Full Text of Auditor Tom Salmon's Speech

Auditor Tom Salmon Speaks On Government Transparency and Personal Responsibility

As Dickens wrote: “It was the best of times ... it was the worst of times.” This press conference is dedicated to warrior within all of us.

Thank you all for coming ... Vermonters ...

Today is a day for facts, transparency and clarity. One of the main reasons is because after today, I will not be available for comments on certain issues until after December 3.

On Transparency:
I’ve made myself available- have fielded lots of questions over the past several weeks. Some would say I took too many … but as a statewide elected official, I need to be questioned, transparent, and available. My position as auditor is charged with holding  people, agencies and departments accountable for spending taxpayer dollars. I get lots of questions ... one of the most unique, “Do you believe in God?”  Of course I believe. I need faith to do my job, in order to say what I mean and mean what I say as a public servant and a Vermonter, unafraid of any issue or any person.

State Auditor Answers Questions about DUI, Finances

In a wide-ranging and at times rambling press conference Friday, State Auditor Tom Salmon addressed a number of personal and public shortcomings that have come to light in recent weeks

He dedicated his Statehouse press conference to "the warrior in all of us."

For 45 minutes, Salmon walked reporters through his political and personal biography, offering his assessment of the state's financial condition and his own private failings along the way. Those include his recent arrest for driving while under the influence, and racking up nearly $30,000 in debt while living in Los Angeles and not repaying it until after he was sworn in as the state's fiscal watchdog.

"What I want to say to Vermonters is, 'I am sorry and I apologize,'" said Salmon. "I screwed up and made a mistake."

To get a sense of the variety of topics, and Salmon's comments, check out my Twitter feed. To read the prepared text of his speech, click here.

Salmon did tackle a few issues head on, including what prompted his own financial struggles, and why he is giving promotions and pay raises in his office while simultaneously calling for state government and unemployed workers to do more with less.

Salmon said a $48,000 stock loss due the collapse of Enron prompted his financial troubles. He also tackled questions about his DUI arrest, which came after a night of drinking with colleagues celebrating promotions and pay raises in the office.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Crack Down on VT Dairy Farms

Continuing its fine coverage of the plight of undocumented workers on Vermont's dairy farms, the Addison County Independent reported yesterday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun inspecting Vermont dairy farms and subpoenaing their employment records. According to a Vermont Agency of Agriculture spokesperson, at least four Vermont dairy farms were issued subpoenas in an effort by ICE to ferret out farm laborers who've either overstayed their work visas or entered the country illegally. The inspections and subpoenas are part of a larger, nationwide sweep of more than 1000 workplaces, the Addy Indy's Kathryn Flagg reports.

Although the Agency of Ag hasn't identified which farms were targeted, the Burlington Free Press reported this morning that the affected farms were in Orleans and Franklin counties. It's estimated that more than 2000 undocumented laborers are employed in Vermont's dairy industry, though experts caution that reliable estimates are hard to come by.

Back in 2003, Seven Days first profiled the plight of Vermont's undocumented workers, who comprise an estimated 75 percent of all ag laborers in the region. Immigration advocates say that the vast majority are Mexican men, many of whom work long hours for minimal pay and support families back home.

Democratic Gubernatorial Forum: Follow Along!

Around 6:30 p.m., the five Democratic candidates for governor will take the stage in Burlington for an hourlong forum where each will answer four questions about Vermont's environment.

This is the second time the candidates will meet to talk about how they, as governor, would tackle various environmental challenges. The last time, however, Sen. Doug Racine (D-Chittenden), was out of the country at the time.

Tonight's forum is being hosted by the Vermont League of Conservation Voters, and will be streamed live on WPTZ. It's being held inside the Main Street Performing Arts Center in Burlington.

November Is So Noir

If I had 16 hours to spend in Montpelier this weekend, you would find me at the Savoy Theater's annual Noir November mini-fest. This Saturday and Sunday at the Savoy, you can watch classic films noirs (as the French call 'em) at 10 a.m., noon, 2 and 4 — for free.

