Vermont news

• Bruce Cole

  05-01-2026 16:19 via vtdigger.org
  Born April 19, 1933Medford, MassachusettsDied Dec. 24, 2025Marlboro, VermontDetails of servicesHe has been laid to rest in King Cemetery in Marlboro. A celebration of life for Bruce will be held mid-April 2026. Letters of condolence can be sent to the family at P.O. Box 133, Marlboro, Vermont 05344.Bruce Cole, 92, of Marlboro, passed away peacefully on Dec. 24, 2025, surrounded by his family. Born on April 19, 1933, in Medford, Massachusetts, Bruce was the son of Barbara Sawyer Cole a
  
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• Jewish group files ethics complaints against Vermont legislators who took paid trip to Israel

  07-01-2026 00:55 via vtdigger.org
  Wafic Faour speaks during a press conference during which activists called for the resignation of five state representatives who recently went on an Israeli-sponsored trip to the Middle-Eastern country at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Tuesday, Jan. 6. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerMONTPELIER — A Jewish group that opposes Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has lodged ethics complaints against the five members of the Vermont House who traveled to Israel last September on a trip tha
  
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• Benjamin Brickner: Vermont’s cost crises are connected. Our solutions should be, too.

  07-01-2026 00:46 via vtdigger.org
  This commentary is by Benjamin Brickner, of Pomfret. He is a practicing attorney and chair of the Pomfret Selectboard.As towns and school districts across Vermont finalize their budgets, local officials are staring down a familiar question: with healthcare, housing, personnel and other non-discretionary costs out of control, what gets cut?For Pomfret and its 916 residents, hard choices are inevitable. Road maintenance may be scaled back. Overworked staff may go without needed support. Taxes sti
  
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• Final Reading: First day of the Vermont Legislature brings back-to-school feel. Just ask the kids.

  07-01-2026 00:06 via vtdigger.org
  Speaker of the House Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington,, addresses her colleagues on the first day of the second year of the legislative biennium at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Tuesday, Jan. 6.Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerHappy first day back to school session! How was your summer? The floors are a little cleaner and the eyes are a little brighter as the both the Senate and the House of Representatives begin their second year of the biennium. The House gaveled back into session Tuesday mo
  
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• Ethics complaints against senators with private school ties dismissed by Senate panel

  06-01-2026 23:08 via vtdigger.org
  Sen. Scott Beck, R-Caledonia, left, and Sen. Seth Bongartz, D-Bennington, right, listen as Rep. Emilie Kornheiser, D-Brattleboro, speaks as House and Senate members of the education reform bill conference committee meet at the Statehouse in Montpelier on May 28, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThe Vermont Senate Ethics Panel dismissed two complaints against Sens. Seth Bongartz, D-Bennington, and Scott Beck, R-Caledonia, and found their conduct was not unethical under the state’s Sena
  
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• Clear theme emerges on opening day of Vermont’s Legislature: Tough choices ahead

  06-01-2026 22:59 via vtdigger.org
  Representatives chat in the House chamber before the start of business on the first day of the second year of the legislative biennium at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Tuesday, Jan. 6. From left to right are Rep. Chris Taylor, R-Milton; Rep. Lisa Hango, R-Berkshire; and Rep. Leland Morgan, R-Milton. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerMONTPELIER — House Speaker Jill Krowiniski had some less-than-cheery opening remarks to her colleagues to kick off the 2026 Vermont legislative session.“
  
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• Your starter kit for the 2026 Vermont legislative session

  06-01-2026 22:55 via vtdigger.org
  Read the story on VTDigger here:Your starter kit for the 2026 Vermont legislative session.
  
