Here's what's happening in Vermont news and politics this week. Got an event for next week's calendar? Email by Friday to submit.
Monday, December 3
- Monday and Tuesday are big days for Gov. Peter Shumlin. He'll be in Los Angeles for the annual meeting (and holiday party!) of the Democratic Governors Association — he's expected to be elected its next chairman.
- At 10:30 a.m., U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) will be at Cathedral Square Senior Living in Burlington for a press conference promoting open enrollment in Medicare, which extends through December 7. No word on enrollment dates for Obamacare.
- Vermont authorities have finally confirmed the suspected killer of Bill and Lorraine Currier of Essex, who disappeared without a trace in 2011. He is Israel Keyes, a confessed serial killer, and on Sunday morning, he apparently killed himself in an Alaska jail cell, where he was being held in the murder of an Anchorage barista. At 1:30 p.m., U.S. Attorney for Vermont Tristram Coffin III holds a press conference at the federal courthouse in Burlington presumably to discuss details.
- At 6 p.m., the Burlington City Council holds a special work session on ward redistricting. Wards 1, 7 and 4 are outside the acceptable deviation for representation, based on the 2010 Census, so the whole damn thing has to get redrawn.
Rest of the week after the break...
Tuesday, December 4
- Remember that huge apartment complex S.D. Ireland wants to build at its concrete plant on Grove Street in Burlington? At 5 p.m., the city's Development Review Board will gets its first look at the complex when it reviews a "sketch plan" at Burlington city hall.
- At 7 p.m., the CIA's former counterterrorism chief, Haviland Smith, speaks at Brownell Library in Essex Junction. His talk on recent developments in the Middle East is free.
Wednesday, December 5
- At 8 a.m., CEDO director Peter Owens stands in for Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger for "Mornings with Miro" at the Bagel Cafe in the New North End. Hizzoner will be at the Integrated Arts Academy at 8:10 a.m. reading to a kindergarten class for a "Reading to End Racism" event.
- At noon, Vermont Public Radio's "Vermont Edition" hosts state IT commissioner Richard Boes to discuss the various IT disasters in state government.
- At noon, University of Vermont students hold a "Bottled Water Retirement Party" in the Davis Center to mark the pending end of bottled water sales at UVM in January. The event features a sculpture made from 3000 used plastic water bottles.
- At 6:30 p.m., the Vermont State Police hold a public forum at the Williston barracks to get input on a statewide plan for VSP facilities.
Thursday, December 6
- At 7:10 a.m., Lt. Gov. Phil Scott is the guest on Charlie, Ernie and Lisa, on 620 WVMT AM.
- At 11:30, the presumably newly minted DGA chairman Gov. Shumlin will hold his weekly press conference. Details TBA. At 4 p.m., Shumlin speaks at the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund's State House Challenge and at 4:30 p.m. he throws the switch to light the statehouse "holiday tree" — which he bought from a "Christmas tree" farm in Morrisville.
Friday, December 7
- From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier hosts a conference on "Vermont's New Economy" with keynote speaker Ellen Brown of the Public Banking Institute.
- At noon, Rep. Welch is the guest on VPR's "Vermont Edition."
Saturday, December 8
- House Democrats gather at the Statehouse in Montpelier today to pick leaders for the session starting in January. Independent Rep. Paul Poirier of Barre is challenging House Speaker Shap Smith (D-Morrisville) for his gavel, with a promise to give minority Republicans a bigger voice in lawmaking. Time and location TBD.
Sunday, December 9
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