Vermont news

• UPDATED: Congress moves to end shutdown

  22-01-2018 21:49 via vtdigger.org
  Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., at a rally outside the Capitol hours before the shutdown deadline. Photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDiggerWASHINGTON — Congress passed a short-term spending bill ending a government shutdown Monday after the Senate spent the weekend paralyzed in a political stalemate.
  The Senate and House approved a three-week spending package Monday, paving the way for the government to reopen after a three-day shutdown.Get all of VTDigger's political news.You'll never miss a politi
  
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• PHOTOS: Warren July 4th parade draws thousands

  05-07-2026 16:51 via vtdigger.org
  
  Thousands of people participate in a Fourth of July parade in Warren on Saturday, July 4, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThousands of people lined Main Street in Warren for the annual Fourth of July parade.  Torrential rain began to fall right before the start of the sesquicentennial celebration, but that didn’t deter those marching or watching from enjoying the display. After a raucous review in the rain, the sun came out again.
  Read the story on VTDigger here:PHOTOS: Warren J
  
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• Vermonters need to do their part to keep bears wild

  05-07-2026 16:13 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Jason Batchelder, the commissioner of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.On June 3, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department authorized the killing of a bear in Stowe that had grown dangerously comfortable seeking food around people from homes and businesses. If the past few years are any indication, by the end of summer, we will have had to put down or provide similar authorizations for dozens more bears to end acute conflicts that threaten human safety. No one
  
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• Montpelier tackles housing shortage with talks of taller buildings and simplified zoning

  05-07-2026 15:03 via vtdigger.org
  
  Multi-story apartment building on Cedar Street in Montpelier. Photo by Michael Bielawski/The BridgeThis story by Michael Bielawski was first published in The Bridge on July 1, 2026.MONTPELIER — Planning commissioners have been considering the possibility that buildings could start getting taller in Montpelier’s River District. Planning Director Mike Miller recently spoke with The Bridge about the direction in which the commission is going in terms of shaping the city’s fu
  
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• Nothing to sneeze at: Dartmouth Hitchcock is home to the region’s only pollen counter

  05-07-2026 14:30 via vtdigger.org
  
  The roof of Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, in Lebanon, New Hampshire, is home to the only motorized pollen counter of its kind in New England. Photo by Olivia Gieger/VTDiggerLEBANON, N.H. — On the roof of Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, cast against a backdrop of the Upper Valley’s rolling green hills, a green metal motor no bigger than a blender hums as its rudder directs it to spin and turn with the breeze.This unassuming device is the only one of its kind in New England.
  
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• Then Again: Lemuel Haynes — a minuteman, preacher and longtime Vermonter — puts his stamp on history again

  05-07-2026 14:05 via vtdigger.org
  
  Lemuel Haynes is featured on a new U.S. Postal Service stamp as part of its Figures of the American Revolution series, which honors 25 individuals who played important roles during the period. Photo by Mark BushnellLemuel Haynes was of two minds about the American Revolution. He was outraged by the stark hypocrisy of some of the rebellion’s leaders, slaveholders who condemned the British government for impinging on their freedoms. At the same time, however, he risked his life for the revo
  
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• Bolstered bloc of Vermont Republicans see bills repealed this year as a win

  05-07-2026 13:17 via vtdigger.org
  
  Senate Minority Leader Scott Beck, R-Caledonia, listens to discussion on the floor of the Senate on the opening day of the legislature at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerPolitical parties are quick to declare victory when the bills they support make it into law. But for Vermont’s Republican minority in the Legislature, it was the laws they succeeded in rolling back this year that seem to have the party celebrating just as much.In
  
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• Two more Montpelier officers head to Northfield as department grapples with staffing crisis

  03-07-2026 15:55 via vtdigger.org
  
  Two more officers from the Montpelier Police Department are departing for Northfield. File photo by Natalie Williams/VTDiggerThis story by Grace Benninghoff was first published in The Bridge on July 2, 2026.The exodus of Montpelier police officers to the nearby town of Northfield is not over.Two additional members of the Montpelier Police Department — Sgt. Diane Mathews and Detective Alesha Donovan — have resigned to join the Northfield Police Department. That makes four officers de
  
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• Noah Kahan fans blamed for disappearing Strafford road sign

  03-07-2026 14:45 via vtdigger.org
  
  An empty road sign post sits on the end of Alger Brook Road in Strafford, Vt., on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. The sign was recently stolen. Photo by Jennifer Hauck/Valley NewsThis story by Marion Umpleby was first published in the Valley News on June 29, 2026.STRAFFORD — Town officials believe that fans of Noah Kahan, the singer-songwriter turned global superstar, have been stealing the sign for a road mentioned in one of his songs.“Past Alger Brook Road, I’m over the bridge/A m
  
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• Independence Day reminds us why a free press matters

  03-07-2026 14:00 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Vermont State House, in Montpelier, VermontDear Reader,This Independence Day, many of us are celebrating with family traditions, parades and fireworks. It’s also a moment to reflect on the values at the heart of our country’s founding.While the freedoms proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence were not initially extended to everyone, it advanced an enduring principle: that those who hold power should answer to the people.Two hundred and fifty years later, we can’t los
  
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• Women’s history is American history. So why isn’t it taught in Vermont schools?