First there's The Killers, starring Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner (va-va-voom!). Then Orson Welles' Touch of Evil. Then Rififi, the famous '50s heist movie that influenced later stylish flicks like Reservoir Dogs. Saturday ends with The Big Sleep, featuring Bogie, Bacall, Raymond Chandler's immortal dialogue, and a plot so tangled that the screenwriters (who included William Faulkner) asked the author to explain it, please. (Chandler wrote to a friend, "They sent me a wire... asking me, and dammit I didn't know either.")

Get the Free Press for (Almost) Free

If you haven't heard the news, the state's largest daily newspaper is offering a "special introductory rate" for friends and family of Burlington Free Press employees.

The deal?

For the low, low price of $2 you can have the Thursday and Sunday papers delivered to your home (along with the advertising flyers and circulars stuffed inside) for one year. Given the cost to create the content, print and deliver the paper, it sounds like a losing proposition for the Freeps, but quite the deal for readers.

But hurry — the deadline to sign up is tomorrow. We've been told that Free Press staffers will even personally come to your door and collect the $2.

Can't say we blame the Freeps for trying. As Andy Bromage reported a couple of weeks ago, circulation at the Freeps and other daily papers has plummeted over the years.

Town Meeting Day Campaign to Shut Down VT Yankee Launches Today

A group of prominent Vermonters today will call on fellow residents to vote on Town Meeting Day whether to relicense Vermont Yankee for another 20 years.

In March 2009, 36 Vermont towns voted to ask the legislature not to approve Vermont Yankee operation for another 20 years and to require the plant's owner, Entergy, to pay the full cost of decommissioning the plant, which could near $1 billion. The resolutions also called on the legislature to focus on finding non-nuclear sources of energy to replace Vermont Yankee, which supplies about one-third of the state's power needs.

As of now, 18 Vermont towns are organized to get this resolution on their Town Meeting Day warnings.

The group hopes today's announcement and release of the letter signed by prominent Vermonters will  inspire residents of more towns to participate, and adopt their own version of the resolution.

"Entergy is doing intensive lobbying and is expected to increase its efforts to get the legislature to pass the required resolution as we approach decision time. The only way we can counter their efforts to get the 20-year extension is if citizens in the towns are actively involved, and town meeting resolutions facilitate that," said James Marc Leas, an attorney, and one of the campaign organizers.

State Auditor to Host Wide-Ranging Press Conference Friday

State Auditor Tom Salmon announced today he is hosting a press conference Friday to answer a wide range of topics — from revelations of past personal financial troubles to his recent arrest for driving while under the influence.

The auditor also plans to talk about how his office is responding to the ongoing state budget challenges, what efforts his office is undertaking to save the state money, and how the projected budgetary shortfall of $88 million can be faced.

The press conference is scheduled for 1 p.m. in the Cedar Creek Room at the Vermont State House.

Salmon said he also expects to take questions on his DUI, his comments at a recent unemployment insurance hearing, and how he personally plans to proceed as a result of the recent revelations.

Progressive Reaches out to Democrats in Race for Lt. Governor

Progressive State Rep. David Zuckerman (P-Burlington) is reaching out to Democrats as he contemplates a run for lieutenant governor.

One option Zuckerman is entertaining is running in the Democratic primary, in an attempt to garner the backing of both Democrats and his own Progressives. A similar approach was used, successfully, by former Burlington City Councilor Tim Ashe.

Ashe, a Progressive, ran in the Democratic Primary in 2008 for state senate in Chittenden County and won. He later won in the general election and now sports a "D/P" after his name.

On Monday, Zuckerman will meet with the Washington County Democratic Committee to talk about the common political ground shared by the two parties, as well as his possible run in the Democratic primary.

"Before jumping in, I feel it's important to discuss the issues and challenges that face our state.  Because part of my considerations include running in the Democratic Party primary, I feel it is important to reach out to the various county members to see what the reception is like," said Zuckerman. "This is all part of the bridge building process, we will see where it goes from there."

Jack McCullough, chairman of the Washington County Democrats, confirmed Zuckerman's appearance and said he welcomes the dialogue.

