Vermont news

• David Moats: Two Americas

  27-11-2025 13:04 via vtdigger.org
  This commentary is by David Moats, of Salisbury. He is editorial page editor emeritus at the Rutland Herald, where he won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for a series of editorials on Vermont’s civil union law.Two Americas were in evidence in Middlebury one Saturday in October
  One America was present at Middlebury College for a football game against the team from Bates College. This is the America where higher education is a common rite of passage, where international travel is a frequent avenue
  
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• K. Thomas Randall: Vermont’s public workforce didn’t disappear. It dispersed.

  31-12-2025 13:03 via vtdigger.org
  Dear Editor,Dan Jones’ column, “Whatever happened to public service?”, draws the wrong conclusion from the state’s return-to-office dispute. It frames remote work as a loss of civic commitment when the facts suggest something very different.Remote employees living out of state are the exception, not the rule. According to data from the Vermont Department of Human Resources, the state workforce is now distributed more broadly across all fourteen counties than it was prior
  
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• For many Vermont hardware stores, a new calendar year brings paws

  31-12-2025 12:53 via vtdigger.org
  Delilah from Manchester’s Aubuchon Hardware poses with her photo in the 2026 Hardware Store Cat Calendar. Photo courtesy of Manchester’s Aubuchon HardwareBrattleboro’s Brown and Roberts Hardware has sold the nuts and bolts of life for more than a century. So when the Aubuchon chain announced it was acquiring the business and six other locally owned Vermont stores in 2024, the news gave shoppers pause.Make that paws.“Please welcome our newest employees!” reads an en
  
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• Vermont receives $195M federal grant for rural health care transformation 

  30-12-2025 23:21 via vtdigger.org
  A doctor provides remote neurological care to a Dartmouth Health patient in the hospital. Photo courtesy of Dartmouth HealthVermont is set to receive $195 million from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, the federal body announced on Monday. The money comes as part of the federal government’s new Rural Health Transformation grant program that Vermont’s Agency of Human Services applied for in November. The award is almost two times what the state had expected to receive. 
  
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• Charlotte wildlife corridor map up for revamp

  30-12-2025 23:17 via vtdigger.org
  A biologist with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department uses a mapping platform to see connections between land that allow plants and animals to migrate. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis story by Liberty Darr was first published in The Citizen on Dec. 24, 2025.The Charlotte Conservation Commission is hoping to secure some big bucks to do what they say is a much-needed revamp of the town’s wildlife corridor map. They are anticipating that the work could cost roughly $25,000 to complet
  
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• Mount Mansfield study looks at effects of shorter winters

  30-12-2025 22:03 via vtdigger.org
  A snowy scene on Mt. Mansfield, the state’s highest peak. Photo by Molly Walsh/CNS
  This story by Aaron Calvin was first published in News & Citizen on Dec. 24, 2025.This winter the University of Vermont marks a quarter century of continuous research documenting two key tributaries of Mount Mansfield — the West Branch of the Little River and Ranch Brook.After 25 years, researchers have a clearer picture of the changes in runoff on Mount Mansfield, where a warming climate continue
  
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• Amy Guala: Commitment to public service can’t be measured by attendance

  30-12-2025 13:03 via vtdigger.org
  Dear Editor,Dear Editor,I believe Dan Jones’ Dec. 26 commentary regarding state employee remote work conflates physical presence with emotional presence. I strongly disagree with the idea that commitment to public service is rooted in shared place or shared fate. Equating remote work with diminished dedication is a false equivalence. Remote work has no bearing on whether someone is a committed public servant.Service is an attitude, not a location. Anyone who has worked in a service profes
  
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• More bailouts for nursing homes? Why Vermont has given millions to keep care centers afloat.

