Vermont news

• Senate advances a bill that would establish a climate ‘superfund’

  29-03-2024 21:50 via vtdigger.org
  
  Sen. Nader Hashim, D-Windham, speaks during a meeting at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Feb. 21. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Credit: Glenn Russell
  Sen. Nader Hashim, D-Windham, speaks during a meeting at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Feb. 21. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Credit: Glenn RussellSen. Nader Hashim, D-Windham, speaks during a meeting at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Feb. 21. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Credit: Glenn Russell
  State senators advanced a bill that would ap
  
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• Donald Lowell Siplon

  04-06-2024 03:03 via vtdigger.org
  
  Born Jan. 21, 1931Muskegon, MichiganDied April 19, 2024Shelburne, VermontDetails of servicesDon passed without regrets, believing he had lived a complete, beautiful and fulfilling life, enriched by the many people, places and experiences in it. In his final months Don expressed love, pride and gratitude for family and friends. He left nothing unsaid. The family is holding a remembrance service on Thursday, June 27, 2024, at 1 PM the Vermont Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 487 Furnace Road, Randolph
  
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• Phil Scott signs annual transportation bill with new fees on electric vehicles

  04-06-2024 01:02 via vtdigger.org
  
  An electric vehicle recharges on Main Street in Burlington. File Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  A new annual fee on electric vehicle drivers is slated to take effect next year after Vermont Gov. Phil Scott on Monday signed this year’s annual transportation funding bill into law.The law, H.868, primarily allocates nearly $880 million to the state’s transportation system, according to Scott’s office. That includes about $130 million for roadway paving and some $55 million for p
  
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• 3 face drug crimes after Friday’s deadly police chase through Colchester

  04-06-2024 00:33 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Colchester Police Department. Photo via Colchester Police
  Burlington police have charged three people with possession of drugs after a police chase through Colchester Friday night that left two occupants of the fleeing vehicle dead.Vermont State Police on Monday afternoon identified the deceased as Damanuel McLeod, 19, of Brooklyn, and Tywon Parker, 28, of the Bronx. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Tayami Barnes, 31, of the Bronx, and Ron Thomas, 21, of Brooklyn, were arrested
  
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• The Vermont Senate loses two giants in a week — and with them, decades of institutional knowledge

  04-06-2024 00:23 via vtdigger.org
  
  Former Sen. Dick Mazza, left, and Sen. Dick Sears, both of whom died recently. Photos by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  In the span of a single week, Vermont lost two giants of its state Senate.Former Sen. Dick Mazza, D-Grand Isle, died on Saturday, May 25, at 83 years old. The very next Saturday, June 1, Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, died at 81 years old. Between them, the two senators shared seven decades of experience in the Senate and the intangible qualities that come from that length of ser
  
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• Vermont renews, expands student debt repayment program for the class of 2024

  03-06-2024 23:22 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Waterman Building on the University of Vermont campus in Burlington on September 20, 2023. File Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  State officials have announced an expansion of a debt repayment incentive program that began last year for recent graduates of Vermont colleges working in the state, opening eligibility to master’s students, entrepreneurs and more.This renewed round of the Green Mountain Job and Retention Program provides up to $5,000 in student loan repayment for 2024 gradua
  
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• Vermont communities now eligible for more funding for hazard mitigation projects

  03-06-2024 22:48 via vtdigger.org
  
  A child bikes through floodwater outside the Waterbury Fire Department on July 11, 2023. File photo by David Goodman/VTDiggerThe state of Vermont announced Monday that local municipalities may now be eligible for more money for projects that reduce future flood risk. The state is offering to cover the local match required for towns to receive federal aid for hazard mitigation projects, according to a press release issued by Gov. Phil Scott’s office. About $90 million is availabl
  
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• Five things to know about health information sharing in Vermont

  03-06-2024 16:58 via vtdigger.org
  
  Summer is right around the corner, and for many Vermonters, that means heading to some of the most idyllic spots in the state to enjoy all the season has to offer. However, even within the scenic beauty that is summertime in Vermont, people may still need medical care. Whether it’s an inopportune case of strep throat or scraping your foot on a rusty nail, it’s comforting to know your health information will follow you as you journey anywhere in the state. VITL, Vermont’s
  
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• Dinah Yessne: Remembering Robert Hall and Island Pond’s island

  03-06-2024 13:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editor,It brought a big smile to my face this morning to read about the state’s purchase and conservation of the island in Island Pond. One of the first people I met when I moved to Vermont in 1970 — and soon settled in Derby — was Robert Hall, who lived nearby. Robert was the last of his family — which owned the island — to live in Vermont, and he was immensely proud of the island’s heritageJust say the word and off you’d go to Island Pond, be
  
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• Dan Galdenzi: Opponents of S.258 fostered division and avoided facts

