Take two thick slices of Noonie's day old bread, smear Honey Cup honey mustard
liberally over both. Cover both slices with green leaf lettuce. Then on one slice only lay smoked turkey on the lettuce,
a tomato slice on the turkey and sprinkle it with shredded carrot. Then on the lay a slice of provolone cheese over the
carrot then a green pepper ring on top of the cheese. Sprikle with sprouts. Cover with the other slice, lettuce side down.
The letuce should be stuck to the bread with honey mustard so it doesn't fall off when you turn it upside down to cover the
sandwich. Slice sandwich in half with a knife. Wrap in tightly in plastic wrap. Use too much wrap. Tape on label. Tadaaa!
Weighs one pound. Costs Four Bucks.
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses
yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your
teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed,
to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
and effects,
against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and
no warrants shall issue,
but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place
to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Ethan Allen Tower
"During the 1992 campaign, Bill Clinton
sometimes spoke of a 'twofer' (two for the price of one) presidency,
implying that Hillary would play an important role in his
administration."
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consequat eget, tristique nec, auctor quis, purus. Vivamus ut sem. Fusce aliquam nunc vitae purus.
Whatever things
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Duis ligula lorem,
consequat eget, tristique nec, auctor quis, purus. Vivamus ut sem. Fusce aliquam nunc vitae purus.
Emma Mulvaney-Stanak Elected Mayor of Burlington
Tuesday, March 05, 2024
Mulvaney-Stanak Rolls to Victory Ending 159 Years of Male Rule in City Hall
Breaking News:
Landslide: Progressive Emma Mulvaney-Stanak Defeats Democrat Joan Shannon in Mayoral Election
Majority in First Round of Vote Counting. "Instant Runoff" Averted
From my dad's book My Life: A Story of Survival, An Autobiography of Grischa Bedrosian
World War II
In
1940 the Germans attacked Russia. They did a lot of damage and took a lot of
towns and cities. In 1941 the government recalled former soldiers to fight.
They called me too. For three months we trained, going on maneuvers. In
October, all Armenian soldiers were brought to Yerevan to the train station, and
loaded into train cars. The train traveled two days and nights. Suddenly the
train stopped. Armenian officers came and told our battalions the Germans had
cut the train line. Almost half an hour we walked along the track past empty
railroad cars. The officers told us all these cars had brought soldiers to go
fight. Then all the soldiers stood in the line. Each soldier got 35 bullets for
his gun, and four pieces of stale bread. The officer told us this track led to
a town where the Germans were.
After multiple recounts, several fiercely contested legal hearings, and over 5 weeks of delay, the "people's mayor" Jonny Wanzer has finally been declared the winner of the 2021 Burlington mayoral election.
My name will appear on the ballot in the mayoral election on March 2. I believe I have the same chance of winning as any of the other challengers, which of course is zero. Miro's going to win re-election.
I won't be raising or spending any money or trying to "win votes." I don't care who you vote for, and I won't be campaigning very much. I've already accepted invitations to go on Kurt Wright's radio show this Friday, and to join the Zoom forum hosted by Seven Days and Channel 17 on February 5, but I may not do much else. These things already feel like a lot.
I will use the campaign to share some thoughts and ideas. Here are a few of them.
I would like to see a large project engineered into the hill between Battery Park and Waterfront Park that connects the two by stairways and ramps, with places along the way to sit and watch the sunset from.
I would like Burlington to buy a large kinetic sculpture by the artist Anthony Howe similar to this one in place it at Waterfront Park for the public to enjoy.
I would like to see the steel skeleton of the former Moran Plant glassed-in and turned into a large, multi-level, year round indoor botanical gardens.
I would look for ways to create other large indoor communal space where people can stretch their legs year round. The mall was more than retail space, it was a place for people to walk around in the winter and we need places for that, whether or not it's related to commerce.
I would like the city to get rid of its parking meters and stop charging money to park on public streets.
I would encourage a rule that says police can't stop people from filming them.
I would order the return of the old police patch with the Ethan Allen tower on it. The new one does not present a friendly image.
I would prioritize expanded wastewater capacity, to stop sewage spills in the lake.
I would restore an office in city hall where kids are always welcome.
