Vermont news

• Judge won’t dismiss on-duty DUI case against former trooper

  22-05-2017 23:54 via vtdigger.org
  
  RUTLAND — A judge has refused to dismiss a charge against a former Vermont State Police trooper who prosecutors say drove a cruiser while under the influence of alcohol and on duty.
  A trial earlier this year in the case against Eric Rademacher, 29, of Mendon, ended in a hung jury. His attorney, David Sleigh, filed a motion to dismiss the case “in the interest of justice.”
  Rutland Superior Court Judge Cortland Corsones recently issued a ruling allowing the case to move forward t
  
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• ‘Everyone’s friend’: Family describes slain Derby woman as her killer gets 30 years in prison

  03-09-2026 00:42 via vtdigger.org
  
  Jakiy Keith appears during his sentencing hearing in Orleans Superior criminal court in Newport on Wednesday, September 2, 2026. Keith pleaded guilty in the 2024 shooting death of Kayla Wright. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerA former Connecticut man has been sentenced to 30 years to life in prison on a murder charge for fatally shooting a Derby woman inside a Northeast Kingdom home where he helped run an illegal drug operation.Judge Rory Thibault handed down the sentence to 26-year-old Jakiy Tr
  
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• Holland Food Shelf announces closure after months of financial uncertainty

  03-09-2026 00:26 via vtdigger.org
  
  Tomatoes are displayed at the Holland Food Shelf as a visitor looks at vegetables. Photo courtesy of Don Stevens/Abenaki Helping AbenakiTheo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.The Holland Food Shelf announced Wednesday that the organization would close, following months of financial uncertainty.According to Don Stevens, executive director of Abenaki Helping Abenaki, the food shelf’s nonprofit operator, the service has become financially unfeasible
  
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• Harwood district leaders eye Cabot Creamery’s Waitsfield complex as a possible future school site

  02-09-2026 23:50 via vtdigger.org
  
  Students arrive at Brookside Primary School this morning for the first day of the school year. School district leaders are considering a consolidation scenario that would close the Waterbury school in the future. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti/Waterbury Roundabout Credit: Lisa Scagliotti/Waterbury RoundaboutThis story by Lisa Scagliotti was first published in the Waterbury Roundabout on Aug. 26, 2026.DUXBURY — The recent listing of Cabot Creamery’s company headquarters in Waitsfield for s
  
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• Burlington needs to get serious about stamping out drug markets

  02-09-2026 22:28 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Charlie Smith, a self-employed consultant specializing in transitional leadership. He has lived in Burlington for 39 years.In the wake of Burlington’s recent knife and gun incidents, Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak reassured us that safety is her administration’s top priority. She said the incidents “point to larger work our community must do to interrupt conditions that lead people to act violently.”  These words admit that Burlington is stuck
  
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• Oil or babies, Vermont?

  02-09-2026 20:59 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editor,It is obvious to most that children are essential to our state’s future well-being. Children will become the future workforce, paying taxes and contributing in myriad ways to build and guide our communities. They will also be the next generation of parents. In contrast, imported oil drains a ridiculous amount of money out of the Vermont economy because we have no petroleum resources here. Money spent on oil leaves the state. So why does our governor go to the mat to prote
  
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• Vermont Conversation: Historian Jill Lepore on the threat of authoritarianism and how to counter it

  02-09-2026 20:49 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Vermont Conversation with David Goodman is a VTDigger podcast that features in-depth interviews on local and national issues. Listen and subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts.Author and historian Jill Lepore. Photo by Richard Renaldi Credit: Photo by Richard RenaldiIs technology killing democracy and destroying communities?Yes, argues acclaimed historian Jill Lepore in her new book, “The Rise and Fall of the Artificial
  
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• Court questions Vermont Catholic Diocese plan to sell Rice Memorial High to supporters

