Vermont news

• UVMMC nurses ratify contract

  28-09-2018 17:29 via vtdigger.org
  Dr. John Brumsted, CEO of the University of Vermont Medical Center, fields questions from the Green Mountain Care Board about the hospital’s budget proposal. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  The nurses at the University of Vermont Medical Center have ratified a contract with the hospital with 70 percent of voting nurses in support.Just shy of 1,100 of the union’s 1,800 nurses voted in the election, which concluded Thursday night. The hospital and the nurses came to a tentative agreem
  
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• Kenneth Sekuterski: Don’t call it a machine gun if it isn’t

  23-03-2026 22:56 via vtdigger.org
  Recent reporting on H.606, in which Vermont lawmakers narrowly advanced legislation increasing gun restrictions and penalties, requires a critical correction regarding the technical and legal reality of what constitutes a machine gun.As a lifelong gun owner, veteran, Vermont hunting instructor and an advocate for common-sense approaches to public safety, I believe the integrity of our laws depends on precision, not emotion. Unfortunately, Section 4 of H.606 fails this test by attempting to rewr
  
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• A farmer breeds seeds to withstand Vermont’s unpredictable weather

  23-03-2026 22:22 via vtdigger.org
  Charlie Watt kneeling in his home garden, “Flytree Farm.” Courtesy of Charlie WattIn a state better known for maples than melons, one farmer is redefining what can grow in Vermont soil. Last August, Charlie Watt’s backyard contained 20-pound watermelons, tomatoes the size of two fists, an eight-foot wall of peas and many, many seeds. Watt is the founder of Homecoming Seeds, a seed company that launched in January of 2026 devoted to crop varieties that are adapted to
  
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• Former Northeast Kingdom Human Services employee sues agency over alleged Medicaid fraud

  23-03-2026 21:33 via vtdigger.org
  After months of renovation, Newport-based Front Porch will open its overnight beds on Wednesday. Photo by Olivia Gieger/VTDiggerTesla Hubbard alleges she lost her job after raising the alarm, both internally and then with the state, on potential Medicaid fraud at the social services organization Northeast Kingdom Human Services, according to a civil suit Hubbard and her lawyers filed on March 11. The suit alleges Northeast Kingdom Human Service enacted a “fraudulent billing scheme&rd
  
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• Royalton residents chafe at costs of ongoing Foxstand Bridge closure

  23-03-2026 21:17 via vtdigger.org
  Rachel and Jim Bigelow of Royalton, Vt., do some cleanup around their farmstand on Friday, March 20, 2026.. The farmstand will not open this summer because the nearby Foxstand Bridge is closed. The bridge is not slated to reopen until 2028; it closed in 2024. Jennifer Hauck/Valley NewsThis story by Alex Hanson was first published in The Commons on March 22, 2026.The first summer the Foxstand Bridge was closed, in 2024, patronage of the Foxville Farmstand declined, owner Rachel Bigelow said.At t
  
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• VTDigger Spring Member Drive: Who asks the questions in Montpelier?

  23-03-2026 20:41 via vtdigger.org
  VTDigger reporter Shaun Robinson in St. Albans on Tuesday, August 29, 2023. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerDear Reader,As VTDigger’s political reporter, I spend most of my day this time of year in the Vermont Statehouse. Often, you’ll find me roaming the hallways for quotes from legislators and state officials; sometimes, you’ll see me holed up in a windowsill writing a story.It’s no secret that there are fewer and fewer people doing this kind of work in our Capitol each
  
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• Brattleboro hospital nurses vote to strike, but delay a date in hopes of spurring talks

  23-03-2026 17:45 via vtdigger.org
  A poster promotes staffers at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDiggerA union representing 160 nurses at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital said Monday that an “overwhelming supermajority” had voted to strike, but would delay setting a date until later this week in hopes of reviving contract talks.“We don’t take this decision lightly,” said Tracy Ouellette, president of the Brattleboro Federation of Nurses. “But we are prepared to do w
  
