Vermont news

• Tom Evslin: The magical mythical equalized pupil

  03-05-2024 15:12 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Tom Evslin, of Stowe, a retired high-tech entrepreneur. He served as transportation secretary for Gov. Richard Snelling and stimulus czar for Gov. Jim Douglas.
  The Vermont Legislature is playing an expensive shell game — and planning worse. The “equalized pupil” is the shell under which the pea is hidden.There are only two ways to avoid gargantuan property tax increases 
  Raise other taxes and create new taxes to support education. But there are many
  
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• Paul R. Philbrook

  18-05-2024 02:27 via vtdigger.org
  
  Born Nov. 6, 1931
  Norwich, VermontDied March 3, 2024Venice, FloridaDetails of services
  Celebration of Life: Sunday, June 2 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Snow Farm Vineyard, 190 West Shore Rd., South Hero, VT.Paul R. Philbrook, born on November 6, 1931, in Norwich, Vermont, peacefully passed away on March 3, 2024. He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Sarah Cobb Philbrook.Paul’s life was marked by remarkable service and achievements. He bravely served in the Korean War as a radio operat
  
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• Amid criticism, postal service pauses plans to restructure facilities in White River Junction and Burlington

  18-05-2024 01:35 via vtdigger.org
  
  Carol Fairbanks loads sorted mail into bins at the U.S. Postal Service processing plant in White River Junction on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. File photo by James M. Patterson/Valley NewsThis story by Patrick Adrian was first published by the Valley News on May 16.The U.S. Postal Service plan to move sorting operations in White River Junction and Burlington to Connecticut is currently on hold, following concerns expressed by U.S. senators about the impact of USPS’s nationwide reorganization
  
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• State intends to build new secure juvenile facility in Vergennes 

  18-05-2024 00:24 via vtdigger.org
  
  A rendering of the proposed Green Mountain Youth Campus. Photo courtesy of Vermont Department for Children and FamiliesThe Vermont Department for Children and Families formally announced Thursday it intends to build a secure youth facility in Vergennes, a project that would replace the state’s juvenile detention center shuttered in 2020.The proposed facility, named the Green Mountain Youth Campus, would be built on state property off Comfort Hill Road. The campus would be constructed by a
  
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• Anti-abortion groups spar in court with state lawyer over crisis pregnancy centers 

  17-05-2024 23:53 via vtdigger.org
  
  Branches Pregnancy Resource Center in Brattleboro. Photo courtesy of Branches Pregnancy Resource Center
  BURLINGTON — Attorneys representing national anti-abortion advocates and two Vermont-based crisis pregnancy centers argued before a judge on Thursday that a 2023 state law subjecting the facilities to false and misleading advertising statutes amounted to “viewpoint discrimination.”But the state’s top prosecutors, who have asked a judge to dismiss the groups’ laws
  
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• Iowa woman pleads guilty after banking more than $328,000 in dead mother’s Social Security checks

  17-05-2024 23:04 via vtdigger.org
  
  The U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont in Burlington. File photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger
  BURLINGTON — An Iowa woman has pleaded guilty to illegally collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars from Social Security checks intended for her mother, a Brattleboro resident who died in 1994.Ella Mae Woods entered the guilty plea Friday to a single wire fraud charge during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Burlington. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 19.The case had been set f
  
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• At tiny Sterling College, a pro-Palestinian encampment continues protesting

  17-05-2024 20:28 via vtdigger.org
  
  Tents in a pro-Palestinian encampment at Sterling College. Photo by Peter D’Auria/VTDiggerLate last month, students across Vermont, and the country, set up pro-Palestinian encampments on university campuses to protest the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.Tent encampments at the University of Vermont and Middlebury College lasted over a week, with protesters packing up earlier this month after administrators met some of their demands — and with the end of the school year looming.On a
  
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• At tiny Sterling College, a pro-Palestine encampment continues protesting