  03-07-2026 13:53 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Amelie Fairweather, a student at Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg.Even as the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, women’s history is still not taught in Vermont schools. Right now, there is no requirement in the state curriculum to teach women’s suffrage as part of U.S. history classes. In 2025, I founded Her Education Required, a national organization dedicated to integrating women’s history int
  
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• ‘It’s go time, it’s about to happen’

  03-07-2026 13:37 via vtdigger.org
  
  Kevin Conger (center), of Williston, won three medals, including a gold, at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games held June 20-26 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Conger, who participated in track-and-field events, was one of 20 Vermont athletes from around the state who competed at the games in track, swimming and Unified basketball. Photo by Lois CongerSpecial Olympics Vermont’s team trip last week to Minneapolis for the USA Games was in some ways a tale of numbers and medals.More than 30 Vermo
  
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• Dirt Road News is back on the road this summer

  03-07-2026 11:00 via vtdigger.org
  
  Last year, more than 2,000 Vermonters participated in the Dirt Road News project, helping us better understand how people stay informed, what issues matter most in their communities and how VTDigger can better serve Vermonters across the state. Read what we learned from last year’s survey and how those insights are guiding the next chapter of Dirt Road News.This summer, we’re continuing the conversation. Through surveys, community events and local partnerships, Dirt Road News is bri
  
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• Candidates for Vermont governor and lieutenant governor report large fundraising hauls

  03-07-2026 00:19 via vtdigger.org
  
  Aly Richards, left, and Amanda Janoo are Democratic Party candidates in the state’s 2026 governor’s race. Richards photo by Shaun Robinson/VTDigger and Janoo photo by Mayellen Matson.Campaign season is in full swing, with candidates in dozens of races reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions at a crucial July 1 deadline.The midsummer deadline offers a window into the candidates’ support weeks ahead of Vermont’s primary election on Aug. 11. The
  
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• UVM Health to suspend weight loss drug coverage for its employees

  03-07-2026 00:05 via vtdigger.org
  
  The injectable drug Ozempic is shown in July 2023, in Houston. File photo by David J. Phillip/AP PhotoUVM Health plans to stop paying for some weight loss medications for employees on its health insurance plans, the hospital group announced in an email Wednesday. The hospital group says it expects to save $19 million each year by no longer covering the cost of the drugs for weight loss, a change that will begin in September. Shifting the cost onto individuals will help keep insurance premi
  
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• St. Johnsbury landlord seeks to join wife in Vermont Legislature

  02-07-2026 23:30 via vtdigger.org
  
  Rep. Debbie Dolgin, R-St. Johnsbury, left, and her husband, Steve Dolgin, are both running for seats in the Vermont House of Representatives this year.Glenn Russell/VTDigger and Courtesy
  Carly Berlin covers housing and infrastructure for Vermont Public, in partnership with VTDigger.A prominent Northeast Kingdom landlord and business owner is vying for a seat in the Vermont House. And so is his wife.Steve Dolgin hopes to join incumbent Rep. Debbie Dolgin to represent the two-member Caledonia-Ess
  
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• Ringing the bell for all of us

  02-07-2026 23:02 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Devon Thomas, the new pastor serving Bethany Church in Montpelier and the United Church of Northfield. He is also a proud Black Vermonter.You may have noticed that the United Church of Northfield rang its bell in commemoration of America’s 250th birthday. I would like to talk about that.The United Church of Northfield is not a political monolith; in truth, many of us would prefer we keep politics away from the church as much as possible, but it is impossible for us a
  
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• Rutland murder suspect reaches plea deal to lesser charge, faces 10 years in prison

  02-07-2026 22:37 via vtdigger.org
  
  Police cruiser lights in blue and yellow. Photo via Adobe StockA Rutland County woman arrested on a murder charge more than four years ago has reached a plea deal on a reduced charge that calls for her to serve at least 10 years in prison.Courtney Samplatsky, 38, had been charged in 2022 with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Sincere Johnson, 46, of New York City, inside a Rutland apartment. Samplatsky was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly pointing a
  
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• Brattleboro Memorial Hospital plans to close its birthing center

  02-07-2026 21:41 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Brattleboro Memorial Hospital campus on Belmont Avenue. Photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDiggerBrattleboro Memorial Hospital’s board of directors voted to close the hospital’s birthing services, according to an email sent to staff Wednesday evening. The news comes amid intense financial precarity and executive-level strain at the hospital. The hospital said its obstetrics unit lost $3.8 million in 2025. Its leaders predicted a loss of $4.8 million in 2026.There are no curren
  
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• Stop telling Gen Z to save the world

  02-07-2026 16:11 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Addie Lentzner, a student at Middlebury College, where she is studying sociology and Black studies.My generation — Gen Z — has been told repeatedly that we can save the world. Policymakers ask us to come to the halls of power and tell us that if we testify on bills, we will make a real change. Professors teach us to pursue higher education; with a degree, they say, we will finally have the credentials to make real change. Remain diligent and keep advocating on
  
