Vermont news

• Health insurers seek large premium increases 

  14-05-2024 18:14 via vtdigger.org
  
  Photo via Adobe Stock
  Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont and MVP, the only insurers that sell health plans on the state’s insurance marketplace, are seeking permission to increase insurance premiums between roughly 9% to 19% for the upcoming year.Blue Cross Blue Shield is seeking an average premium hike of 16.3% for individual health plans, which consumers buy directly from the state’s insurance marketplace. Premiums for small group plans, for small employers with 100 or fewer employ
  
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• 6 bills — tackling municipal ethics, animal welfare and more — become Vermont law 

  11-06-2024 01:34 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Statehouse in Montpelier on May 3, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerGov. Phil Scott signed bills related to animal welfare, diversity in courts and addiction recovery support on Monday. He allowed bills related to cannabis, education and a municipal code of ethics to pass into law without his signature. The Republican governor signed H.626, a response to a number of animal cruelty cases across the state and the absence of a designated governmental entity to investigate and respond
  
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• 6 bills — tackling municipal ethics, animal welfare and more — become law 

  11-06-2024 01:34 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Statehouse in Montpelier on May 3, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerGov. Phil Scott signed bills related to animal welfare, diversity in courts and addiction recovery support on Monday. He allowed bills related to cannabis, education and a municipal code of ethics to pass into law without his signature. The Republican governor signed H.626, a response to a number of animal cruelty cases across the state and the absence of a designated governmental entity to investigate and respond
  
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• Richard Warden Sears

  11-06-2024 00:50 via vtdigger.org
  
  Born April 22, 1943ConnecticutDied June 1, 2024Albany, New YorkDetails of servicesCalling hours will be held on June 14 from 11:00am – 1:00pm at the E.P. Mahar & Son Funeral Home 628 Main Street in Bennington followed by a service at 1:30pm at the Old First Congregational Church at 60 Monument Avenue in Bennington.In lieu of flowers, please consider gifts and/or donations to: 204 Depot Street (Seall Inc.) Bennington, VTIt is with great sadness that we announce the death of ou
  
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• Vermont Supreme Court tosses out verdict that awarded $600k to fired prison superintendent

  11-06-2024 00:10 via vtdigger.org
  Mark Potanas in the solitary confinement unit at Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield in early 2016, when he was superintendent there. File photo by Phoebe Sheehan/VTDigger
  The Vermont Supreme Court has thrown out a $605,000 jury award to the former head of the Springfield prison, who was fired in 2017.The high court ruled that the state’s whistleblower protection law didn’t apply to Mark Potanas because the concerns he raised about spending and care related to &ldquo
  
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• iSun, a major Vermont solar installer and the parent company of SunCommon, files for bankruptcy

  10-06-2024 23:47 via vtdigger.org
  
  Electricians install the last solar panels at the home of SunCommon’s 1,000th customer in Barre Town. Photo by John Herrick/VTDigger
  One of Vermont’s largest publicly traded companies has filed for bankruptcy.iSun, the Williston-based solar energy company, is seeking permission to sell off its assets after years of financial woes, according to federal bankruptcy court filings. iSun is the parent company of SunCommon, a solar panel installer that’s based in Waterbury. Jeff
  
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• Protests of president punctuate rainy graduation for Dartmouth’s Class of ’24

  10-06-2024 23:03 via vtdigger.org
  
  Abigail Bordelon holds up a red-gloved hand after opting not to shake hands with Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock while walking across the stage during the Dartmouth College commencement ceremony on the green in Hanover, N.H., on Sun., June 9. Photo by Alex Driehaus/Valley News
  This story by Christina Dolan was first published in the Valley News on June 9.HANOVER — The Dartmouth Green was the scene of celebration and defiance Sunday morning as the college awarded degrees to more than
  
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• Rev. Ken White: Christians insisting that the state conform to their beliefs is a moral error

  10-06-2024 22:54 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Rev. Ken White of Winooski. He has been an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ for 14 years, and is pastor at College Street Church in Burlington.
  I am writing in response to your recent article, “Families sue Vermont DCF over LGBTQ+ foster care requirements,” from my perspective as a Christian pastor.Growing up in a fundamentalist church smackdab in the middle of the Bible Belt, I remember there being some people in the church that people whispere
  
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• Rev. Karen A. Mendes: DCF is correct to protect children from the imposition of intolerant beliefs

  10-06-2024 22:30 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editor, As a Baptist pastor, religious liberty is important to me. Intrinsic to religious liberty is freedom of conscience: that no person, religious establishment or civil government can interfere with or impede a person’s relationship to God. Each person is free to have their own relationship with the Divine (or no relationship).What they are not free to do is impose their religious understanding upon another person. 
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  Historically, Baptists have supported the rig
  
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• Mapping Vermont’s wildlife highway: how advanced data is helping species one road at a time

  09-06-2024 15:23 via vtdigger.org
  
  Robert Zaino, a biologist with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, uses the BioFinder mapping platform in Barnet on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. BioFinder allows people to see connections between land that allow plants and animals to migrate as climate change continues.“High priority” wildlife road crossings are shown in dark purple. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerOn a recent weekday morning, two Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department staff members pulled to the side of a dirt road
  
