Vermont news

• Families with kids at Vermont schools can now get money for summer meals

  22-05-2024 23:30 via vtdigger.org
  
  Photo via Pixabay
  Eligible Vermont families will soon be able to get federal assistance to help pay for their children’s meals during summer break, the state announced in a Wednesday press release. This benefit, called the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer, could provide up to $120 per child for low-income households as part of a new program launched by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In Vermont, the program is administered by two state agencies, the Agency of Human Services and
  
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• ‘A bit arrogant’: Phil Scott hits back at lawmakers after they overrode 6 of his vetoes

  19-06-2024 00:26 via vtdigger.org
  
  Gov. Phil Scott speaks during his weekly press conference in Montpelier on Tuesday, June 18. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  MONTPELIER — Gov. Phil Scott called members of the Vermont Legislature’s Democratic supermajority “a bit arrogant” at a press conference outside his office in Montpelier Tuesday afternoon, a day after lawmakers moved to enact a historic number of bills he had refused to sign into law. Scott, a Republican, said he was disappointed — but n
  
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• Lawsuit backed by conservative group challenges noncitizen voting in Burlington

  18-06-2024 23:42 via vtdigger.org
  
  Burlington City Hall on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2019. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  Two Burlington residents backed by a national conservative group are suing the city of Burlington over a recent charter change allowing noncitizen voting in local elections.The nonprofit group Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Chittenden Superior civil court on behalf of Karen Rowell and Michele Morin, two Burlington residents who say they are “being denied their right to l
  
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• Becca Balint announces new bill to crack down on dishonest small-dollar campaign donations

  18-06-2024 23:32 via vtdigger.org
  
  U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vermont, speaks about small donation campaign finance reform legislation she is sponsoring at press conference at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Monday, June 18. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  U.S. Rep. Becca Balint wants to see more transparency around small-dollar donations to political candidates.The first-term member of Congress announced on Tuesday her plans to introduce a bill in the U.S. House which would charge the Federal Election Commission with establishin
  
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• Ex-Vermont man gets time served after admitting to lying in probe into James ‘Whitey’ Bulger’s death

  18-06-2024 23:22 via vtdigger.org
  
  Stock photo by Pixabay
  A former Montpelier man who had been accused by prosecutors of acting as a lookout when Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger was beaten to death in a federal prison has reached a plea deal, agreeing to a reduced charge that will allow him to avoid serving anymore time behind bars. Sean McKinnon, 38, was indicted in August 2022 on a charge of conspiring with two other incarcerated men to murder Bulger while they were all lodged at U.S. Penitentiary Haze
  
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• Meet the driver of “the VSAC car” at Thunder Road

  18-06-2024 22:00 via vtdigger.org
  
  “You never lose, but you always learn.”So says Cooper Bouchard of Hinesburg, driver of the VSAC #7VT Late Model at Thunder Road Speedbowl. “Hindsight is always 20/20, but there’s no sense sitting on the sidelines and feeling sorry for yourself for losing,” he explains. “As long as you take the steps to move past [the loss] in a healthy way, and set your mind to another goal, you’ll keep advancing.”  It’s a philosophy that he a
  
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• Annual count shows rise in homelessness in Vermont — and a jump in those living without shelter

  18-06-2024 21:45 via vtdigger.org
  
  People who are unhoused line up to be admitted to a temporary shelter in Burlington on March 18, 2024. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.The number of unhoused Vermonters living without shelter jumped last year, while the overall number of people experiencing homelessness has continued to climb amid an acute housing shortage.Those are the results of the 2024 poin
  
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• Flood debris causes air quality problems at Coventry landfill

  18-06-2024 20:31 via vtdigger.org
  
  A plow scoops garbage at Vermont’s only operating landfill, a Casella Waste Systems facility in Coventry. File photo by Riley Robinson/VTDiggerIn the aftermath of last summer’s devastating floods, Casella, the company that owns Vermont’s only operating landfill, accepted debris from demolished buildings, including a large amount of drywall and plaster. According to Casella, that material has produced sulfur dioxide emissions that exceed the Coventry landfill’s air q
  