I would prioritize restoration of Memorial Auditorium and the teen center at 242 Main Street.
I would prioritize creating rail service opportunities for Burlington.
I would prioritize creating a smoother and more uniform online bill paying experience across departments. Right now it's easy to pay your electric bill, but it's cumbersome to pay your water bill.
I'd like to work with the owners of the shopping mall
parking lots at the mouth of route 7 to allow for GMT park and ride
parking. Current park and ride on Lakeside ave is awful for
commuting south and more awful on return trip.
The Coalition for a Livable City sent me a candidate questionnaire today, Once I fill it out, I may use my answers to that for the next post.
Thanks for reading BurlingtonPol.com. Visit often!
I cherish the exquisite freedom I allow myself with this blog. It's a
nirvana of absolute apathy. I like just having it. I don't need to do
anything with it for months, or years, or ever if I don't want to. See
the original disclaimer from 2006. Still awesome.
A couple of my more hardcore readers have asked me to write about the upcoming 2021 Burlington mayoral election. Okay, sure, but...
I'm working on a post about the 2021 mayoral election but it's harder than I thought it would be. It took the whole day yesterday just to put Frankenstrat stripes at the top of the blog, but I must do things in the right order, of course.
Next, a little warm up post.
It appears the city charter requires a candidate for school commissioner to win at least 40% of "all votes cast" to avoid a run-off....
"5 Election to be by ballot; method of election; runoff elections.Share
The election of the mayor, all city councilors and school commissioners shall be by ballot, and the person or persons receiving a plurality of all votes cast for any office aforesaid shall, except as hereinafter provided, be declared elected thereto. However, if no person receives at least 40 percent of all votes cast for any office aforesaid, no one shall be declared elected and a runoff election shall be held" [Emphasis added.]
Yet in 2010 I was declared the winner of the Ward 7 election for school commissioner with only 36% of the total votes cast. That's weird. I don't know if this got overlooked or what.
Thanks for reading BurlingtonPol.com. Visit often!
FYI- This blog's "ever-changing tagline" is broken. It's stuck on "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." I can't update my settings for BurlingtonPol.com in Blogger. I still can for ArlenaBlog, so I don't know what the problem is. It's not the best tagline to be stuck with but it's not the worst I could think of either. I don't care much about this problem right now, or this blog ever for that matter. That's the whole premise of this thing. I can ignore and disrespect it and it's still always here for me, like a ringing in my head that won't go away. Of course if I were a little smarter or cared a little bit more I could figure it out and change the tagline. Meh. Not dealing with it right now. It will resolve itself when the world is eviscerated by nuclear weapons. Just keeping my loyal readers in the loop. Thanks for reading BurlingtonPol.com. Visit often.
Zoe Barnes meets Deep Throat at the intersection of the subway and the parking garage to discuss the future of mayor Miro Weinberger.
ZB: The Democrats are circling the wagons to protect Miro and do damage control. PR efforts are in full force. They released a feel-good story about city employees doing work for Amazon for free, and another about BPD's "Citizens on Patrol" training program.
DT: It's not the crime, it's the cover up. On Vermont Public Radio Weinberger said that after he put Brandon del Pozo on administrative leave, he huddled up with the City's HR Director Deanna Paluba and City Attorney Eileen Blackwood to discuss what to do next. He said Paluba had handled “800 of these types of cases." Now what does that mean? ZB: What does that mean? These are questions anyone could ask. DT: But no one is except you. Miro tells these two what happened. He says that on 7/4/19 del Pozo trolled Winkleman with the @WinkleWatchers twitter handle, then destroyed that public record lied about it to a reporter on 7/23/19. Then on 7/28/19 the chief showed up at his house to tell him all this, and that this creepy stalker shit was the last straw. He told them he took del Pozo's badge and gun. Then he asked his team how to limit the damage.
ZB: Tell me again why you asked me to delete our texts and the contact for you in my phone...?
