Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from Final Reading, VTDigger’s inside guide to the Statehouse written by our legislative reporters, John Walters, Grace Elletson and Xander Landen. Get the full Final Reading bulletin, with updates on every major piece of legislation moving through the Statehouse, the daily legislative calendar, interviews with newsmakers and the Statehouse cafeteria menu in your inbox Tuesday-Saturday by signing up here.
There wasn’t much lawmaking at the Statehouse Friday, as threatening weather kept most people away from the building — and the prospect of heavy afternoon snow had lawmakers, who go home to their districts on Friday afternoon, edging toward the exits as soon as they could.
What we got instead was a stunning outbreak of CUTENESS.
The Vermont State Police brought its newest K9 officer, Loki, to show around. She was a tremendous hit, captivating a crowd of dignitaries including Gov. Phil Scott and House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero. Nothing like a puppy to bridge partisan divides.
The 10-week-old Loki is a Plott hound, a breed with tremendous tracking skills. “She’s bred to hunt big game,” said her handler, Detective Trooper Christopher Hunt. “She can follow a track that’s a day old or more.”
Loki will undergo 15 weeks of training before going on duty this summer. She will be the VSP’s first full-time tracking specialist since 1990. Her primary duty will be finding lost children, hikers and nursing-home walkaways.
She’s also become a star online. “Her social media posts have over four million views,” said Capt. Michael Manley, who oversees the state police’s special units.
In the interest of equal time, Final Reading reached out to noted cat person Rep. Dylan Giambatista, D-Essex Junction. “It’s great that the state police have canines they can rely on,” he said, “but when it comes to domestic house pets, cats reign supreme.”
Also gracing the Statehouse was Josephine Levasseur, the six-month-old daughter of Johnson’s chief of staff, Katherine Levasseur. Her usual day care was canceled due to snow, but fortunately Johnson is a kid-positive boss. Josephine wore a T-shirt that said “Speaker of the House,” lofty ambitions for such a young’un.
Johnson presided over a perfunctory floor session with only 20-odd members scattered around the cavernous chamber. A handful of bills were read, so they could be advanced on the calendar. A few members rose to make announcements.
“I have visitors who drove up to see what I’ve been doing in this building for 10 years,” said Rep. Matt Trieber, D-Rockingham, referring to members of his family, who sat in the gallery observing the, ahem, inaction. “They’re getting quite an example today.”
Only four House committees held hearings Friday. Senators were open for business in the morning, but as the day wore on, more and more people headed for the exits, and the Statehouse closed at 1:45 p.m.
But most observers agreed, the puppy and the baby more than made up for the lack of usual Statehouse business. – John Walters