Segway Supporters Turn Out for Bike Path Hearing

A Parks and Recreation Commission public meeting last night on the question of whether to allow Segways access to the Burlington bike path drew a number of supporters for the proposal. Kevin J. Kelley wrote about the issue in last week's Seven Days. His story is currently the most popular item on our website.

Kevin attended the hearing last night at the P&R office on Pine Street. He said the room was filled, and estimated a crowd of 30 to 50 people. He writes, "Steve Allen, chair of the P&R Commission, said at the end of the 90-minute session that it's unlikely a decision will be made prior to the commission's scheduled meeting in January. P&R staff, headed by new director Mari Steinbach, will study last night's testimony and do additional research on Segway use around the country that will inform the commission's decision."

Here's the full report Kevin sent this morning:

Vt attorney Rick Sharp, one of the pioneers of the Burlington bike path, spoke in favor of Segway use. Sharp, who was injured in a 1996 accident, moved with visible difficulty from a seat in the front row at the hearing to the witness chair less than 5 feet away.

Sharp framed Segways as an earth-friendly mode of transportation that would fit on the bike path philosophically as well as physically. He described Segways as "another step in the save-the-planet movement." The devices are battery-powered and produce no emissions.

Best Bites: The Bearded Frog

5247 Shelburne Road, Shelburne 985-9877

I bet you're thinking I've gone crazy. "Alice," you're saying. "Are you making such huge Seven Days bucks that you think a special occasion spot such as the Bearded Frog is a great deal?"

Yes and no. Most of the time, The Bearded Frog and its sister, The Black Sheep Bistro, rest squarely on my list of requests when someone else is paying. But like many fine restaurants in big cities, The Frog cuts people like me a break in the form of a kick-ass bar menu.

If you're hungry enough for an appetizer, don't you dare pass up the Venison Cigar Rolls. They're a menu staple for a reason – addictively spiced lean meat encased in salty, flaky pastry. Dip it in the syrupy maple dipping sauce (there's also creamy horseradish) and I'm in heaven.

Burgers can be made with beef or venison. Either way, you win (see photo). Cooked to my ideal medium rare-verging-on-rare, the juices from my beautifully seasoned venison patty soaked into the kaiser roll without making it one bit soggy. Executive Chef Michel Mahe's trademark cone of frites makes the meal, which also includes a bistro-style side salad. Basil mayo and the best straight-up garlic aioli I've ever had accentuate the perfection of the crisp fries.

Council Balks at Burlington Telecom Refinancing

After two hours of feisty, and at times acrimonious and partisan debate, the Burlington City Council early Tuesday morning scuttled a $61.65 million refinancing proposal for Burlington Telecom.

Mayor Bob Kiss came to the council with a resolution offering to repay any money BT borrowed from the cash pool since October 1 within 60 days, while at the same time seeking council approval to work with financier Piper Jaffray to fully develop a refinancing deal to keep BT afloat and help it complete its buildout.

A complete deal, he said, would come back to the council sometime in mid- to late January for final approval.

In October, the council asked the administration to come back to it with refinancing options, and financing strategies, no later than November 16. Kiss, and Chief Administrative Officer Jonathan Leopold, said the proposal with Piper Jaffray was in response to that request.

Of course, no one said the council would approve what the administration proposed. The council also felt as if the administration was unfairly pushing the council to make a rush decision without giving it enough information.

Williston Neighbors Target Gun Club Over Lead Contamination

Mona and Leo Boutin of Williston (pictured) want the shooting range next door to clean up its act — and ensure that tons of lead shotgun pellets in its soil aren't contaminating the neighborhood's groundwater.

A neighborhood coalition calling itself Lead Free Williston held a press conference Tuesday morning to release results of water tests that show elevated levels of lead in a stream that originates on the gun club property, and to call for more testing.

A dozen neighbors convened on the Boutins' 50-acre family farm on Old Creamery Road to call on the North Country Sportsman's Club to take more aggressive steps to clean up the spent lead shot and prevent contamination of local wells and streams.

