20 parts per trillion — is currently less strict than federal guidelines. She believes the state should work to align its policies with federal standards.

Bryan Redmond, director of the state’s Drinking Water and Groundwater Protection Division, said the state has been working to come in line with the EPA regulations set by the Biden administration. But a recent EPA lawsuit filing – from new leadership there under the new administration of President Donald Trump, resulted in the court issuing in February a 60-day temporary suspension of the federal guidelines.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/26983332

From reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/vermont/comments/1j15cnp/proud_to_be_a_vermonter/

Glad to see a nice sized welcome committee turn out for JD Vance at sugarbush. I heard he relocated to a private residence on a dead end dirt road because he's scared of signs.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/17366624

It all started, Greg Bombard said, with a broken coffee maker. That’s what prompted him to get into his car and head to Dunkin’ on a winter day in 2018.

It ended this month when the state of Vermont paid Bombard $175,000 to settle the lawsuit that ultimately resulted from that short drive.

The settlement covers Bombard’s arrest that day by a state trooper who said the St. Albans Town man flipped him the middle finger — and a second, related citation nearly six years later, on Christmas Day.

According to video of the March 2019 encounter leading to the decertification, Amy Connelly was in custody in a holding cell at the St. Albans police station with her hands cuffed behind her back.

At one point in the video, Connelly can be seen standing up, appearing to raise a leg toward Lawton. The video shows Lawton pushing her onto a cell bench, grabbing her shirt near her neck, and punching her in the face.

Lawton and two other officers then push her face-first to the ground and cuff her ankles.

“In reviewing the incident,” Vermont Criminal Justice Council records stated, “the internal investigation found that (Lawton’s) actions were excessive, unnecessary, and a disproportionate use of force under the totality of the circumstances.”