  02-09-2026 19:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  The grade 9-12 Rice Memorial High School in South Burlington. Photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger Credit: Photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDiggerA U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge is questioning a Vermont Roman Catholic Diocese request to sell its flagship Rice Memorial High School to supporters for $4.3 million — or 14% of a church-commissioned appraisal of $30.5 million — as part of the diocese’s Chapter 11 financial reorganization case.“While I do appreciate the continua
  
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• Sayge is on her way to becoming a pediatric occupational therapist

  02-09-2026 15:28 via vtdigger.org
  
  Sayge Bohannon is confident that this will be a great school year. Having done well in college-level classes last year, now she’s feeling far less nervous about taking four classes online at the Community College of Vermont (CCV) through Vermont’s Early College program, while enrolled in Richford High School.Sayge is also president of her school’s National Honor Society chapter and stays active in soccer and track. Between the coursework and her other activities, Sayge feels r
  
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• Vermont ends night and weekend intake for state-funded motel rooms

  02-09-2026 00:26 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Travelodge Motel in South Burlington, which hosts state-funded motel rooms, seen in April 2025. Private motels and hotels in the state voucher program have been the single largest provider of shelter in Vermont in recent years. File photo by Glenn Russell / VTDiggerCarly Berlin covers housing and infrastructure for Vermont Public, in partnership with VTDigger. A major overhaul of Vermont’s motel voucher program for people experiencing homelessness is now underway.Vermonters who h
  
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• ‘We’re not going to have a business’: Vermont companies say Trump’s renewed trade war with Canada has them scrambling, again

  01-09-2026 23:53 via vtdigger.org
  
  Mateo Kehler, co-founder of Jasper Hill Farm, criticizes President Donald Trump’s latest round of tariffs on Canadian goods at a panel at Jay Peak Resort hosted by U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., on Tuesday. Photo by Shaun Robinson/VTDiggerJAY — Mike Desmarais, who sells snow grooming equipment at a dealer in Newport, is planning to deliver three new vehicles to Canadian customers this month. The machines currently cost about $500,000 Canadian dollars each, he said — but soon, t
  
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• Vermont prisons agree to improve services for ICE detainees after discrimination complaint

  01-09-2026 23:15 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans Town in Feb. 2022. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerFacing the prospect of a discrimination lawsuit, the Vermont Department of Corrections has agreed to provide federal immigration detainees in its prisons with better access to language interpretation, legal counsel and court hearings. The Vermont Human Rights Commission announced Tuesday it had reached a settlement with the department, following a discrimination complaint the comm
  
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• Ruling sets up potential battle of experts in trial of man accused of shooting Palestinian students in Burlington

  01-09-2026 23:08 via vtdigger.org
  
  Jason Eaton appears in Chittenden Superior criminal court in Burlington on Friday, August 28, 2026. Eaton is accused of shooting three Palestinian students in 2023. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerA Vermont judge has rejected a bid by the defense team for a Burlington man accused of shooting and wounding three Palestinian college students to block a prosecution expert from taking the stand at his trial later this month.Jason Eaton’s state of mind at the time of the shootings nearly three y
  
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• Only Jews get to define antisemitism against us

  01-09-2026 22:39 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editor,VTDigger let a 14-year-old lecture Jews on what constitutes “real” antisemitism, giving her a platform that is especially inappropriate at a time of anti-Jewish hate crimes, which have surged since Oct. 7, 2023. Just as people without lived experience should not define racism for Black Vermonters or homophobia for gay Vermonters, neither should they define antisemitism for us. Only Jewish Vermonters can identify that prejudice.Criticizing Israel is not inherently antisem
  
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• Affordable housing shouldn’t cost this much to build

  01-09-2026 20:58 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editor,In May 2025, VTDigger reported the groundbreaking of another Cornerstone Housing Partners “affordable” apartment community, Maplewood Commons Apartments in Rutland. This project cost $14.6 million for 30 apartments, $487,000 per unit. Their last rodeo in West Rutland cost $542,000 for 24 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. These are not affordable prices for new apartments, but median single-family prices.They got funding for this project from multiple sources, in
  