After becoming concerned about potential lead leeching, the Boutins hired Environmental Compliance Services out of Waterbury to test samples from the brook that cuts through their property, where for years beef cattle raised by the Boutins would drink. The results showed .09 miliigrams of lead per liter — almost double the safe level for watering livestock, and approaching the level where human consumption becomes risky.

VT: Not the Most Porntastic State in the Union

Man, do we love our lists here in the U.S. There's a list for everything — the hottest men, the most expensive properties, the ugliest babies, etc. In Vermont, we have the (dubious) honor of being named to just about every list ever published.

 

The photo at the right is what a list looks like.

Nation's fittest city? Check. It's Burlington. Best outdoor towns? Check. We've got four of them. Best adventure towns? Check. We can claim three of those as well. Most healthy state? Check. It's Vermont. Highest percentage of stoners? Super check. Vermont can toke with the best of them. No really, that's a real list.

Heck, we even made it onto National Geographic Traveler's survey of iconic places. There we came in at #78, in between Ancient Kyoto, Japan, and Slovenia. Depending on how you read the list (I couldn't make heads or tails of it), we're way more awesome than the Bavarian Alps in Germany and the entire country of Wales.

Need some more listicles? The City of Burlington has been collecting the accolades it's garnered since Jesus walked the Earth. Burlington is one of the "best walking cities," "prettiest towns," "greenest cities" and "gayest places on the planet."

But here's one list we're not on: the top U.S. states for online pornography.

Shumlin Launches Bid for Governor

It's officially, official: Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin is running for governor.

The Windham Democrat, who has been the Senate leader since returning to the post in 2007, enters an already crowded field of Democrats. Five candidates, including Shumlin, are vying for the right to challenge the putative GOP nominee — Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie.

Already in the race are: State Sen. Susan Bartlett (Lamoille), former State Sen. Matt Dunne, Secretary of State Deb Markowitz and State Sen. Doug Racine (Chittenden).

Shumlin said he believes his small business background, coupled with his legislative leadership, provides the right mix of skills to be an effective governor.

"Our next governor is going to have the toughest budget challenges in recent memory. Over the past eight years, our state has overpromised and underperformed," said Shumlin, 53. "Promises of job growth have not materialized. Our expenses far exceed our revenues, and our long-term financial obligations outpace Vermont's ability to pay. Vermont, and Vermonters, cannot bear further tax burden."

Given his party has been in control of the Legislature and he one of the legislative leaders, what has the Democratic majority overpromised? Seven Days asked.

It's Not Just Vermont — Seven Gay Publications Shut Down

Vermont hasn't had a GLBT newspaper since Out in the Mountains folded in 2006. Now seven more gay publications are following suit. All Window Media publications abruptly closed up shop today, including the Southern Voice, the Houston Voice and the venerable Washington Blade. Staffers at the Southern Voice arrived at work this morning to find the locks had been changed. 

Here's the link from the Poynter newsletter that arrived in my inbox this morning. Washington DC GLBT newsmagazine Metro Weekly is reporting that the investment fund that owns the publications has been forced into receivership by the Small Business Administration.

This news comes on the heels of the announcement of changes at the national glossy The Advocate. That magazine will now be distributed with Out mag, and may cease appearing on newsstands altogether. Times are tough in the gay mediasphere.

Oddly, the best coverage of the Window Media shut down that I've read so far is from the non-gay Atlanta Journal-Constitution. I love the quote at the end:

[Laura] Douglas-Brown became editor of Southern Voice three years ago. She spent a total of 12 years with the weekly, having been an intern for six months before Window Media bought it, she said.

The new owners contributed an infusion of cash as well as energy, she said. Having sister publications also beefed up their own coverage, as Douglas-Brown said she could rely upon the Washington Blade to cover a Congressional hearing and use their story.

“We were like our own little gay AP,” she said.

State Auditor Charged with DUI

State Auditor Tom Salmon is facing a charge of driving under the influence after a routine traffic stop in Montpelier Friday night.

According to a police summary of the incident, Trooper Brandon Doll stopped Salmon around 10:30 p.m. Salmon was driving a 2008 Honda Civic and failed to use a turn signal.

