• St. Michael’s College greets its first woman president

    Lorraine Sterritt, president-designate of St. Michael’s College, addresses faculty, students and administrators. Photo courtesy St. Michael’s College
    COLCHESTER — The first woman president of St. Michael’s College arrived on campus Tuesday to meet with administrators, faculty, staff and students.
    Lorraine Sterritt’s selection as the 17th president of the Colchester liberal arts college was announced by the college’s presidential search committee last Friday.
    O
  • Saint Michael’s College greets its first woman president

    Lorraine Sterritt, president-designate of Saint Michael’s College, addresses faculty, students and administrators during a visit Tuesday. Photo courtesy Saint Michael’s College
    COLCHESTER — The first woman president of Saint Michael’s College arrived on campus Tuesday to meet with administrators, faculty, staff and students.
    Lorraine Sterritt’s selection as the 17th president of the Colchester liberal arts college was announced by the college’s presidential se
  • Lawmakers hope to broaden effort to combat racial bias

    Rep. Kiah Morris, D-Bennington, shown here at a press conference last year, is sponsoring a bill this session to address racial disparities in the education system. File photo by Erin Mansfield/VTDigger
    Lawmakers are moving ahead with proposals to examine racial bias in government and education in what they say is an effort to level the playing field for all Vermonters.
    Among the legislative initiatives is a bill (S.281), sponsored by Sen. Debbie Ingram, D-Chittenden, that would establish a comm
  • Climbing center buys portion of City Market property for expansion

    City Market’s new South End store opened in November. File photo by Cory Dawson/VTDigger
    BURLINGTON – Petra Cliffs, a rock-climbing center and mountaineering school, has purchased a portion of City Market’s property in Burlington’s South End with the intention of expanding operations, the center and City Market said this week.
    City Market / Onion River Co-op General Manager John Tashiro announced the sale on Monday, to Andrea and Steve Charest of Petra Cliffs Climbing Cen
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  • LISTEN: Rep. Welch Reacts To The State Of The Union Address dlvr.it/QDSMCn https://t.co/DeilDtjeaE

    LISTEN: Rep. Welch Reacts To The State Of The Union Address dlvr.it/QDSMCn https://t.co/DeilDtjeaE
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  • 'Vermont Edition', Live From The 2018 Vermont Farm Show dlvr.it/QDSJp6 https://t.co/iOdZD6byIv

    'Vermont Edition', Live From The 2018 Vermont Farm Show dlvr.it/QDSJp6 https://t.co/iOdZD6byIv
    'Vermont Edition', Live From The 2018 Vermont Farm Show dlvr.it/QDSJp6 https://t.co/iOdZD6byIv
  • Brattleboro Museum & Art Center dreams big

    The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center and M&S Development are looking to get bids on designs for a project that includes two existing buildings and construction of another one. Photo by Kristopher Radder/Brattleboro Reformer
    (This story by Chris Mays was published in the Brattleboro Reformer on Jan. 31, 2018.)
    BRATTLEBORO — A request for bids going out for potential work at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center offers a glimpse into the ambitions of museum officials and a group wit
  • Vermont Teddy Bear makes one-of-a-kind valentine to benefit Make-A-Wish® Vermont

    News Release — Vermont Teddy Bear CompanyJanuary 30, 2018
    Contact:Abigail Temeles, Bear Brand ManagerVermont Teddy Bear [email protected]
    Shelburne – For the third straight year, Vermont Teddy Bear Company has created a special Valentine gift to raise money for Make-A-Wish® Vermont: the One-of-a-Kind Masquerade Bear. Custom made and hand-stitched to perfection, the Bear is being auctioned online to the highest bidder over a ten-day period leading up to V
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  • Snelling Center for Government announces recruitment kickoff events for the Vermont Leadership Institute Class of 2019

    News Release — Vermont Leadership InstituteJanuary 30, 2018
    Contact:Suzanne Trahey, DirectorVermont Leadership InstituteSnelling Center for [email protected]
    Come learn more about the Vermont Leadership Institute, Vermont’s premier civic leadership development program. The Snelling Center for Government’s Vermont Leadership Institute (VLI) is hosting conversations about the VLI in various venues around the state as part of a weeklong Recruitm
  • Vermont Humanities Council announces retirement of executive director Peter Gilbert

