Vermont news

• 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 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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• 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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• Sen. Peter Welch calls for making it easier for Vermont schools to buy more food directly from local farms

  28-08-2026 21:54 via vtdigger.org
  
  Elementary school students head back to class after lunch and recess at the Coventry Village School in September 2019. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerSHELBURNE — Vermont leads the U.S. in providing local food in schools.In fact, 89% of Vermont schools purchase some local food, according to Vermont FEED, a collaborative farm to school project. U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., introduced the Farm to School Act in the Senate last year, which would support schools accessing local food and b
  
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• Killington seeks financial help after cash crunch, TIF compliance issues

  28-08-2026 21:41 via vtdigger.org
  
  Killington’s welcome sign in June 2022. File photo by Natalie Williams/VTDiggerThis story by Katy Savage was first published by the Mountain Times on Aug. 26, 2026. Monday, Aug. 24 was Celia Clancy’s first time sitting with the Killington Selectboard since she defeated Roger Rivera for the seat on Aug. 11. She was largely quiet during the meeting.Killington officials are trying to stabilize the town’s finances after a cash crunch left it without enough money to cover all
  
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• Out of sight isn’t a policy

  28-08-2026 20:44 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Beach Conger, a physician who works at the Johnson Health Center in Burlington, a clinic that provides medical care to homeless people and those with substance use disorders.“Human kind cannot bear very much reality.” So wrote T.S. Eliot in “Burnt Norton,” the first of his “Four Quartets.”I have been reminded of this line by several opinion pieces and letters to the editor in recent weeks about the public visibility of opioid use. The co
  
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• Class action lawsuit filed in federal court over local PFOA contamination

  28-08-2026 00:16 via vtdigger.org
  
  The former ChemFab plant in Bennington seen in Feb. 2022. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis story by Mark Rondeau was first published in the Valley News on Aug. 26, 2026.A team of attorneys has filed a class-action suit in federal court on behalf of Shaftsbury and Bennington residents suffering from well contamination from PFOA.The suit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, District of Vermont, against Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation, 3M Company, E.I. Dupont De Nemours
  
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• Are the kids all right? Mental health issues drop — but disparities remain.

  27-08-2026 22:16 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Middlebury Union High School marching band prepares to march in the Memorial Day parade in Vergennes in May 2024. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerAfter years of nationwide concerns about teen mental health, the latest data from Vermont’s largest survey of its kind suggests that the situation for the state’s youth might finally be improving. The Vermont Department of Health released a report on Aug. 18 showing that fewer teens say they feel depressed or anxious, and a sm
  
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• Are the kids all right? Mental health issues drop — but disparities remain

  27-08-2026 22:16 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Middlebury Union High School marching band prepares to march in the Memorial Day parade in Vergennes in May 2024. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerAfter years of nationwide concerns about teen mental health, the latest data from Vermont’s largest survey of its kind suggests that the situation for the state’s youth might finally be improving. The Vermont Department of Health released a report on Aug. 18 showing that fewer teens say they feel depressed or anxious, and a sm
  
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• Mary Henry left a NH school district amid a $5 million deficit. Woodstock says she’s exactly who they need.

  27-08-2026 21:30 via vtdigger.org
  
  Woodstock Union High School in August 2025. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis story by Molly Hughes was first published in the Valley News on Aug. 24, 2026.Nine months after leaving a New Hampshire school district in the middle of a $5 million budget crisis, Mary Henry has a new job, a new state and a new administration standing firmly behind her.Henry says she inherited the Claremont financial crisis, not caused it — and that she became the scapegoat for a problem she was brought
  
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• Burlington artist dug Nap struck and killed e-bike rider in crosswalk, new court filing alleges

  27-08-2026 21:21 via vtdigger.org
  
  Doug Knapp appears in Chittenden County Superior criminal court in Burlington on Thursday, August 27, 2026. Knapp is charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle with death resulting in the death of cyclist Shiloh Skalka. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerBURLINGTON – A Burlington folk artist pleaded not guilty Thursday to a charge alleging he struck and killed a 16-year-old cyclist in a crosswalk with warning lights flashing.Douglas Knapp, 79, faces a misdemeanor offense of negligent
  
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• Burlington artist, dug Nap, struck and killed e-bike rider in crosswalk, new court filing alleges

  27-08-2026 21:21 via vtdigger.org
  
  Doug Knapp appears in Chittenden County Superior criminal court in Burlington on Thursday, August 27, 2026. Knapp is charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle with death resulting in the death of cyclist Shiloh Skalka. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerBURLINGTON – A Burlington folk artist pleaded not guilty Thursday to a charge alleging he struck and killed a 16-year-old cyclist in a crosswalk with warning lights flashing.Douglas Knapp, 79, faces a misdemeanor offense of negligent
  
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