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• Martha Boyce Colyer

  06-01-2026 15:53 via vtdigger.org
  Born March 26, 1953Albany, N.Y.Died Dec. 31, 2025Colchester, VermontDetails of servicesIn lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Lund Family Center in Burlington or a charity of your choice, especially those that help children and families.Martha Boyce Colyer of Colchester, wife of Lawrence (Larry) Keyes died on Dec. 31, 2025 at home in the presence of her family.Martha was born in Albany N.Y. She attended the Albany Academy for Girls.She received a BA in Art from Elmira Colleg
  
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• Final Reading: Here’s your indispensable tool for surviving the 2026 legislative session

  06-01-2026 00:45 via vtdigger.org
  The Speaker’s gavel and podium in the House of Representatives chamber at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Jan. 7, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerVermont’s legislative session this year will be one for the ages. Can lawmakers pull off the generational transformation of the public education system they started last year, or will they take an easier way out? What state programs will be on the chopping block during an agonizing budget cycle? How will electeds try to counteract the
  
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• VTDigger’s staff photographer looks back on his 15 favorite images of 2025

  06-01-2026 00:34 via vtdigger.org
  As the new year gets underway, we’re taking a moment to look back at the images that helped tell Vermont’s story in 2025. From civic engagement and legislative whispers; surprise federal visits and overlooked municipal drama; to the end of a critical housing program and the expansion of an immigration crackdown — VTDigger was on the ground to capture the scene.
  Our veteran staff photographer Glenn Russell selected and reflected on his favorite images of the year.U.S. Departmen
  
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• Gov. Phil Scott taps Christina Nolan and Michael Drescher for state’s highest court

  05-01-2026 20:31 via vtdigger.org
  Christina Nolan and Michael Drescher. Photos courtesy of the Office of Gov. Phil ScottGov. Phil Scott made two appointments to the Vermont Supreme Court, naming one former top federal prosecutor and another currently serving in that role for Vermont to fill the open spots on the state’s high court.  Scott, a Republican, announced in a press release Monday the appointments of Christina Nolan, who served as U.S. Attorney for Vermont from 2017 to 2021 during the first President Don
  
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• Suzanne Chant

  05-01-2026 17:11 via vtdigger.org
  Born Sept. 29, 1951Darby, PennsylvaniaDied Dec. 25, 2025Colchester, VermontDetails of servicesA memorial service is planned for spring.Suzanne Chant, 74, of South Burlington, died on Dec. 25, 2025, alongside family and friends, after a long illness.Suzanne is survived by her children Gerry Canavan and wife Jaimee Hills, Patrick Canavan, and Ariel Chant and partner Will Willoughby. She was “Susu” to grandchildren Hannah, Zoey, Dalton, and Connor, and step-granddaughters Jal
  
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• Anne Pratt Slatin

  05-01-2026 16:50 via vtdigger.org
  Born Oct. 31, 1944Buffalo, N.Y.Died Oct. 17, 2025Stamford, N.Y.Anne Pratt Slatin passed away on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at The Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, N.Y., at the age of 80 from pneumonia.
  She was born on Oct. 31, 1944, in Buffalo, New York, to Mary McNeil and Wilson Holly Pratt. Her early summers were spent at Camp Otsego in Cooperstown, where she began as a camper and later taught sailing — friendships from those years stayed with her for life.In 19
  
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• Molly Gray is running for Vermont lieutenant governor — again

  05-01-2026 15:00 via vtdigger.org
  Lt. Gov. Molly Gray speaks to a crowd at the Amtrak station in St. Albans July 19, 2021. File photo by Riley Robinson/VTDiggerBURLINGTON — Molly Gray, the former Vermont lieutenant governor who also ran, unsuccessfully, for a seat in Congress, wants her old job back.Gray announced her campaign for the state’s second-highest office Monday morning at a coffee shop in the South End of Burlington. Gray is running as a Democrat; if she wins the party’s primary in August, she’
  
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• Vermont’s congressional delegation condemns attack on Venezuela and capture of Maduro

  04-01-2026 16:05 via vtdigger.org
  Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, Rep. Becca Balint, center, and Sen. Peter Welch. Photos by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerVermont’s congressional delegation condemned the U.S. military’s attack on Venezuela over the weekend that led to the capture of the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro.U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, and Vermont Democrats U.S. Sen. Peter Welch and U.S. Rep Becca Balint, all labeled Maduro a brutal authoritarian but said President Donald Trump’s attacks on the
  