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• Use this map to find the cooling centers near you during Vermont’s heat wave

  18-06-2024 18:57 via vtdigger.org
  
  As the state swelters under what could be its hottest heat wave in decades, there are some places where Vermonters can go if they’re looking to cool down. The state Department of Health publishes a list of cooling sites that includes designated cooling centers, public buildings with air conditioning and outdoor sites with bodies of water.Not all of these sites are free, and not all of them are open to the public at all hours. You can use the map above to check the operating hours and
  
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• Claire Whitehouse and Ellen Kaye: Making UVM a great place to work

  18-06-2024 15:42 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Claire Whitehouse and Ellen Kaye, co-presidents of UVM Staff United.
  With its staff’s first contract set to expire June 30, the University of Vermont faces a turning point. Will it continue to concentrate money at the top and suppress wages in the midst of an affordability crisis? Will it make it harder to hire and retain staff while it grows enrollment and research programs? Or will it choose to be an economic engine for the state by offering livable wages, good ben
  
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• Rich Holschuh: Choosing understanding over competition

  18-06-2024 12:03 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Rich Holschuh. He lives in Wantastegok/Brattleboro and serves as chair of the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs. He is a citizen of and cultural relations officer with Elnu Abenaki band, and is a co-director of the Atowi Project.
  Professor David Massell’s opinion piece, “The awkward truth about Vermont’s Abenaki,” published in VTDigger on May 29, is itself a dismaying example of polemics masquerading as fact. As a University of Verm
  
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• Vermont Legislature overrides six vetoes in one day, setting new record

  18-06-2024 02:56 via vtdigger.org
  
  RRep. Michael Marcotte, R-Newport, right, waits outside the Senate chamber on Monday, June 17, just before the other body failed to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of H.121, a sweeping data privacy bill that originated in the House committee Marcotte chairs. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  Last June, Vermont’s Democratic Legislature overrode a record five vetoes in a single day.On Monday, they one-upped themselves — but with an unexpected stumble. By 5:34 p.m., both chambers h
  
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• Ashley Windsor Hall

  18-06-2024 02:00 via vtdigger.org
  
  Born Feb 14, 1980Burlington, VermontDied June 11, 2024Johnson, VermontDetails of servicesServices will be announced in good time.There is no easy way to say our beloved son Ashley Windsor Hall has passed away on June 11, 2024. The untimely death of a friend or acquaintance is disturbing and sad, but if that death is one of your children, it leaves a hole in your heart that I don’t think will ever heal. The divorce of Cynthia and Wayne was disappointing, but Ashley received two pe
  
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• ‘Shocking conduct’: Judge hands down 25-year prison term in kidnapping of woman and child

  17-06-2024 23:40 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Federal Building in Burlington houses the U.S. District Courthouse and the U.S. Postal Service. Photo by Bob LoCicero/VTDigger
  BURLINGTON — A judge has sentenced a former St. Johnsbury man to 25 years in prison for kidnapping a woman and her son in New Hampshire in 2019 after he had fled from a court-ordered substance use disorder treatment program in Vermont. “It’s shocking conduct,” Judge William K. Sessions III said Monday in federal court in Burlington as he
  
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• Keith Monley

  17-06-2024 23:18 via vtdigger.org
  
  Born Sept. 19, 1949Hartford, ConnecticutDied June 11, 2024South Hero, VermontDetails of servicesKeith Calvert Monley, 74, died at home on June 11, 2024, as a result of advanced pancreatic cancer. By his side were his wife Elizabeth, his sons Jan-Karl and Michael, and his dear friend Sue Trainor.Known far and wide as Dr. Doom or “McFate,” Keith was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to Fred and Emily (Marshall) Monley. With his brother Marshall, he grew up in Westfield, New Jers
  
