Vermont news

• Hospital: No evidence of misuse from release of patient info

  16-06-2017 23:53
  
  An update on the mishandling of data at Vermont's second-largest hospital. 
  
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• Are drug companies to blame for the opiate crisis?

  16-06-2017 23:19
  
  Vermont is joining an investigation into whether pharmaceutical companies unlawfully marketed and sold opiates, contributing to the country's drug epidemic and a record number of overdose deaths. 
  
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• Burlington man sentenced for drug, gun crimes

  16-06-2017 22:27
  A Vermont man has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges of distributing and possessing heroin, and possessing guns as part of drug-trafficking.
  
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• Howard Center pushes back on one dose policy for Narcan

  16-06-2017 22:24 via vtdigger.org
  
  Tom Dalton, program coordinator for Safe Recovery, an organization that gives drug addicts access to basic health services such as disease screening and clean needles, while also helping connect them to treatment. Photo by Morgan True/VTDigger
  BURLINGTON — The state’s largest distributor of an opiate overdose antidote is pushing back against a state policy aimed at limiting how much naloxone can be distributed.
  The Health Department provides naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan,
  
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• Army worms marching into Vermont

  16-06-2017 22:19
  
  Destructive army worms have been spotted at farms across our region. 
  
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• Scott, lawmakers zero in on pot legalization

  16-06-2017 21:56 via vtdigger.org
  
  Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, confers on Friday with leadership about marijuana legalization. Photo by Erin Mansfield/VTDigger
  With just days to go before the Legislature reconvenes for a special session, lawmakers and the administration are zeroing in on a compromise marijuana legalization bill.
  Gov. Phil Scott vetoed S.22, which passed both legislative chambers in May. With his veto last month, the governor offered suggested changes that would win
  
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• Sununu signs bill allowing needle exchange programs

  16-06-2017 21:55
  
  Republican Gov. Chris Sununu has signed legislation allowing needle exchange programs to operate in New Hampshire.
  
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• Sanders announces $3 million in housing grants for Vermont

  16-06-2017 21:43 via vtdigger.org
  
  WASHINGTON — On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., announced $3 million in grants from the National Housing Trust Fund to be steered to Vermont for building, preserving and rehabilitating affordable housing across the green mountain state.
  “Increasing the availability of affordable housing in Vermont has consistently been one of my top priorities,” Sanders said in a statement Thursday. “After more than 15 years of fighting for the National Housing Trust Fund, I a
  
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• Annual ranking puts Vermont third for child well-being

  16-06-2017 21:19 via vtdigger.org
  
  Children sang and played at the launch event for Let’s Grow Kids, a statewide public education campaign about the importance of early childhood experiences. Photo by Hilary Niles/VTDiggerVermont is third in the nation when it comes to child well-being, according to a new Annie E. Casey Foundation report.The annual Kids Count Data Book shows that Vermont has the lowest number of children living in highly impoverished areas. The state also has fewer uninsured children than other states. Only
  
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• Unemployment rate stays at 3.1 percent

  16-06-2017 20:46 via vtdigger.org
  
  Vermont’s unemployment rate stayed flat in May, after preliminary data in April showed the rate’s first uptick since 2009.
  The unemployment rate remains at 3.1 percent in May, compared to a nationwide unemployment rate of 4.3 percent.
  Vermont is tied with Wisconsin and Iowa for the eighth-lowest unemployment rate in the country, behind Colorado (2.3 percent), North Dakota (2.5 percent), Hawaii (2.7 percent), New Hampshire (2.9 percent) and, South Dakota (2.9 percent).
  From April to M
  
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• Vermont homeless count up by 11 percent

  16-06-2017 20:40 via vtdigger.org
  
  More than 1,200 Vermonters including more than 300 children were homeless on January 24, according to the latest annual report designed to measure homelessness.
  The annual Point-In-Time Count Report, released Tuesday, showed 1,225 homeless Vermonters, an increase of 11 percent over 2016. There were 306 homeless children, representing 25 percent of the total.
  More than one-quarter, or 340 people, reported having a severe mental health disorder, and 228, or 19 percent, reported having a substance
  
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• Sanders tells graduates not to walk away from problems

  16-06-2017 20:34
  
  U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders has told graduates of a Vermont high school that he doesn't want them to walk away from the very serious problems facing the country and the world.
  
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• Get Your Entomology On: The Annual Bug Show bit.ly/2sHJCL8 https://t.co/uYD2EqrlUb

  16-06-2017 20:32 via twitter.com
  
  Get Your Entomology On: The Annual Bug Show bit.ly/2sHJCL8 https://t.co/uYD2EqrlUb
  
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• Police: Vt. man abandoned child in car after hit-and-run crash

  16-06-2017 19:43
  
  Investigators say an Essex man was drunk when he abandoned a 4-year-old in his wrecked car after a hit-and-run. 
  