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• Eyeing cuts to federal support, Vermont lawmakers face tough decisions over food and heating assistance

  04-01-2026 12:54 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. Theresa Wood, left, and Sen. Ginny Lyons. File photos by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerTheo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.Facing federal funding cuts and potentially faltering tax revenues ahead of this week’s legislative session, Vermont lawmakers say decisions over food and heating assistance programs serving their most vulnerable constituents will be particularly difficult.“We’re coming back to the basic hierarchy of needs he
  
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• Corinth studio offers a window into an artist’s life

  04-01-2026 12:30 via vtdigger.org
  Kathy Chapman works on cleaning a segment on a stained-glass window. Photo by Amelia Cunningham.Amelia Cunningham is a reporter with the Community News Service, part of the University of Vermont’s journalism internship for Bradford Journal Opinion.CORINTH — At the end of a long, wood-lined road in Corinth, Kathy Chapman’s studio stands nestled among the trees. The modest workspace — with panoramic views of the surrounding forest — serves as a quiet refuge from the
  
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• U.S. Nordic skiing’s future is a Vermonter with a pioneering family past

  04-01-2026 12:00 via vtdigger.org
  Vermont cross-country racer Ben Ogden competes in the 2023 Nordic World Ski Championships in Slovenia. Photo by Matthias Schrader/Associated PressUniversity of Vermont graduate Ben Ogden — a two-time NCAA Nordic champion, 2022 Olympian and 2023’s fastest young male World Cup sprinter — “just might be on the verge of taking American cross-country skiing where it hasn’t been before,” the New York Times recently reported.“He’s never really seen a rac
  
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• Michael Long: Streamlining housing permits shouldn’t sideline the public

  04-01-2026 12:00 via vtdigger.org
  Dear Editor,The permitting and appeals process for housing and other development in Vermont should be streamlined. Legal challenges can be lengthy, expensive and onerous, and delay is often the central — and winning — strategy. But projects can be challenged, successfully or not, only by parties with substantial funding and sustained commitment. That reality leaves much of the public on the sidelines, even though public policy should serve the public interest first.From that perspec
  
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• Jerry Ward and John Bossange: Hijacking the abundance myth

  03-01-2026 00:35 via vtdigger.org
  Jerry Ward lives in Randolph and is a retired physician. John Bossange lives in South Burlington and is a retired school principal. Both serve on the Board of Directors of Better (Not Bigger) Vermont.The panic stirred up by some of our leaders regarding the so-called housing crisis appears to be rooted in a loosely defined abundance narrative that has been adopted to justify rapid growth without fully accounting for its consequences.Recent commentaries published in VTDigger by Julie Moore, secr
  
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• Waterbury’s former dairy farm owners struggle to move on

  03-01-2026 00:30 via vtdigger.org
  George Woodard now raises beef cattle after closing his Waterbury dairy operation of 48 years. Photo by Sarah Andrews.Sarah Andrews is a reporter with the Community News Service, part of the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.
  WATERBURY — For 48 years, George Woodard woke up before dawn and milked his cows. His day would end the same way, in his barn with the herd. For many of those years, Woodard’s 200-acre farm was booming. Now, the
  
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• Ludlow police chief ID’d as shooter of man allegedly armed with knife in New Year’s Day incident

  03-01-2026 00:13 via vtdigger.org
  Ludlow Police Chief Jeffrey Warfle shot and injured a man on New Year’s Day after the man allegedly pulled a knife at a downtown hotel where he had been living, according to Vermont State Police. The wounded man, Jaime Gomez, 18, was taken to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, where he was continuing to receive care, Vermont State Police said in a press release Friday.Ludlow Police Chief Jeffrey Warfle. Courtesy Vermont State Police.State police, who are he
  
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• Two lawmakers appointed to fill Vermont House and Senate vacancies before session begins

  02-01-2026 22:01 via vtdigger.org
  Gov. Phil Scott speaks during his weekly press conference at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerGov. Phil Scott has appointed two new lawmakers to fill vacancies in the Vermont Legislature days before the start of the session next week. John Benson, a managing partner at the engineering firm DuBois & King who currently serves as chair of the Brookfield Selectboard, will fill the vacant Orange County Senate seat left by Republican La
  