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• When Vermont’s treatment landscape shifts, community providers step up

  23-03-2026 14:38 via vtdigger.org
  Across Vermont, the substance use disorder (SUD) treatment landscape is changing. As some private providers adjust their services, community-based organizations are stepping forward to ensure that people seeking recovery support continue to have access to care when and where they need it.One recent shift involves Better Life Partners, a national online provider of addiction treatment, which wound down its operations in Vermont at the end of 2025 and stopped accepting new referrals. While transi
  
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• Matt Swenson: Vermont’s fiscal reckoning is already here

  23-03-2026 14:05 via vtdigger.org
  This commentary is by Matt Swenson, the founder of Omnidex Solutions, who lives in Williston.Vermont is debating property tax relief again. The plan is straightforward enough: Use state funds to soften increases driven by education spending, ease the pressure on homeowners, and move forward. That offers something in the short term. But it doesn’t change anything underneath. The structure is where the problem lives, and the structure isn’t being touched.Start with the number nobody i
  
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• Towns ban heavy rigs from muddy roads

  22-03-2026 16:58 via vtdigger.org
  The weight postings are legally enforceable and are usually complied with. Photo by Tommy Gardner/News & CitizenThis story by Patrick Bilow was first published in News & Citizen on March 12, 2026.Welcome to Vermont’s fifth season, mud season.Winter showed signs of defeat earlier this week as temperatures climbed into the 60s and the ground began to shake loose after months of frozen sleep. That was embraced by many, but for road crews across Lamoille County, it meant the onse
  
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• Young Writers Project: ‘Deep Thoughts’

  22-03-2026 16:33 via vtdigger.org
  “Somewhere in the Sky” by Shira Hertzberg, 16, of West Haven.Young Writers Project is a creative, online community of teen writers and visual artists that started in Burlington in 2006. Each week, VTDigger publishes the writing and art of young Vermonters who post their work on youngwritersproject.org, a free, interactive website for youth, ages 13-19. To find out more, please go to youngwritersproject.org or contact Executive Director Susan Reid at&nbs
  
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• With child care centers struggling to recruit, Vermont eyes possible path to stronger workforce

  22-03-2026 16:09 via vtdigger.org
  Kristina Davis, from left, Jessie Cerretani and Logan Davis of Here Wee Grow Playschool in Manchester face challenges in hiring staff.Seen on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerTheo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.For Jessie Cerretani, a 20-year child care veteran at just 37, hiring trained help has gotten more difficult in recent years.“It’s hard to find people who are qualified and educated in the right ways,&rdquo
  
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• Vermont child care centers can’t find workers. A new state plan hopes to fix that.

  22-03-2026 16:09 via vtdigger.org
  Kristina Davis, from left, Jessie Cerretani and Logan Davis of Here Wee Grow Playschool in Manchester face challenges in hiring staff.Seen on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerTheo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.For Jessie Cerretani, a 20-year child care veteran at just 37, hiring trained help has gotten more difficult in recent years.“It’s hard to find people who are qualified and educated in the right ways,&rdquo
  
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• Vermont child care centers can’t find work. A new state plan hopes to fix that.

  22-03-2026 16:09 via vtdigger.org
  Kristina Davis, from left, Jessie Cerretani and Logan Davis of Here Wee Grow Playschool in Manchester face challenges in hiring staff.Seen on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerTheo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.For Jessie Cerretani, a 20-year child care veteran at just 37, hiring trained help has gotten more difficult in recent years.“It’s hard to find people who are qualified and educated in the right ways,&rdquo
  
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• Carmenza Montague: When equal is not fair

  22-03-2026 12:06 via vtdigger.org
  Dear Editor,Act 73, Vermont’s recently enacted law aimed at overhauling the state’s public education system, states that “the right to education is fundamental for the success of Vermont’s children in a rapidly changing society and global marketplace as well as for the State’s own economic and social prosperity.” The law also establishes the Commission on the Future of Public Education in Vermont, which “shall study the provision of education in Ve
  
