Vermont news

• Vermont’s ‘slopaganda’ problem

  07-10-2026 23:48 via vtdigger.org
  
  Hank Poitras, better known as “Planet Hank,” speaks during a social media livestream in May 2026. ScreenshotCurtis Hier uses “Planet Hank” as a verb. He used the controversial Brattleboro content creator’s moniker to describe the inspiration behind Flip Vermont Red, the political action committee dedicated to electing more Republicans to the State House that he founded last month.“Somebody just sort of said to me … ‘Oh, I wish we could &ldqu
  
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• Don’t tax Vermont expats out of coming home

  07-10-2026 23:12 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editor,I oppose proposals to impose a substantially higher property tax rate on second homes in Vermont. I was born and raised in Shaftsbury, graduated from Mount Anthony Union High School and Saint Michael’s College, and was married in Manchester. Vermont is not simply a place where my family vacations; it is home.After college, I moved to Massachusetts to find a stable, well-paying job with benefits because my skills and training did not align with many of the opportunities then av
  
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• Florida evangelist purchases former Green Mountain College campus from Whiskey mogul

  07-10-2026 22:56 via vtdigger.org
  
  Evangelical preacher Tommie Zito is planning to covert Green Mountain College in Poultney into Z University.Seen on Friday, July 31, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerTommie Zito, a Florida Evangelist, officially took ownership of the more than 100-acre former Green Mountain College campus property last week. Zito aims to transform the campus in the heart of downtown Poultney into a Christian university, called Z University, which he plans to expand eventually to have campuses across th
  
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• Vermont Digital Services Secretary Denise Reilly-Hughes to leave role for private sector

  07-10-2026 22:51 via vtdigger.org
  
  Agency of Digital Services Secretary Denise Reilly-Hughes at the Statehouse in Montpelier in Feb. 2025. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerTheo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.Denise Reilly-Hughes, who has led Vermont’s Agency of Digital Services since 2023, will leave her role next week to take a job in the private sector, Gov. Phil Scott announced Wednesday.The statement from Scott’s office praised the outgoing secretary’s w
  
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• Parents of cyclist who was killed in crosswalk file wrongful death lawsuit against driver

  07-10-2026 22:45 via vtdigger.org
  
  Shiloh Skalka, 16, was killed in July in Burlington after she was struck by a vehicle while crossing a roadway on her e-bike in a crosswalk with warning lights flashing. Provided photoThe parents of a 16-year-old girl are suing a Burlington folk artist who already faces charges that he struck and killed her as she rode an e-bike in a crosswalk with warning lights flashing. Christian Skalka and Susan Skalka, the parents of Shiloh Skalka, filed the lawsuit against Douglas Knapp this week in
  
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• Vermont Conversation: Forester, influencer and author Ethan Tapper on why ‘it’s our responsibility to carry hope for each other’

  07-10-2026 22:40 via vtdigger.org
  
  
  The Vermont Conversation with David Goodman is a VTDigger podcast that features in-depth interviews on local and national issues. Listen and subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts.Forester Ethan Tapper, author of the book “The Forest Year: Finding Hope in a World Worth Saving.” Photo by Corey HendricksonEthan Tapper is a forester, philosopher, bestselling author and social media star. The chainsaw-toting, ATV-driving V
  
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• Vermont’s housing crisis needs bold answers

  07-10-2026 19:25 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by David Bond, who taught at Bennington College from 2013 to 2026. He now runs the Center for Environmental Justice at Georgetown University. Vermont is not an easy place to be homeless. Winters are unforgiving, and this rural state has minimal infrastructure to support unhoused people. Shelters are few and far between, and most were built when the loss of housing was a temporary setback tied to house fires or fleeing domestic abuse.Personal tragedy is no longer the trig
  
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• For Sam Lucci, Freedom & Unity made the path back to college a “no-brainer” 

  07-10-2026 18:57 via vtdigger.org
  
  Sam Lucci has known for the last ten years that he wanted to finish his education but constantly found himself weighing the costs against the benefits. Feeling like he couldn’t commit until he made a plan, Sam held off, pursuing jobs he liked and loved, gaining experience in sales, and taking an opportunity for on-the-job training that let him explore the trades. A “circuitous route” in his career and education Sam took what his VSAC outreach counselor, Martha McCaug
  
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• Federal boost advances West Brattleboro Terrace redevelopment

  07-10-2026 00:49 via vtdigger.org
  
  U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., visits the former Melrose Terrace site in West Brattleboro to discuss $1.75 million in federal Community Project Funding for its redevelopment on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. Photo by Kristopher Radder/Brattleboro ReformerThis story by Chris Mays was first published in the Brattleboro Reformer on Oct. 6, 2026.BRATTLEBORO — Brattleboro Housing Partnerships celebrated $1.75 million in congressionally directed funding for the redevelopment of Melrose Terrace as West
  
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• Vermont summer food aid for families expires this weekend

  07-10-2026 00:43 via vtdigger.org
  
  An aisle in a grocery store with canned food items. Photo via Adobe StockMost families that receive Summer EBT food aid have until Oct. 10 to hit the grocery stores and farmers markets and use the benefits before they expire.The federally funded program provides support for qualifying Vermont families, including those who receive free and reduced-price school lunches, to buy groceries for their children during the summer. The electronic benefits are valid for about four months after families re
  
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• Lt. gov. candidates largely agree on politics, clash personally

  07-10-2026 00:16 via vtdigger.org
  
  Republican Lieutenant Governor John Rodgers, left, and Molly Gray, a Democratic nominee to be the lieutenant governor. Photos by Glenn RussellIncumbent Lt. Gov. John Rodgers and Democratic challenger Molly Gray mostly challenged each other on past experiences rather than policy in a debate Tuesday afternoon. “My opponent and I agree with one thing,” Rodgers said. “And that is that we can’t afford the status quo.”Rodgers and Gray, the executive director at Verm
  
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