  30-12-2025 12:53 via vtdigger.org
  With the second oldest population in the country, Vermont needs its nursing homes. Yet, while Vermonters rapidly age, the state’s long-term care capacity has dwindled, losing 900 beds in the last two decades. To keep the struggling system afloat, the state has bailed out nursing homes with around $38 million in state and federal Medicaid dollars for so-called extraordinary financial relief over the past five years, according to records obtained by VTDigger. The practice, which h
  
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• Carolyn Van Vleck: How ideology helped derail Burlington

  29-12-2025 22:52 via vtdigger.org
  Dear Editor,I am honestly astonished that Burlington, our former Queen City, is now demanding help from the state to clean up its own mess. What went wrong? Too many bad decisions by local government, driven by ideology rather than common sense.I’ve lived in the Burlington area several times and worked on Church Street. It was once a great city — a wonderful place to people-watch, shop and eat. Vermont has always been expensive, and I don’t begrudge anyone who wants to move he
  
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• Vermont Department of Corrections staff vote to stay with state employees union

  29-12-2025 22:43 via vtdigger.org
  A security and operations supervisor at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington on Aug. 27, 2024. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerVermont Department of Corrections staff will stick with their existing union. Prison workers and probation and parole staff voted 132-116 to stay with the Vermont State Employees’ Association rather than join the National Correctional Employees Union, which represents more than 50 local branches in the Northeast and Mid-Atlant
  
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• Year ends in ice, outages and tricky travel    

  29-12-2025 22:38 via vtdigger.org
  A town plow keeps roads clear in Underhill during an ice and rain storm on Monday, Dec. 29. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerVermonters woke up Monday to roads covered in ice and sleet, thousands of homes without power and warnings that conditions may persist overnight.      Burlington-based National Weather Service Meteorologist Conor Lahiff said northern and central Vermont east of the Green Mountains were hit hardest by the ice storm and outages. The western porti
  
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• Triple your impact for Vermont news before year’s end

  29-12-2025 21:58 via vtdigger.org
  VTDigger’s Shaun Robinson and Ethan Weinstein at an event with historian Jill Lepore at the Manchester Community Library on Thursday, September 5, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerDear Reader,VTDigger relies on reader support to fund the nonprofit reporting Vermonters depend on. As we close out 2025, we’re working to reach our year-end goal by New Year’s Eve.Right now, your gift in any amount up to $500 will be tripled by a group of generous Vermont donors. 
  3X your g
  
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• Vermont’s agriculture exports to China surge 80%, defying U.S. trade slump

  29-12-2025 21:50 via vtdigger.org
  Paul Doton, left, talks with milk truck driver Dewey Fischer, of K. Pope and Sons, right as he unloads the bulk tank at Doton’s Barnard dairy farm on Wednesday, Dec. 24. Doton ships his milk to the Agri-Mark’s cheese plant in Middlebury and is on the milk co-op’s board of directors. Vermont agricultural producers have bucked a trend of declining export income from China with an increase of just over $2.5 million in the first eight months of 2025 over the previous year. The inc
  
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• Economic development leader hit with embezzlement charge

  29-12-2025 21:04 via vtdigger.org
  Melissa Bounty. Photo courtesy of Central Vermont Economic Development CorporationThe former executive director of the Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation has been charged with embezzling more than $70,000 from the organization. Melissa Bounty, 42, of Waitsfield, is expected to appear in Washington County Superior criminal court on Jan. 15 for an arraignment on the felony charge, according to a Saturday press release from the Montpelier Police Department.The charge against Bou
  
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• To hasten housing permits, lawmakers consider moving appeals out of a courtroom 

  29-12-2025 12:53 via vtdigger.org
  Contstruction of a housing development on Park Road in South Burlington seen on Monday, Dec. 15. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.Thirty-two new homes will soon be built adjacent to a nature preserve in South Burlington — but only after a drawn-out legal battle launched by neighbors stalled the project for three years. Shortly after the developers secured
  
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• Jess Frey: Vermont’s economy no longer works for working families

  28-12-2025 13:02 via vtdigger.org
  Dear Editor,I’m done being told to “work harder” in a state where the numbers prove the system is failing — especially for kids.I have a healthy 3-year-old, and like countless Vermont parents, I am doing everything right. I work. I budget. I plan. And still, stability feels out of reach. According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, a single adult in Vermont needs about $25 an hour just to cover basic necessities — housing, food, transportation, health care —
  
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• It’s bird feeder season in Vermont. Here’s what to know about owning one.