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• 51 NH moose hunt lottery permits issued

  16-06-2017 18:48
  
  New Hampshire's Fish and Game Department has issued 51 hunting permits in its annual moose hunt lottery.
  
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• Vt. unemployment rate for May unchanged from April

  16-06-2017 18:45
  
  The Vermont Department of Labor says the state's unemployment rate for May was 3.1 percent, unchanged from April.
  
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• State attorneys general target opioid drug companies

  16-06-2017 18:23
  
  Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan is joining forces with other AGs from across the country in an investigation into drug companies. 
  
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• Parking ticket troubles linger in Burlington

  16-06-2017 18:20
  
  If you got a parking ticket in downtown Burlington while using the Park Mobile app, you may want to check the ticket to make sure it's correct. 
  
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• New Americans contribute to Chittenden County

  16-06-2017 18:18 via vtdigger.org
  
  News Release — Champlain Valley Office of Economic OpportunityJune 16, 2017
  Contact:Joan White(802) 862-2771 ext. 744
  [email protected]
  NEW AMERICANS CONTRIBUTE TO CHITTENDEN COUNTY
  New Americans contribute significantly to Chittenden County’s housing values, GDP, and job market according to a new report released by the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO). This report addresses the negative stereotypes surrounding immigrants, documenting the wide range of benefi
  
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• We're getting today's show started in just a few minutes. Do you have questions or comments for the party leaders?… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…

  16-06-2017 18:04 via twitter.com
  We're getting today's show started in just a few minutes. Do you have questions or comments for the party leaders?… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…
  
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• Leahy reacts to president's revised Cuba policy

  16-06-2017 18:03
  
  President Trump plans to announce a revised Cuba policy and Vermont's senior senator is speaking out against it. 
  
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• The Most Important Political Leader You've Never Heard Of: Vt. Professor Pens New Biography bit.ly/2rofm3S https://t.co/GPNPoRpXZ5

  16-06-2017 18:02 via twitter.com
  
  The Most Important Political Leader You've Never Heard Of: Vt. Professor Pens New Biography bit.ly/2rofm3S https://t.co/GPNPoRpXZ5
  
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• Armyworms on the march in fields across Vermont

  16-06-2017 17:59 via vtdigger.org
  
  News Release — University of VermontJune 16, 2017
  Media Contact:Heather Darby(802) 524-6501, ext. 437 or (800) 639-2130 (Vermont calls only)E-mail: [email protected]
  ARMYWORMS ON THE MARCH IN FARM FIELDS ACROSS VERMONT
  St. Albans–Armyworms have been spotted in several locations across Vermont in recent days including on Addison, Orange and Franklin County farms. It is critical that farmers scout their corn and grass fields for these pests.
  True Armyworm, (Pseudaletia unipuncta) i
  
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• SCOV Law Blog: DCF jumps the gun

  16-06-2017 17:15 via vtdigger.org
  
  Editor’s note: This piece from the SCOV Law Blog is by Amy Davis. 
  In re A.M., 2017 VT 5
  Creative Commons photo by walknboston via Flickr
  As any parent can attest, once in awhile you make mistakes and aren’t a very good parent. This case focuses around whether one slip-up during a juvenile case is enough to make you lose your rights to your kids. It’s not, usually.
  These two teenagers had some kids, and at the time of the proceedings, the kids were 8, 6 and 2½
  
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• Federal Gun Charge Brought Against Shrewsbury Man

  16-06-2017 16:58 via vtdigger.org
  
  News Release — U.S. Department of JusticeJune 15, 2017
  Contact:(802) 951-6725Fax: (802) 951-6540
  The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that a federal grand jury has returned a two-count indictment charging Frank Weir, 55, of Shrewsbury, with possessing a machine gun without a permit and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Both counts identify the same Thompson U.S. Navy 1928 submachine gun, .45 caliber (manufactured by Colt).
  Weir i
  
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• Missing dog back in Thetford

  16-06-2017 16:55 via vtdigger.org
  
  Hickory, a rescue dog missing for three months, and his owner Ernie Luikart on Thursday, June 15, 2017, in Thetford. Hickory recently reunited with Luikart after being found in Plymouth, N.H. Photo by Jovelle Tamayo/Valley News. Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to [email protected].
  (This story by Jordan Cuddemi was first published in the Valley News on Friday, June 16, 2017.)
  THETFORD — It was just on Saturday when Ernie Luika
  
