As 2017 closes, the editors at VTDigger looked back on the biggest news of the past year. We took into account electoral changes that have shifted the political landscape of both Washington, D.C. and Vermont, the legislative fights over marijuana and a statewide teacher health care contract, allegations of sexual harassment at the Statehouse and an opiate treatment center, FBI investigations of a national figure and a local town clerk, the ongoing repercussions of the fraud at Jay Peak Resort and the long-term consequences of chemical contamination in Bennington County.
1. Sea change in federal priorities
In January, President Donald J. Trump was installed in the White House and Republicans gained control of Congress. Over the past year, Trump and lawmakers have reversed a number of Obama administration policies that have had a direct impact on Vermonters. A few of those policies include the elimination of health care subsidies for low-income people; the repeal of clean air rules; a pullback on funding to states that block police participation in federal immigration raids; a threat to funding for the EPA; and a reduction in funding for home health agencies.
Vermont’s congressional delegation and Republican Gov. Phil Scott have opposed the hits to the health care system, the loosening of environmental rules, and the threats to undocumented workers.
2. Leadership changeover in the governor’s office and the Statehouse
For the first time in nearly 40 years, the leadership in the governor’s office, the Vermont House and the state Senate changed all at once in January. Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, replaced three-term Democrat Peter Shumlin.
In his first legislative session as governor, Scott succeeded in putting a limit on state spending, vetoed a marijuana legalization bill and got into a knock-down, drag-out fight with the Legislature over a plan to squeeze savings out of public K-12 education spending to pay for early childhood programs and higher education.
Scott also put House Speaker Mitzi Johnson and Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe on the defensive with a proposed a statewide teachers contract for health care. Johnson and Ashe opposed the move as an assault on the bargaining process, but in a June special session backed a plan for mandated savings.
3. Jane Sanders investigated by the FBI
In June, documents were released that show the FBI is investigating allegations that Jane Sanders, the wife of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., overstated pledges for a loan used to expand the Burlington College campus. Sanders, who was president of the college from 2004 to 2011, spearheaded the purchase of a property with waterfront footage on Lake Champlain. The college was defaulting on loans for the property at the time Sanders left the school. In 2016, Burlington College folded and last summer the property was sold at auction to People’s United Bank, which held the defaulted loan. Developer Eric Farrell is negotiating with the bank to purchase the property, which is still listed as the owner.
4. Raymond James settles with Jay Peak investors
Exactly a year after the Securities and Exchange Commission brought 52 counts of securities fraud against the developers of Jay Peak Resort, the feds settled with Raymond James Financial, a brokerage firm, for $150 million. Michael Goldberg, the receiver for the Jay Peak projects, alleged that Raymond James “aided and abetted” the Ponzi-like scheme perpetrated by Ariel Quiros, the owner of Jay Peak, and Bill Stenger, the former CEO of the resort. The developers allegedly stole $200 million from investors.
The settlement was used to pay 42 contractors, 513 vendors and 169 investors who took losses as a result of the foreign investor scam, which has been described as the largest EB-5 fraud in the history of the national program for foreigners seeking green cards in exchange for investments in economically challenged areas.
5. Feds look to close state EB-5 program
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a termination notice to the Vermont EB-5 Regional Center program, which federal officials said “failed to properly engage in management, monitoring and oversight of the program for many years, as required by the program.”
The federal agency said that the state allowed the developers of Jay Peak Resort to bilk foreign investors over an eight-year period.
The 27-page notice is a stinging criticism of past operations of the regional center, including a lack of action and oversight as Bill Stenger and Ariel Quiros raised money from immigrant investors.
6. Jody Herring gets life behind bars, no parole
A judge sentenced Jody Herring to life without parole for killing a state social worker and three of her own relatives she believed played a role in her losing custody of her 9-year-old daughter.
Herring used a high-powered rifle to mow down her aunt and two cousins on Aug. 7, 2015, before lying in wait in a downtown Barre parking lot to fatally shoot Lara Sobel, a state social worker.
Several relatives of the victims, including Jody Herring’s cousin, expressed relief afterward that Herring will never walk out of prison.
7. Sexual harassment at the Statehouse
Women who have worked in the Legislature as lawmakers, lobbyists and staff say they have been harassed by men at the Statehouse and shared stories about being subjected to touching or comments they considered inappropriate and unwanted.
Although some incidents they described happened many years ago, victims of harassment say the Statehouse needs stricter rules in light of the national scandals of sexual misconduct and at statehouses around the country.
The Legislature tightened up sexual harassment policies in the wake of allegations in 2015 that a state senator sexually assaulted two women, including his Statehouse intern. Sen. Norm McAllister was ousted from his seat in the 2016 elections and was convicted of a prostitution charge in October.
Lawmakers have said they will make updating sexual harassment policies a priority in the upcoming legislative session. Last year a complaint was filed against an unnamed state senator.
Gov. Phil Scott has also called for reforms to sexual harassment policies for state workers. Over the past three years, the Department of Human Resources has investigated 52 complaints of sexual harassment in departments and agencies across state government.
8. Chittenden County treatment center closes under a cloud
The state abruptly shut down Maple Leaf Treatment Center in Underhill, a critical part of the opiate treatment system for patients who need full-time care, after allegations of sexual harassment and misuse of Medicaid funds were reported by VTDigger. Three state agencies are investigating the allegations.
In October, VTDigger reported that Dr. Charles Sprague Simonds, the former lead clinician at Maple Leaf who has been the focus of the allegations was hired by the Department for Children and Families to serve as clinical chief at Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center. Simonds was let go soon after the report was published.
In November, the Office of Professional Regulation brought charges of sexual harassment against Simonds.
9. Coventry town clerk is accused of stealing more than $1 million over a decade
State and local prosecutors dropped the ball as Cynthia Diaz mishandled town accounts and allegedly embezzled $1.4 million for more than a decade. Diaz is being sued by the town of Coventry for missing records that she allegedly destroyed. She is also accused of manipulating the grand list. Diaz is under investigation by the FBI; charges have yet to be brought.
10. ChemFab’s toxic legacy in Bennington County
In a five-part series, VTDigger examined the history of the ChemFab plant in Bennington County and exposed how the state allowed the Teflon fabric coating company to sidestep air emissions rules. The highly toxic chemical PFOA has contaminated more than 500 wells in the area. Residents who complain of health effects can’t sell their homes and are suing the company that now owns the plant.