  17-05-2024 20:28 via vtdigger.org
  
  Tents in a pro-Palestinian encampment at Sterling College. Photo by Peter D’Auria/VTDiggerLate last month, students across Vermont, and the country, set up pro-Palestinian encampments on university campuses to protest the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.Tent encampments at the University of Vermont and Middlebury College lasted over a week, with protesters packing up earlier this month after administrators met some of their demands — and with the end of the school year looming.On a
  
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• Man awaiting trial in ex-girlfriend’s death found guilty of federal drug, firearms charges

  17-05-2024 20:07 via vtdigger.org
  
  Deven Moffitt. Photo courtesy of Vermont State Police
  A Bennington man awaiting a state trial in the killing of his ex-girlfriend was convicted Thursday of drug and firearms charges in federal court.Court records show Deven Moffitt, 33, was found guilty on all three of his federal charges: possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possessing firearms while being a convicted felon.Moffitt is scheduled for sentenc
  
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• Administration Secretary Kristin Clouser to leave after 2 years

  17-05-2024 19:23 via vtdigger.org
  
  Kristin Clouser. Contributed photo
  Kristin Clouser, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Administration, is departing from her role next week, Gov. Phil Scott announced in a press release Friday. Clouser has been in charge of the agency since December 2021. Before that, she served as deputy secretary starting in November 2020, and previously worked in the human services division of the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and as general counsel to the Agency of Human Services. Scott
  
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• Veteran broadcaster Stewart Ledbetter to run for Vermont Senate

  17-05-2024 19:08 via vtdigger.org
  
  Stewart Ledbetter, who recently ended a 40-year career as a TV journalist in Vermont, was honored by the House of Representatives at the Statehouse on Feb. 6, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  One of Vermont’s most recognizable faces is running for state Senate. Former NBC5 news anchor Stewart Ledbetter, who for years moderated Vermont Public’s weekly political roundtable “Vermont This Week,” announced Friday that he had joined the Democratic primary to represen
  
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• After a career in public service, Jane Kitchel to retire from the Vermont Senate

  17-05-2024 17:39 via vtdigger.org
  
  Sen. Jane Kitchel, D-Caledonia, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  Sen. Jane Kitchel, D-Caledonia, is leaving the Vermont Senate.Kitchel announced her retirement from the body on Friday morning, according to a press release from Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth’s office. She’s set to leave office after 20 years and, arguably, as the chamber’s most influential member. As
  
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• Dartmouth president’s leadership divides students; ‘no confidence’ narrowly passes

  17-05-2024 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  Police from area departments gather on the Dartmouth Green on May 1, 2024. Photo by James M.Patterson/Valley NewsThis article by Frances Mize was first published in the Valley News on May 15.HANOVER, New Hampshire — By a slim margin, Dartmouth undergraduate students have voted “no confidence” in President Sian Leah Beilock’s leadership in the wake of a controversial crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters earlier this month, Dartmouth Student Government announced on Wedn
  
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• Drew Lalumiere

  17-05-2024 03:23 via vtdigger.org
  
  Born Feb. 8, 1989Middlebury, VermontDied May 9, 2024South Hero, VermontDetails of servicesA celebration of life open to all friends, family, and loved ones, will be held June 1st, 2024 at 3:00pm with a game supper to follow, at our home on Otter Creek. Donations in memory of Drew can be made to the Lake Champlain Walleye Association or Green Mountain Conservation Camp Scholarship Fund.Our beloved champion, son, brother, cousin, nephew, friend, and all around amazing human Drew Lalumiere was take
  
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• Former executive for medical records firm gets probation for trying to obstruct opioid kickback probe

  16-05-2024 23:48 via vtdigger.org
  
  The U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont in Burlington. File photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger
  A former executive for an electronic medical records company has been sentenced to probation for attempting to obstruct a federal investigation into the relationship between his then-employer and Purdue Pharma, a major opioid manufacturer. In U.S. District Court in Burlington on Monday, Judge William K. Sessions III sentenced Steven Mack, 49, of Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, to a one-yea
  
