Sen. Russ Ingalls, R-Essex, is ready for some airtime.
The Newport real estate broker and Senate Agriculture Committee chair has signed a deal to buy a group of seven radio stations in the Northeast Kingdom and northern New Hampshire. He’s purchasing the stations from Bruce James, a local radio personality who, according to Ingalls, launched the first of the seven stations more than three decades ago.
The buy puts Ingalls among the largest media owners in the region that he serves in the Statehouse. The senator is set to pay just shy of $1 million for the deal, he said.
Ingalls said that, among other goals, he wants to make the stations go-to sources of local information on the air and, especially, online. He pointed to the impacts of last summer’s flooding across the Kingdom, and of the recent fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Coventry, as two stories he thinks need more local news coverage. He said he also wants to air public service announcements — offering tips, for instance, on how to avoid getting scammed.
“There’s some spam stuff going around for all of you on the internet, or getting phone calls, that your niece is in jail in Costa Rica,” Ingalls said, offering one example. “Well you know, first of all, you don’t have a niece — and she wouldn’t go to Costa Rica. So, you know, stuff like that.”
Ingalls is, of course, a political figure — and his conservative politics are no secret. “People know where I stand,” he said, bluntly. Asked if he sees a conflict between publishing local news and serving in the Legislature, he said no, emphasizing that he plans to host forums with local residents to get feedback that will drive the stations’ content going forward.
“I really just want to make it about the community,” he said.
“I don’t know that anybody wants to hear a bunch of political stuff on there,” he continued. “I think pretty much everybody’s sick of that, aren’t they?” He said he wants discussions on what the stations will air to include “opinions on all sides,” adding, “I want to hear it all.”
Still, Ingalls said he plans to host “a show or two” himself. He wouldn’t be the only state political figure taking to the airwaves this year — former lieutenant governor David Zuckerman, for one, has been hosting a public affairs show on WDEV since he left office in January.
“I’m very comfortable on the radio,” Ingalls said. “Very, very comfortable.”
— Shaun Robinson
In the know
Mike Smith, a former secretary of the Vermont Agency of Human Services, has accused University of Vermont Health Network’s board of trustees of a “failure of leadership at the highest level” for giving out bonuses and pay raises while cutting patient services.
In a pointed letter obtained by VTDigger, Smith wrote Tuesday that he and other community members were “quickly losing confidence in the Board and chief executive” for those decisions.
While praising practitioners and frontline staff, Smith wrote that he worried “that the Board has confused its duty of care and put the best interests of the corporate machine and its leaders above the best interests of the organization’s true mission: the care of its patients, employees, hospitals, and the community it serves.”
Read more about the letter and the health network’s response here.
— Peter D’Auria
Department of Taxes Commissioner Craig Bolio is stepping down at the end of the week after just over five years in the role, according to a Wednesday press release from Gov. Phil Scott’s office.
The governor has appointed Bill Shouldice, most recently the president and CEO of The Vermont Teddy Bear Company, to replace Bolio as commissioner on Feb. 18. Shouldice also previously served as the secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. Read more about the announcement here.
— Olivia Gieger
Omnibus pileup
Gov. Phil Scott and other administration officials previewed a “public safety omnibus bill” at Scott’s weekly press conference Wednesday, saying it would be introduced in full to legislators in the coming days.
The bill would undo an initiative meant to keep many 18 year olds out of criminal court, alter the state’s bail laws, limit judges’ discretion to suspend or reduce certain sentences and expand a Department of Corrections program intended to increase court attendance, among other measures, said Jennifer Morrison, the state’s commissioner of Public Safety. Some of the bill’s proposals are already being considered in the House and Senate judiciary committees, Morrison said.
The administration also plans to introduce a sweeping bill with its proposals related to climate policy this week. As for when we’ll see the full details of Scott’s education proposal? “Before crossover,” Education Secretary Zoie Saunders told reporters Wednesday.
— Shaun Robinson
In memoriam
Sandy Baird, known for her signature stilettos, unwavering determination, and relentless pursuit of justice, died at 84 Monday, leaving a lasting impact on Burlington and beyond. A pro bono lawyer and former legislator, she dedicated her life to advocating for underrepresented communities, with a particular focus on women facing domestic violence.
“She was a remarkable woman who had just a huge heart and she just really was passionate about serving those in need,” said Peter Clavelle, a former Burlington mayor and friend of Baird. Read more remembrances of Baird and her impact here.
— Klara Bauters
Mug shot
Rep. Kathleen James, D-Manchester, chair of the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee, surprised her colleagues Wednesday morning with custom mugs.
According to James, legislative pages delivered the cups, which were designed by her friend Edna Baker. Bottoms up!
Clown show
As lawmakers wrapped up their work for the afternoon Wednesday, the real circus was just down the hall in the Cedar Creek Room. There, performers from Circus Smirkus were twirling hoops and, quite literally, juggling hats as part of a daylong effort to promote the state’s creative sector.
Circus leaders were even handing out free clown noses — and let’s face it, the jokes about that just write themselves.
— Shaun Robinson