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• Killington Selectboard approves proposed budget after months of debate

  02-07-2026 00:11 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Killington Selectboard accepted a budget after months of debate and a standoff with the town manager. File photo by Natalie Williams/VTDiggerThe selectboard in Killington approved a budget Monday by a 4-1 vote after months of contentious meetings and a standoff with the town manager over who has the authority to make staffing decisions. The town’s voters had rejected an $8.2 million budget proposal on Town Meeting Day in March. Killington has been beset by upheaval in recent
  
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• The river Vermont traded for a country

  01-07-2026 23:57 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Justin Neuman, who is a professor of literary studies at Eugene Lang College, The New School and a developer of philosophical software. Some mornings I put my wooden canoe in the Connecticut River north of Bellows Falls and paddle out onto water that isn’t Vermont’s. The line between Vermont and New Hampshire doesn’t run down the middle of the river, the way river borders traditionally do. It runs along the low-water mark on the Vermont side. New Ham
  
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• Vermont Conversation: ‘Strive for that more perfect union.’ Rep. Becca Balint on resurgent white nationalism, war in Iran and her mixed feelings about America’s 250th

  01-07-2026 23:55 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.U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vermont, at the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps farm in Richmond in Aug. 2025. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThe Supreme Court ended its term with a series of blockbuster decisions on birthright citizenship, immigration,
  
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• The problem with e-bikes is e-motos

  01-07-2026 23:16 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Jack Evans, a complete streets specialist at Local Motion. Vermont communities are seeing a rapid increase in high-powered, high-speed, unregulated devices operating on streets, sidewalks and shared-use paths. The problem is not with electric bikes. It is a different category of device entirely: what Local Motion and our national partners call e-motos. E-motos have more powerful motors and are capable of significantly higher speeds than e-bikes and often don&rsqu
  
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• Vermont has long treated air conditioning as optional. A warming climate could be changing that.

  01-07-2026 23:13 via vtdigger.org
  
  Noah Witt of Burlington pours water over his head while cooling off at the Andy A_Dog Williams skatepark in Burlington on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerFor generations, air conditioning in Vermont has been treated less as a necessity and more like a luxury.That might be changing.“They don’t even look at the forecast,” Tony Rowell, owner of Premier Heating and AC in Barre, said of new customers seeking air conditioning. “They just feel it, and th
  
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• Judge blocks attorney from raising police misconduct as a defense in chase that killed Rutland officer

  01-07-2026 21:22 via vtdigger.org
  
  Tate Rheaume appears in Rutland County Superior criminal court on Tuesday April 9, 2024. Rheaume is charged in the crash that killed Rutland City police officer Jessica Ebbighausen in 2023. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerA Rutland judge has blocked the attorney for the driver charged with murder in a chase that killed a Rutland City police officer from introducing at trial key parts of a damning internal affairs report that found officer misconduct in the pursuit.The decision last month by Judg
  
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• Vermont is heating up, potentially forcing the state’s 7 petroleum-based plants to start picking up the slack

  01-07-2026 13:32 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Green Mountain Power Berlin GT Substation #5 in Berlin on Friday, June 26, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerVermonters spend nearly $4 million a year to keep seven petroleum plants on standby, facilities that, on average, fire up for about 10 hours a year when summer heat and winter cold push the grid to their limit.These generators run at times “when the system is stressed, usually when demand is very high,” TJ Poor, director of planning at the Vermont Department of Public
  
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• Vermonters paid too much for eggs, officials say. Now they’re getting nearly 1 million of them.

  01-07-2026 00:12 via vtdigger.org
  
  Nearly 1 million eggs will go to the Vermont Foodbank after a 15-month investigation that found several large egg producers may have colluded to inflate egg prices. File photo by Terry Chea/APTheo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.Vermont will receive 915,000 eggs and $56,000 in settlement payments after an investigation indicated several large egg producers may have colluded to inflate prices between 2022 and 2025, officials said Tuesday. The eggs wil
  
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• Vermont is in trouble

  30-06-2026 23:28 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Kevin Chu, executive director of Vermont Futures Project; Tino Rutanhira, co-executive director of Vermont Professionals of Color Network; Seth Bowden, president of Vermont Business Roundtable; Amy Spear, president of Vermont Chamber of Commerce; Miro Weinberger, executive chair of Let’s Build Homes; and Cathy Davis, president of Lake Champlain Chamber.Vermont is in trouble. Not someday in some distant future. Now.We are aging, shrinking and pricing out our own child
  
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• Vermont has bigger fish to fry than housing aesthetics

  30-06-2026 23:18 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editor,I am writing about the recent commentary in VTDigger by John Bossange and wondering if he meant to send it to the Onion but mistakenly addressed it to VTDigger. Bossange takes issue with the look of some new houses and the land upon which they sit. He says new housing “is often poorly located and is either an unsightly scar on the natural landscape or a depressing blight along a major road, in a commercial development or in a village center.” To paraphrase, it appea
  
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