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• As warming climate brings bears out of hibernation earlier, preventing backyards from becoming buffets is key to coexistence

  22-03-2026 11:55 via vtdigger.org
  A black bear seeks food from a bird feeder. Photo courtesy Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.Vermonters usually put out bird feeders to attract winged visitors who fill their yards with song and color. But they could attract a far less dainty visitor: black bears. As bears emerge from their dens in early spring, they’re on the search for food. That can lead them to backyard beehives, birdfeeders, compost piles and even chicken coops. “They’re super adaptable, they
  
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• As child care centers struggle to recruit, Vermont eyes possible path to stronger workforce

  22-03-2026 11:37 via vtdigger.org
  Kristina Davis, from left, Jessie Cerretani and Logan Davis of Here Wee Grow Playschool in Manchester face challenges in hiring staff.Seen on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  Read the story on VTDigger here:As child care centers struggle to recruit, Vermont eyes possible path to stronger workforce.
  
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• How’s the maple season? Ask when it’s over.

  22-03-2026 03:39 via vtdigger.org
  Steam rises from an evaporator at the Branon Family Maple Orchards sugarhouse in Fairfield on Dec. 20, 2024.File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis story by Joslyn McIntyre was first published in The Commons on March 17, 2026.Just when so many of us are ready to accept that this Vermont winter will never end, the sap starts running.At the annual Sugar on Snow Supper at Broad Brook Community Center (BBCC) in Guilford on March 7, neighbors sat shoulder to shoulder at long community tables passin
  
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• Federal judge releases third of three people detained in South Burlington ICE raid

  21-03-2026 00:56 via vtdigger.org
  Camilia Patin Patin smiles after being released after her hearing in federal court at the Federal Building in Burlington on Friday, March 20, 2026.Patin Patin is one of three people detained during an ICE raid last week. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerBURLINGTON — A federal judge has freed from custody the third of three people who were detained last week by federal immigration authorities during a raid on a home in South Burlington.Judge Christina Reiss ordered the immediate release of D
  
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• Human services committee wants state to renegotiate $21.5M contract with troubled Pennsylvania family services company

  20-03-2026 23:52 via vtdigger.org
  The Windham County Sheriff’s Office building on Old Ferry Road in Brattleboro. Photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger.Theo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.The House Human Services Committee wants officials in Gov. Phil Scott’s administration to rethink their approach to caring for youth in state custody — starting with renegotiating a contract that’s already on the books.In January, officials in the state’s Department fo
  
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• Vermont lawmakers consider using state funds for flood recovery after Trump denied request for federal aid

  20-03-2026 23:30 via vtdigger.org
  A house in Sutton was severely damaged by floodwaters from the Calendar Brook, as seen on July 11, 2025. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerAfter President Trump twice said no to Vermont’s request for federal funding to help towns in the Northeast Kingdom fix damage caused by flooding last summer, state legislators are weighing a proposal from Gov. Phil Scott’s administration to use state dollars, instead, to help those towns. Doug Farnham, the state’s chief recovery off
  
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• Emily Bridges: No one should have to choose between family and a paycheck

  20-03-2026 23:18 via vtdigger.org
  Dear Editor, Having a great home and job and a healthy family you can love and be with is the American dream. But without universal paid leave in Vermont, many workers are forced to make the terrible choice of deciding which part of this dream they might have to give up. I’m one of them.With elderly parents, I was forced to make numerous hard decisions quickly when my dad died of a heart attack at the same time my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.Already reeling from the lo
  
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• Woodstock police chief’s demotion upheld, lawsuit and appeal expected

