Vermont news

• Ex-corrections officer charged for alleged role in smuggling tobacco into Rutland prison

  13-05-2024 22:45 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerA state corrections officer who resigned his job amid a probe earlier this year is facing a criminal charge for allegedly helping to smuggle tobacco into the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland. David Orvis, 28, of Rutland, was issued a citation last week to appear in court in Rutland next month to face a misdemeanor charge of neglect of duty by a
  
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• After fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan, Khalil Anwari advocates for immigrants in Vermont

  28-05-2024 20:00 via vtdigger.org
  
  Khalil Anwari of the of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, right, speaks with Speaker of the Vermont House Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, as Afghan families from around the state gather in Burlington on Sunday, March 19, 2023, to celebrate Nowruz, a holiday that marks the start of spring and new year in Afghanistan. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerAs a child in Afghanistan, Sayed Khalilullah Anwari — or Khalil Anwari as he prefers — wanted to be a poet or a mathematician.
  
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• A fourth-generation farmer finds inspiration in 4-H and the tech center classroom

  28-05-2024 19:52 via vtdigger.org
  
  Lizzie Vaughan, who graduates from Oxbow High School in a couple weeks, grew up on her family’s dairy farm in South Ryegate. She is excited to study agricultural business in college this fall. But she didn’t always love farming.  “When my sister and I were little, we would always have to be in the barn so our parents could watch us. As I kid, I didn’t like being there, so my mom and dad put up a swing set in there for us,” recalls Lizzie, now 18. Onc
  
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• Cathy Solsaa and Marybeth Lennex-Levins: The debate over educational equity in Vermont

  28-05-2024 14:00 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Cathy Solsaa and Marybeth Lennex-Levins, chair and clerk of the Rutland City Public Schools Board of School Commissioners.
  The debate over educational equity in Vermont, particularly around the implementation of Act 127 and the Pupil Weighting Factors Report, touches deeply on the state’s social and economic disparities. This conflict is starkly illustrated by the historical and current attitudes of certain towns towards neighboring communities, especially in the cont
  
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• US Supreme Court to consider South Burlington land use case

  28-05-2024 13:00 via vtdigger.org
  
  Stock photo by Sora Shimazaki via Pexels
  This story by Habib Sabet was first published by the Other Paper on May 23.A legal battle between developers and South Burlington over the city’s land use regulations could be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.The nation’s highest court is currently considering whether to take a case between the city and developers Jeff Nick and Jeff Davis, owners of a 113.8-acre property at 835 Hinesburg Road, who filed documents with the court in March appe
  
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• US Supreme Court could take up South Burlington land use case

  28-05-2024 13:00 via vtdigger.org
  
  Stock photo by Sora Shimazaki via Pexels
  This story by Habib Sabet was first published by the Other Paper on May 23.A legal battle between developers and South Burlington over the city’s land use regulations could be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.The nation’s highest court is currently considering whether to take a case between the city and developers Jeff Nick and Jeff Davis, owners of a 113.8-acre property at 835 Hinesburg Road, who filed documents with the court in March appe
  
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• Marisa D. Keller and Roger White: Override Scott’s Renewable Energy Standard veto before it’s too late for a livable future

  28-05-2024 12:02 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Marisa D. Keller of Montpelier and Roger White of Middlebury. They are volunteers with 350Vermont, an organization building a people-powered climate justice movement for a thriving world.
  Gov. Phil Scott has once again blocked important action on climate, endangering our ability to transition to clean and just renewable energy and secure a livable future for ourselves and our children. On Thursday, May 23, he vetoed H.289, the new Renewable Energy Standard (RES), which pas
  
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• Cycling nonprofit works to make the sport more accessible for LGBTQ+ Vermonters

  28-05-2024 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Pride Ride during the Rasputitsa gravel bike race in Burke on Friday, April 28, 2023. Photo by Joshua Strong via Rasputitsa
  It was a big year for biking in Barre. In 2017, the Vermont Bicycle Shop opened, and Barre resident and avid cyclist Kristopher Hunt hosted the state’s first Pride Ride. Although the lifelong Vermonter grew up riding the state’s rural roads, it wasn’t until he was an adult that Hunt developed a passion for the sport. He then got involved in Vermo
  
