Vermont news

• Ethan Allen has an image problem. Is the internet and present-day polarization to blame?

  04-05-2025 12:48 via vtdigger.org
  
  Ethan Allen, as portrayed in a 1927 advertisement for Ticonderoga pencils. Photo courtesy Vermont Historical SocietyAs Revolutionary War leader of the Green Mountain Boys militia, Ethan Allen had seemingly no sooner captured Fort Ticonderoga from British troops on May 10, 1775, when he put quill pen to parchment to chronicle his effort.“I have,” Allen wrote, “taken the greatest care and pains to recollect the facts and arrange them; but as they touch a variety of characters and
  
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• Gov. Phil Scott says Trump should consult Congress in military buildup near Venezuela

  18-12-2025 01:31 via vtdigger.org
  Airmen hold up the Vermont National Guard flag as two F-35 fighter jets arrive at the Vermont Air National Guard base in South Burlington on Sept. 19, 2019.File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerVermont Republican Gov. Phil Scott said Wednesday that President Donald Trump needs to consult with Congress before further escalating the United States’ military campaign against Venezuela, which as of this week, has killed more than 90 people.Scott’s comments came as the Vermont Air National
  
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• Vermont Conversation: Yankee editor Mel Allen on a half century of New England storytelling

  18-12-2025 00:18 via vtdigger.org
  
  
  Mel Allen’s new book is “Here in New England: Unforgettable Stories of People, Places, and Memories That Connect Us All” (Earth Sky + Water 2025). Photo courtesy of the authorThe Vermont Conversation with David Goodman is a VTDigger podcast that features in-depth interviews on local and national issues. Listen below and subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get podcasts.For 90 years, Yankee Magazine has been telling stories of and ab
  
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• UVM men’s rugby team wins first-ever national championship

  17-12-2025 23:27 via vtdigger.org
  The University of Vermont men’s rugby team celebrates after winning its national championship game against the University of Chicago on Sunday, Dec. 14. Photo courtesy of National Collegiate RugbyThe University of Vermont men’s rugby team romped the University of Chicago last weekend, 71-5, to win its first-ever national championship. It’s the second time, notably, that a UVM sports team has won a national-level title in the past year.Rugby is not a varsity sport at UVM &mdash
  
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• Scott administration pitches $75 million buydown to help offset property tax spike

  17-12-2025 22:49 via vtdigger.org
  Vermont Finance Commissioner Adam Greshin on Jan. 14, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerGov. Phil Scott’s administration wants to use $75 million to dampen next year’s projected 12% average property tax increase.The funds — unused and rolled over from this year’s state budget — could cut the average projected spike by more than a third. “We have a large education funding challenge, which is the governor’s top priority this year,” Adam Gres
  
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• Community remembers Morgan Brown, advocate for unhoused Vermonters 

  17-12-2025 22:25 via vtdigger.org
  Morgan Brown and his cat Cleo. Photo courtesy of Morgan BrownThis story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.When state leaders debate remedies for homelessness in Vermont, the people most impacted by their decisions are not often in the room.Enter: Morgan Brown. He voiced the needs of Vermonters experiencing housing insecurity, including himself. Surrounded by people paid to roam the Statehouse halls – lo
  
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• Tom Papeika: Change in how pediatric care is delivered is not only reasonable — it is responsible

  17-12-2025 13:04 via vtdigger.org
  This commentary is by Tom Papeika, a resident in Shrewsbury. Rutland Regional Medical Center recently withdrew its request to transition inpatient pediatric care away from a small number of consistently underused beds toward a more modern model of care. The proposal had been scheduled for review by the Green Mountain Care Board under new authority granted by the Vermont Legislature. With the withdrawal, any future changes will now fall under the Agency of Human Services’ broader &ldq
  
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• US farmers to receive $12 billion in aid. Will Vermont see any?

