Vermont Gov.
Phil Scott (R) signed legislation on Wednesday that bans the use of the so-called “gay panic” defense in courts of law.
“With this legislation, Republicans, Democrats and Progressives alike send a message to Vermonters–that your identity should never be an excuse for someone to cause you harm,” the two-term Republican said in a message upon signing the historic legislation. “What this bill does is make sure a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity can’t be used to defend or justify a criminal act, or lower a sentence.”
The defense is a legal strategy used by a defendant on trial for a violent crime in which they typically seek to supplement a temporary insanity defense by arguing that an unwanted advance from a gay person led them to such a state of rage that they admittedly committed a violent crime, up to and including murder.
Stu Strothman, of Brattleboro, Vt., performs an impromptu Morris dance on top of Putney Mountain, in Putney, Vt., on Saturday, May 1, 2021, a day after Vermont Governor Phil Scott loosen the COVID-19 restrictions on outdoor gatherings on Friday, April 30, 2021. People traditionally gather on top of Putney Mountain to welcome the sunrise of the first May sun on May Day.
Kristopher Radder Brattleboro Reformer
After Vermont Governor Phil Scott loosen the COVID-19 restrictions on outdoor gatherings on Friday, April 30, 2021, a small group of people welcome the rising of the first sunrise in May with an impromptu Morris dance on top of Putney Mountain, in Putney, Vt., on Saturday, May 1, 2021.
Mon, 05/03/2021 - 11:50am John McCright Anaïs Mitchell
MIDDLEBURY Anaïs Mitchell, acclaimed playwright, composer and musician, will deliver the 2021 Middlebury College Commencement address on Saturday, May 29. A New Haven native, 1999 graduate of Mount Abraham Union High School and 2004 Middlebury College graduate, Mitchell is the creative force behind the hit musical “Hadestown.”
One of the leading artistic voices of her generation, Mitchell began work on “Hadestown” a reimagination of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice years before it appeared on Broadway. The production debuted in Barre, Vermont, in 2006 before it toured across New England. Mitchell gained international recognition following the premiere of “Hadestown” in Alberta, London and then New York, where it opened in 2019. Later that year “Hadestown” went on to win eight Tony Awards and Mitchell won the Tony Award for Best Original Score. In 2020 the show also won
Fri, 04/30/2021 - 9:29am katie
Vermont Business Magazine Earlier this week, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed bill S.60 into law. The new law provides cooperative and community-owned public power utilities with the ability to make minor adjustments to electric rates and provide customers with new, innovative services. The legislation, sponsored by Senator Ann Cummings, is the result of collaboration among electric utilities, state utility regulators, and Vermont legislators.
Prior to the passage of S.60, all electric utility rate adjustments and pilot programs were subject to formal reviews by state utility regulators. Often lengthy and expensive, this review process also presents a hurdle to utility innovation. The new law gives public power utilities the authority to implement rate changes up to 2% each year without undergoing the traditional reviews. It also allows utilities to pilot new services that advance Vermont’s climate requirements without being subject to a formal
Hadestown.
One of the leading artistic voices of her generation, Mitchell began work on
Hadestown a reimagination of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice years before it appeared on Broadway. The production debuted in Barre, Vermont, in 2006 before it toured across New England.
Mitchell gained international recognition following the premiere of
Hadestown in Alberta, London, and then New York, where it opened in 2019.
Later that year
Hadestown went on to win eight Tony Awards and Mitchell won the Tony Award for Best Original Score. In 2020 the show also won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Anaïs Mitchell stands apart from all other modern singer-songwriters for her imagination, storytelling, and tremendous songwriting talent, said Middlebury President Laurie Patton.