DT: So this conversation took place sometime in the five or six days between 7/28/19 when del Pozo was on administrative leave and 8/2/19 when he went out on medical leave. Paluba, who had "800 cases" of this type said that if this were deemed a "health" or "mental health" issue, they could avoid informing the city council and public of del Pozo's lies and bad behavior. The City Attorney said that they would need medical documentation and buy-in from del Pozo himself, but it should work because health information is protected. ZB: But what about "Lori Spicer?" DT: Miro admitted on VPR there had never been suspicion of the chief acting impulsively or with lack of judgement due to his injury. A caller asked the mayor if he reviewed other previous actions of the chief with consideration of the brain injury they're blaming this on, and he fumbled badly. He had no real answer. It's highly unlikely that he acted this way due to the injury in ONLY this ONE particular case, and not when he wrote his NYT Op-Ed in November, for example. In fact, it defies belief. ZB: Now it's worse. Del Pozo lied under oath. But Miro will never let go of power. He knows he's damaged, but he also knows you can't beat someone with no one. What if the Progs can't find a strong candidate? He doesn't want his legacy to be a giant pit. DT: Get the emails or notes between Paluba and Miro between 7/28 and 8/2. To do that Winkleman will have to sue on a civil rights violation. Talk to other reporters about this.... Deep Throat recedes silently into the darkness and is gone.
Dear Parents, Guardians and our Staff: The State of Vermont passed a new law
in 2019 that requires all schools and child care providers to test
their drinking water for lead. Samples of water from every tap at Hunt Middle School
that is reasonably expected to be used for drinking or cooking were
collected and sent to the Vermont Department of Health Laboratory for
analysis. Results for HMS:
One or more of the taps had a lead level AT OR ABOVE the 4 parts per billion (ppb) action level.
We take our responsibility to provide a safe and healthy environment for the children and staff seriously. Any tap that tested at or above 4 ppb was immediately taken out of service for drinking or cooking. We are working on fixes to permanently lower levels of lead in the water. Lead exposure poses a special risk to
children because they absorb lead into their systems more easily than
adults do. Lead can slow down growth, impair development and learning,
and can cause behavior problems. While the major source of lead
poisoning in Vermont children is paint, lead in plumbing pipes and
fixtures can add to a person’s overall exposure. Drinking water in
schools and homes may contain lead from old pipes, plumbing fixtures
(such as fountains and faucets), or the solder that joins pipe sections
together. More Information
For questions about the water testing process, or about the law and its requirements, please dial 2-1-1.
You can view school and child care results, remediation and any follow-up testing at leadresults.vermont.gov. (NOTE:
If your child’s preschool or after school program is located at a
school, the results will be listed under the school’s name.) For more information visit:
If you have questions or concerns
about our facility and the actions we are taking, please contact
Elizabeth Brosseau, (802) 864-8453.
To learn more about lead hazards and lead poisoning prevention, visit healthvermont.gov/lead. If you want to test your home
drinking water for lead, contact the Health Department Laboratory to
order a $12 first draw lead test kit. Call 802-338-4736 or 800-660-9997
(toll free in Vermont). Sincerely, Burlington School District
It's hard to take an inventory of how much psychic energy I've spent ruminating on this direct twitter message from former chief del Pozo and its aftermath in my life, or how much fear it's caused me, but I feel like I've been holding my breath between August 12, 2016 and today. That was the day I tweeted about his patch, and he wrote back to me within 10 minutes with a message intended to intimidate me out of my opinion or at least my expression of it.
Basically I can do whatever I want with this website.
I can be fair or I can be slanted.
I can post your comment or not depending on how I feel.
I can report on whatever I want.
I can deride someone for remaining anonymous, immediately after posting an anonymous comment myself. I did that today.
I can contribute under fake identities.
I may post something and then change it, or delete part or all of it.
This blog can disappear at any time for any amount of time.
I can do whatever I want with links.
All comments are subject to change or deletion without notice, including yours.
I don't have to be consistant about anything.
I can change these rules anytime, retroactively and without notice.
Oh- and I don’t even necessarily have to tell the truth, so you might want to check my facts from time to time.
Et cetera.
The viewing of any part of BurlingtonPol.com constitutes acceptance of these terms.
If you don't like it, change the channel. (See The First Amendment to the US Constitution.)
The
outrageousness of this cannot be overstated. The Vermont Supreme Court
has repeatedly ruled that any employee dishonesty is just cause for
immediate termination even in cases of minor misrepresentations. Here
the dishonesty is fourfold, ongoing, and profound:
1) The Chief twitter-bullied Mr. Winkleman without revealing his true identity.