  17-12-2025 12:52 via vtdigger.org
  Heifers head out to pasture on Sept. 15, 2021. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerPresident Donald Trump’s administration recently announced $12 billion available in one-time bridge payments to farmers impacted by trade market disruptions and increased production costs, including some in Vermont.Up to $11 billion would be used for the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, some of which could provide relief to Vermont row crop farmers eligible for the program. The program will consider c
  
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• NewsMatch: All gifts to VTDigger doubled on Dec. 17 and 18

  17-12-2025 02:00 via vtdigger.org
  Dear Readers,For the next two days, reader support for VTDigger will go twice as far. NewsMatch, a national campaign that invests in independent nonprofit newsrooms, is matching every contribution to VTDigger dollar for dollar up to a total of $24,000. This match helps ensure that trusted, public-service reporting remains strong and accessible to all Vermonters. Will you help us make the most of this opportunity?
  Double your gift
  NewsMatch was created to strengthen local news at a time whe
  
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• Former Montpelier teen center will be emergency winter shelter when temperatures drop below 10 degrees

  17-12-2025 00:32 via vtdigger.org
  A pedestrian braves the cold in St. Johnsbury on Jan. 11, 2022. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis story by by Cassandra Hemenway and Carla Occaso was first published in The Bridge on Dec. 16.Following several nights of below-zero temperatures and the death of a man who had been sleeping outside in minus-17-degree-Fahrenheit weather in Barre, those without shelter will have a warm bed when it dips below 10 degrees in Montpelier. Montpelier City Council members voted unanimously on Dec. 10
  
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• White out: Vermont’s tallest peak buried under record-breaking powder

  16-12-2025 23:45 via vtdigger.org
  A snowy scene on Mt. Mansfield, the state’s highest peak. Photo by Molly Walsh/CNS
  More than 5 feet of snow currently blanket Vermont’s tallest peak — the deepest powder in recorded history for Mount Mansfield on this date.The Mount Mansfield snow stake hit 63 inches Thursday, said Burlington-based National Weather Service meteorologist Adrianna Kremer, more than 3 feet deeper than the average 22-inch depth expected this time of year. As of Tuesday, the snow depth at the
  
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• Vermont farm hit with claims of dumping toxins into Lake Champlain waterways

  16-12-2025 23:34 via vtdigger.org
  A farmer hays a field in Cambridge on June 8, 2021. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerAn environmental group filed a lawsuit Tuesday against a Vermont dairy farm, alleging that the farm has dumped toxic chemicals into waterways feeding Lake Champlain at levels far exceeding federal and state standards.  Vorsteveld, LLP, an Addison County milking operation with more than 2,300 cows, was sued by the Conservation Law Foundation, an advocacy group in New England, and the Vermont Natural
  
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• Honoring all paths: Tips for talking with students about the future this holiday season

  16-12-2025 20:29 via vtdigger.org
  Winter break offers a welcome chance to slow down, reconnect with friends and family, and—most importantly—rest. These quieter moments often create space for deeper conversations we may not have the time for during busier times, including discussions about interests, goals, and aspirations. Those conversations can naturally lead to important reflections on the future. Fortunately, there are many affordable, flexible ways for students of all ages to learn and train for careers a
  
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• Just ‘one gin and tonic’: Vekos gets probation and possibility for clean record after DUI 

  16-12-2025 17:43 via vtdigger.org
  Addison County States Attorney Eva Vekos pleads no contest to a DUI charge in Chittenden County Superior criminal court Burlington on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerUpdated at 5:17 p.m.BURLINGTON — Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos pleaded no contest Tuesday to a charge of drunken driving and received a six-month deferred sentence, allowing the conviction to be cleared from her record provided she does not commit any violations during that period.The misdem
  
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• Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos receives deferred sentence after no contest plea in drunken driving charge

  16-12-2025 17:43 via vtdigger.org
  Addison County States Attorney Eva Vekos pleads no contest to a DUI charge in Chittenden County Superior criminal court Burlington on Tuesday, December 16, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerBURLINGTON – Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos pleaded no contest Tuesday to a charge of drunken driving and received a six-month deferred sentence, allowing the conviction to be cleared from her record provided she does not commit any violations during that period.The misdemeanor char
  
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• Eric Sorenson, Brett Engstrom, and Liz Thompson: We need more wild forests and ecological forestry.