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• Winooski deputy mayor announces bid for lieutenant governor

  16-05-2024 22:59 via vtdigger.org
  
  Winooski Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner announces his candidacy for Lt. Governor during a press conference in Winooski on Thursday, May 16, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerWinooski Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner announced his bid for the lieutenant governor’s office Thursday.Renner will seek the Democratic nomination and will challenge Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, a Progressive/Democrat from Hinesburg who announced he would run for reelection earlier this month. Gregory Thayer, a Rutland a
  
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• Ex-corrections supervisor gets 10 years of probation for possessing child sexual abuse material

  16-05-2024 22:28 via vtdigger.org
  
  Benjamin Mallery reading a prepared statement during his sentencing hearing at the Vermont Superior criminal court in St. Johnsbury on Thursday, May 16. Screenshot
  A Sheffield man was sentenced Thursday to 10 years of probation for possessing child sexual abuse material, conduct that took place while he was employed as a state corrections supervisor.Benjamin Mallery, 32, pleaded guilty to the crime in November. He admitted that, in March 2021, he possessed a series of eight digital photographs
  
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• School closures this week highlight dire infrastructure needs

  16-05-2024 22:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  Randolph Union High School on Thursday, May 13, 2021. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  Water, silt and sediment rushed into the basement of Orleans Elementary around 4 p.m. on Monday.Liquid emerged from the floors, the sprinklers, the stairwells and the elevator shaft.“It came in pretty fast and furious,” Penny Chamberlin, superintendent of Orleans Central Supervisory Union, said, describing the water main break. “So now what we’re looking at is trying to assess the exten
  
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• Kelly Adams: An open letter to Zoie Saunders

  16-05-2024 13:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Zoie Saunders,
  I would imagine when you were in conversation with Gov. Phil Scott’s team late last year that the “advice and consent” aspect of a potential nomination seemed like a formality because of how rarely the Vermont Senate has rejected a nominee for the governor’s cabinet.However, it is not a formality. It is the right of the Senate to accept or reject such nominations. In your case, the nomination was resoundingly rejected. I would imagine this has been a
  
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• Stolen White River Junction weathervane returns after 40 years

  16-05-2024 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  Judith Ehrlich, VTrans Historic Preservation Officer, talks about the recovered train weathervane which on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. The antique copper weathervane was stolen from the White River Junction train station 40 years ago. It is now being housed at the Vermont Agency of Transportation in Barre. Photo by Jennifer Hauck/Valley NewsThis article by John Lippman was first published in the Valley News on May 14.WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — The theft was worthy of a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys mys
  
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• John Freitag: Protests, civil disobedience and getting arrested in uniform 

  16-05-2024 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by John Freitag. He currently serves as Strafford historian, moderator of the Universalist Society of Strafford and is active in his local Lions Club. He recently ended a fourth term on the Strafford Selectboard, serving this past year as chair.The encampments on college campuses and in particular the arrests at Dartmouth College have caused me to reflect on civil disobedience as well as my own arrest some 52 years ago in Hanover, New Hampshire, during a Vietnam War protest.My
  
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• Police say masked man killed in St. Johnsbury died from gunshot wounds to his torso

  15-05-2024 23:42 via vtdigger.org
  
  Photo courtesy of Vermont State Police
  Vermont State Police have identified the man killed Monday night in an apparent drug robbery in St. Johnsbury as 47-year-old Matthew Lomasney.Lomasney, of St. Johnsbury, died as a result of gunshot wounds to his torso and the manner of death has been ruled a homicide by the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Office, which conducted an autopsy Wednesday, according to a state police press release. Capt. Jeremy Hill of the state police said Tuesday t
  
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• State to remove Lake Carmi aeration system after determining it made cyanobacteria blooms worse

