Vermont news

• Accountability court docket to continue in ‘modified fashion’

  28-10-2026 23:04 via VTDigger
  
  Windham County State’s Attorney Steven Brown questions a witness during the trial of Cara Rodrigues on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. Reformer file photoThis story by Chris Mays was first published in the Brattleboro Reformer on Oct. 25, 2026.BRATTLEBORO — Windham Superior Court Criminal Division’s Rapid Accountability Docket is ramping down to one day a week. “I think overall it’s been very successful,” Windham County State’s Attorney Steven Brown said in an interview last week. “I
  
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• Voter voices: At the Cambridge dump, unease about Vermont’s future

  28-10-2026 22:53 via VTDigger
  
  Cheryl Vreeland stands outside the free store she runs at the Cambridge transfer station on Oct. 23, 2026. Photo by Shaun Robinson/VTDiggerVTDigger reporters visited a variety of sites across Vermont in recent weeks, asking voters directly about the issues they care most about this election season. This week we’ll bring you those voices as we approach Election Day on Nov. 3. CAMBRIDGE — Benton Donlevy, a 25-year-old mechanic from Jeffersonville, has watched most of the friends he grew up w
  
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• FBI investigates former Burlington school administrator in alleged $1.8 million fraud

  28-10-2026 22:21 via VTDigger
  
  The Burlington School District central office building as seen on Oct. 28, 2026. Photo by Charlotte Oliver/VTDiggerBURLINGTON — Federal investigators are probing whether former Burlington School District administrator Stephanie Phillips defrauded the district in a scheme involving at least $1.8 million over 13 years.  Phillips worked for the district starting in 1988 until she retired in May. She most recently served as the district’s director of teaching and learning. The FBI is looking
  
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• Vermont Conversation: Bill McKibben sees a nation at a crossroads as he barnstorms battleground states

  28-10-2026 20:56 via VTDigger
  
  
  Bill McKibben speaking toa Sierra Club meeting in Montpelier in December 2024. Photo David Goodman/VTDiggerThe 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.Bill McKibben says that “elections should not be this important.”They should not “be the deciding factor between continued stability and whatever kind of cre
  
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• Why Proposal 4 matters to LGBTQ+ youth

  28-10-2026 20:14 via VTDigger
  
  This commentary is by Dana Kaplan, executive director of Outright Vermont.Every day at Outright Vermont, we work alongside young people who are worried. They’re worried about their safety, the rollback of their rights, and their futures. With over 530 anti-LGBTQ+ bills across the country, their very existence is being debated among adults, and their access to healthcare, education, sports and other opportunities is shrinking. For queer and transgender young people, these are not theoretical t
  
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• Listen to rural Vermont before you vote

  28-10-2026 18:48 via VTDigger
  
  This commentary is by Loralee Tester, executive director of the Northeast Kingdom Chamber of Commerce.A few days ago I was out walking with my son, and he asked: How does a society decide what’s right and what’s wrong?It’s a fair question. Look back through history, and you’ll see that what counts as right or wrong changes depending on where and when you’re born. It shifts in politics, in religion, in how men and women are expected to live. And so much of it comes down to power: who h
  
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• State senator from Rutland County arrested on domestic assault charge, denies allegation

  28-10-2026 13:58 via VTDigger
  
  Defense attorney Toni Dutil, right, makes a statement on behalf of Sen. Terry Williams, R-Rutland, left, after his arraignment in Rutland Superior criminal court in Rutland on Wednesday, October 28, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis story was updated at 6:27 p.m.A Vermont state senator from Rutland County is accused of assaulting a woman by striking her in the face during an argument, according to charging documents made public Wednesday.  Terry Williams, 74, of Poultney, appeared Wed
  
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• State senator from Rutland County arrested, jailed on domestic assault charge

  28-10-2026 13:58 via VTDigger
  
  Sen. Terry Williams, R-Rutland, at the Statehouse in Montpelier in Feb. 2025. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerA Vermont state senator from Rutland County has been jailed on a charge of domestic assault, according to Vermont State Police.Terry Williams, 74, of Poultney, is set to appear Wednesday at 12:30 in court for an arraignment on the misdemeanor charge. Williams, a Republican, has served as a state senator since 2022 and is facing re-election on Tuesday. Williams was arrested after st
  
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• Build or tax? Vermont’s governor candidates emphasize different elements of housing policy.

  28-10-2026 10:15 via VTDigger
  
  Republican Gov. Phil Scott, left, and Democratic/Progressive challenger Amanda Janoo have starkly different ideas about what’s driving the state’s housing problems – and how to fix them. Photos by Brian Stevenson and Joey Palumbo / Vermont Public
  Carly Berlin covers housing and infrastructure for Vermont Public, in partnership with VTDigger. The high cost of housing is squeezing Vermonters. One in five people have struggled to come up with rent or mortgage payments in the last year, acco
  
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• As flooding increases and federal aid shrinks, Vermont is not prepared to manage disaster recovery

  28-10-2026 09:55 via VTDigger
  
  This story is part of The Coming Storm, a yearlong investigation by VTDigger, in partnership with FRONTLINE (PBS), into Vermont’s ability to help communities recover from natural disasters.BARRE CITY, VT — Shayd Pecor loves his home, but he wants to leave. For good.On July 10, 2023, up to nine inches of rain pummeled Vermont. Pecor and his wife, Laurie, evacuated as the water overtook their front porch. That night, floodwaters inundated more than 130 towns across the state, killing two peo
  
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