Vermont news

• Advocates decry proposed cap on emergency motel vouchers, brace for other limits

  01-05-2024 23:32 via vtdigger.org
  
  Sarah Russell, special assistant to end homelessness for the city of Burlington, and co-chair of the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance, speaks at a Statehouse press conference on May 1, 2024. Photo by Carly Berlin/VTDigger and Vermont Public
  This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.Homelessness advocates and service providers are sounding the alarm that a last-minute Senate proposal to put a lid on the
  
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• Phil Scott doubles down on Zoie Saunders’ interim appointment as education secretary

  01-05-2024 23:18 via vtdigger.org
  
  Gov. Phil Scott speaks during his weekly press conference at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  Gov. Phil Scott on Wednesday defended his decision to appoint Zoie Saunders interim education secretary despite the Senate’s historic vote to reject her permanent appointment to the role.“I think this was a partisan political hit job,” Scott told reporters at his weekly press conference, adding that he might reappoint Saunders
  
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• Sarah Copeland Hanzas launches bid for second term as secretary of state

  01-05-2024 23:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas announces her decision to run for reelection at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Photo by Sarah Mearhoff/VTDigger
  Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas wants another two years in office.The Bradford Democrat announced her bid for reelection at a press conference Wednesday in the Statehouse. She was flanked by dozens of legislators who called her a colleague during her 18 years as a state representative.“I am so pro
  
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• Seth Brunell set to stand trial in July on murder charge in Fern Feather’s death

  01-05-2024 22:50 via vtdigger.org
  
  Seth Brunell. Vermont State Police photo
  A man held without bail in the murder of Fern Feather, a transgender woman from Hinesburg who was stabbed to death two years ago, is set to stand trial in July.Seth Brunell, 45, was arrested April 12, 2022, on a charge of second-degree murder several hours after Feather was found dead in Morristown. During a hearing Wednesday in Lamoille County Superior criminal court in Hyde Park, Judge Mary Morrissey told attorneys in the case to be ready for tria
  
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• UVM discloses investments as pro-Palestinian protests continue on campus

  01-05-2024 19:22 via vtdigger.org
  
  Protesters occupy a Palestinian solidarity encampment at the University of Vermont in Burlington on Tuesday, April 30. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThe University of Vermont said Wednesday that it publicly disclosed its endowment investments this week as pro-Palestinian student protesters continue their encampment on the Burlington campus.UVM provost and senior vice president Patricia Prelock met with a group of 12 students on Tuesday evening and told them that the university had disclosed it
  
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• UVM agrees to disclose investments in response to pro-Palestinian protesters

  01-05-2024 19:22 via vtdigger.org
  
  Protesters occupy a Palestinian solidarity encampment at the University of Vermont in Burlington on Tuesday, April 30. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThe University of Vermont will publicly disclose its endowment investments by the end of the week, school officials said Wednesday. The decision comes in response to demands made by pro-Palestinian student protesters, who have staged an encampment on the Burlington campus since Sunday.UVM provost and senior vice president Patricia Prelock met with
  
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• Grow your kids’ opportunities this May with VT529

  01-05-2024 18:46 via vtdigger.org
  
  National 529 Day is May 29 (5-29, get it?), highlighting the advantages of 529 savings plans in helping families prepare for education after high school. In the Green Mountain State, we have a plan—called VT529—with added tax benefits to help your savings for college or training grow further.What is a 529 plan? These education savings plans are designed to help families set aside funds for future training costs, with tax advantages to help make saving easier. The plans are named
  
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• Kevin Chu and Amy Spear: Eclipsing 802,000, making Vermont a destination for a lifetime

  01-05-2024 15:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Kevin Chu, executive director of the Vermont Futures Project, and Amy Spear, vice president of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce.
  On April 8, more than 160,000 people visited Vermont to observe the solar eclipse. Vermont briefly surpassed the 802,000 population goal that the Vermont Futures Project set last year, and we saw a glimpse of the vibrancy that’s possible in our state. Our downtowns and villages were full of life, full of people engaging in commerce and conne
  
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• Ryan Heraty: Where is the equity?

  01-05-2024 13:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Ryan Heraty, superintendent of the Lamoille South Supervisory Union.
  In Morrisville, a recent Front Porch Forum post reads: “Vote down the school budget! They don’t want to just survive, they want to thrive.”Is this really where we are in 2024? Are Vermonters really ready to let our most vulnerable children be the victims of state-level politics? The Brigham Decision was predicated on the state providing “equal educational opportunities.”
  
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• Third-generation writer Bianca Stone named Vermont’s new poet laureate

  01-05-2024 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  Third-generation writer Bianca Stone has been named Vermont’s new poet laureate. Provided photo
  When Robert Frost was named Vermont’s first poet laureate in 1961, he had just written a new work for then President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, only to recite an old one from memory after glare from the sun prevented him from reading his intended piece.Six decades later, Bianca Stone understands such a last-minute change in course.Some days I get up to go for a runbut instead j
  
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• Imogene Drakes, Dr. Rebecca Jones and the NAACP Health Justice Committee: Fixing racist algorithms in medicine 

  01-05-2024 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Imogene Drakes, PhD, Dr. Rebecca Jones and the members of the Windham County NAACP Health Justice Committee’s “Anti-Racism in Medicine” group.
  Unbeknownst to many of us, racism in health care impacts Black, Indigenous and people of color, also known as BIPOC, from many directions. The deleterious effects exacerbate myriad health problems in BIPOC patients and especially in Black women. BIPOC patients are more likely to receive lesser care from our me
  
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• 3rd-generation writer Bianca Stone named Vermont’s new poet laureate

  01-05-2024 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  Third-generation writer Bianca Stone has been named Vermont’s new poet laureate. Provided photo
  When Robert Frost was named Vermont’s first poet laureate in 1961, he had just written a new work for then President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, only to recite an old one from memory after glare from the sun prevented him from reading his intended piece.Six decades later, Bianca Stone understands such a last-minute change in course.Some days I get up to go for a runbut instead j
  
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• Final Reading: Right to repair resuscitated in Senate agriculture committee

  01-05-2024 01:00 via vtdigger.org
  
  A tractor. Stock photo via PxHere
  More than a year since its introduction and with time running out this biennium, a bill that would allow Vermont farmers and loggers to independently repair their agricultural equipment is headed to the Senate floor.H.81 first made its debut last year, and was quickly met with a “flood” of lobbying opposition from major national interest groups and equipment manufacturers. The bill would compel manufacturers like John Deere, Caterpillar or Tigercat
  
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