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• Updated renewable energy standard to become law following override

  17-06-2024 22:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  Rep. Seth Bongartz, D-Manchester, addresses the House of Representatives during the veto session on Monday, June 17. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  Members of both the House and Senate voted on Monday to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of a bill that aims to increase Vermont’s reliance on renewable energy. It requires most of the state’s utilities to purchase 100% of their electricity by 2030. Each chamber needed a two-thirds majority to override Scott’s veto. Hous
  
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• Lawmakers override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of annual property tax legislation

  17-06-2024 19:16 via vtdigger.org
  
  Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden Central, left, confers with Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman at the start of a veto override session at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Monday, June 17. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThe Vermont Legislature overrode Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of the annual property tax legislation that funds the state’s public school districts, solidifying an average projected property tax increase of 13.8%.The vote passed 103-42 in the House, and 22-7 i
  
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• Lawmakers override Phil Scott’s veto of overdose prevention center bill

  17-06-2024 18:46 via vtdigger.org
  
  Sen. Martine Gulick, D-Chittenden Central, left, fistbumps Sen. Tanya Vyhofsky, P/D-Chittenden Central, after the Senate voted to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of an overdose prevention center bill at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Monday, June 17. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  Updated at 4:53 p.m.MONTPELIER — Lawmakers voted Monday afternoon to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of a bill that allows for the creation of an overdose prevention center in Burlington, reversing
  
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• Lawmakers fail to override Phil Scott’s veto of overdose prevention center bill, but legislation’s fate remains uncertain

  17-06-2024 18:46 via vtdigger.org
  
  Sen. Becca White, D-Windsor, left, and Sen. Tanya Vyhofsky, P/D-Chittenden Central, right, comfort Sen Martine Gulick, D-Chittenden Central, after the Senate failed to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of an overdose prevention center bill during a veto override session at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Monday, June 17. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerUpdated at 3:45 p.m.MONTPELIER — Even after lawmakers narrowly failed to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of a bill that would hav
  
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• Lawmakers fail to override Phil Scott’s veto of overdose prevention center bill

  17-06-2024 18:46 via vtdigger.org
  
  Sen. Becca White, D-Windsor, left, and Sen. Tanya Vyhofsky, P/D-Chittenden Central, right, comfort Sen Martine Gulick, D-Chittenden Central, after the Senate failed to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of an overdose prevention center bill during a veto override session at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Monday, June 17, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerMONTPELIER—Lawmakers narrowly failed to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of a bill that would have allowed for the creation
  
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• With veto override, Act 250 reform bill becomes law

  17-06-2024 18:36 via vtdigger.org
  
  Rep. Amy Sheldon, D-Middlebury, center, listens as Rep. Seth Bongartz, D-Manchester, left, urges the House of Representatives to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of an Act 250 bill during a veto override session at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Monday, June 17, 2024.Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.Lawmakers have voted to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto
  
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• Broadway musical creator born and raised in Vermont wins 2 Tony Awards

  17-06-2024 16:39 via vtdigger.org
  
  Shaina Taub of Waitsfield performs in “Suffs,” a Broadway musical she wrote about the 1913 movement that led to women’s right to vote. Photo by Joan Marcus/“Suffs”
  A Broadway musical creator born and raised in Waitsfield won two Tony Awards on Sunday for her story and songs about the 1913 women’s movement that led to their right to vote.Shaina Taub snagged best book and original score for “Suffs,” which dramatizes the drive by Suffragists for the
  
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• Montpelier grows trees in stones

  17-06-2024 15:35 via vtdigger.org
  
  Montpelier Parks Director Alec Ellsworth, left, and former city arborist Adam McCullough plant a honey locust tree on Main Street in Montpelier. Photo by John Snell/Montpelier Bridge
  This story by Jenny Blair was first published by the Montpelier Bridge on June 11.Montpelier’s street trees often live short lives. Roots hit impenetrable compacted soils once they outgrow their planted space, often a meager 4-foot-by-4-foot square. But now, new trees taking root under downtown sidewalks shou
  