"In speaking with Salmon it was determined that he had been drinking, and Salmon admitted to having a few drinks over the course of the evening," Doll noted in his report.

Salmon was taken into custody for suspicion of driving under the influence and was issued a citation to appear in Vermont District Court in Barre on Dec. 3.

The auditor had taken three employees and their spouses out for dinner to celebrate two promotions and one pay grade increase, Salmon told Seven Days.

"Long dinner, special occasion. On the way home, I failed to put my on my signal during a routine right turn in Montpelier and was stopped," Salmon said. "Asked if I was drinking I said yes, red wine. Was taken in and blew a .086. DUI 1. I didn't protest anything."

BREAKING: City secures refinancing for Burlington Telecom

Usually politicians save their 4 p.m. Friday press conferences for bad news. But this fire has burned unchecked for long enough.

Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss announced late this afternoon that the city received a financing proposal this week for Burlington Telecom (BT) to satisfy its current debt of $33 million, as well as the $17.4 million borrowed but never repaid from the city's pooled cash account. This "letter of engagement," from the Minneapolis-based financial firm Piper Jaffray & Co., is currently under discussion by the Board of Finance, and further discussion will most likely be the main event at Monday night's City Council meeting.

"BT's ability to meet its current debt obligations is an indication of its strength as an enterprise," Kiss told a room full of reporters late Friday. "It also confirms that the use of pooled cash has not been, and is not, an increased risk to the taxpayers of Burlington."

As Shay Totten first reported in late September, Chief Administrative Officer Jonathan Leopold floated the fledgling municipal telecom company a $17.4 million loan without the express written consent of the city council. Leopold fully expected the money would be repaid by outside investors within 60 days, he said later. But as the global economy tanked, those deep pockets never materialized, and Leopold came under fire from city councilors and the Department of Public Service for never fully disclosing the loan.

Happy Birthday, NEK!

Did you know 60 years have passed since the late former Vermont Governor and U.S. Senator George Aiken first uttered the phrase, "the Northeast Kingdom"? How time flies.

Word has it (in the form of a press release) that two other fellows, Wallace Gilpin of Newport and W. Arthur Simpson of Lyndonville, actually thought up the colorful name, though how they did this in unison I could not say. Word does not have it that the pair were high on Vermont maple-flavored moonshine at the time, or perhaps were just misplaced Loyalists pining for a king. Whatever. Aiken was more famous and so he will forever be credited for the quaint, if baffling, moniker.

That's why Aiken's widow, Lola, will be among the dignitaries showing up for the NEK's birthday party this Saturday, November 14, at the Goodrich Memorial Library in Newport. And that, if you don't know your VT geography, is on the edge of Kingdomland near Canada, which has a queen, sort of. Burr Morse, billed as a "beloved comedian/political satirist and goodwill ambassador to the Northeast Kingdom," will undoubtedly keep things jolly. Stephen Terry, who co-authored a book about Aiken, is expected as well.

2009 Cabot Sock Sale Starts This Weekend

I just saw someone on Twitter complaining about losing her husband for a month to deer season, and it reminded me that it's time for the "Hunter's Widow" Sock Sale at Cabot Hosiery Mills, makers of Darn Tough socks, in Northfield.

This annual Vermont tradition — now in its 30th year — takes place this Saturday and Sunday, and next. Never been? Check out this video that Eva Sollberger did a couple years ago. I went for the first time several years back, and was astounded by the size of the crowd flocking to this sock factory in the middle of rural Vermont. You may have to wait in line just to get in the door! And you'll definitely have to wait to check out, even though they'll have multiple registers open for business. It's worth the drive at least once, just to see it. Oh yeah, and there are socks on sale, made right here in Vermont.

I would link to more information about the sale on the web, but there isn't any. Not that I can find, anyway. There's an ad in our paper this week, on page 19, so I can tell you that the sock sale is happening Saturday & Sunday, November 14 & 15, and November 21 & 22, from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. at 364 Whetsone Drive, Northfield. That's right off Route 12.