Vermont news

• ICE agents arrest several in Londonderry operation

  07-08-2026 21:05 via vtdigger.org
  
  Federal law enforcement agents in South Burlington on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested several individuals Friday morning during an enforcement operation in Londonderry, the agency’s Boston Field Office, which covers New England, confirmed to VTDigger. The people arrested were targeted at a traffic stop while traveling to a construction job site in the small Windham county town at around 9 a.m., accor
  
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• A traffic stop, a deportation and a test of Vermont’s Fair and Impartial Policing Policy

  11-08-2026 01:10 via vtdigger.org
  
  A protest by Migrant Justice at the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Department in South Burlington in December 2019. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerA Chittenden County sheriff’s deputy is under investigation for violating Vermont’s Fair and Impartial Policing Policy by calling U.S. Border Patrol to a Franklin County traffic stop that ended in an area farmworker being deported.The internal investigation could test the limits Vermont places on cooperation between local police a
  
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• New England, Canadian leaders tout cross-border ties in face of Trump’s latest tariff threat

  11-08-2026 00:28 via vtdigger.org
  
  Gov. Phil Scott speaks during a press conference at the end of a summit of New England governors and premiers from eastern Canada in Shelburne on Monday, August 10, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerSHELBURNE — Some of Canada’s top regional leaders on Monday touted the value of a close relationship with the U.S. and the need for both countries’ federal governments to reach a comprehensive trade deal in the face of President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat.Their co
  
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• Kinney Drugs pulls back AI tool after customer complaints

  11-08-2026 00:12 via vtdigger.org
  
  Kinney Drugs inEssex Junction on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerWhen Kathy Callaghan called her local pharmacy for a prescription refill last Wednesday, she expected to hear the usual AI voice that had attempted to assist her for the last three months. Instead, a pharmacist picked up. “We were thrilled,” she said, describing her and her partner Dave Bellini’s reaction to the voice. The call came as the pharmacy, Kinney Drugs, recently pul
  
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• Family farms like ours need a farm bill that respects states

  10-08-2026 23:19 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editor,Long Wind Farm began in 1984 with a team of oxen and a simple goal: produce exceptional food while caring for the land. More than 40 years later, we’re still growing crops in Vermont soil and providing New England with fresh food year-round. Our success has come from earning the trust of our customers. Rather than overriding state protections, federal policy should support standards that promote responsible farming.That’s why we’re concerned about efforts to includ
  
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• Londonderry community convenes in the wake of local ICE raid

  10-08-2026 22:56 via vtdigger.org
  
  Morrow and Bliss speaking to attendees. Photo by Ryan Pacheco/Bennington Banner
  This story by Ryan Pacheco was first published in the Bennington Banner on Aug. 8, 2026.LONDONDERRY — Concerned citizens and community members packed a meeting room at Neighborhood Connections in Londonderry on Saturday, Aug. 8 to discuss recent immigration enforcement operations that resulted in five Ecuadorian individuals being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement a day prior. The community conver
  
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• DOJ sues Vermont, other states to stop in-state tuition for undocumented students

  10-08-2026 22:17 via vtdigger.org
  
  Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Wednesday, August 5, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)This story was produced in partnership with NOTUS, a publication from the nonprofit, nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute. VTDigger has partnered with NOTUS to cover federal actions affecting Vermont.The U.S. Department of Justice filed lawsuits against Vermont, Connecticut and New York on Monday for allowing undocumented students
  
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• Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital cuts staff and beds despite pushback

  10-08-2026 17:42 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital in Berlin in Sept.2023. File photo by Natalie Williams/VTDiggerVermont Psychiatric Care Hospital has cut three staff members and four of its patient beds, a decision that has inspired pushback from staff and some lawmakers.The state-run hospital in Berlin is one of Vermont’s main facilities for acute inpatient mental health care.The Vermont Department of Mental Health, which runs the facility and confirmed the job cuts, said that a declining patient c
  