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• Colchester Causeway now under state ownership

  09-06-2024 15:02 via vtdigger.org
  
  Cyclists pedal along the Colchester causeway, a path built on a former railway that connects Colchester and South Hero (far right). Seen on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  The state of Vermont first purchased what is now called the Island Line Trail in 1963, before handing it over to the town of Colchester. Nearly 60 years later, it’s become one of the most treasured recreational paths in Vermont, and, as of last year, it’s back in the state’s hands.When
  
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• Jenna’s Promise enters new phase

  09-06-2024 13:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  An open house for Jenna’s Promise. File Photo by Gordon Miller/News & Citizen
  This story by Aaron Calvin was first published by the News & Citizen on June 6.Five years after founding Jenna’s Promise, Greg Tatro is stepping down as president and board chair of the holistic opioid addiction treatment organization.He will remain on the board while his wife, Dawn Tatro, steps down from the board to take on a volunteer role in the organization named after the couple’s daugh
  
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• Young Writers Project: ‘Traveling’

  09-06-2024 12:57 via vtdigger.org
  
  “Light,” by Phoebe Gresham, 14, of Huntington
  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@youngwri
  
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• Bill Schubart: The health care crisis and the ‘ghost quartet’

  09-06-2024 12:33 via vtdigger.org
  
  If we zoom out and look with cynicism at the health care crisis in America, we see a remarkably effective business plan: Grow the burgeoning health care business even larger from its current $4.5 trillion per year in spending, and do so using two other lucrative industries — the chemical-industrial-agriculture partnership and the ultra-processed food industry. By design or by default, these four industries — the “ghost quartet” — are an extraordinarily profitab
  
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• Kevin Ellis: Get ready for the foundations of our government and politics to be questioned and then changed

  09-06-2024 11:59 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by ​​Kevin Ellis of East Montpelier. He is a writer, podcaster and former lobbyist.
  In 1985, a Jewish refugee from Switzerland named Madeleine Kunin became the first female governor of Vermont. Kunin had been a member of the legislature from Burlington and then lieutenant governor. Her election shifted the sands of Vermont politics forever. She brought women into government in historic numbers and focused new attention on the needs of children’s health care
  
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• Gov. Phil Scott signs bills on emergency medical services, capital projects, miscellaneous reforms

  07-06-2024 22:38 via vtdigger.org
  
  Gov. Phil Scott answers a question during his weekly press conference at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Wednesday April 3, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerVermont Gov. Phil Scott signed a raft of bills Thursday, codifying legislation that will make changes to various areas of state government and policy.The nine bills, which include four “miscellaneous” bills — pieces of legislation that generally include many small changes on a particular topic — were signed on th
  
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• Residents worry Colchester’s $18.8M sewer project will spur development at Malletts Bay

  07-06-2024 22:12 via vtdigger.org
  
  A rendering of the Malletts Bay sewer service area. Construction for the first phase of the three year, $18.8 million project is scheduled June 2024 – August 2025. Rendering courtesy of the Town of Colchester.
  Colchester is breaking ground this month on one of the biggest public infrastructure projects ever undertaken in inner Malletts Bay: an $18.8 million sewer project that has been talked about for more than 60 years.The “pollution abatement project” is being undertaken &ld
  
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• Becca Balint jokes about popping ‘a gummy’ during US House Judiciary Committee hearing

  07-06-2024 19:51 via vtdigger.org
  
  Becca Balint listens during the Vermont Democratic Party’s unity press conference in Montpelier on Aug. 30, 2022. File Photo by Natalie Williams/VTDigger
  Should her reelection bid fail, U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt. may or may not have a career in comedy. At the end of Attorney General Merrick Garland’s tense testimony before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Balint tried lightening the mood. Democrats and Republicans had sparred for nearly five hours, with GOP law
  
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• Cows in electric collars: Vermont farmers pilot virtual fencing technology

  07-06-2024 18:08 via vtdigger.org
  
  Cattle wear Nofence collars, which use GPS tracking and mobile networks to communicate with virtual fence lines. The technology allows farmers to track cattle and change boundaries in real-time from the Nofence app. Photo courtesy of Nofence.Fence posts and spools of wire are being swapped for cell phone apps and electric collars on several Vermont farms this summer as farmers pilot virtual fencing technology to manage herds of livestock.Using technology called Nofence, farmers can create virtu
  
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• Hartford Selectboard approves banner policy

  07-06-2024 17:04 via vtdigger.org
  
  An example of the “Hometown Heroes” banners proposed for downtown White River Junction. Courtesy town of Hartford
  This story by Patrick Adrian was first published in the Valley News on June 5.WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — The Hartford Selectboard adopted a new policy on Tuesday that will allow banner displays on public street lights.The board’s 5-2 vote was a relief to organizers of the “Hometown Heroes” project, which plans to display up to 12 banners this summer i
  
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• Brian Richard Searles

  07-06-2024 00:59 via vtdigger.org
  
  Born March 12, 1947Died June 5, 2024Tampa, FloridaDetails of servicesA celebration of Brian’s life will be planned for a time during the summer.The family of Brian Searles is sad to announce his passing on June 5 in Tampa Florida. Brian’s death came as he was receiving treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. A full obituary will follow at a later date.
  Read the story on VTDigger here:Brian Richard Searles.
  
