Vermont news

• Canadian Man Charged with Alien Smuggling

  06-06-2017 17:12 via vtdigger.org
  
  News Release — U.S. Department of JusticeJune 2, 2017
  Contact: Lauren B. Gebo
  [email protected]
  CANADIAN MAN CHARGED WITH ALIEN SMUGGLING
  The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that yesterday the Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Viatcheslav Kim, of Montreal, with one count of transporting aliens in furtherance of their illegal presence in the United States. Court records show that agents of the United States Border Patrol appre
  
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• Schools in Barre start the year without a district budget

  30-08-2026 16:10 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Barre City Elementary and Middle School seen in August 2023. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerAs kids across the city of Barre and Barre town returned to class this week, their school district spanning the two municipalities still doesn’t have a voter approved budget. Voters in the district shot down two proposed budgets this spring — first in March, then again in May — leaving the Barre Unified Union School District as the only district in the state without a budg
  
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• Sen. Welch meets with Vermont farmers to discuss rural economic crisis

  30-08-2026 15:12 via vtdigger.org
  
  Fresh tomatoes growing at Honey Fields farm in Norwich Vt.Photo by Molly Hughes/Valley NewsThis story by Molly Hughes was first published in the Valley News on Aug.27, 2026.NORWICH — Vermont farmers can’t afford to own the land they farm, and the federal money meant to help them has become a paperwork contest that pays out late, if at all.Those were the two problems that came up most when six farmers sat down Thursday at Honey Field Farm in Norwich with U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt.,
  
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• White River Valley Supervisory Union addresses chronic absenteeism through community connections

  30-08-2026 14:32 via vtdigger.org
  
  Students of WRVMS stand in front of their fence built at Metcalf Cemetery in Royalton. Photo by Caitlin Justice/White River Valley HeraldThis story by Caitlin Justice was first published in The White River Valley Herald on Aug. 27, 2026.After battling high absentee rates after the Covid-19 pandemic, schools in the White River Valley Supervisory Union are finding ways to keep kids in schools and build community connections. According to Michaela Martin, the SU’s multi-tiered system of supp
  
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• Short-term rentals are vital to Vermont’s economy

  30-08-2026 14:02 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Jenny Dewar, who has lived in Pownal for 20 years and is a board member of the Vermont Short-Term Rental Alliance.I am writing in response to recent letters by Donna Brown and Lew Holzman, who have both contributed to the vilification of short-term rentals in defense of their second homes in Vermont. There is a lot to unpack in their letters. Both are part-timers. This is a tradition in Vermont for people from New York and elsewhere who enjoy their country weekend or
  
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• Vermont’s population of primary care doctors is declining

  30-08-2026 13:23 via vtdigger.org
  
  Vermont continues to lose its primary care doctors — but the rate of loss is slowing, a new survey from the state’s department of health shows.In 2024, Vermont had 529 people working as primary care providers; last time the Department of Health conducted its survey in 2022, 569 physicians practiced primary care in Vermont. Even that figure represented a decline from the 634 practicing primary care when the survey began in 2004.“I don’t think this is shocking, really
  
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• Urban trees are often planted just to die. Montpelier wants to change that.

  29-08-2026 00:45 via vtdigger.org
  
  About 80 percent of the trees planted in downtown Montpelier are not faring well, facing urban challenges that don’t support their longterm health and growth. The city is taking steps to try to improve the longevity of its trees. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerMontpelier residents have a particular attachment to some of the trees that line their streets. Each year, the fall colors of the century-old Barre Street ginkgo tree elicit social media posts and calls to come admire the folia
  
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• Ben & Jerry’s legacy hits bumpy patch with latest turn in corporate saga

  29-08-2026 00:06 via vtdigger.org
  
  Ben & Jerry’s Church Street store in Burlington in April 2023. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerTheo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen says he sees a departure from the company’s core values in several recently announced governance changes at Vermont’s beloved ice cream maker. Ben & Jerry’s said on Wednesday that the company had selected three new directors for th
  