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• Susan N. Sperry

  01-09-2026 20:39 via vtdigger.org
  
  Born: 11/22/1942Rutland, VermontDied: 08/19/2026Burlington, VermontDetails of service:There will be no service at this time. To honor Susan’s memory, donations can be made to the Golisano Children’s Hospital and the Addiction Treatment Center at the UVM Medical Center.Susan Northrop Sperry passed away on August 19, 2026 at the young age of 83. She was born in Rutland, VT on November 22, 1942 to Mary Mears and John Northrop. She grew up in Proctor with her many sisters and brothers a
  
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• Vermont veterans, Guard families seek support for Defend the Guard Act

  01-09-2026 01:03 via vtdigger.org
  
  Vermont National Guard soldiers salute during a deployment ceremony at the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho in May 2026. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis story by Chris Mays was first published in the Brattleboro Reformer on Aug. 30, 2026.A letter from 27 Vermont veterans and Guard family members urges Gov. Phil Scott and legislators to support the Defend the Guard Act and expresses “deep concern about the deployment of Vermont National Guard members into foreign combat without
  
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• ‘Stronger now than it was’: Quechee Gorge Bridge reopens with new suicide barriers

  01-09-2026 00:29 via vtdigger.org
  
  From left, Nancy Cullen, of Houston, Texas, Gloria Curtis, of Edmond, Okla., Jeff Curtis, of Fort Worth, Texas, and Joyce Brimer, of Edmond, Okla., take a selfie on the recently renovated Quechee Gorge Bridge in Quechee, Vt., on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. The group has been visiting Meredith, N.H., and they chose to visit the gorge because they said they wanted to step a foot in Vermont. Photo by Alex Driehaus/Valley NewsThis story by Sofia Langlois was first published in the Valley News on Aug.
  
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• UVM Medical Center quietly changed its policy for patient observation. Some staff are worried about patient safety.

  31-08-2026 23:50 via vtdigger.org
  
  The University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington on November 2020. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerIn June, UVM Medical Center quietly rolled out a new policy dictating how its staff watch over patients who are at risk of hurting themselves while they’re in the hospital. Sitters, or clinical patient safety attendants — CPSAs — stay with patients who need supervision. Patients who might fall, wander or pull out IVs are often assigned sitters, as are those wh
  
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• Why are we spending $3 million on doctors who leave?

  31-08-2026 23:30 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editor,I truly appreciated Olivia Gieger’s recent article in VTDigger on the question of who pays for training Vermont’s doctors. It is a much-needed glimpse into a critical and sorely undercovered subject.The memo — a Green Mountain Care Board filing on what it costs the University of Vermont Medical Center to train doctors — answers how much. It never asks how much per doctor, and these figures give it. Vermont spends $161 million per year training 320 residents a
  
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• More Vermonters are getting back their unclaimed property. Here’s how to find out if you have money waiting.

  31-08-2026 22:46 via vtdigger.org
  
  Vermont State Treasurer Michael Pieciak speaks during a press conference marking Earth Day at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerIn his three years as state treasurer, one of Mike Pieciak’s proudest moments started with a list of names and allegations of a scam. He’d planned to attend the Putney Town Meeting two years ago, and part of his usual routine for visiting anywhere in Vermont was bringing along a printed copy of th
  
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• Transforming healthcare means transforming the conversation

  31-08-2026 22:26 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Mark Crow, president of Tenth Crow Creative, a strategy and communications agency serving healthcare organizations. He lives in Shelburne and writes about healthcare transformation and systems change.Vermont has an unprecedented opportunity to reshape its healthcare system. Through the federal Rural Health Transformation Program and other recent and proposed state reforms, we have the chance to build a system that is more sustainable and better able to meet the needs of fu
  
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• Plan would double St. Johnsbury homeless shelter beds, free up space for families