  03-06-2024 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Dan Galdenzi of Stowe. 
  In a tired platitude of inaction, Rep. Katherine Sims has said representatives didn’t want to move S.258 forward because the bill “might divide their community.” Is this the same Katherine Sims who recently appeared in a pro-trapping propaganda film alongside the lobbyists for sportsman groups who spread misinformation about S.258?If you want to talk about dividing communities, how about those Vermonters who took personal risk
  
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• Acquisition, conservation makes ‘Greatwoods’ forest whole

  03-06-2024 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  The acquisition and conservation of a 356-acre portion of woodlands in Eden (orange) will expand a broader 5,720-acre tract that has been conserved since 2010 (yellow) and abuts the Long Trail to the northwest (green). Map courtesy of Trust for Public Land
  This story by Aaron Calvin was first published by the News & Citizen on May 30.The acquisition and conservation of a 356-acre portion of woodlands in Eden will expand a broader 5,720-acre tract that has been conserved since 2010.Greatwood
  
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• Bennington County Senator Dick Sears has died at 81

  02-06-2024 18:33 via vtdigger.org
  
  Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, speaks on January 3, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerLongtime Bennington County Senator Dick Sears has died at age 81, Vermont Senate leadership announced Sunday morning. A Democrat, he was remembered by colleagues as an indefatigable advocate for at-risk youth with drive and compassion developed through personal and professional experience.Sears died over the weekend, according to a statement from Senate President Pro
  
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• Bennington County Sen. Dick Sears has died at 81

  02-06-2024 18:33 via vtdigger.org
  
  Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, speaks in January. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerUpdated at 7:43 p.m.Longtime Bennington County Senator Dick Sears has died at age 81, Vermont Senate leadership announced Sunday morning. A Democrat, he was remembered by colleagues as an indefatigable advocate for at-risk youth with drive and compassion developed through personal and professional experience.Sears died over the weekend, according to a statement from Senate President Pro Tem Phil Baruth, D/P-Ch
  
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• Young Writers Project: ‘Papa Simmons’

  02-06-2024 14:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  “Farm House,” by Claire Zandstra, 13, of Topsham.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 [email protected] a
  
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• Moving and shaking at Montpelier’s Latin dance nights

  02-06-2024 14:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  Latin dance nights in Montpelier. Photo by Juan Vega de Soto/VTDigger
  That Sunday, the train was late leaving New York City. Loaded with passengers, it followed a long curve northwards. Floodplains flashed outside the window; the cars rattled past church spires and houses; we crossed over into Vermont and the snow began. All along the journey, people descended, were received by families, became smaller in the distance behind us. By nightfall, it had become a ghost train, lurching
  
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• Then Again: The trial of Thomas Chittenden

  02-06-2024 13:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  Late in his tenure, Vermont’s first governor, Thomas Chittenden, was put on trial for violating federal liquor laws. Image from the Vermont Historical Society
  Thomas Chittenden must have known the knock was coming. Weeks earlier, on May 20, 1797, a federal judge had issued a summons for him to appear in court in Windsor to face trial. Word of the indictment likely reached Chittenden quickly. Vermont was, after all, a small place, with only a quarter of its population today, and Chittenden
  
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• Leaving Big Pharma for mushroom farming, Wiseman family finds purpose in Worcester

  02-06-2024 13:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  The metal-lined growing room at Peaceful Harvest Mushrooms in Worcester. Photo by Cedulie Benoit-SmithCedulie Benoit-Smith is a reporter with Community News Service, part of the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program. Chickens moseyed around the yard of Karen and Brian Wiseman’s Worcester house on a warm May afternoon. But the free-range flock is only one piece of the couple’s homestead just down the road from the town center. The focal p
  
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• Vermont state prisons open door to community-based addiction recovery services

  02-06-2024 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  Mike Daly, a peer coach with the Turning Point Center of Rutland, facilitate a recovery group meeting with residents of Marble Valley correctional facility in Rutland on Wednesday, May 29. Photo by Tiffany Tan/VTDigger
  RUTLAND — Over coffee on Wednesday, five men detained at the Marble Valley correctional facility talked about how to turn away from criminal thinking.Armed with worksheets from Mike Daly and Lewis Nielson, visiting addiction recovery coaches, the prison residents discussed
  
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• Andy Phelan: Let’s encourage our bears to eat what’s theirs

  02-06-2024 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Andy Phelan of Fayston.
  There has been a recent uptick in reports of our black bears across Vermont getting into trash that people have left out and entering cars and homes in search of food. It is prime season for our bears to put on the weight essential for cub survival and for bears to build up the reserves needed this winter.Black bears are an “umbrella” species in Vermont, meaning that our efforts to protect them and their habitats in turn protects numerou
  
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• 2 dead, 3 injured following police chase in Colchester

  01-06-2024 17:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Colchester Police Department. Photo via Colchester Police
  Two men died and three were injured Friday evening after a stolen vehicle overturned in Colchester following a local police pursuit from Burlington, according to Vermont State Police. The crash took place near Malletts Bay on East Lakeshore Dr. around 7:35 p.m., state police said in a press release issued early Saturday morning. Police did not immediately identify the five men in the vehicle. They said the injuries to the three
  