  16-12-2025 13:05 via vtdigger.org
  Dear Editor,We applaud Mr. Riley’s excellent opinion piece on ecological forestry. We share his love of forests.Forest loss and fragmentation diminish both the vast biological and ecological functions of forests and all the benefits we humans derive from them. Permanent conservation is needed to keep forests as forests.Ecological forestry, which we fully endorse, is an approach to both maintain forests and to produce the products we need locally. 
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• Lamoille FiberNet finishes county-wide internet build-out

  16-12-2025 12:57 via vtdigger.org
  Spools of fiber optic cable. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis story by Aaron Calvin was first published in News & Citizen on Dec. 11, 2025.The Lamoille FiberNet communications union district announced last week that it had reached its goal of ensuring every on-grid address within Lamoille County has access to at least one high-speed internet provider.Over two summers of construction, workers laid 550 miles of fiber, and multi-gigabit-capable service is now available to 5,000 unserve
  
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• Vermont Air National Guard headed to Caribbean amid growing U.S. tensions with Venezuela

  15-12-2025 23:19 via vtdigger.org
  U.S. Air Force F-16 pilots from the Vermont Air National Guard walk off the flightline after flying training missions in South Burlington onApril 3, 2014. File photo via Jon Alderman/U.S. Air National Guard
  Vermont’s congressional delegation has condemned the deployment of Vermont’s Air National Guard to the Caribbean in support of a military escalation against Venezuela. The Vermont National Guard has kept details of its looming deployment quiet since the plan was first report
  
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• Ex-border patrol agent sentenced to 25 months in prison after pleading guilty to child sexual abuse material charge

  15-12-2025 22:43 via vtdigger.org
  The Federal Building in Burlington on Sept. 5, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerAn ex-border patrol agent was sentenced Monday to 25 months in prison after pleading guilty to possessing child sexual abuse material.Joshua Hartness, 45, of Colebrook, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty in August to a federal charge of possessing child sexual abuse material. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to cap their prison sentence request at 30 months.U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss ordered
  
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• Jay Stroud: Citizenship isn’t ancestry. It’s birth or naturalization.

  15-12-2025 22:24 via vtdigger.org
  This is a true story. Some years ago, I failed to complete a United States Census form correctly, and my error prompted an official call. “What,” the Census employee asked me,” is your ‘country of origin?’”I responded without hesitation. “The United States. America. Here. Our country.”  “No,” she replied. “That’s not correct. Before that. Everyone’s from somewhere.”  “Well,” I rep
  
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• Burlington man competent to stand trial on charges of shooting Palestinian students, report finds

  15-12-2025 22:12 via vtdigger.org
  Jason Eaton appears via video during a status conference in Vermont Superior criminal court in Burlington on Monday, Dec. 15. Eaton is accused of shooting three Palestinian students in Burlington in 2023. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerBURLINGTON — A court-ordered psychiatric evaluation for a man accused of shooting and wounding three Palestinian students more than two years ago in Burlington has found him competent to stand trial. Attorneys for the defendant, Jason Eaton, said durin
  
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• Bette Jane Holt

  15-12-2025 17:15 via vtdigger.org
  Born July 5, 1934Bethlehem, N.H.Died Nov. 19, 2025Rockingham, VermontDetails of servicesA celebration of Bette Holt’s life will be announced and held in the spring.Bette Jane Holt, of Bellows Falls passed away peacefully on Nov. 19, 2025, at home with family around her. She was born in Bethlehem, N.H. on July 5, 1934 to Inez Quimby Norman and William Norman.Born and raised on a large farm, Bette developed an appreciation for self-sufficiency. During childhood she enjoyed picking
  
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• Bonita “Bonnie” King Durell