  15-05-2024 23:30 via vtdigger.org
  
  Lake Carmi seen from Lake Carmi State Park in Franklin on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  State officials have decided to begin removing an aeration system in Lake Carmi and may soon move forward with an alum treatment after finding the system actually exacerbated conditions creating harmful cyanobacteria in the lake.The aeration system was installed to try and mitigate cyanobacteria blooms, which is sometimes called blue-green algae. Officials found it had “
  
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• Vermont Conversation: NYT Columnist Nicholas Kristof on exposing global injustice and chasing hope 

  15-05-2024 23:22 via vtdigger.org
  
  
  Nicholas Kristof. Photo by David Hume Kennerly
  The Vermont Conversation with David Goodman is a VTDigger podcast that features in-depth interviews on local and national issues with politicians, activists, artists, changemakers and citizens who are making a difference. Listen below, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Spotify to hear more.
  Nicholas Kristof has been an eyewitness to some of the most iconic political and social transformations of moder
  
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• Even Vermont’s low-spending school districts are struggling to pass budgets

  15-05-2024 21:29 via vtdigger.org
  
  High school student Aubrey Fadden of Enosburg Falls works with third-graders at the Richford Elementary School on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  Superintendent Lynn Cota imagined that, this year, the schools she oversees in rural Franklin County, buoyed by increased access to funding, could expand their outdoor education and athletics programs.So after two defeated school budgets and a recent May evening spent brainstorming a lean third option for the Enosburgh-Rich
  
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• Student injured in school bus accident in Waterbury

  15-05-2024 19:55 via vtdigger.org
  
  Vermont State Police, Department of Motor Vehicles and Waterbury Ambulance Service personnel respond to Blush Hill Road in Waterbury on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.A section of the road was closed for about two and a half hours. Photo by Gordon Miller/Waterbury Roundabout
  This story by Lisa Scagliotti was first published by the Waterbury Roundabout on May 15.Just after 8 a.m. Wednesday, a school bus transporting students to Crossett Brook Middle School and Harwood Union Middle/High School struck a
  
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• Jeremy R. Baker: Expressing our disappointment in the failure of S.304 to pass the House

  15-05-2024 15:02 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editor,As the president of the Vermont Retail Lumber Dealers Association (VRLDA), I write to express our disappointment in the recent failure of S.304 to pass the House. This bill held the promise of making a significant impact on workforce development in our state.The VRLDA represents locally owned, independently operated lumber and building material (LBM) dealers, and we have been staunch advocates for S.304. This legislation aimed to establish a cohesive system that would bridge academic
  
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• Leo Pond: Responsible development is needed in Vermont

  15-05-2024 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Leo Pond, a Vermont-licensed real estate agent at Blue Ridge Real Estate.
  Recent debates in VTDigger from Ali Jalili and Howard Krum have shed some light on the issue of development in Vermont. It’s crucial to advocate for a balanced approach that acknowledges the value of responsible development. Jalili highlights the essential role of for-profit developers in meeting the housing needs of our communities. He rightly emphasizes the important efforts developers u
  
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• Homeless Upper Valley couple faces ‘a very tough situation’

  15-05-2024 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  Nichole Rogers, left, pets her Rottweiler, Diesel, while Ben Harper fashions a handle for a rake in front of their camper, parked on a pull-out on Route 14 in Sharon on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Photo by Alex Driehaus/Valley News.This story by Frances Mize was first published in the Valley News on May 10.SHARON — With homelessness at record levels in Vermont, an Upper Valley couple’s precarious living situation toppled last month following a trespassing order from the state and com
  
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• Barre voters return Thom Lauzon to mayorship

  15-05-2024 02:27 via vtdigger.org
  
  Thom Lauzon. Photo by Natalie Williams/VTDigger
  City Councilor and former Mayor Thom Lauzon will return as mayor of Barre, following the city’s delayed local elections on Tuesday. Lauzon defeated fellow Councilor Samn Stockwell by a vote of 902 to 645 — or 58% to 41% — according to unofficial results provided by the city clerk’s office. Lauzon is a local accountant, property owner and developer who served as Barre’s mayor for 12 years before moving to his
  
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