By Gregory Sanford In a dangerous world the president and his party, which controlled both houses of Congress, feared that an influx of immigrants posed a threat to the country. As one member of Congress warned, “The times are full of danger and it would be the height of madness not to take every precaution.” […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Justin Silverman | 774.244.2365 | mail@nefac.org The New England First Amendment Coalition is pleased to announce the addition of Lia Ernst, a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, to its Board of Directors. “We’re very excited to have Lia join NEFAC and help our efforts defending the […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Justin Silverman | 774.244.2365 | justin@nefac.org The New England First Amendment Coalition is pleased to announce the addition of three members to its board of directors. “It’s an honor to have these individuals join our board and help further our mission,” said Justin Silverman, NEFAC’s executive director. “The wealth of experience they bring to […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Justin Silverman | 774.244.2365 | justin@nefac.org The New England First Amendment Coalition today urged the Franklin County (Vt.) Sheriff’s Department, the Winooski Police Department and Vermont State Police to make public as quickly as possible any body camera footage in their possession related to a recent fatal shooting of an unarmed […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Justin Silverman | 774.244.2365 | justin@nefac.org The New England First Amendment Coalition today praised a federal court decision requiring public access to a hearing on a controversial natural gas pipeline expansion project in Vermont, calling the ruling a strong and much-needed endorsement of the public’s right to know. The case involves […]
By Jim Condos Records management is not exactly an exciting topic, but when a particular record is the focus of a request or controversy, it becomes critically important in that moment. Those records are owned by the state of Vermont and are incredibly valuable for a variety of reasons, not the least of which are […]
By Michael Donoghue The Vermont legislature is about to finalize how long government boards have to post drafts of meeting minutes on their websites. For about 40 years, the law has required that such drafts be available to the public within five calendar days. Last year, the legislature adopted without any objections the same standard for posting them on […]
The following blog post is one of six that the New England First Amendment Coalition will publish during Sunshine Week, highlighting the need for government transparency and addressing freedom of information concerns throughout the New England states. When posted, these articles can be read here. By Jim Condos Vermont Secretary of State Sunshine Week, which is now […]
The following blog post is one of seven that the New England First Amendment Coalition will publish during Sunshine Week, highlighting the need for government transparency and addressing freedom of information concerns throughout the New England states. When posted, these articles can be read here. By Dan Barrett Vermont is a small place with just 620,000 […]
By Michael Donoghue Several Vermont police agencies, including the state police, have reversed themselves and resumed releasing breath test results when drivers are arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol. The move comes after more than a 12-month effort by the Burlington Free Press for greater transparency concerning the arrests of impaired drivers on […]