  28-12-2025 12:52 via vtdigger.org
  A bird perches on a feeder in Jericho on Thursday, Dec. 18. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerJillian Kilborn is particularly excited to put up her bird feeders this year. Food shortages up north are expected to send winter finches to Vermont for the season, meaning that she could see Red Crossbills and Pine Grosbeaks in her yard for the first time since 2021. Birders call it the “finch irruption.” “We were home on a consistent basis because of Covid, so I really kind o
  
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• Hardwick’s Galaxy Bookshop shines on

  28-12-2025 12:50 via vtdigger.org
  Sandy Scott (left) and Andrea Jones, in the children’s book section of the Galaxy Bookshop they’ve owned together for 11 years. Photo by Alana Dutcher-Hirsch/CNSAlana Dutcher-Hirsch is a reporter with the Community News Service, part of the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.HARDWICK — Best friends and store owners for 11 years, Andrea Jones and Sandy Scott — “work wives,” as they affectionately call each other
  
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• Ben & Jerry’s tops 2024 wastewater violations list for reporting lapses

  28-12-2025 12:50 via vtdigger.org
  For the past 35 years, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream plant in Waterbury has pretreated wastewater before it is discharged into the municipal system. File photo by Gordon Miller/Waterbury RoundaboutThis story by Lisa Scagliotti was first published in The Waterbury Roundabout on Dec. 22, 2025.A state announcement of industrial wastewater pretreatment permit violations reports that Ben & Jerry’s ice cream plant in Waterbury topped the list of 17 companies that logged infractions in 2
  
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• Dan Jones: Whatever happened to public service?

  26-12-2025 22:31 via vtdigger.org
  This commentary is by Dan Jones, of Montpelier. He is an activist working for local resilience.  The Vermont State Employees Association has sued the State of Vermont to overturn the administration’s requirement that employees return to working in state offices, arguing that such a return would cause discomfort to some workers. The state, while acknowledging and accommodating special needs requests, maintains that many state services are best delivered by employees working in pe
  
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• Woodstock boards update contract of municipal manager

  26-12-2025 21:51 via vtdigger.org
  Woodstock Municipal Manager Eric Duffy testifies during a hearing before the Woodstock Village Board of Trustees on March 19, 2025. Photo by Jennifer Hauck/Valley NewsThis story by Alex Ebrahimi was first published in the Valley News on Dec. 25, 2025.WOODSTOCK — The Woodstock Selectboard and Village Board of Trustees voted this week to update the contract of Municipal Manager Eric Duffy, though the details have not been publicly disclosed.The vote in support of Duffy, who began his tenure
  
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• Until midnight on Dec. 31: All gifts triple matched

  26-12-2025 16:00 via vtdigger.org
  VTDigger reporter Ethan Weinstein at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Monday, June 16, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerDear Readers,Here at VTDigger, we’re gearing up for a new legislative session beginning January 6. I’m writing to you to share what your support will help us do this session and why it matters so much.Right now, there are only a few days left in our year end member drive and I am told we still have $293K left to go to reach our goal. All gifts are tripled t
  
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• Vermont’s litigious climate superfund law pushes forward

  26-12-2025 12:56 via vtdigger.org
  Sue Minter. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerFor Sue Minter, Vermont’s newly appointed climate superfund specialist, the floods started early.Back in 2011, when Tropical Storm Irene thrashed Vermont, Minter — serving as the state’s deputy secretary of transportation — helped rebuild the 600 miles of destroyed road and hundreds of damaged bridges. Just over a decade later, as executive director for Capstone Community Action, a regional anti-poverty nonprofit, she helped low
  