2) The Chief's repeated and purposeful lies in the SevenDays interview of July 23rd.
3) The coverup by the Chief and the Mayor to the public, the City
Council, and the Police Commission of the real context of his "leave of
absence" until it was outed 5 months later by WCAX TV News. This was
misrepresentation by omission, not "self-reporting."
4) The misrepresentation by omission by the Mayor and the Chief by
failing to disclose that the Chief had been relieved of his gun and his
badge.
Full Text: Remarks to the Burlington City Council 06.26.17
Full Text: Remarks to the Burlington City Council 06.26.17
I'm Haik Bedrosian. I'm a former
Burlington city councilor and a former school commissioner. I live
in Ward 7. My message to you is that it is inappropriate for the
chief of police, or any police officer to leave comments in the
social media of individual citizens. I am here to testify that it
happened to me last year when the chief left comments on one of my
Facebook posts and I found it very intimidating. I let him and the
mayor know that I found it intimidating. I told Jay Diaz of the
Vermont ACLU about it and he said ACLU had already received a number
of complaints from others about the chief making them uncomfortable on
their social media. On June 23 WCAX.com reported about BPD's arrest
of a South Burlington teenager who had posted on her Facebook page
pictures of bruises she said the police gave her. Quote:
“Burlington's police chief is firing back with a strongly worded
statement he posted to Huysman's Facebook page.” Huysman has now
taken that post down and I am certain it was because the chief
commented on her Facebook page and she found it intimidating. I know
the mayor is certain of this as well.
There is no legitimate business purpose
for the chief of police to have gone to this person's personal Facebook page, and leave a comment there contradicting her. The
police have a special responsibility to not unnecessarily intimidate
people. By personally commenting on an individual's Facebook post
the chief sends a message that he is personally watching you, and
when he visits your page and argues against you, the asymmetrical
power dynamic tends to result in the post itself being taken down.
Freedom of speech is just a concept and it's a very fragile thing in
real life.
If he wants to put his side of the
story out, then he has any number of his own social media platforms
to do it on, and it's important that he stick to them because what he
says and writes should be a matter of public record. Whatever his
comments were on my post last year, and what he posted on Logan
Huysman's page is no longer available to the public, at least as
primary sources.
In August of last year I sent the
following 3 recommendations to police commissioner Sarah Kenny for
the police vis-a-vis social media and I urge the city council to
really think about them:
First: the police should always
remember that any tweet, comment, message or emoji they send from a
police email or social media platform carries the full authority and
power of their position and that they represent not just their own
point of view, but that of the police department and the city of
Burlington. Any officer , including and especially the chief carries
his badge and his gun into any online social media debate he gets
into, and as such it should be *assumed* approaching a stranger
online for any reason can be intimidating to that person.
Second: to the extent possible the
police should avoid getting into online debates with people about
anything. The police exist to protect people's freedom of speech, not
argue with them about it from their own personal point of view or
even from the point of view of the department.
Third: based on the premise that an
officer of the department, speaks for that department and the city
when engaging in social media, the preservation of what that officer
says and posts for the record becomes a matter of public interest. It
is therefore advisable that to the extent possible the police limit
their online engagement to the media platforms they control and can
preserve for the record, such as their own Twitter, Facebook and web
pages... Or perhaps to those connected to a commercial media entity
with a physical address like the free press or Seven Days... But avoid
engaging on citizens personal Facebook, Twitter etc, because that
person will be free to change or delete what was said. That person
may also not welcome it and find it extremely impolite and
intimidating.
There is no "Lori Spicer." This is a fake identity, invented for a purpose.
Hiding behind fake profiles is dishonorable and dishonest. It's not clever, and it's no way to improve your organization's image. This is deplorable, and absolutely disqualifying behavior for any public official.
Burlington will be better off when Lori eases on down the road.
Thank you to Charles Winkleman for his hard work as a public watchdog. His latest piece titled Chief Brandon del Pozo Bullies Critics into Silence is credible and urgent. It aligns precisely with my own observations and theories about the chief over the last three and a half years since he abused his power to intimidate me when I criticized his new police logo patch. I think lurking in the cyber shadows is this man's modus operandi. The most likely explanation for what happened in this poll, for example, is that del Pozo himself cheated in it by voting over and over through proxy IP addresses.