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• PHOTOS: Spectators gather for the Vergennes Memorial Day Parade

  28-05-2024 01:29 via vtdigger.org
  
  Spectators watch the Memorial Day parade in Vergennes on Monday, May 27. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThe Vergennes Memorial Day Parade brought crowds to the Addison County town on Monday. Held since 1946, the parade featured everything from marching bands to tractors rolling down the street. The 1.5-mile route began at Vergennes Union High School before weaving through downtown. Scroll down to see scenes from the day.
  Read the story on VTDigger here:PHOTOS: Spectators gather for the Vergenne
  
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• Montpelier Amtrak platform undergoing $3M upgrade

  27-05-2024 14:51 via vtdigger.org
  
  New Montpelier Amtrak platform under construction. Insulation is being installed around the helical piers that will support the elevated and heated train platform. Photo by Phil Dodd/Montpelier BridgeThis story by Phil Dodd was first published by the Montpelier Bridge on May 21.To bring it into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Amtrak train platform at Montpelier Junction is in the midst of a $3 million upgrade that will include raising the platform to eight inches above
  
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• Can a cemetery die? With last-minute resuscitation, Rutland’s largest finds new life.

  27-05-2024 12:39 via vtdigger.org
  
  An arched gate announces Rutland’s 163-year-old Evergreen Cemetery. Photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger
  RUTLAND — As this city’s sole cemetery commissioner and head of the Vermont Old Cemetery Association, Thomas Giffin can tell you all about the long life of the 163-year-old Evergreen Cemetery.“Every stone has a story,” he said in a recent interview. “You have governors, you have U.S. senators, you have Medal of Honor winners. … You have so much of
  
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• Dan Barkhuff: What we owe to those who never came home

  27-05-2024 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Dan Barkhuff. He is an ER physician at the University of Vermont Medical Center, a former Navy SEAL and the founder of Veterans For Responsible Leadership.
  On Memorial Day I reflect on two deaths from the 9/11 wars, and what, from the comfort of my home, as the chirping of the spring birds greets the dawn, I owe them. One was a Marine I only knew for an hour or so, and the other was a close friend of years and deployments.The Marine died because he took a few seconds to pu
  
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• Dick Mazza, icon of the Vermont Senate, dies at 84

  27-05-2024 01:30 via vtdigger.org
  
  Sen. Dick Mazza, D-Grand Isle, in his office in the back of Dick Mazza’s General Store in Colchester on Saturday, April 15, 2023. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  Richard T. Mazza, a Colchester grocer who rose from humble origins to become the most influential member of the Vermont Senate, died Saturday. He was 84 years old. His daughter, Melissa Mazza-Paquette, confirmed the news Sunday evening. “Our family is so grateful to all who have reached out to our family over the past
  
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• Barriers meant to prevent truck stuckages at Smugglers Notch get tested right away

  26-05-2024 15:57 via vtdigger.org
  
  A view of the newly installed chicanes meant to curtail the trucks that get stuck in Smugglers Notch from its Stowe side. Photo by Gordon Miller/News & Citzen
  This story by Aaron Calvin was first published by the News & Citizen on May 23.The chicanery in Smugglers Notch continues.It seems to be a truth universally acknowledged that, no matter what signs, fines or impediments the Vermont Agency of Transportation may put against them, some tractor-trailer truck driver will still end up st
  
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• Young Writers Project: ‘Vermont’

  26-05-2024 14:00 via vtdigger.org
  
  “A Witch’s Home,” by Ace Lafountain, 16, of Montpelier.
  Young Writers Project is a creative online community of teen writers, photographers and artists, which has been based in Vermont since 2006. Each week, VTDigger features the writing and art of young Vermonters who publish their work on youngwritersproject.org, a free, interactive website for 12- to 18-year-olds. To find out more, visit youngwritersproject.org, or contact Executive Director Susan Reid at sreid@youngwriters
  