    News Release — Vermont Humanities CouncilJanuary 30, 2018
    Contact:Ryan Newswanger, Director of CommunicationsVermont Humanities [email protected]
    Montpelier – The Vermont Humanities Council (VHC) announced that Peter A. Gilbert, its executive director for nearly 16 years, will retire in 2018 after the completion of a national search for his successor.
    Based in Montpelier, VHC is a private nonprofit that works to bring the power and the pleasure of t
  • Black Law Students Association presents ‘The Monopoly on Getting Out of Jail’ with Attorney General Donovan Feb. 2 at VLS

     
    News Release — Vermont Law SchoolJanuary 30, 2018
    Contact:Maryellen Apelquist, Director of CommunicationsVermont Law [email protected]
    South Royalton – The Black Law Students Association (BLSA) at Vermont Law School will present its annual Race and the Law Forum, this year titled “The Monopoly on Getting Out of Jail,” with a keynote address from Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, in Chase Com
  • Saint Michael’s community meets, greets President-designate Sterritt

    News Release — Saint Michael’s CollegeJanuary 30, 2018
    Contact:Mark TarnackiSaint Michael’s [email protected]
    Colchester – The full community of Saint Michael’s College – students, faculty, administrators and staff – packed into McCarthy Arts Center on campus Tuesday morning (January 30) to meet and welcome Dr. Lorraine Sterritt, who was named last Friday (January 26) to be the 17th president of Saint Michael’s College. She
  • Calling all artists for the 2018 Vermont Book Award sculpture designs

    News Release — Vermont College of Fine ArtsJanuary 30, 2018
    ContactTim SimardVermont College of Fine [email protected]
    Montpelier – Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is looking for qualified Vermont artists and designers to submit ideas for the award sculpture that will be given to the winner of the 2018 Vermont Book Award. VCFA is committed to working with local artists and designers for the sculpture, just as the Vermont Book Award itself honors a Vermont writer
  • Scott administration admits to misleading $20 million ‘error’

    Gov. Phil Scott gives his budget address on Tuesday, Jan. 23. Photo by Bob LoCicero/VTDiggerThe Scott administration says the governor made an error last week in his budget address when he said he would pay $20 million “more than required” to pay down teacher retirement liabilities.That statement was incorrect.Get all of VTDigger's political news.You'll never miss a political story with our weekly headlines in your inbox.Daily
    Sundays only (Weekly Wrap) Email me stories on these subj
  • Rights & Democracy endorses city council, school board candidates

    News Release — Rights & DemocracyJanuary 30, 2018
    Contact:Shay Totten, Communications CoordinatorRights & [email protected]
    Burlington – Rights & Democracy (RAD) members in Burlington have voted to endorse nine candidates running for City Council and School Board on Town Meeting Day.
    These endorsements come on the heels of the endorsement of Independent Carina Driscoll for Mayor.
    Last week members weighed in on a number of City Council and School Board races. Here a
  • New survey in Vermont reveals more trust among neighbors

    News Release — Front Porch ForumJanuary 29, 2018
    Contact:Lynn [email protected]
    Burlington – Tapping 145,000 Front Porch Forum (FPF) members across Vermont, a recent independent, large-scale survey revealed that FPF members know and trust their neighbors at double national averages. They also have more hope for the future of their local communities. More than 15,000 FPF members across Vermont responded to the survey.
    78% of survey respondents say that their neighbors t
  • Randolph selected for the climate economy model communities program

    News Release — Vermont Council on Rural DevelopmentJanuary 29, 2018
    Contact:Jon [email protected]
    The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) joined with partners Efficiency Vermont and Green Mountain Power to announce that Randolph has been selected as the next community to participate in the Climate Economy Model Communities Program. In the coming months this program will bring the citizens of Randolph together to develop locally identified initiatives that increase p
  • UVM joins high-profile regenerative medicine consortium

