Vermont news

• Police probe deaths of two men whose bodies were found outside a South Hero home

  09-05-2024 23:45 via vtdigger.org
  
  Vermont State Police said Thursday they were investigating the deaths of two men whose bodies were found that morning outside a home in South Hero.The names of the men, ages 68 and 35, were not immediately released, pending notification of relatives and further investigation, state police said in a press release late Thursday afternoon.“Initial investigation indicates this was an isolated event involving individuals who knew each other,” police said in the release. “Everyone i
  
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• Porter, Elizabethtown hospitals will continue under shared leadership

  09-05-2024 21:55 via vtdigger.org
  
  Bob Ortmyer, the president of Porter Medical Center and Elizabethtown Community Hospital. Photo courtesy of the University of Vermont Health Network
  The University of Vermont Health Network has tapped Bob Ortmyer, a veteran health care administrator, to be the president of both Porter Medical Center and Elizabethtown Community Hospital.Ortmyer had already been overseeing both institutions. He has been the president of the Elizabethtown Community Hospital, a small hospital system in northern New
  
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• Senate’s education funding bill makes dent in tax increase but kicks the can on big change

  09-05-2024 17:21 via vtdigger.org
  
  Sen. Ann Cummings, D-Washington, listens to discussion on the floor of the Senate at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  The Senate’s version of the annual education funding bill, passed Wednesday night, would make a dent in Vermonters’ looming property tax increases but stopped short of changing the system. By and large, the bill punts tough questions about how to reduce costs in Vermont’s schools. While the House and S
  
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• Becca Balint votes to block ouster of House Speaker Mike Johnson

  09-05-2024 16:31 via vtdigger.org
  
  U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vermont, speaks after touring and visiting with a resident at Zephyr Place in Williston on Wednesday, January 18, 2023.Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerVermont’s Democratic delegate to the U.S. House joined a bipartisan coalition on Wednesday to block the ouster of the chamber’s Republican speaker. 
  U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., voted to table a measure that would have declared the speaker’s office vacant. Had it passed, House Speaker Mike Johnson
  
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• Jason Van Driesche: Pass the VT Kids Code to promote responsible tech and protect kids

  09-05-2024 13:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Jason Van Driesche, chief of staff of Front Porch Forum. 
  I recently testified before both the Senate and the House to advocate for the Vermont Kids Code. This legislation resonates deeply with Front Porch Forum’s mission to help neighbors connect and build community. It stands in stark contrast with big tech’s reckless and harmful prioritization of profits over privacy, safety and genuine community building.During my testimony, I focused on how the major
  
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• Brenna Galdenzi: Our Voices Matter

  09-05-2024 12:00 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Brenna Galdenzi of Stowe, president and co-founder of Protect Our Wildlife.
  The values that the public holds toward wildlife are broken out in four different categories: traditionalists, mutualists, pluralists and distanced. Traditionalists tend to view wildlife as resources for the taking, while mutualists seek coexistence and place greater value on protecting wildlife. Pluralists prioritize these two values differently depending on the specific context. Those that are di
  
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• Vermont Conversation: Dartmouth Professor Annelise Orleck was arrested but not silenced

  09-05-2024 02:58 via vtdigger.org
  
  
  Dartmouth College Professor of History Annelise Orleck is held to the ground while being arrested during a protest of the Israel-Hamas War on the Green in Hanover, New Hampshire, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Photo by James M. Patterson/Valley News
  The Vermont Conversation with David Goodman is a VTDigger podcast that features in-depth interviews on local and national issues with politicians, activists, artists, changemakers and citizens who are making a difference. Listen below, and subscrib
  
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• Final Reading: Another side of Dick McCormack

  09-05-2024 02:14 via vtdigger.org
  
  A reporter inserts “The Best of Dillon Simmerman” tape into a cassette player in Montpelier on March 27, 2024. Photo by Natalie Williams/VTDigger
  A select collection of tapes have transformed American political history. The Watergate tapes led to former President Richard Nixon’s resignation. The Access Hollywood tape led to former President Donald Trump’s … election. I’m here to tell you I’m in possession of one such tape, a tape few knew existed
  
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• Vermont lawmakers advance bill to increase supervision of people accused of crimes

  09-05-2024 01:19 via vtdigger.org
  
  Rep. Martin Lalonde, D-South Burlington, left, chats with Rep. Larry Satkowitz, D-Randolph, during a break on the floor of the House at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  Both chambers of the Vermont Legislature have passed a bill that would create a new supervision program for people released from state custody while awaiting criminal trials. It’s one of a slate of bills lawmakers are weighing in the final days of the session that they
  
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• Vermont opioid deaths decline for the first time since 2019, according to preliminary data

  09-05-2024 00:50 via vtdigger.org
  
  Opioid deaths among Vermonters appear to have dipped in 2023, according to new data from the state Department of Health, following three consecutive years of record-breaking fatalities. According to the report, which was released Wednesday, 231 state residents are confirmed to have died from an opioid-related overdose last year, down from 244 in 2022. The projected 5% decrease “is not statistically large,” Health Commissioner Mark Levine said in a press release, but the progres
  
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