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• Congress must vote before the Guard goes to war

  09-08-2026 17:54 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editor,I am writing about the Vermont Defend the Guard Act, which focuses on our Vermont National Guard. Comments included questions about the appropriate strategy for saving our democracy and the notion that this bill would put a big target on the backs of our Guard members. I agree that we need to be strategic. Part of that strategy is the campaign for this act. A letter to Gov. Phil Scott and Vermont state legislators is circulating from Vermont National Guard veterans, their famil
  
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• Why a new federal definition of hemp has a Vermont industry holding its breath

  09-08-2026 16:47 via vtdigger.org
  
  Sunset Lake Farms CBD products for sale at Lake Effect Vermont dispensary in South Hero on Friday, August 7, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerTheo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.A recent change in the federal definition of hemp is sending shockwaves through an entire Vermont industry, state regulators say. Last fall, federal lawmakers passed a budget law that included a definition of hemp and its associated products with a new maximum allow
  
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• Weathersfield Selectboard in limbo after resignations

  09-08-2026 15:39 via vtdigger.org
  
  Eric Hennessy, of Perkinsville, right, and Assistant Town Clerk Marion Ballam, left, react as the tabulating machine sucks in Hennessy’s ballot during voting for the Vermont Primary in Weathersfield, Vt., on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. Photo by James M. Patterson/Valley NewsThis story by Sophia Langlois first appeared in the Valley News on Aug. 6. WEATHERSFIELD — The Selectboard approved two member resignations at an Aug. 4 special meeting, where the remaining board of three launch
  
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• ‘I want to own a grocery store & café with my friends’: Food co-op initiative launches in downtown Newport

  09-08-2026 14:41 via vtdigger.org
  
  Erica Wilson, founding president of the Kingdom Co-op, and Thomas Goodwin, general manager of Green Mountain Natural Foods and a member of the Kingdom Co-op board, in the store in Newport on July 1, 2026. Photo by K. Fiegenbaum/VTDiggerNewport-area residents have launched an effort to transform their Main Street grocery store and cafe into a member-owned food cooperative in hopes of ensuring its sustainability.“What we want to do is bring a business to the community that is going to suppo
  
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• What’s a farmers market in Vermont without the farmers?

  09-08-2026 13:17 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Old North End Farmers Market in Burlington on Tuesday, August 4, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerVermont boasts more farmers markets per resident than any state in the nation, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, yet almost all of them say they are in search of one common thing — the farmers.   For generations, growers have leaned on farmers markets as a critical sales channel. Now, most of the state’s markets — 34 of 58 — sa
  
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• Into the belly of the whale: Summer readers embark on a unique voyage

  08-08-2026 13:24 via vtdigger.org
  
  Nile the inflatable life-sized Humpback Whale is temporarily at the McCullough Library in North Bennington. Photo by Danielle M. Crosier/Bennington BannerThis story by Danielle M. Crosier was first published in the Bennington Banner on Aug. 6, 2026.NORTH BENNINGTON — On Wednesday, local kids didn’t just learn about whales, they went inside one.The Park McCullough Carriage Barn was temporarily transformed into the belly of the sea when the Whalemobile rolled into town, inflating a li
  
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• Nancy N. Thayer

  07-08-2026 23:37 via vtdigger.org
  
  Born: 05/13/1025Evanston, IllinoisDied: 07/22/2026South Burlington, VermontDetails of service:A memorial service will be held at The Residence at Quarry Hill, 435 Quarry Hill Rd., South Burlington on Friday, Aug. 28 at 3 p.m. A celebration of Life will be held at the First Congregational Church, Essex Junction, on Saturday, Aug. 29 at 4 p.m.Nancy Noyes Thayer, 101, passed away peacefully on July 22, 2026.Born on May 13, 1925, in Evanston, Illinois, to George Frederick Noyes and Dorothy Hall Noy
  
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• Data: Only 3% of Vermont registered voters have cast their ballots ahead of the primary election