  15-12-2025 16:58 via vtdigger.org
  Born March 29, 1944Malone, N.Y.Died Dec. 10, 2025Burlington, VermontDetails of servicesA service will be held on Dec. 20, 2025, at 10 a.m. at St. Helen’s Catholic Church in the hamlet of Chasm Falls, N.Y.In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations to the Ethan Allen Residence, the organization that cared for her in her last years.Bonita Jeanne King Durell, a mother, educator, and sharp-witted friend, passed away peacefully on December 10, 2025, in Burlington, Vermont, at t
  
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• Jon Gailmor

  15-12-2025 16:48 via vtdigger.org
  Born Aug. 5, 1948New York CityDied Nov. 30. 2025New Orleans, LouisianaDetails of servicesLate May 2026 in Vermont. Exact location TBD.Vermont troubadour, Elmore community icon, beloved by adults and children, Jon Gailmor died peacefully on Nov. 30, 2025, at his son’s home in New Orleans after a courageous battle with leukemia. He left this world to the sound of his family singing by his side.Jon was born in Manhattan on Aug. 5, 1948 to William and Elaine Gailmor. After his early
  
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• Brattleboro hospital’s chief financial officer exits amid projected $14.5M shortfall

  15-12-2025 15:55 via vtdigger.org
  The Brattleboro Memorial Hospital campus on Belmont Avenue. Photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDiggerBRATTLEBORO — Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is reporting the departure of its chief financial officer just weeks after the exit of its CEO amid a projected $14.5 million annual budget shortfall.The 500-employee not-for-profit facility — the main health care provider for about 55,000 people in southeastern Vermont — has replaced CFO Laura Bruno with interim leader David Sanville, a
  
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• Winooski superintendent testifies in DC, sues DHS for detainment and harassment by immigration authorities

  14-12-2025 12:57 via vtdigger.org
  Winooski Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria was among five American citizens who shared their experiences at a Dec. 9 forum in Washington D.C. focused on the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. ScreenshotWinooski Superintendent of Schools Wilmer Chavarria testified on Capitol Hill last week about his detention earlier this year by federal authorities in Texas. He filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security the day after testifying, alleging violations of Fourth
  
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• Young Writers Project: ‘Those who love life’

  14-12-2025 12:56 via vtdigger.org
  “The Big Dipper and Coming Home,” by Isla Segal, 14, of WoodstockYoung Writers Project is a creative, online community of teen writers and visual artists that started in Burlington in 2006. Each week, VTDigger publishes the writing and art of young Vermonters who post their work on youngwritersproject.org, a free, interactive website for youth, ages 13-19. To find out more, please go to youngwritersproject.org or contact Executive Director Susan Reid at
  
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• Solidarity not charity: Free food offered on Market Street in South Burlington

  14-12-2025 12:55 via vtdigger.org
  Rae Beecher and Matt Van Wagner organize free food, hygiene products and winter clothing. The table is available every Sunday from 1-2 p.m. on Market St. in South Burlington. Photo by Sophia BalunekThis story by Liberty Darr was first published in the Other Paper on Dec. 11, 2025.For Rae Beecher, a South Burlington resident of six years, helping provide neighbors with access to food isn’t just a labor of love — it is an act of protest against the hunger war that millions of American
  
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• Vermont music icon Jon Gailmor departed the way he came in — with a song

  14-12-2025 12:52 via vtdigger.org
  Jon Gailmor. Courtesy photoThis story by Aaron Calvin was first published in News & Citizen on Dec. 11, 2025.“I’m gonna die with a smile if it kills me,” Jon Gailmor sang on his 1990 song of the same name.He sang it again in a video he released in April 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, in the midst of a project in which he posted a video of a performance each day of the lockdown, like bottled musical messages cast into the digital ocean, beginning with an
  
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• Lyman Orton: Don’t punish Burr & Burton for its success

  13-12-2025 00:42 via vtdigger.org
  Dear Editor,Among superintendents across Vermont and the establishment in Montpelier, the drumbeat against Burr & Burton Academy in Manchester is becoming more strident and punitive. The chorus demands that the school become a public institution and misleads Vermonters with fallacious charges. There are yowls from that establishment that Burr & Burton costs more.  Nonsense. The tuition rate is the average of all Vermont high schools for the many sending towns surrounding it, accord
  
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