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• Bill Schubart: The time is now for Mental Health First Aid

  26-05-2024 13:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  May is Mental Health Awareness Month and in our world today there’s plenty of  reason to want to be aware.Vermont has established, as a policy if not in practice, that physical and mental health deserve and must receive an equitable health care commitment and investment. But our metrics for mental health wellness, especially among our young and aging populations, show that we’re failing in delivering on physical and mental health parity. Still, there are some positive changes in
  
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• Andre Clark: Ending homelessness is up to us

  26-05-2024 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Andre Clark. He is a student in UVM’s Master of Public Health program, and founded a local volunteer organization, Street CATs-Burlington, which provides street-level outreach and partners with local organizations to get clothes, snacks, water and other needed supplies to the unhoused population. He experienced homelessness and housing instability from the ages of 13-25. 
  Vermont is in a housing crisis. Vermont has the second-highest per-capita rate of homelessn
  
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• This Vermont centenarian fought in Europe 80 years ago. Now he’s set to receive France’s highest honor.

  26-05-2024 11:06 via vtdigger.org
  
  Townshend centenarian Richard Jackson eyes mementos of his World War II service in the U.S. Army’s 100th Infantry Division. Photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger
  TOWNSHEND — Local veteran Richard Jackson’s World War II stint in Europe was 80 years ago and 3,500 miles away.And yet, still on the top of his mind.“I became the gunner on a mortar squad, which by definition is not on the front line and instead 100 yards behind, so I felt blessed,” Jackson said in a rece
  
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• Olive Elizabeth Sedon

  25-05-2024 02:50 via vtdigger.org
  
  Born Jan. 6, 2002
  Tunbridge, VermontDied May 16, 2024Bradford, VermontOlive Elizabeth Sedon died on May 16th in Bradford, Vermont, after finally succumbing to a long and protracted illness.Olive burst like a comet into her family’s life when she was born on January 6th, 2002. Even as a baby, Olive had a fully developed personality that was by turns dramatic, hilarious, stunningly precocious and heartbreakingly sweet. Very particular in her tastes and preferences, many mornings Olive loved
  
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• Vermont Supreme Court denies request for relief in Panton farm runoff case

  24-05-2024 23:53 via vtdigger.org
  
  An aerial photograph, used as an exhibit in a six-day trial in Dec. 2021 and Jan. 2022, shows a section of the Vorsteveld Farm in Panton. Photo courtesy of the Addison Unit of the Vermont Superior Court
  The Vermont Supreme Court has denied a request from the owners of a Panton dairy farm that would have alleviated the burden of a court order issued in March 2022, which requires the farm to make expensive changes in order to stop runoff from flowing across a neighbors’ land and into Lake C
  
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• Fewer Vermont weddings expected this year after boom in 2022

  24-05-2024 22:42 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Equinox Golf Resort and Spa in Manchester on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerMANCHESTER — One afternoon in February, a woman in a strapless white gown rendezvoused with a man in a tux on the grounds of The Equinox resort. They held hands, hugged and kissed before the woman disappeared into one of the buildings.  That evening, under trees strung with fairy lights, Hannah Beaulieu and Liam Noonan again met outdoors — this time to pose for photos a
  
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• Former Democratic lawmaker John Rodgers to run for lieutenant governor as a Republican

  24-05-2024 21:36 via vtdigger.org
  
  John Rodgers on the Senate floor at the Statehouse in Montpelier. File photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  John Rodgers, a former Vermont House and Senate Democrat from Glover, is running for lieutenant governor as a Republican. “I don’t feel like I left the party. I feel like the party left me,” Rodgers said in an interview Friday, describing himself as a moderate. “I feel closer to Phil Scott than I do the leadership in the Legislature, and that’s what really m
  
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• Hinesburg moves to pull out of Green Mountain Transit as service reductions loom