    News Release — The University of VermontJanuary 29, 2018
    Contact:Jeff WakefieldUniversity [email protected]
    The University of Vermont has joined the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI) through its BioFabUSA program. ARMI is a non-profit, federally sponsored consortium dedicated to making the large-scale manufacture of engineered tissues and tissue-related technologies practical, to benefit existing industries and grow new ones.
    ARMI is one
  • Vermont’s state Constitution is staying warm with wood heat

    News Release — Vermont Agency of Natural ResourcesJanuary 30, 2018
    Contact:Emma HansonDepartment of Forest, Parks & [email protected]
    Montpelier – The bitter arctic cold snap that hit this month has many Vermonters thinking about keeping their homes and businesses warm with wood and pellet stoves, but did you know that the Vermont State Archives, home to the Constitution, is also heated with wood?
    Last fall the Department of Buildings and General Servi
  • Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) To The President’s State Of The Union Message

    Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) To The President’s State Of The Union Message
    Under this President, the State of our Union is suddenly tenuous, in many ways.President Trump can say he’s for uniting instead of dividing the nation.He’s said it before.But after a year of intensely divisive actions, petty insults and disgraceful race-baiting, those words ring hollow by now.Nor does doubling down on his broken promises to help struggling Americans sound as convincing as it
  • Leahy reaction to president’s State of the Union message

    News Release — Sen. Patrick LeahyJan. 30, 2018
    Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) To The President’s State Of The Union Message
    Under this President, the State of our Union is suddenly tenuous, in many ways.
    President Trump can say he’s for uniting instead of dividing the nation. He’s said it before. But after a year of intensely divisive actions, petty insults and disgraceful race-baiting, those words ring hollow by now. Nor does doubling down on his broken promis
  • Welch statement following Trump’s State of the Union

    For Immediate Release
    January 30, 2018
    Contact:
    Kate Hamilton, Press Secretary
    (202) 440-3340
    WASHINGTON – Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s first State of the Union address:
    “President Trump put on a good show tonight. He took an exaggerated and unearned victory lap while issuing a hollow call for unity and bipartisanship. What we have learned about this president, the most divisive in modern American history, is that his
  • Sanders’ full remarks in response to State of the Union address

    News Release — Sen. Bernie SandersJan. 30, 2018
    Good evening. Thanks for joining us.
    Tonight, I want to take a few minutes of your time to respond to President Trump’s State of the Union speech. But I want to do more than just that. I want to talk to you about the major crises facing our country that, regrettably, President Trump chose not to discuss. I want to talk to you about the lies that he told during his campaign and the promises he made to working people which he did not keep
  • Sanders’ Full Remarks in Response to State of the Union

    Good evening. Thanks for joining us.Tonight, I want to take a few minutes of your time to respond to President Trump’s State of the Union speech.But I want to do more than just that.I want to talk to you about the major crises facing our country that, regrettably, President Trump chose not to discuss.I want to talk to you about the lies that he told during his campaign and the promises he made to working people which he did not keep.Finally, I want to offer a vision of where we should go a
  • Vermont delegation skeptical of Trump’s call for unity

    President Donald Trump delivers his State of the State speech in the U.S. House Chamber on Jan. 30, 2018. Screenshot image from C-SPAN.WASHINGTON — Throughout his first State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Donald Trump called for unity on policy proposals ranging from infrastructure development to immigration reform.
    “So let us begin tonight by recognizing that the state of our Union is strong because our people are strong,” Trump said, raising cheers from the Ho
  • Scott rejects carbon tax study

    Gov. Phil Scott speaks at a press conference. File photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDiggerGov. Phil Scott has long opposed a carbon tax. But now he’s made it clear he doesn’t even want to study the idea.The Climate Action Commission, formed by the governor last year, recommended five strategies last month, including a study of carbon pricing.
    Scott has rejected the commission’s recommendation that the state obtain an impartial review of carbon tax strategies to curb emissions from fos
  • More than 1,000 fill House chamber for gun hearing