I told Miro to get rid of del Pozo then, and have reiterated my direction to the mayor over and over with each new abuse by his appointed police chief. I have warned Weinberger what keeping del Pozo on would do to his legacy. In my view, it's an appalling abdication of duty by Weinberger to have failed to fire del Pozo for this long.
It's also very vexing. Why does the mayor continue to make this obviously horrible choice? The only plausible answer I can think of is that Miro Weinberger himself is intimidated and afraid of del Pozo, and the elected civilian mayor is not in control. His hired gun is.
Zoraya Hightower beat Sharon Bushor for the Progressive nomination for Ward 1 city councilor. It was said she won by a significant margin but for unknown reasons the party was keeping the vote total secret in its immediate aftermath. Both women are expected to appear on the general election ballot as Independent candidates. Bushor the incumbent has served on the city council since 1945.
Former city councilor, commentator, and member of the "twitteratti" Ed Adrian remarked on the makeup of the crowd of caucus goers "there's not a lot of X'ers here. It's a lot of Boomers and Millennials but not many Gen X'ers."
Sharon Carpenter gave a very strong speech to the Ward 4 caucus, including remarks about the many beach closings due to pollution in recent years. She was nominated for city council without opposition but said she would vote herself in the Democratic Party caucus, and caucus with Democrats on the city council if elected. Carpenter would replace Kurt Wright who is expected to announce tomorrow morning that he will not seek a billionth term this March. Former city councilor Dave Hartnett who previously said he would run for the seat if Wright does not, said tonight he was still deciding.
Ward 7 city councilor Ali Dieng won the Progressive nomination for another term. In his nomination speech Dieng said he's been honored to serve the people of ward 7 "to have their voices heard and their ideas respected." "I'm a people person" he said "I believe in the future of Burlington." Dieng also announced that tomorrow he will depart for his first visit to Africa since he emigrated from Senegal over ten years ago.
Left to right: Patrick Brown, Haik Bedrosian, Lloyd Goodrow
Photo op of a lifetime with two living icons Patrick Brown and Lloyd Goodrow aboard the Spirit of Ethan Allen III this afternoon. Photo credit: Daniel Goodrow.
Burlington mayor Miro Weinberger announced Friday that he would not seek a fourth 3-year term as the chief executive of Vermont's largest city, saying that after nearly a decade since his first election in 2012, it will be time to pass the pass the torch to new leadership in 2021.
Citing the city's improved bond rating, new housing projects, and nuts and bolts accomplishments like the replacement of aging water mains, Weinberger also acknowledged criticism on a number of fronts, most notably the failed "City Place" project that remains a blight on the downtown core, and numerous widely decried ethical violations by his former police chief Brandon Del Pozo.
Del Pozo resigned abruptly himself only last month to become a full-time social media consultant for the New York City police department's 120th precinct in Staten Island.
The Burlington Democratic party will choose a new candidate for mayor at their nominating caucus in January of 2021...
I wish I could have live tweeted the Bernie rally but my phone’s battery died before these pics could be taken with Tiko’s phone.
The band was great. The introductory speeches were all great. I’ve never heard Peter Welch so fired up and Ben Cohen gave a history lesson about mayor Sanders and how his long entrenched Democratic predecessor wouldn’t allow free movie night.
And there around me were Erhard Mahnke and Brian Pine and Phil Fiermonte and Mike Blair and Vicki Blair, Anthony Pollina and Bob Hooper. And over there were Carina Driscoll and Jane Sanders and Dave Driscoll- and all the Bernie people of Vermont- and then the man himself.
The weather was perfectly overcast to keep the sun off. But it came out for moment when Bernie spoke and he mentioned it.
Then he reminded us there’s a horrible war in Yemen. And climate change is not a hoax. And that women have a right to privacy. And that we are dealing now with the most dangerous president in American history.
The strength of Bernie’s voice booming out the speakers and echoing off the buildings across State Street was surreal, even over the din of a banner dragging plane, and even across the decades, his voice boomed.
