Hubbardton Day slated this weekend pg. 5
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TAKE ONE July 21, 2018
PRECIOUS METAL DEALERS FACE CHARGES
Serving Addison, Rutland & Chittenden Counties
Leahy’s border plan draws criticism
From Staff & News Reports THE V ERMONT EAGLE
SOUTH BURLINGTON | Several Vermont-based metal dealers face charges following a yearlong joint investigation by law enforcement authorities. Following numerous burglary complaints during the summer of 2017, the Vermont State Police and the Northfield Police Department began investigating multiple precious metal dealers in the area for a number of possible criminal violations. The investigation revealed that numerous stolen items from burglaries throughout Washington and Chittenden counties were being sold at local businesses. Th e investigation revealed that multiple businesses were purchasing precious metal, some of which was later determined to be stolen, and failing to properly document these transactions and/or failing to register with the Department of Public Safety as precious-metals dealers as required under Vermont law. » Charges Cont. on pg. 5
U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy’s border plan has drawn criticism from advocates of legal immigration and border security. File photo from Warner Brothers By Lou Varricchio EAGLE EDITOR
MIDDLEBURY | Border-zone legislation recently introduced by U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy, (D-Vt.), and Patty Murray, (D-Wash.), is drawing sharp criticism from illegal immigration opponents who say the bill would “hamstring” the nation’s immigration enforcement. The proposal, titled the Border Zone Reasonableness Restoration Act of 2018, would limit the border zone within which U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers may stop vehicles and search private property for the purpose of protecting national security. “This is about ensuring that every person in this country receives
the constitutional protections to which they are entitled,” Leahy said in a statement. “Vermonters have rightly been concerned about these expanded ‘border zone’ searches. They believe, as I do, that once inside our country the phrase ‘show me your papers’ does not belong inside the United States of America.” Leahy and Murray say they oppose instances in which Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents inside Vermont and Washington state recently boarded Greyhound buses without a warrant and inquired about the passengers’ citizenship status. Other enforcement efforts they consider unreasonable include questioning of international college students and setting up immigration checkpoints in Maine and New Hampshire. Under current law, DHS officers have legal authority to stop vehicles within 100 miles of the border and search private land within 25 miles. The Leahy-Murray bill proposes revising those distances down to 25 miles and 10 miles, respectively. The act also would prohibit dragnet-style immigration stops at checkpoints further than 10 miles from the border, unless agents have reasonable suspicion that people found in that zone are in the U.S. illegally. Opponents of the legislation say the plan is a concerted attempt to stop the Trump administration’s promise to secure the border from illegal entry, by both undocumented individuals and possible terrorists. “It is not at all surprising that Senators Leahy and Murray are at the vanguard of this effort to hamstring immigration enforcement,” Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Federation for American Immigration Reform, told True North Reports. “In the past few years, the Democratic Party has abandoned all pretense of supporting almost any sort of immigration enforcement. Despite the fact that the majority of Democrats voted to authorize a border security barrier in 2006 … the Democrats are now unified in their opposition to a fence that would make illegal border crossing more difficult, and Leahy and Murray are now aiming to make sure that illegal aliens are home-free as soon as possible after crossing the border.” ■ — This is part one of a multi-part series. This story first appeared on True North Reports online.
Briggs seeks state Senate seat By Lou Varricchio THE V ERMONT EAGLE
NEW EXHIBIT: To open Rokeby’s 2018 special exhibit “Fabric of Emancipation”
last weekend, Michelle Bishop of Harlem Needle Arts spoke about the influence of textile art as resistance for social change. She, along with participating artist L’Merchie Frazier, met attendees during the opening reception. The exhibit features pieces by the country’s preeminent fiber, textile, and needle artists. Each work speaks to the artist’s view of the African Diaspora and his or her own personal historical interpretation. Rokeby Museum photos
ADDISON | Addison County resident and dairy farmer Peter Briggs has announced that he will seek, for a second time, the Vermont State Senate seat in Addison County. While Briggs lost the 2014 race for the State House and the 2016 state Senate bid, this time, he believes, Addison County voters are ready for change. Briggs will be running in the primary again as a Republican. The GOP challenger will face incumbent Vermont State Sen. Christopher Bray (D) in the fall election. Incumbent Sen. Claire Ayer (D) is not seeking reelection this year. Briggs was born in Addison County and raised on the dairy farm started by his great grandfather. He is the grandson of decorated World War II veteran Henry Briggs. “I will work for a more affordable Vermont,” Briggs said. “We need to lower the tax burden on Vermonters and bring spending within sensible lines.” Briggs said that he is a pro-business candidate and wants to make Vermont a more business-
friendly environment. “Taxes are unsustainable,” he said. “It’s sad that despite the increase in revenue they (in Montpelier) still felt they had to raise taxes on those of us who produce. We need to reform the teachers’ pension system by going to a 401K (plan) instead of a pension structure and by reforming the education funding system which is a continuing problem.” » Briggs Cont. on pg. 5
Vermont Senate candidate Peter Briggs in 2016.
File photo by Lou Varricchio
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