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• Sanders Announces $3 Million in Federal Funds for Vermont Housing

  16-06-2017 16:50 via vtdigger.org
  
  News Release — Sen. Bernie SandersJune 16, 2017
  Contact:Dan McLean802-862-6695
  BURLINGTON, Vt., June 15 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced Thursday Vermont will receive $3 million from the National Housing Trust Fund. The funds will be used to build, preserve, and rehabilitate affordable rental housing. Sanders helped lead a 15-year effort to pass and fund the National Housing Trust Fund.
  Last year, the first year of the new program, Vermont was also awarded $3 million to h
  
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• Work halted at Vt. welcome center after gravestone unearthed

  16-06-2017 16:42
  Workers doing excavation in front of a welcome center in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, have uncovered a gravestone of a woman who died in 1853.
  
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• Quimby Country Reopens

  16-06-2017 16:30 via vtdigger.org
  
  News Release — Quimby CountryJune 16, 2017
  Contact:Dick Martin908-400-6880
  Quimby Country Reopens for 122nd Season
  State’s Oldest Sporting Camp Hosts State’s Oldest Club
  Quimby Country in Averill, Vermont, opened for its 122nd season last Thursday, June 15, by welcoming more than 30 members of the Vermont Botanical and Bird Club, which by happy coincidence is holding its 122nd annual meeting there.
  Quimby’s, founded in 1894, is Vermont’s oldest sporting camp and ori
  
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• NH fails to pass chemical safety bill

  16-06-2017 16:28
  
  A bill that advocates hoped would lead to tougher standards for a toxic chemical that has been found in more than 200 sites in New Hampshire has stalled in the Legislature.
  
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• Treasurer Pearce: Implement Fiduciary Standard Rule

  16-06-2017 16:25 via vtdigger.org
  
  News Release — State Treasurer Beth PearceJune 16, 2017
  Press Contact:Tim Lueders-Dumont(802) 828-1451
  State Treasurer Beth Pearce Urges U.S. Department of Labor to Protect Consumers and Implement the Fiduciary Standard Rule
  MONTPELIER, Vt.— Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce has joined a bipartisan coalition of State Treasurers from across the country to urge the U.S. Department of Labor to fully implement the Fiduciary Rule to protect citizen investors from potential harm.
  In a le
  
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• New York lottery marks 50 years

  16-06-2017 16:25
  
  The New York Lottery is celebrating 50 years of operation.
  
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• NY man sentenced to 10 years for drug conspiracy

  16-06-2017 16:23
  
  Prosecutors say a Brooklyn, New York, man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role as a leader in a conspiracy to sell large amounts of crack and heroin in Rutland County.
  
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• Vermont College of Fine Arts announces book award finalists

  16-06-2017 16:18 via vtdigger.org
  
  News Release — Vermont College of Fine ArtsJune 16, 2017
  Contact:Tim Simard
  [email protected]
  VERMONT COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS ANNOUNCES 2017 VERMONT BOOK AWARD FINALISTS
  Montpelier, Vt.–Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) announced today the finalists of the third annual Vermont Book Award. The finalists were chosen across four genres—children’s literature, creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry.
  The eight finalists are:
  Jensen Beach, “Swallowed by the
  
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• Weston Playhouse Theatre Company Presents: ONCE

  16-06-2017 16:12 via vtdigger.org
  
  News Release — Weston Playhouse Theatre CompanyJune 14, 2017
  Contact:Lucy SouthwellTel. 802-824-8167 x 107Email: [email protected] Playhouse Theatre Company Presents: Once – Beginning June 27th
  This Vermont premiere is a must-see. ONCE won eight awards at the 2012 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Based on the film of the same name, ONCE also won the 2008 Academy Award for Best Original Song.
  This musical hit from stage to screen will open the 2017 Mainstage sea
  
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• Sanders to give high school commencement speech Friday

  16-06-2017 16:11
  
  U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is delivering the commencement address at a Vermont high school.
  
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• Sunderland man killed in crash

  16-06-2017 16:08
  
  A Vermont man was killed in a crash in Danby Thursday night. 
  