And when the speech ended and the crowd broke up, there was a little rain.
For most of the seven days this poll ran, Selene held a strong majority of the votes, but fell to just under 49% in the last day of voting. Coincidentally just under 49% was the same percentage of votes the current mayor received in the last election. Stay tuned for the results of the next mayoral twitter poll.
(Vote Totals- Selene 15, Kurt 6, Carina 6, Ali 4.)
Wright or Hartnett to run for Ward 4 Councilor in 2020
Tuesday, March 05, 2019
Breaking News
Dave Hartnett told me today at the Miller Center that if Kurt Wright decides not to run for re-election to his council seat in 2020, then he will run for it.
I’ve had the privilege to vote for Wanda Hines, Greg Guma and Carina
Driscoll for mayor since Bob Kids left office. I’m never going to vote
for Miro Weinberger. I don’t agree with the direction he’s taken
Burlington and no other public official has ever done the kind of
grievous harm to my first amendment rights that he has in my life. No
one has ever made me feel less safe to speak freely.
When
someone is elected and holds office for a long time as a member of a
particular political party, we presume they work in service to the
principles of the party, not the other way around.
Even Bernie
Sanders, who has run "Independent" since at least 1981, did not run for
president "independent" when he sought the Democratic nomination for
president, and did not win it.
Bernie announced he's running for president today, by telling John Dickerson of CBS NewVermont Public Radio. Then he spoke to John Dickerson of CBS News.
The 2016 Democratic National Convention was held between July 25, 2016 and July 28, 2016. On the following Sunday, July 31, 2016, John Dickerson interviewed Bernie on CBS's Sunday talk show Face The Nation. From the transcript:
DICKERSON: During the convention, when Hillary Clinton mentioned you,
you looked like -- you had a bit of stoic look on your face. What was
going through your mind? SANDERS: I always have that look on my face. (LAUGHTER) SANDERS: It's nothing new that I am not always a smiley kind of guy.
Sanders is the instant front-runner, and most likely the next president. So... who am I kidding? I'll vote for Bernie of course, but I also support Kamala too, and those two are gonna fight. None of the other candidates, or potential candidates matter.
I left the TV on channel 22 (ABC) yesterday (because Judge Judy) so when I turned it on this morning in the stupor of my snow-shoveling hangover, it was already tuned into Good Morning America. Practically the first thing I heard after that was "I am running for president of the United States..."
This is huge, huge news. Kamala Harris is easily the strongest candidate to announce so far. She is the instant front-runner, and most likely the next president.
Bernie hasn't announced yet, and if he does run again, I am going to be very torn. Just because I'm in love with Kamala Harris does not mean I love Bernie Sanders any less than I always have. If they're both on the primary ballot- it's going to be hard.
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 27: (L-R) Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sen.
Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY)
talk to reporters following the weekly Democratic Senate policy luncheon
in the U.S. Capitol November 27, 2018 in Washington, DC. Senate
Democrats strongly voiced their opposition to the appointment of Thomas
Farr to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North
Carolina. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (Blurb by MercuryNews.com)
And can I just say this? I might love Bernie a little too much as a human man to want to see him be president. You know how Micky doesn't want Rocky to fight Mr. T because he loves him too much? Of course Rocky can beat Mr. T, and he can beat Drago too, sure. But it's also true that the Rocky movies are the Creed Movies now, right? This analogy sucks but I'm trying to say something. I don't know what.
Go ahead and run again if you want to Bernie. You might win. It's not for me to say. But from a social psychology perspective, 2016 was traumatizing, and you might remind people of the trauma if you run. I love you and I want you to do whatever makes you happy. But loving someone means you're honest with them too.
I'm in love with Kamala Harris and I'm pretty sure she's gonna win.
