Vermont news

• On Thursday, we looked at what happens when a rental problem becomes a health hazard, and why it can be so difficul… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  20-01-2018 20:41 via twitter.com
  On Thursday, we looked at what happens when a rental problem becomes a health hazard, and why it can be so difficul… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• For Those With Physical Mobility Issues, Winter Weather Brings Icy Challenges n.pr/2mQsTA0 #VT https://t.co/5L2k98EwJl

  20-01-2018 15:59 via twitter.com
  
  For Those With Physical Mobility Issues, Winter Weather Brings Icy Challenges n.pr/2mQsTA0 #VT https://t.co/5L2k98EwJl
  
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• Federal government shuts down after Congress fails to reach deal

  20-01-2018 12:54 via vtdigger.org
  Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., at a rally outside the Capitol hours before the shutdown deadline. Photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger
  WASHINGTON — Congress failed to pass a spending package by midnight Friday, pushing the federal government into a partial shutdown.
  However, within minutes of midnight, leadership laid the foundation to move forward with a three-week funding agreement. The deal could move through Congress by the end of the weekend — in time for federal workers to return to
  
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• Teachers’ union says statewide health coverage report lacking

  20-01-2018 01:27 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. David Sharpe, D-Bristol, the chair of the House Education Committee, speaks in favor of an education bill on the House floor. Photo by Erin Mansfield/VTDiggerThe union representing Vermont’s public school teachers didn’t sign on to a report endorsing a statewide contract for school employees’ health coverage because it didn’t do enough to protect the lowest-paid school employees, a union official told lawmakers.
  Testifying Thursday to the House Education Committee, S
  
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• Vermont lawmakers look to Canada for cheaper drugs

  20-01-2018 01:07 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., spoke by phone Thursday with the Health and Welfare Committee of the Vermont Senate. Photo by Bob LoCicero/VTDigger
  State lawmakers want to allow Vermont to import prescription drugs from Canada, in response to what some of them describe as predatory pricing by the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, but legislators say they’ll need all the help they can get if they’re to successfully oppose drug companies and their powerful friends.
  Vermont’s federal Congres
  
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• Rob Roper: To turn around, you have to change direction

  20-01-2018 01:05 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Robert Roper, the president of the Ethan Allen Institute. He lives in Stowe.
  We have some pretty serious issues facing our state: a shrinking workforce, a public school system that is hemorrhaging students while it vacuums money, and a structural state budget deficit, to name just a few. These problems are not new, and the policies our state government has enacted to address them have not worked. Vermonters are now among the most highly taxed people in
  
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• Walt Amses — Run, Oprah, run!

  20-01-2018 01:00 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: Walt Amses is a writer and former educator who lives in Calais.
  I want Oprah Winfrey to run. In fact I’m praying that she does. I think with her enormous popularity she can provide a service to her country like no other person imaginable. She should absolutely run — as fast and as far as she can from the notion that she is a viable candidate for president of the United States. She should campaign loudly, clearly and unequivocally that as a talk show host she is c
  
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• David Deen: Rodents on the river

  20-01-2018 00:55 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by David Deen, a Democratic state representative from Westminster and the chair of the House Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife Committee. He a board member of the Connecticut River Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited and an honorary trustee and former river steward of the Connecticut River Conservancy, formerly the Connecticut River Watershed Council.
  They are no one’s favorite animals but on any given day you might spot a furry critter scurrying, w
  
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• Teachers’ union criticizes health care report

  20-01-2018 00:28 via vtdigger.org
  Teachers rallied last year at the Statehouse to protest the governor’s proposed changes to collective bargaining. Photo by Michael Dougherty/VTDigger
  The union representing Vermont’s public school teachers didn’t sign on to a report endorsing a statewide contract for school employees’ health coverage because it didn’t do enough to protect the lowest-paid school employees, a union official told lawmakers.
  Testifying Thursday to the House Education Committee, Suzanne
  
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