  07-08-2026 23:16 via vtdigger.org
  
  A voter enters the polling place at the Barre Municipal Auditorium in Barre City in 2024. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerWith the primary election taking place Tuesday, Aug. 11, only 3% of registered voters had cast their ballot as of Thursday. The statistic is a new initiative, Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas said, to remind voters of the upcoming election and encourage them to get out and vote. “I think it’s a good idea to give people a little bit o
  
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• Compensate Vermonters for the cost of coexisting with beavers

  07-08-2026 23:10 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Luke Briccetti, a Ph.D. candidate in the Rubenstein School of Natural Resources at the University of Vermont, and a fellow at the Gund Institute for Environment. There has been no shortage of commentaries about beaver management in VTDigger over the past decade. Many Vermonters may have heard about the broad benefits that beavers provide across our landscape. At one time, beavers numbered between 60 million and 400 million in the U.S. As we systematically removed
  
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• UVM Health says big change is afoot — but is it enough to balance the budget?

  07-08-2026 22:45 via vtdigger.org
  
  The University of Vermont Medical Center complex. Photo courtesy of UVM Health NetworkIt’s been a long year for the University of Vermont Health network.Last year, regulators took a particularly critical view of the network finances, which prompted a leadership change at the highest level of the organization, followed by significant slimming of its executive level positions. As it carried out those regulatory budget orders, charged less for certain pharmaceutical drugs and inked a 2026 co
  
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• New affordable multi-family housing opens in Rutland

  07-08-2026 22:28 via vtdigger.org
  
  Kathy Becker, senior vice president of real estate at Evernoth, Mary Cohen, executive director of Cornerstone Housing Partners, and Rutland City Mayor Tom Donahue cut ribbon at newly opened Maplewood Commons. Aug 6, 2026. Photo by Greta SolsaaRutland City — The Marble City gained a 30 unit housing complex near the downtown, including six units for people transitioning out of homelessness. The multi-family housing will remain affordable in perpetuity, said Kathy Beyer, senior vice presiden
  
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• Windsor County Sheriff candidate placed on administrative leave from Bellows Falls PD

  07-08-2026 22:22 via vtdigger.org
  
  A Bellows Balls Police Department vehicle seen in 2020. YouTube photoThis story by Susan Smallheer was first published in the Brattleboro Reformer on Aug 6, 2026.BELLOWS FALLS — The village of Bellows Falls has placed one of its police officers running for Windsor County Sheriff in Tuesday’s Democratic primary on administrative leave in the wake of a letter from both the Windham County State’s Attorney and the Vermont attorney general’s office, raising questions about hi
  
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• Vernon wants input on the future of the Vermont Yankee site

  06-08-2026 23:59 via vtdigger.org
  
  Vernon Selectboard member Jim Pinkerton questions representatives from PowerTransitions as they discuss plans for the redevelopment of the former Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant during a meeting in Vernon on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis story by Susan Smallheer was first published in the Brattleboro Reformer on Aug 5, 2026.VERNON — The chairman of the Vernon Selectboard told townspeople Tuesday evening that he believes that PowerTransitions, the Texas comp
  
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• Blaming addicts for Burlington’s problems misses the point

  06-08-2026 23:32 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Hannah Riley Fernandez, the director of programming at the Center for Just Journalism. A recent feature in the Atlantic argues that treating addiction as a health crisis instead of a crime has turned cities like Seattle and Burlington into wreckage, and that the fix is more policing and forced treatment. It’s a well-written story. It’s also completely wrong, and the timing is bad: Burlington’s city council is debating a resolution on downtown public
  
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• A walk through downtown Burlington shows a city in crisis

  06-08-2026 23:17 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editor,My husband and I were in downtown Burlington recently to enjoy lunch with friends at the new Italian cafe, Alimentari, on St. Paul Street.We parked our car on the corner of St. Paul and Main streets. Within the three blocks, we saw an encampment of at least seven people sitting in front of Trattoria Delia actively using drugs. Across the street, three other individuals were getting supplies out to use drugs, and on our way back to our car after lunch, we saw one of those individuals
  