  24-05-2024 20:52 via vtdigger.org
  
  Green Mountain Transit buses drive down Main Street in Burlington on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  Hinesburg, one of nine municipalities that pay an annual fee to help fund Green Mountain Transit, is beginning the process of pulling out of the Chittenden County-based transit system.The town, which had for months questioned the fairness of its roughly $53,000 contribution, has just one Green Mountain Transit bus route, which runs between its village area and Burlington.T
  
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• Strafford man out of prison after pleading guilty to burning down cabin

  24-05-2024 18:42 via vtdigger.org
  
  John Blakeney, left, and Nick Howe, right, of Howe Enterprises, look over the site of a fire in Strafford, on Monday, Sept. 11, that destroyed a cabin early on Saturday, and speculate on how one of their portable toilets, partially melted from the heat, ended up in a nearby brook.Photo by James M. Patterson/Valley News
  This story by John Lippman was first published by the Valley News on May 22.CHELSEA — A Strafford man who set the cabin where he was living ablaze after police failed to re
  
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• Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky: Does Gov. Scott see himself as beholden to the Vermont Constitution?

  24-05-2024 13:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky, P/D-Chittenden Central. 
  Much has been made lately about the appointment of Zoie Saunders as interim secretary of education. Saunders’ nomination for Vermont’s highest executive educational position raised eyebrows among senators given she only had three months of public school experience while actively pursuing the top education job in another state. After an outpouring of grassroots messages from parents, teachers and concerned Vermo
  
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• Phil Scott and Vermont legislators found at least some common ground on crime bills this year

  24-05-2024 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, listens to other senators chat during a brief recess on the floor of the Senate at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  In a session that was marked by contentiousness between Republican Gov. Phil Scott and the Democratic supermajority in the Legislature, there was one area, at least, where Vermont leaders seemed to find some common ground: crime policy.“I think that’s one of the bright spots of thi
  
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• Chellie Nayar and Dr. David Rand: We support the Climate Superfund Act

  24-05-2024 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Chellie Nayar, a rising fourth-year medical student and a member of the Vermont Climate and Health Alliance, and Dr. David Rand, an internal medicine physician on the steering committee of the Vermont Climate and Health Alliance. 
  One of us is a 27-year-old approaching her final year of medical school; the other is 45-year-old internal medicine physician and father of a young child. Despite these differences, we feel a shared sense of horror and urgency as we watch ou
  
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• Matthew John Lomasney

  24-05-2024 03:03 via vtdigger.org
  
  Born April 29, 1977
  Barre, VermontDied May 13, 2024
  St. Johnsbury, VermontDetails of servicesNo public services are planned at the time. Donations in Matthew’s honor may be made to Long Trail Canine Rescue in Wilder, VT or Kingdom Recovery Center, St. Johnsbury, VT or plant a tree in memory of Matthew. He was especially fond of Cedar and Hemlock trees. Matthew loved trees. He will never be forgotten. May he rest in eternal peace.“Fare you well, fare you well, I love you more than wor
  
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• Plan for 240 apartments in White River Junction completes planning and zoning review

  24-05-2024 00:48 via vtdigger.org
  
  An artist’s rendering of one of four market-rate apartment buildings proposed in a planned development on a 25-acre lot on Sykes Mountain Avenue in White River Junction. Image courtesy of the Town of Hartford
  This story by Patrick Adrian was first published by The Valley News on May 22.WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Planning and zoning officials have approved a plan to build more than 200 apartments off Sykes Mountain Avenue.A partnership of White River Junction-based Simpson Development Co
  
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• ‘More good than harm’: Phil Scott signs $8.6 billion state budget into law

  24-05-2024 00:06 via vtdigger.org
  
  Gov. Phil Scott speaks during a press conference at the Statehouse on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. Photo by Natalie Williams/VTDigger
  Republican Gov. Phil Scott on Thursday signed Vermont’s $8.6 billion budget into law, funding state government for the fiscal year starting July 1. Negotiations over the state budget, H.883, were notably more amicable this legislative session than last, when it became a proxy war over the fate of the state’s emergency motel housing program. Last yea
  
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