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• Bob Stannard: Rep. Mary Morrissey — drip, drip, drip

  17-06-2024 12:57 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Bob Stannard of Manchester Center. He is an author, musician and former state legislator and lobbyist.
  “Fill my cup, LordRun it overGive me love, give me joyGive me peace (ooh, ooh, ooh)Fill my cup, LordRun it overI am Your child in need (ooh, ooh, ooh)Lord, I need You (to fill my cup)”— Andrew RippI was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in November of 1982. I walked into the House Chambers in 1983 and was immediately struck by the beauty of
  
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• Ben Smith: There’s a reason education and health care costs rise so quickly

  17-06-2024 11:58 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Ben Smith, MD of South Duxbury. He is medical director of the emergency department at Central Vermont Medical Center.
  Over the past six months, Vermonters have witnessed two deeply saddening policy implosions. The first is the repeated failure of school budgets (the political equivalent of kicking our kids while they are down); the second is the continued increase in health care costs, exemplified at Sen. Bernie Sanders’ recent health care roundtable. The genera
  
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• Lamoille rail trail quietly reopened in year since historic flooding

  16-06-2024 17:32 via vtdigger.org
  
  A section of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail that was heavily damaged by floodwaters. Photo by Gordon Miller/Stowe Reporter
  This story by Tommy Gardner was first published in the Stowe Reporter on June 13.The long-awaited Lamoille Valley Rail Trail never had its grand opening party last year, when planned celebrations were thwarted by historic July flooding that also wreaked havoc at many spots along the 93-mile cross-state byway.Who said you need a baby shower to have a first birthday?A year la
  
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• How two Vermont professional opera companies happened by accident

  16-06-2024 15:52 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Barn Opera House, courtesy of Joshua Collier/Barn Opera
  “On paper,” said Doug Anderson, artistic director and co-founder of the Opera Company of Middlebury, “it’s fairly impossible that we exist.”Anderson just finished the sold-out run of Donizetti’s “La Fille du Régiment” on June 8th, in the company’s 20th season. Jim Lowe’s review in the Times-Argus called it “absolutely delightful” and “virtuosic.”
  
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• How 2 Vermont professional opera companies happened by accident

  16-06-2024 15:52 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Barn Opera House, courtesy of Joshua Collier/Barn Opera
  “On paper,” said Doug Anderson, artistic director and co-founder of the Opera Company of Middlebury, “it’s fairly impossible that we exist.”Anderson just finished the sold-out run of Donizetti’s “La Fille du Régiment” on June 8th, in the company’s 20th season. Jim Lowe’s review in the Times-Argus called it “absolutely delightful” and “virtuosic.”
  
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• Eden residents hear from experts ahead of herbicide use in lake

  16-06-2024 14:03 via vtdigger.org
  
  An Eden resident concerned about the risks of applying ProcellaCOR herbicide to combat Lake Eden’s Eurasian milfoil problem raises questions to a panel of experts convened by the Lake Eden Association on Saturday. Photo by Aaron Calvin/News & Citizen
  This story by Aaron Calvin was first published by the News & Citizen on June 13.Should the herbicide ProcellaCOR be deployed to fight the milfoil infestation in Lake Eden?That was the question in the Eden Central School gymnasium on S
  
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• More than 4 million skiers braved Vermont’s weird, wet winter

  16-06-2024 13:57 via vtdigger.org
  
  Skiers head under snow from a snowmaking gun at the Mad River Glen ski area in Fayston on Jan. 11, 2023.File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  Vermont ski areas saw just a slight decrease in total visitors this past winter, a surprise after a challenging first half to the season. Statewide industry association Ski Vermont announced last week that alpine ski areas reported 4.1 million skier and rider visits, down 0.5% from the prior year, a smaller dip than the rest of the Northeast region an
  
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