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• Bernie Sanders swears in Zohran Mamdani as New York City mayor

  02-01-2026 21:50 via vtdigger.org
  Vermont’s Independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders swore in Zohran Mamdani, the new Democratic mayor of New York City, during Mamdani’s inauguration on Jan. 1, 2026 (CBS New York).
  Vermont’s Independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders swore in Zohran Mamdani, the new Democratic mayor of New York City, during Mamdani’s inauguration on Thursday.Mamdani was officially sworn in at midnight New Year’s Day by New York Attorney General Letitia James. But for his public inauguration
  
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• Robert D. Rachlin

  02-01-2026 17:23 via vtdigger.org
  Born July 22, 1936West Hartford, ConnecticutDied Dec. 27, 2025Burlington, VermontDetails of servicesBurial was held on Dec. 30, at Ahavath Gerim Cemetery in South Burlington. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Arrangements are in the care of LaVigne Funeral & Cremation Service.  To send condolences to his family please visit www.vtfuneralhomes.com.Robert died peacefully on Dec. 27, 2025, at his home in Burlington, Vermont. His wife, Catharine, to whom
  
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• Didier Delmas

  02-01-2026 15:49 via vtdigger.org
  Born May 24, 1954Villefranche-de-Rouergue, FranceDied Dec. 22, 2025Cadours, FranceDetails of servicesA celebration of Didier on Dec. 31 in Cadours before his ashes were laid to rest alongside his mother and grandparents in Villefranche. Vermont friends are invited to send remembrances of Didier, to be translated and shared with his family, to [email protected] Burlington photographer Didier Delmas died Dec. 22 in Cadours, France, from complications of von Hippel Lindau Syndrome
  
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• Karen ‘Kai’ Jean Lowen George

  02-01-2026 15:34 via vtdigger.org
  Born July 30, 1942Brockport, N.Y.Died Dec. 16, 2025Putney, VermontDetails of servicesA memorial celebration is being planned for April 4th in Southern Vermont.Kai George, 83, died peacefully in her home in Putney on Dec. 16, 2025 with her family by her side.Kai’s achievements and rich experiences could fill a book. We will share some of those here, but as anyone who met her recognized, the qualities that made Kai so special were her love of life, her generous spirit, and her des
  
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• A.M. Derrendinger: We need you to say ‘No’ to the gift you will regret having given

  01-01-2026 13:04 via vtdigger.org
  This commentary is by AM Derrendinger, of Middletown Springs. She is in 9th grade and is a writer.  “It’s here to stay,” people declare, and shrug their shoulders defeatedly. “We live in a digital world, and today’s kids are digital natives. They need to learn how to survive an AI driven future.”Most leave it at that, convinced of the same lies that Big Tech has successfully sold us for years. How hard the tech giants must be laughing, some of whom
  
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• What VTDigger readers couldn’t stop reading in 2025

  01-01-2026 12:52 via vtdigger.org
  Scenes from VTDigger’s stories of the year. Clockwise from top left: Residents evicted from a motel in Colchester; protestors of Vice President JD Vance in Waitsfield; supporters of legislation to make oil companies pay for the costs of climate change; and conservation work in Groton State Forest in Plainfield. Photos by Glenn Russell and Evan L’Roy/VTDigger, and courtesy of Jud Kratzer/Vermont Fish & Wildlife DepartmentFrom breaking news to deeply reported features and investig
  
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• Officials say South Burlington needs growth for tax increment financing to succeed

  31-12-2025 23:37 via vtdigger.org
  South Burlington Public Library and City Hall on Nov. 10, 2021. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis story by Liberty Darr was first published in the Other Paper on Dec. 24, 2025.The South Burlington Tax Increment Financing district is in good financial standing, but according to a recent report, for the city to realize the full benefits of its success, development and growth must continue.The city will hold a “substantial change” hearing next month to update anticipated growing
  
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