I am saddened to read on Bill Simmon's Facebook today, of the passing of my friend Josh Bridgman. I saw him only the other day walking downtown, and it crossed my mind to stop and offer a ride, but it was too hard for me and I didn't do it. This feels like something I might regret, since in retrospect it seems I blew my last chance to talk to Josh, and that's sad, but the whole thing is sad and regret is pointless. To everyone who knew Josh and loved him, or maybe just loved the idea of him even if the man himself could be hard to take sometimes, I am so very sorry. To the Burlington community and the whole wide world, I am so very sorry. I was already sad today and now I am more sad. Today I have a new and powerful negative association with checking my Facebook feed that will probably feed my growing aversion to it. Facebook hurts. Maybe that's why I'm writing this here. Bill Simmon shouldn't take this personally of course, unless it's as a complement, since his advice informed the creation of this very blog thirteen years ago. Thank you Bill. I will still use Facebook to share this eulogy, but I wanted to come home to write it.
The second to last time I saw Josh was maybe a month or two ago, walking east on the South side of Pearl Street, just east of where South Winooski Ave begins, next to the Ronald McDonald House, where the bus pulls in and stops right there... you know where I mean. I was driving by him this time as well but it would have been impossible to stop, so I don't even have to get to the question of regret in this instance. I'm not 100% sure of this, but I'm going to say it anyway- I had just pulled out of the parking garage that only in the last couple of months began automating the work Josh used to do there for so many years, taking your ticket and charging for parking in that little booth by the exit gate of the municipal garage. I remember always feeling good that Josh had a pretty good city job in that little booth where he would read books and write plays. A real life human being in a little booth contributes so much more to the quality of life in Burlington than a barcode scanner does.
I think the time I saw him before that, we were both on foot and we did have a brief stop and chat, but I can't remember when that was. A year ago maybe? Two years? I don't know. I don't keep track of time the way I used to, I think. It wasn't a memorable stop and chat, but then again my memory isn't what it used to be, I think. I remember my impression was that he had gone very gray and that... he wasn't wearing a black trench coat maybe and I might have noted that.
So my recent memories of Josh Bridgman aren't that great. There was a period around 20 years ago or so when I'd say we were pretty good friends. Once he and I drove to Rutland together to audition for a movie at the mall there.
So here we go- Josh Bridgman- not long ago dubbed by Bill Simmon "Bridgman on Fire" when one of his plays was getting some media attention... Maybe it was when 802 Online's Cathy Resmer wrote this story... Being Josh Bridgman.
Or maybe it was when deadbeat Eva Sollberger made this video...[SIV201].
Josh was famous for wearing a black trench coat almost all the time. I'm pretty sure at some point he lived in the old, oddly shaped building at the northeast corner of North Street and North Winooski Ave, above where The Last Elm Cafe used to be, and The African Market is now, where members of Phish are said to have lived, which was once some kind of grain barn, in the same building where Psychedelicatessen was, where his former co-star of the fabled cable access channel 15 show "The Matty and Stech Variety Hour featuring Josh Bridgman and a Cast of Thousands," Matt Tanner currently lives. I think I visited him there once.
Josh was known for his explosive, cackling laughter and its accompanying spray of spit that would always hit you in the face. He was a playwright, although I can't say I ever saw one of his plays. Josh is the only person I know to have appeared nude, and gently touched himself live on public access TV, and he got away with it.
In a way Josh Bridgman was super-human. Not super-human like Superman but super-human as in, just so very human. Boisterous. Brilliant. Funny. He was loud... when he started laughing he could get embarrassingly loud. His glasses were crooked a lot and he was always disheveled. He was so very human. The exact opposite of a barcode scanner. Burlington has lost a beautiful part of our humanity and I feel that as I write this, sobbing.
Me and Josh at Uncommon Grounds- Late 1990s
I'm old enough to still own physical pictures. These pictures of Josh Bridgman are from my collection of those.
Longtime Vermont state representative for Chittenden County District 6-1, and Burlington city councilor for Ward 4 Kurt Wright announced his retirement from politics in a Facebook post early this morning. Wright's post in its entirely follows the row of stars below.
***
Congratulations to the winners in the district 6-1 State Rep race, Carol Ode and Mr; Hooper.
Tonight's loss was a very disappointing one to me there is no
question about that. It certainly is not the way I wanted to have my
time in Montpelier end after all these years. But the people have
spoken. With this loss my time in elective office will come to an
end. When my term ends on the City Council in 2020 I will not seek
another one. Nor will I seek to serve another year
as President of the Council in 2019. I announce this with sadness and
admit I will greatly miss serving and will miss most of my colleagues
and the give and take on all the issues. But all good things must come
to an end and the results tonight underscore for me that it is time to
move on. I say this with no bitterness toward anyone, just an honest
assessment that my time is up.