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• Michael Gaughan and Katy Hansen: Vermont needs to get on the road to risk reduction

  25-12-2025 13:02 via vtdigger.org
  This commentary is by Michael Gaughan, the executive director of the Vermont Bond Bank, and Katy Hansen, the director of the Rural and Small Cities Program at the Public Finance Initiative.Vermont municipalities face a stark reality. The federal support that communities have relied on after disasters may be dramatically reduced in future years. The public will soon see the FEMA Review Council report, which is expected to recommend shifting more disaster response costs to states while also raisi
  
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• Springfield telecom company donates to 10 rural food pantries 

  25-12-2025 12:53 via vtdigger.org
  Outreach coordinator at Grafton Community Church Mary Howard Hall, left, received a $500 check from Andrea Spaans and Kristen Bruso from the Vermont Telephone Co. this month. The church runs a food pantry which is one of 10 rural recipients of VTel’s seasonal donation this year. Photo courtesy of David HallA telecom company based in Springfield has donated $5,000 among 10 rural food pantries in Vermont this month.“Supporting local food pantries has long been important to us,”
  
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• Residents opposed to Trump’s National Guard deployments plan local actions

  24-12-2025 22:25 via vtdigger.org
  Vermont National Guard soldiers on Sept. 11, 2021. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerAs new legal battles challenge President Donald Trump’s National Guard troop deployments in U.S. cities, Vermonters have been amping up efforts to express their public opposition.From handing out flyers at the Vermont National Guard headquarters in Colchester to meeting monthly to discuss local efforts, a small group of residents said they are finding growing interest and solidarity to the cause of figh
  
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• Morgan Walker Brown

  24-12-2025 18:09 via vtdigger.org
  Died Dec. 16, 2025Colchester, VermontMorgan Walker Brown died peacefully surrounded by love on Dec. 16. A person of enduring determination and wise compassion, to the very end he used his prose and his voice to advocate for people in need. Morgan inspired many to follow in his example of empathy, kindness and compassion. Among the many hats that Morgan wore, he was primarily a writer and activist in the Montpelier community. In recent years, he even began to show up around the communi
  
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• Marcel Andrew Lapierre

  24-12-2025 17:38 via vtdigger.org
  Born Jan. 29, 1937Shelburne, VermontDied Dec. 13, 2025South Burlington, VermontDetails of servicesA graveside service at Resurrection Park Cemetery in South Burlington, for both Joyce and Marcel, will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to your favorite animal rescue.Marcel Andrew Lapierre, 88, passed away peacefully at home on Dec. 13, 2025.Marcel was born on the Lapierre Dairy Farm in Shelburne on Jan. 29, 1937 to Euclide and Yvonne (Roy) Lapierre
  
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• Linda Kelliher Samets

  24-12-2025 17:27 via vtdigger.org
  Born March 8, 1946Lowell, MassachusettsDied Dec. 9, 2025Lincoln, MassachusettsLinda Kelliher Samets of Charlotte, Vermont, and New York, N.Y., passed away peacefully in Lincoln, Massachusetts on Dec. 9, 2025, following complications from recent surgery. A beloved wife, mother, sister, artist, horsewoman and friend, she was 79.Linda was born on March 8, 1946, in Lowell, Massachusetts. The fifth of nine children, she attended Concord-Carlisle High School, where her artistic gi
  
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• Jill Martin Diaz: Gov. Scott’s silence fuels immigration chaos — and harms Vermonters

  24-12-2025 13:03 via vtdigger.org
  This commentary is by Jill Martin Diaz, executive director of Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, director of Legal Services for Connecting Cultures/New England Survivors of Torture and Trauma and a lecturer in the University of Vermont’s social work department.This Thanksgiving, President Trump had us primed to panic when news broke of a Winooski second grader’s violent detention by ICE.Vermont Asylum Assistance Project (VAAP) advocates were already being inundated with new calls fo
  
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