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• Balint, Welch introduce legislation to ban ‘price fixing’ software for rental properties

  06-06-2024 23:26 via vtdigger.org
  
  U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., answers questions after speaking at a demonstration calling for the re-opening of the Montpelier Post Office on Monday, January 8, 2024. The post office has been closed since the July 2023 flood. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., and U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., want to outlaw the use of rental property management software that allows landlords to compare and set rental prices using algorithms — behavior that, the two membe
  
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• Seeking to build a Vergennes youth facility, state officials confront skepticism — and history

  06-06-2024 23:22 via vtdigger.org
  
  A rendering of the proposed Green Mountain Youth Campus. Photo courtesy of Vermont Department for Children and FamiliesFor decades, the city of Vergennes was host to some of Vermont’s most troubled youth. Between 1874 and 1979, the Addison County city was the site of an institution most recently known as the Weeks School, a detention and reform facility for juveniles. According to the state’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, children at the facility — some of whom wer
  
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• Darn Tough is wrestling with ‘rampant’ social media scams. In Vermont, it’s not alone.

  06-06-2024 22:48 via vtdigger.org
  
  Darn Tough Vermont socks on display at a retail store. File photo courtesy of Darn Tough Vermont.
  For as long as there’s been the internet, there have been internet scammers. For people like 40-year-old Windsor resident Brendan Dangelo, that risk feels more or less easy to navigate with a few simple rules: Be careful which download button you click, and don’t send personal information over email.“We think we’re pretty internet literate,” Dangelo said of himsel
  
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• Phil Scott vetoes property tax bill, unsettling next year’s school funding

  06-06-2024 22:39 via vtdigger.org
  
  Rep. Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, left, and Gov. Phil Scott. File Photos by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  Gov. Phil Scott vetoed the annual property tax bill on Thursday, setting up a veto session showdown on a piece of legislation that must pass for schools to be funded as normal. “We must provide property tax relief now. This can’t wait for another study before implementing cost containment strategies,” Scott said in a statement. Known as the “yield bill,” th
  
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• Burlington police’s mock shooting exercise rattles high school students

  06-06-2024 21:54 via vtdigger.org
  
  Insignia of the Burlington Police Department. File Photo by Aidan Quigley/VTDigger
  Burlington High School students were rattled on Wednesday after local police detectives staged a demonstration to students during which a supposed gunman pretended to open fire.The incident occurred Wednesday at the Burlington Police Department’s headquarters at One North Avenue. About 20 students in the school’s year-end forensics class had traveled to the police station for a field trip, Russ Elek,
  
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• Welcome to Green Vision Cleansing

  06-06-2024 17:12 via vtdigger.org
  
  Photo by Jenna Rice/Jenna Rice CreativeWelcome to Green Vision Cleansing, your trusted partner in creating a healthier and cleaner home environment in Vermont. We believe that a clean home should not come at the expense of your health or the environment. That’s why we specialize in eco-friendly, customized cleaning solutions designed to promote human wellness and environmental sustainability.Our unique approach sets us apart: we develop and use our own 100% natural cleaning products, formu
  
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• Tom McKone: Enslavers, abolitionists and the Underground Railroad

  06-06-2024 13:47 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Tom McKone of Montpelier.
  The Rokeby Museum in Ferrisburgh has a long historical reach and two big stories to tell, yet it is less known outside of Addison County and the Champlain Valley than it deserves to be. “Seeking Freedom: The Underground Railroad and the Legacy of an Abolitionist Family,” its excellent new exhibit, could change that.Rokeby, as it is familiarly known, from 1793 until 1961 was the homestead of several generations of the Robinson family, a
  
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• Sam Liss: Sen. Dick Sears will be missed by many

  06-06-2024 11:50 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editor,I am greatly saddened to hear of Sen. Dick Sears’ passing. However gruff Dick could appear to be, and however explosive he could be at times, after getting to know him, I realized how compassionate he really was and how much he valued his constituents’ needs and input.Dick was as effective as any Vermont senator — indeed more than most — in pushing forward his moderate but salient agenda from his influential positions in the Legislature. I worked with him as I
  
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• Norwich officials seek solution to bridge’s chemical leak

  06-06-2024 01:09 via vtdigger.org
  
  Peter Orner points to contaminants dripping down the wall of Bridge 12, which carries Moore Lane over Bloody Brook, near his home in Norwich on May 30, 2024. Photo by Alex Driehaus/Valley NewsThis story by Patrick Adrian was first published in the Valley News on June 3.NORWICH — Hazardous chemicals appear to be leaking again from a town bridge that crosses Bloody Brook, driving town officials to consider new solutions to mitigate the continuing environmental threat.Petroleum-based chemica
  
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