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• Ahead of next week's veto session, we'll be talking with party leaders on today's program: buff.ly/2swWEKO… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…

  16-06-2017 15:47 via twitter.com
  Ahead of next week's veto session, we'll be talking with party leaders on today's program: buff.ly/2swWEKO… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…
  
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• McClure Foundation Board Announces Leadership Transition

  16-06-2017 14:18 via vtdigger.org
  
  News Release — The Vermont Community FoundationJune 15, 2017
  Contact:Zoe Pike802-388-3355 ext. 285
  [email protected]
  The board of the J. Warren & Lois McClure Foundation, a supporting organization of the Vermont Community Foundation, announced that it has elected Lois McClure as president emerita, Barbara Benedict as president, and Rebecca Henry as vice president. The transition brings together three generations of the McClure family to lead the foundation and its work to make career
  
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• University of Vermont Medical Center begins new ‘Welcoming Policy’

  16-06-2017 14:13 via vtdigger.org
  
  News Release — University of Vermont Medical CenterJune 15, 2017
  Contact:Annie Mackin(802) 847-2886
  UVM Medical Center Lifts Visiting Restrictions, Gives Patients ControlNew “Welcoming Policy” Expected to Improve Recovery and Healing
  Highlights• Patients will decide who comes to see them and the timing of visits
  • Change in policy developed with input from patients and families
  BURLINGTON (VT) – The University of Vermont Medical Center has removed traditional &l
  
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• What are kids learning during the last week of school?

  16-06-2017 12:55
  
  For many schools around our region, Friday is the last day of school. As taxpayers, many want to know is the money for school going out the window during this last week, or are students still getting educational benefits?  Channel 3's Alex Hirsch goes to school to find out.
  
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• We made it! Thank you for helping us raise $200,512.

  16-06-2017 12:11 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Readers,
  We made it! Thank you for supporting our spring fundraising drive. We are so grateful to the 1,400 readers who contributed $200,512 over the past six weeks.
  None of this would have been possible without the very generous support of our readers, The McClure Foundation, Vermont Journalism Trust Board and other major donors who contributed to the matching fund challenges throughout the fund drive.
  Many thanks to our friends at Onion River Sports for the bikes we will be raffling off t
  
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• Fire leads to pot grow operation in Essex

  16-06-2017 05:52
  Crews responded to a fire at a property on Route 15 in Essex Thursday night.
  
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• The Deeper Dig: Special session preview

  16-06-2017 03:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Vermont Statehouse. File photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  Last month, Vermont’s legislators did what they do every year: They passed a budget bill and adjourned. This year, they did so knowing that Gov. Phil Scott would veto that budget.Scott pledged to block the bill because it did not address his proposal to make changes to teachers’ health care negotiations that he said would save taxpayers $26 million. Negotiations on this issue have continued, but legislators 
  
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• Montpelier-Roxbury district merger goes to voters next week

  16-06-2017 02:54 via vtdigger.org
  
  Voting booths at Montpelier City Hall. File photo by John Herrick/VTDiggerMontpelier and Roxbury voters will decide Tuesday whether to combine their school districts, a merger that proponents say will improve educational programming and reduce property tax rates. Montpelier residents also will vote on a tax initiative that advocates say will make their city more business-friendly.
  If voters approve the district merger, eventually Roxbury students from grades five through 12 will be bused some 15
  
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• With Veto Session Looming, Party Leaders Approach Divisive Issues In Montpelier bit.ly/2sF6fzu https://t.co/wx7DmsRnpq

  16-06-2017 02:25 via twitter.com
  
  With Veto Session Looming, Party Leaders Approach Divisive Issues In Montpelier bit.ly/2sF6fzu https://t.co/wx7DmsRnpq
  
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• LISTEN: What's On Your Summer Reading List? bit.ly/2rmf7WY https://t.co/wtd41Rmx3u

  16-06-2017 01:56 via twitter.com
  
  LISTEN: What's On Your Summer Reading List? bit.ly/2rmf7WY https://t.co/wtd41Rmx3u
  
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• State sees ‘significant risk’ in Vermont Yankee sale

  16-06-2017 01:41 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon.VERNON – State officials are expressing serious doubts about the proposed sale of Vermont Yankee, contending that the deal “raises numerous, thus-far-unanalyzed health, safety and environmental concerns.”
  Those concerns surfaced in documents filed this week by the Vermont Public Service Department and the attorney general’s office. The state agencies want to intervene in the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s rev
  
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• Jessica Early: Vermont health care lacks a system

  16-06-2017 01:05 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Jessica Early of Burlington, who is a registered working nurse and family nurse practitioner. She is also a health care justice organizer for Rights & Democracy, a grassroots organization working to build strong communities grounded in health care, economic and environmental justice in Vermont and New Hampshire.Mike Smith’s June 11 VTDigger piece “Does Anyone Know Where We’re Headed on Health Care?” highlights some serious issues in Vermont&rsqu
  
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• Home health care competition heats up in Vt.

  16-06-2017 01:01
  
  A for-profit health care company has arrived in Vermont. Why some health professionals are worried about the competition.
  
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