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• ‘A sense of urgency’: Sen. Bernie Sanders pushes Vermont health care players on high costs

  01-06-2024 01:16 via vtdigger.org
  
  U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, speaks during roundtable on health care costs he hosted in Burlington on Friday, May 31, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerEarlier this month, health insurance companies asked state regulators for permission to increase their premiums by roughly 9% to 19% — among the highest increases in recent history.That request drew alarm from residents, officials and lawmakers across the state — including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. “Indivi
  
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• I-89 study focuses on South Burlington exit

  01-06-2024 00:36 via vtdigger.org
  
  The exit 14 interchange off Interstate 89 in South Burlington. Photo courtesy I-89 2050 Study
  This story by Liberty Darr was first published in The Other Paper on May 30.South Burlington residents and those passing through the city on a busy workday are all too familiar with the bumper-to-bumper traffic congestion near exit 14 on Interstate 89.This area is now the basis of a study called I-89 2050, which takes a long view of what this 37-mile stretch of highway could look like in 25 years. But
  
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• Former St. Albans police officer permanently banned from police work in Vermont

  01-06-2024 00:18 via vtdigger.org
  
  Former St. Albans police officer Jason Lawton. Pool photo by Gregory Lamoureux/County Courier
  A former St. Albans police officer convicted of assault for punching a handcuffed woman in the face has been decertified to work as a police officer in the state. The Vermont Criminal Justice Council last week approved a stipulated agreement resulting in the permanent decertification of Jason Lawton, who, according to council records, no longer works in law enforcement. Lawton did not contest the
  
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• Bear euthanized in Underhill displayed ‘exceptionally rare’ predatory behavior

  31-05-2024 23:49 via vtdigger.org
  
  A bear digs in an unsecured trash can in Stowe. Photo courtesy of Vermont Fish and Wildlife and Samara Chambers.
  Vermont game warden Jeremy Schmid got a call last Friday about an aggressive bear in Underhill. When he arrived at the scene, Schmid easily recognized the 100-pound animal. It was a repeat offender, attracted that morning by recycling outside the front door of the house.“Warden Schmid decided to euthanize the bear for concerns with public safety,” said Lt. Robert Currier,
  
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• Vermont House members hope to clinch Senate seats in open races

  31-05-2024 23:37 via vtdigger.org
  
  Sen. Jane Kitchel, D-Caledonia, reads a copy of a bill before signing it at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  In an election year in which five of Vermont’s 30 state senators have opted to leave their seats, several members of the Vermont House are seeking to make the jump to the Senate.In a chamber that historically values seniority and has only in recent years begun to see significant turnover, a handful of open races present an opport
  
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• Vermont home prices spiked more than any other state last year while sales slowed down

  31-05-2024 22:58 via vtdigger.org
  
  This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.As states across the country struggle to loosen their tight housing markets, the gridlock consuming Vermont’s stands out.A recent nationwide analysis of home prices from the Federal Housing Finance Agency showed that Vermont saw the highest year-over-year home appreciation rate of any state, at 12.8%. That’s markedly higher than the national averag
  
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• Vermont home prices spiked more than any other state last year while fewer homes sold

  31-05-2024 22:58 via vtdigger.org
  
  This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.As states across the country struggle to loosen their tight housing markets, the gridlock consuming Vermont’s stands out.A recent nationwide analysis of home prices from the Federal Housing Finance Agency showed that Vermont saw the highest year-over-year home appreciation rate of any state, at 12.8%. That’s markedly higher than the national averag
  
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• Burlington mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak reappoints Jon Murad as police chief

  31-05-2024 19:11 via vtdigger.org
  
  Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad speaks at a press conference in Burlington. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak will reappoint Jon Murad as police chief for a yearlong term, according to a memo sent to city councilors on Thursday.Murad is one of more than a dozen department heads that the newly-elected mayor will keep in their positions for a one-year reappointment. The police chief’s reappointment, first reported by Seven Days, puts an end to spec
  
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• Bob Bick: Howard Center will continue to adapt and thrive

  31-05-2024 13:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Bob Bick. He has served Howard Center for over 30 years, including the past decade as CEO.
  With my retirement from Howard Center just days away, I should be daydreaming about bike rides and dog walks, but instead find myself thinking about what the future will hold for the agency. Years of trying to anticipate and prepare for the next organizational challenge will be a hard habit to break, but I’ll have time for that.Today I’m thinking about how important the n
  
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• Lisa Ford: Short-term rentals are a scapegoat for every state housing issue

  31-05-2024 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Lisa Ford. She has operated a vacation rental in Guilford for 11 years. In 2019, she organized a statewide Short Term Rental Summit. The first of its kind, it led to the creation of the Vermont Short-Term Rental Alliance, a member-based nonprofit association for vacation rental managers and short-term rental hosts operating in the state.
  Short-term rental owners are not the evil housing tycoons we are sometimes made out to be. Vacation rentals peppered around our state mak
  
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