My personal disappointment is eclipsed by my belief that this defeat is a loss for the center in politics.
Heartfelt thanks to my many friends and supporters in the New North
End that have supported me for so long and that have said the kindest
things imaginable to me at the polls and at their doors. I will never
forget you and I want you all to know how much those comments meant to
me. I didn't deserve the incredible compliments you gave me but they
warmed my heart none the less.
Thanks also to people that
supported me despite political risk to them: Jane Knodell Mayor
Weinberger and Dave Hartnett. I will never forget their political
courage and I'm sorry they had to take such flak for their support of
me. Hopefully my loss and the elimination of my centrist voice will
now end that divisiveness. Politics can be a nasty business. I will continue to work hard for the New North End and Burlington until my term ends in 2020.
It has been the honor of a lifetime serving the citizens of the New
North End and Burlington. I hope you feel that I have represented you
with dignity, humor and respect for the institutions I served in.
According to three students who attended the Hunt Middle School Dance tonight, the dance was ended about 20 minutes earlier than scheduled due to what an assistant principal described as a "racist incident" in which and argument between two kids escalated as throngs of other kids began to swarm and chose sides posturing against each other in a threatening manner. The witnesses said teachers were not allowing students to leave the school and were cordoning them in the auditorium for several minutes. They said one teacher was taking video of the scene and bystanders, and at a certain point kids started to leave the auditorium en masse without permission. Shortly after two police cruisers were seen leaving the scene.
Email update 1 from Hunt School's principal:
Sep 28 at 9:59 PM
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Tonight at the Hunt Middle School Dance there was an incident of racial harassment directed by students towards some of our
students of color. This nearly resulted in an altercation, at which time
Mr. Kelley chose to end the dance early. The police were called as a
preventative measure to ensure the safety of everyone attending the
dance. I would like to thank the officers for acting swiftly and
compassionately towards our students.
I want to stress that no students were physically injured
tonight and that all students were sent home safely. Mr. Kelley and I
have already been in touch with the District’s Equity Coordinator as
well as the Superintendent. Starting this weekend, we will be working to
create a school-wide response for Monday morning when students arrive
back to HMS. We will also do a full racial harassment investigation for
those students who were offenders and targets of tonight's events. If
you have any more information regarding this incident, please either
email me at mscheidt@bsdvt.org or call me Monday morning. If you would prefer to contact the Equity Coordinator, please email Sparks at hsparks@bsdvt.org.
At Hunt we believe that “All are Welcome” and we believe
that every student should feel valued and safe attending our school. I
am deeply troubled by this event and would like to address this issue as
a whole community so that we can prevent this from repeating again here
at HMS.
Thank you, Mattie Scheidt
Email update 2 from Hunt School's principal:
Sep 29 at 9:48 AM
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Last
night I sent out the following email but had omitted the word alleged
regarding the incident. This was not intentional and I apologize for
the oversight. As stated there needs to be a full investigation
regarding the alleged incident. We will follow the district policy and
procedures. Please be assured that no conclusions of what happened have
been determined. We are still gathering facts to make sure we have the
full story.
Tonight
at the Hunt Middle School Dance there was an alleged incident of racial
harassment directed by students towards some of our students of color.
This nearly resulted in an altercation, at which time Mr. Kelley chose
to end the dance early... [original message repeats...]
Email update 3 from Hunt School's principal:
Oct 4 at 9:45 AM
Dear Hunt Community Members,
On
Friday, September 28th, a racial harassment incident was alleged to
have occurred during our school dance. As with all allegations of
harassment we launched an investigation. After conducting a thorough
investigation it was determined that there was no truth to the
allegation.
It
was found that students had not directly heard the racial slur but were
reacting to a rumor they heard. As our school district is implementing
Restorative Practices we are working with the students involved to make
repairs for the harm done to our community. We are supporting the
entire school community as we were all greatly impacted by this
incident. We are aware that issues regarding race within our school and
community exist. We will continue to make it a priority to address all
diversity issues as a school. Thank you for your ongoing support.
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