    Ed Cutler is the president of Gun Owners of Vermont. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
    Members of the public filled every seat in the House chamber Tuesday night for a hearing on gun control legislation.
    At the Statehouse — one of the few locations in Vermont, along with schools and courts, where carrying a firearm is prohibited — advocates and opponents traded testimony on legislation that would require universal background checks on gun sales and give law enforcement greater authori
  • Hundreds fill House Chamber for gun hearing

    Ed Cutler is the president of Gun Owners of Vermont. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDiggerMembers of the public filled every seat in the House chamber Tuesday night for a hearing on gun control legislation.
    At the Statehouse — one of the few locations in Vermont, along with schools and courts, where carrying a firearm is prohibited — advocates and opponents traded testimony on legislation that would require universal background checks on gun sales and give law enforcement greater authorit
  • Senate votes down bill banning abortion at 20 weeks

    U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. File photo by Caroline Bonnivier Snyder/New England Newspapers
    WASHINGTON — The Senate voted down a bill Monday night that would ban abortions 20 weeks or later into a pregnancy.
    Republican leadership put the bill on the floor even though it would likely fail, forcing senators to go on the record. The measure failed to get the necessary 60 votes to proceed. It was defeated 51-46.Get all of VTDigger's political news.You'll never miss a political story with ou
  • House advances health care cost ‘countermeasure’

    Reps. Bill Lippert, D-Hinesburg, and Anne Donahue, R-Northfield, chair and vice-chair of the House Health Care Committee, are show here with Sen. Claire Ayer, D-Addison, at the left. File photo by Erin Mansfield/VTDigger
    State lawmakers are fast-tracking a bill designed to keep health insurance costs stable despite a controversial federal subsidy cut ordered by President Donald Trump.
    The House on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to S.19, which represents a portion of what’s been dubbed t
  • Janet Ancel: Proposal aims for fairness, transparency in education financing

    Editor’s note: This commentary is by Rep. Janet Ancel, a Democrat of Calais, who is chair of the House Ways and Means Committee of the Vermont House of Representatives.
    Vermont has a unique system of funding education. We can be proud of the fact that it is progressive and that it meets the requirements of the Vermont Supreme Court’s decision in Brigham, which says that it is a state responsibility to ensure access to substantially equal educational opportunity for every Vermont chil
  • David Mears: Bring public notice law into the 21st century

    Editor’s note: This commentary is by David Mears, of Montpelier, who is associate dean of environmental programs at Vermont Law School and the former commissioner of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. The views expressed belong to the author alone.
    In my work over several decades in state and federal government, I have seen many people grow frustrated, cynical even, about the process for public engagement. This frustration can be found in both those serving in public pos
  • Rick Barnett: Psychiatric establishment playing politics at expense of vulnerable

    Editor’s note: This commentary is by Dr. Rick Barnett, a clinical psychologist and addiction specialist in private practice in Stowe who founded CARTER Inc. to expand addiction-related resources in Vermont. He is legislative chair and a past president of the Vermont Psychological Association, and serves as a member of several state health, mental health and addiction policy groups.“A psychiatrist in Windsor County is like a unicorn, they only exist in our imagination!”, proclai
  • Bob Orleck: Marijuana legalization endangers children

    Editor’s note: This commentary is by Bob Orleck, who is a retired pharmacist and lawyer. He served as an assistant attorney general under Vermont Attorney General Jerome Diamond.
    Gov. Phil Scott has signed H.511, making Vermont the first state to legalize pot for recreational use by legislative process. On July 1, it will be permissible to possess one ounce of pot and store an unlimited quantity harvested from two mature plants.
    If the governor’s oft-expressed requirement that childr
  • Feds close in on fired Coventry town clerk

    Cynthia Diaz, fired Coventry town clerk, treasurer and delinquent tax collector. File photo by John Lazenby
    Since 2005, Coventry’s former clerk and treasurer has been the focus of four investigations involving financial fraud — notably the disappearance over more than a decade of an estimated $1.4 million in town funds — with the only legal consequences being a conviction on two counts of state income tax evasion, for which she did community service.
    But federal and state inves

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