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• Sen. Peter Welch calls for making it easier for Vermont schools to buy more food directly from local farms

  28-08-2026 21:54 via vtdigger.org
  
  Elementary school students head back to class after lunch and recess at the Coventry Village School in September 2019. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerSHELBURNE — Vermont leads the U.S. in providing local food in schools.In fact, 89% of Vermont schools purchase some local food, according to Vermont FEED, a collaborative farm to school project. U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., introduced the Farm to School Act in the Senate last year, which would support schools accessing local food and b
  
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• Killington seeks financial help after cash crunch, TIF compliance issues

  28-08-2026 21:41 via vtdigger.org
  
  Killington’s welcome sign in June 2022. File photo by Natalie Williams/VTDiggerThis story by Katy Savage was first published by the Mountain Times on Aug. 26, 2026. Monday, Aug. 24 was Celia Clancy’s first time sitting with the Killington Selectboard since she defeated Roger Rivera for the seat on Aug. 11. She was largely quiet during the meeting.Killington officials are trying to stabilize the town’s finances after a cash crunch left it without enough money to cover all
  
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• Out of sight isn’t a policy

  28-08-2026 20:44 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Beach Conger, a physician who works at the Johnson Health Center in Burlington, a clinic that provides medical care to homeless people and those with substance use disorders.“Human kind cannot bear very much reality.” So wrote T.S. Eliot in “Burnt Norton,” the first of his “Four Quartets.”I have been reminded of this line by several opinion pieces and letters to the editor in recent weeks about the public visibility of opioid use. The co
  
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• Class action lawsuit filed in federal court over local PFOA contamination

  28-08-2026 00:16 via vtdigger.org
  
  The former ChemFab plant in Bennington seen in Feb. 2022. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis story by Mark Rondeau was first published in the Valley News on Aug. 26, 2026.A team of attorneys has filed a class-action suit in federal court on behalf of Shaftsbury and Bennington residents suffering from well contamination from PFOA.The suit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, District of Vermont, against Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation, 3M Company, E.I. Dupont De Nemours
  
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• Are the kids all right? Mental health issues drop — but disparities remain.

  27-08-2026 22:16 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Middlebury Union High School marching band prepares to march in the Memorial Day parade in Vergennes in May 2024. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerAfter years of nationwide concerns about teen mental health, the latest data from Vermont’s largest survey of its kind suggests that the situation for the state’s youth might finally be improving. The Vermont Department of Health released a report on Aug. 18 showing that fewer teens say they feel depressed or anxious, and a sm
  
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• Are the kids all right? Mental health issues drop — but disparities remain

  27-08-2026 22:16 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Middlebury Union High School marching band prepares to march in the Memorial Day parade in Vergennes in May 2024. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerAfter years of nationwide concerns about teen mental health, the latest data from Vermont’s largest survey of its kind suggests that the situation for the state’s youth might finally be improving. The Vermont Department of Health released a report on Aug. 18 showing that fewer teens say they feel depressed or anxious, and a sm
  
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• Mary Henry left a NH school district amid a $5 million deficit. Woodstock says she’s exactly who they need.

  27-08-2026 21:30 via vtdigger.org
  
  Woodstock Union High School in August 2025. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis story by Molly Hughes was first published in the Valley News on Aug. 24, 2026.Nine months after leaving a New Hampshire school district in the middle of a $5 million budget crisis, Mary Henry has a new job, a new state and a new administration standing firmly behind her.Henry says she inherited the Claremont financial crisis, not caused it — and that she became the scapegoat for a problem she was brought
  
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• Burlington artist dug Nap struck and killed e-bike rider in crosswalk, new court filing alleges