  31-08-2026 11:15 via vtdigger.org
  
  The former Moose Lodge in St. Johnsbury, photographed in June 2026. April McCullum/Vermont PublicCarly Berlin covers housing and infrastructure for Vermont Public, in partnership with VTDigger.More emergency shelter capacity is in the works in St. Johnsbury.The Northeast Kingdom nonprofit developer Rural Edge is under contract for a former Moose Lodge, which it plans to convert into a 40-bed, low-barrier shelter. The anti-poverty organization Northeast Kingdom Community Action is set to operate
  
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• Schools in Barre start the year without a district budget

  30-08-2026 16:10 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Barre City Elementary and Middle School seen in August 2023. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerAs kids across the city of Barre and Barre town returned to class this week, their school district spanning the two municipalities still doesn’t have a voter approved budget. Voters in the district shot down two proposed budgets this spring — first in March, then again in May — leaving the Barre Unified Union School District as the only district in the state without a budg
  
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• Sen. Welch meets with Vermont farmers to discuss rural economic crisis

  30-08-2026 15:12 via vtdigger.org
  
  Fresh tomatoes growing at Honey Fields farm in Norwich Vt.Photo by Molly Hughes/Valley NewsThis story by Molly Hughes was first published in the Valley News on Aug.27, 2026.NORWICH — Vermont farmers can’t afford to own the land they farm, and the federal money meant to help them has become a paperwork contest that pays out late, if at all.Those were the two problems that came up most when six farmers sat down Thursday at Honey Field Farm in Norwich with U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt.,
  
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• White River Valley Supervisory Union addresses chronic absenteeism through community connections

  30-08-2026 14:32 via vtdigger.org
  
  Students of WRVMS stand in front of their fence built at Metcalf Cemetery in Royalton. Photo by Caitlin Justice/White River Valley HeraldThis story by Caitlin Justice was first published in The White River Valley Herald on Aug. 27, 2026.After battling high absentee rates after the Covid-19 pandemic, schools in the White River Valley Supervisory Union are finding ways to keep kids in schools and build community connections. According to Michaela Martin, the SU’s multi-tiered system of supp
  
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• Short-term rentals are vital to Vermont’s economy

  30-08-2026 14:02 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Jenny Dewar, who has lived in Pownal for 20 years and is a board member of the Vermont Short-Term Rental Alliance.I am writing in response to recent letters by Donna Brown and Lew Holzman, who have both contributed to the vilification of short-term rentals in defense of their second homes in Vermont. There is a lot to unpack in their letters. Both are part-timers. This is a tradition in Vermont for people from New York and elsewhere who enjoy their country weekend or
  
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• Vermont’s population of primary care doctors is declining

  30-08-2026 13:23 via vtdigger.org
  
  Vermont continues to lose its primary care doctors — but the rate of loss is slowing, a new survey from the state’s department of health shows.In 2024, Vermont had 529 people working as primary care providers; last time the Department of Health conducted its survey in 2022, 569 physicians practiced primary care in Vermont. Even that figure represented a decline from the 634 practicing primary care when the survey began in 2004.“I don’t think this is shocking, really
  
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• Urban trees are often planted just to die. Montpelier wants to change that.

  29-08-2026 00:45 via vtdigger.org
  
  About 80 percent of the trees planted in downtown Montpelier are not faring well, facing urban challenges that don’t support their longterm health and growth. The city is taking steps to try to improve the longevity of its trees. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerMontpelier residents have a particular attachment to some of the trees that line their streets. Each year, the fall colors of the century-old Barre Street ginkgo tree elicit social media posts and calls to come admire the folia
  
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• Ben & Jerry’s legacy hits bumpy patch with latest turn in corporate saga

  29-08-2026 00:06 via vtdigger.org
  
  Ben & Jerry’s Church Street store in Burlington in April 2023. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerTheo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen says he sees a departure from the company’s core values in several recently announced governance changes at Vermont’s beloved ice cream maker. Ben & Jerry’s said on Wednesday that the company had selected three new directors for th
  
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