Former Burlington police chief
Brandon del Pozo is shifting responsibility for the social media scandal that cost him his job in Burlington in late 2019. Now he s blaming the Socialists on the city council for his downfall. He also maintains that he resigned only after Mayor
Miro Weinberger refused to defend him from opponents who had their knives out. That s different from the two men s earlier claim that del Pozo s behavior trolling a critic on Twitter with a fake account was the consequence of a serious concussion he suffered in a 2018 bike crash. Del Pozo was testifying recently to New Hampshire legislators about a bill on limited immunity for police officers when a Granite State lawmaker asked about his departure from Burlington. Del Pozo said his tenure had been going well until the Socialists took control of the city council and sought to overhaul his police department. Del Pozo started by noting that Sen.
This special issue highlights consensus favorites alongside unknown individuals quietly doing an outstanding job. We sought out Vermonters who went above and beyond in roles that became more difficult or dangerous during the pandemic — from the chefs and community volunteers who creatively kept us fed to the wastewater managers who tested our poo for viral markers. We also surveyed our readers on the people, places and programs that kept them going — and going.
Jarrell Watts, Elementary program director, Sara Holbrook Community Center, Burlington The ever-changing world of hybrid learning left some working parents searching for help. When in-person school was not an option, they needed a safe and nurturing place to send their kids. Since August, Jarrell Watts, elementary program director of Burlington s Sara Holbrook Community Center, has been providing that support. click image In the fall of 2020, the North Avenue center served as a free, full-day remote learning hub one of more than 80 sites in the state where some 35 students in kindergarten through fifth grade could get academic support and take part in enrichment activities when they weren t in school. Watts supervised a staff of about 11, plus a handful of college interns, who brought their passions from art to tinkering, gardening to Italian language to create engaging program
Doreen Kraft, executive director, Burlington City Arts Making art accessible to all has been the mission of Burlington City Arts since it was founded in the 1980s, when Bernie Sanders was mayor of the Queen City. A department of the City of Burlington, BCA meets its mission in partnership with the BCA Foundation, a nonprofit that fundraises to support exhibitions, events, public art and education programs BCA offers classes and camps that teach everything from screen printing to pottery-making. For years, the BCA offices and classrooms were housed at Memorial Auditorium. But when the building was deemed unsafe in 2016, executive director Doreen Kraft had to find a new home. She toured storefronts, office buildings and church basements. “We could not find the volume of space we needed in Burlington that would be affordable,” Kraft recalls.