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• Annual recovery summit aims to explain the unexplainable

  06-08-2026 21:37 via vtdigger.org
  
  Melinda White is one of the organizers of the fifth annual “Coming Together, There is Hope” substance use addiction summit in Essex Junction on Friday, July 31, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerESSEX JUNCTION — Trying to explain substance use disorder to someone who hasn’t gone through it is like trying to explain the color red to someone who’s colorblind. That’s what David Riegel explained to a full room of about 50 people, who filled rows of chairs
  
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• In Chittenden Southeast Senate primary, incumbents and challengers alike pivot platforms to affordability

  06-08-2026 20:08 via vtdigger.org
  
  Clockwise from top left: Sen. Thomas Chittenden, Joanna Grossman, Elizabeth Hunt, Sen. Ginny Lyons and Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale are candidates seeking a seat in Chittenden Southeast Senate district and competing in the Aug. 11 Democratic primary. Photos by Glenn Russell/VTDigger and courtesy of the Hunt and Grossman campaigns.When the three Democrats representing the Chittenden Southeast Senate district first ran as a united incumbent bloc three primaries ago, they cited a need for experience am
  
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• Local development corporation wins bid for former Montpelier post office

  06-08-2026 18:55 via vtdigger.org
  
  The building that houses the former Montpelier post office is up for auction. Seen on Thursday, June 11, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerA local development corporation spearheaded by the Foundation for a Resilient Montpelier has won the auction for 87 State Street, the former Montpelier Post Office building and longtime downtown staple, the foundation’s Executive Director Jon Copans said Thursday. “This is a transformational piece of property and opportunity for our commu
  
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• New details about proposed locked youth facility signals more disagreement over landmark ‘Raise the Age’ law

  06-08-2026 12:51 via vtdigger.org
  
  Gov. Phil Scott in Montpelier in June 2026. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerMONTPELIER — The Vermont Department for Children and Families says it does not plan to include 18-year-olds in its design for a locked juvenile facility, raising concern from lawmakers about how Gov. Phil Scott’s administration is rolling out Vermont’s landmark juvenile justice reform initiative. Officials with the Vermont Department for Children and Families said Wednesday that its new locked
  
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• New details about proposed locked youth facility signal more disagreement over landmark ‘Raise the Age’ law

  06-08-2026 12:51 via vtdigger.org
  
  Gov. Phil Scott in Montpelier in June 2026. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerMONTPELIER — The Vermont Department for Children and Families says it does not plan to include 18-year-olds in its design for a locked juvenile facility, raising concern from lawmakers about how Gov. Phil Scott’s administration is rolling out Vermont’s landmark juvenile justice reform initiative. Officials with the Vermont Department for Children and Families said Wednesday that its new locked
  
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• Vermont’s housing crisis isn’t one problem: it’s three

  05-08-2026 23:16 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Bryan Sell, who teaches in Vermont State University’s Resort and Hospitality Management program. Vermont’s housing debate is mostly treated as a problem of not enough units, with capitalist bogeymen feasting on the stock — outsiders hoarding homes, or investors gouging rents. These arguments resurrect Vermont’s old flatlander/woodchuck divide, sometimes said out loud in public forums. But look closer, and the conflict splits again: workers dema
  
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• Vermont’s GOP primary for U.S. House pits 2 different personalities against each other

  05-08-2026 23:15 via vtdigger.org
  
  Gerald Malloy, left, and Mark Coester, Republican primary challengers for Vermont’s U.S. House of Representatives seat. Photos by Glenn Russell/VTDigger and VTDigger EditorIn the Republican primary this year for Vermont’s sole seat in the U.S. House, two candidates who have run for Congress before are on the ballot again. But other than the fact they’ve both sought federal office — and lost by large margins each time — Gerald Malloy and Mark Coester see differ
  
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