  27-08-2026 21:21 via vtdigger.org
  
  Doug Knapp appears in Chittenden County Superior criminal court in Burlington on Thursday, August 27, 2026. Knapp is charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle with death resulting in the death of cyclist Shiloh Skalka. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerBURLINGTON – A Burlington folk artist pleaded not guilty Thursday to a charge alleging he struck and killed a 16-year-old cyclist in a crosswalk with warning lights flashing.Douglas Knapp, 79, faces a misdemeanor offense of negligent
  
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• Burlington artist, dug Nap, struck and killed e-bike rider in crosswalk, new court filing alleges

  27-08-2026 21:21 via vtdigger.org
  
  Doug Knapp appears in Chittenden County Superior criminal court in Burlington on Thursday, August 27, 2026. Knapp is charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle with death resulting in the death of cyclist Shiloh Skalka. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerBURLINGTON – A Burlington folk artist pleaded not guilty Thursday to a charge alleging he struck and killed a 16-year-old cyclist in a crosswalk with warning lights flashing.Douglas Knapp, 79, faces a misdemeanor offense of negligent
  
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• Burlington artist, dug Nap, struck and killed e-bike rider in crosswalk, new court filing alleges.

  27-08-2026 21:21 via vtdigger.org
  
  Doug Knapp appears in Chittenden County Superior criminal court in Burlington on Thursday, August 27, 2026. Knapp is charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle with death resulting in the death of cyclist Shiloh Skalka. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerBURLINGTON – A Burlington folk artist pleaded not guilty Thursday to a charge alleging he struck and killed a 16-year-old cyclist in a crosswalk with warning lights flashing.Douglas Knapp, 79, faces a misdemeanor offense of negligent
  
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• Burlington’s public safety problems require more than new gun laws

  27-08-2026 18:42 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Matt Swenson, the founder of Omnidex Solutions, an independent research and strategic analysis company. He lives in Vermont.Burlington’s latest outbreak of violence should prompt a broader discussion about the city’s public safety system, not simply another debate over gun laws.Over a single weekend, Burlington police investigated a fatal stabbing, a second stabbing, gunfire following an argument and the alleged accidental discharge of a firearm downtown. In a
  
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• A popular Vermont housing rehab program puts down roots

  27-08-2026 11:00 via vtdigger.org
  
  Gov. Phil Scott listens to Noah Ponzio, a developer of a rehabbed fourplex in Bradford, at a press conference on Aug. 26, 2026. Photo by Carly Berlin, Vermont Public/VTDiggerCarly Berlin covers housing and infrastructure for Vermont Public, in partnership with VTDigger. BRADFORD – Vermont’s main program for rehabbing apartments and funding small-scale housing developments is sticking around.The first iteration of the Vermont Housing Improvement Program launched during the Covid
  
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• Vermont Conversation: Alternative media pioneer Nat Winthrop on a half-century of covering Vermont

  26-08-2026 23:56 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.Nat Winthrop. Photo Credit: Martha WinthropJournalist Nat Winthrop has been covering Vermont for a half-century, reporting stories that have surprised, infuriated and enlightened readers. From 1978 to 1990, Winthrop was publisher of the pioneering a
  
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• Manchester Selectboard discusses future of Flock cameras

  26-08-2026 23:17 via vtdigger.org
  
  A license plate reader camera on Main Street in Manchester Center seen in June 2026. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis story by Ryan Pacheco was first published in the Manchester Journal on Aug. 25, 2026.MANCHESTER — The future of Manchester’s controversial use of Flock cameras was discussed but ultimately not resolved at a public selectboard meeting at the Manchester Town Hall on Aug. 18.Manchester currently has five Flock cameras. According to the surveillance watchdog proj
  
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• What ‘coal rolling’ at protests tells us about this moment

  26-08-2026 23:09 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editor,Since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, I have been protesting a great deal, largely in Chittenden County. We get many honks and waves and thumbs-up, as well as the occasional thumbs-down — and, rarely, people flipping the bird. I can imagine flipping the bird to protesters with whom I disagree, and I can deal with receiving that gesture, though I don’t think I would do it myself. What bothers me far more is the loud revving of trucks, speeding thro
  