  20-03-2026 22:26 via vtdigger.org
  Jeffrey Kahn, vice chair of the Woodstock Village Board of Trustees, second from left, listens as attorney Linda Fraas reviews evidence she plans to submit in support of her client, Police Chief Joseph Swanson, during his public personnel hearing at the Woodstock Masonic Lodge on Monday, March. 2, 2026. Photo by James M. Patterson/Valley NewsThis story by Alex Ebrahimi was first published in the Valley News on March 18, 2026.The Village Board of Trustees this week decided for the second time to
  
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• A new electric vehicle fee is taking shape in Vermont

  20-03-2026 22:20 via vtdigger.org
  An electric vehicle plugged into a fast charger in Rutland in 2022. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerMONTPELIER — A proposal to charge electric vehicle drivers a fee based on how many miles they drive, meant to make up for the taxes those drivers don’t pay at the gas pump, is coming together in the Vermont House after years of planning.The levy, which drivers would likely start paying in 2028, is part of a larger transportation policy bill that cleared the chamber’s tax and
  
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• Laura Ida Marineau

  20-03-2026 15:57 via vtdigger.org
  
  Born: 01/07/1935Holland, VTDied: 03/14/2026Barre, VTDetails of service:A graveside service will be held in Newport at the convenience of the immediate family.Laura “Ida” MarineauMontpelier, VTLaura “Ida” Marineau passed away on Saturday, March 14, 2026, at the Lincoln House in Barre, VT.Laura was born to Calixte Champigny and Exilper Labonte on January 7, 1935, in Holland, VT. Laura was one of eleven children.Laura attended Sacred Heart Catholic School in Newport, VT, an
  
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• Julie Wasserman: Where are the doctors in Vermont’s $195M rural health plan?

  20-03-2026 02:40 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Julie Wasserman, MPH, of Burlington. She is an independent health policy advocate who worked for Vermont state government for more than 25 years.The Trump administration recently awarded Vermont a $195 million Rural Health Transformation grant whose stated purpose is to strengthen health care access, quality and outcomes in rural communities. One of the most critical elements to achieving this goal is an adequate supply of primary care physicians, yet Gov. Phil Scott&rsquo
  
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• Judge orders immediate release of man who ICE detained after a traffic stop last week. The detention may have violated the man’s rights. 

  20-03-2026 00:46 via vtdigger.org
  
  A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. File photo by Gregory Bull/APBURLINGTON — A Burlington man detained last week on his way to work by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials was released by a federal judge Thursday, pending a bond hearing in immigration court. Federal Judge William K. Sessions III ordered the immediate release of Jaime Eliceo Castro Guaman, 40. Castro Guaman had been held at Northwest State Correctional Facility for nine days after b
  
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• Vermont’s high court weighs pulling law license of Addison County State’s Attorney

  19-03-2026 23:49 via vtdigger.org
  
  Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Credit: Glenn RussellThe Vermont Supreme Court heard competing arguments Thursday over whether Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos should lose her law license while awaiting disciplinary proceedings stemming from her drunken driving conviction late last year.The five justices did not make a ruling Thursday or indicate when they might.The hearing, which took place over video, comes amid multiple con
  
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• Local police officials defend officers’ conduct during immigration operation, blame ‘agitators’ 

  19-03-2026 23:43 via vtdigger.org
  
  South Burlington Police Chief William Breault, center, speaks before a joint meeting of the House and Senate judiciary committees to discuss the role of local law enforcement in an ICE raid in South Burlington last week at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Thursday, March 19. With Breault are Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison, left, and Col. Matthew Birmingham, director of the Vermont State Police. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerMONTPELIER — Local and state police officials were
  
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• House Education panel pivots to voluntary mergers in school consolidation efforts

  19-03-2026 23:30 via vtdigger.org
  
  Rep. Peter Conlon, D-Cornwall, chairs the House Education Committee at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Feb. 5, 2025. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerBack in January, virtually no one imagined that lawmakers responsible for consolidating school districts would go anywhere near last fall’s disparaged recommendations from the school redistricting task force.Recall that lawmakers last year had punted the responsibility of drawing consolidated school district maps to the task force. But in
  
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