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• Antisemitism isn’t a shield for Israel’s human rights record

  26-08-2026 19:53 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editor, In my recent letter to VTDigger, I expressed my concerns over the United States’ continued support of Israel despite the country’s genocidal actions against Palestinian and Lebanese people. Mark Treinkman’s letter in response, signed by members of the Vermont Friends of Israel, claims that my strong opinions must stem from a lack of Holocaust education and antisemitism in Vermont. This is not true. What is true is that the tragedies of the Holocaust shou
  
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• Vermont Progressive Party chair resigns after less than a year on the job

  26-08-2026 17:53 via vtdigger.org
  
  Bill Hunsinger, who has resigned from his position as chair of the Vermont Progressive Party. Photo courtesy of Bill HunsingerThe chair of Vermont’s Progressive Party, Bill Hunsinger, has resigned from his post. Hunsinger stepped down Tuesday after less than a year in the job as the leader of the state’s third largest political party, according to Heather Thomas, the party’s executive director. The chair is the party’s public-facing leader, while the executive direc
  
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• ‘Watershed moment’: Vermont secures $92.7M and new restrictions for teens in Meta settlement

  26-08-2026 17:33 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Instagram logo is seen on a cell phone in Boston, Massachusetts, Oct. 14, 2022.File photo by Michael Dwyer/APTheo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.Vermont has secured $92.7 million and new limits on use for customers under 18 in a settlement with social media giant Meta, state Attorney General Charity Clark said in a press conference Wednesday morning. The sum is the largest single-company settlement in state history, Clark said, and marks a
  
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• ‘Watershed moment’: Vermont secures $92.7M and new restrictions for kids in Meta settlement

  26-08-2026 17:33 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Instagram logo is seen on a cell phone in Boston, Massachusetts, Oct. 14, 2022.File photo by Michael Dwyer/APTheo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.Vermont has secured $92.7 million and new limits on use for customers under 18 in a settlement with social media giant Meta, state Attorney General Charity Clark said in a press conference Wednesday morning. The sum is the largest single-company settlement in state history, Clark said, and marks a
  
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• Vital Communities enters talks to save town listservs from shutdown

  26-08-2026 11:53 via vtdigger.org
  
  David Beane Jr., left, and Kate Harrison hike along the Appalachian Trail in Hanover, N.H., in Nov. 2023. Harrison donated a kidney to Beane in 2021 after seeing a listserv post from his mother seeking a donor for her son. Photo by Alex Driehaus / Valley News and Report For AmericaThis story by Liz Sauchelli was first published in the Valley News on Aug. 25, 2026.Talks have started between Vital Communities and a group of Upper Valley residents about preserving town-specific listservs before th
  
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• UVM president says school’s budget deficit is closed despite declining enrollment

  25-08-2026 23:43 via vtdigger.org
  
  University of Vermont President Marlene Tromp delivers her State of the University address in Burlington on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerBURLINGTON — The University of Vermont has closed its $12 million projected budget deficit, President Marlene Tromp reported just days before first-year students are set to arrive on campus. Tromp delivered the first “State of the University” address to trustees and hundreds of staff Tuesday with one resoundin
  
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• As Trump tries to curtail mail-in voting, Vermont officials clean up errors on state voter rolls

  25-08-2026 23:16 via vtdigger.org
  
  Gov. Phil Scott and Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas announce that 900 people who were wrongly registered to vote have been cut from Vermont’s voter rolls on Tuesday. Photo by Shaun Robinson/VTDiggerMONTPELIER — Vermont officials have removed just shy of 900 people from the state’s voter rolls who they said were wrongly registered to vote due to human error at the state Department of Motor Vehicles.None of those 900 people actually cast a ballot and the state wrongly r
  
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