Vermont news

• Workers at Lake Champlain Chocolates push to unionize

  02-11-2026 23:42 via VTDigger
  
  Lake Champlain Chocolates runs two separate molding lines at its facility in Williston. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDiggerTheo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.A group of employees at Lake Champlain Chocolates is pushing to unionize, saying they want better compensation and benefits, as well as changes to the company’s workplace environment. Workers at the company will vote Nov. 17 on whether to accept representation, according to Curtis Clough, pres
  
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• Measles cases found in Orleans County, health officials warn

  10-11-2026 00:20 via VTDigger
  
  Measles, mumps and rubella virus vaccine at Union Community Care clinic in Lancaster, Pa., on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. Photo by Jessie Wardarski/APThe Vermont Department of Health has confirmed a “small number” of connected measles cases in Orleans County, it said Monday. An investigation and response are ongoing, according to a release.The department is asking healthcare providers to maintain a heightened awareness and report suspected cases immediately, even if there is not yet laboratory
  
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• Montpelier has its long-awaited housing blueprint for Country Club Road

  10-11-2026 00:02 via VTDigger
  
  An overhead rendering of a housing development project proposed by DEW Properties for the Country Club Road property in Montpelier that would incorporate townhomes and smaller buildings.MONTPELIER — Four years after buying a 138-acre former golf course to help solve its housing crisis, Montpelier finally has its most detailed development blueprint to date for Country Club Road.Under a non-binding letter of intent approved unanimously by the Montpelier City Council, developer DEW Properties ha
  
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• Air Force veteran takes a ride of a lifetime

  09-11-2026 23:29 via VTDigger
  
  Lucille Malaney and her caretaker for the day, Karen Parotte, smile together. Courtesy photoThis story by Mari Huglin was first published in the Shelburne News on Nov. 5, 2026.On Oct. 2, Shelburne resident Lucille Malaney began a journey she would never forget.The 83-year-old, a United States Air Force veteran who served during the Vietnam War, joined around 30 other veterans for a flight from Plattsburgh, New York, to Washington, D.C.North Country Honor Flight, based in New York and Vermont, i
  
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• Vermont’s schools are not the problem. Property tax is.

  09-11-2026 23:10 via VTDigger
  
  This commentary is by Paul Cillo, a former member of the Vermont House and co-author of Act 60.In his 2025 inaugural address, Gov. Phil Scott decried rising education property taxes. He noted that if trends continue as they have, property tax bills will have increased by an average of 33% in just three years.It is true that changes made in the Legislature to Vermont’s education financing system have propelled property taxes skyward. But instead of addressing education taxes head-on, the gove
  
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• Stop strong-arming towns into signing off on regional plans

  09-11-2026 21:04 via VTDigger
  
  This commentary is by Colleen Geddis, founder of the Rural Vermont Rising Facebook group.Imagine being handed a 408-page document that will shape how land in your town can be used for decades. You get about 30 days’ notice before the first hearing. Your town’s map was redrawn only this summer, after the law changed again in June. And if your region misses the Dec. 31 deadline, your town could lose state grants, housing exemptions and the help it counts on after a disaster.That is exactly wh
  
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• VTDigger launches year-end drive with goal of providing 10,000 meals by Thanksgiving

  09-11-2026 21:00 via VTDigger
  
  Dear Reader,Vermonters have a long tradition of looking out for their neighbors. This year, you can support two essential community services: independent local news and access to food.Every gift to VTDigger during our year-end member drive helps keep Vermont informed and provides 10 meals through the Vermont Foodbank. Help us reach our goal of sending 10,000 meals by Thanksgiving.
  Donate and send 10 meals
  The need is real and growing. The Vermont Foodbank’s network partners, including food sh
  
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• Every child deserves someone in their corner

  09-11-2026 16:44 via VTDigger
  
  The Statewide GAL Conference held on October 23rd at Capitol Plaza in MontpelierWhen a child becomes involved in Vermont’s juvenile court system, there are often many adults involved in the decisions that will affect that child’s life. Parents, attorneys, social workers, court professionals and others may all have important roles to play.But in the middle of all of that, there is one perspective that can be difficult to fully understand from a courtroom: the child’s.That is where Vermont�
  
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• Losing Ground: Vermont’s Struggle Against River Erosion

  09-11-2026 16:01 via VTDigger
  
  This story is part of The Coming Storm, a yearlong investigation by VTDigger, in partnership with FRONTLINE (PBS), into Vermont’s ability to help communities recover from natural disasters.MARSHFIELD — Julie Rapczynski wasn’t worried that her home on the Nasmith Brook would flood. She couldn’t even see the quiet little river more than 300 feet away, hidden behind a wall of trees at the far edge of her property. Then, on July 10, 2023, torrential rain turned the river fast and swift. It
  
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• My teeth could kill me

  08-11-2026 16:07 via VTDigger
  
  Dear Editor,I’ve experienced avalanches, tornadoes, earthquakes, high-voltage shocks and aggressive toxins. And always gotten through. Usually shaken but escaping being stirred into nothingness. Ribs, arms, fingers, legs, back, neck — I’ve broken them all. And while not fun, none of them were dead ends. The hassle and patience of healing was always just a hiccup in my adventures. Twenty-five years ago, while training for an extreme skiing competition in Crested Butte, Colorado, I broke m
  
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• Setting the goal: more households with workers

  08-11-2026 15:32 via VTDigger
  
  Kate Trzaskos, executive director of the Downtown Brattleboro Alliance, center, listens to Brattleboro Regional Chamber of Commerce executive director Rachel Shields Ebersole. Photo by Randolph T. Holhut/The CommonsThis story by Virginia Ray was first published in The Commons on Nov. 4, 2026.BRATTLEBORO — When State Treasurer Mike Pieciak asked his father what he earned after moving to Brattleboro in 1970, the answer was $10,000 — about $80,000 in today’s dollars. On that salary, his fath
  
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• Report finds Vermont is experiencing unprecedented weather extremes

  08-11-2026 14:17 via VTDigger
  
  A snowmaking gun operates at the Mad River Glen ski area in Fayston in Jan. 2023.File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis is the first of two stories on the findings in a new climate assessment. The second story will look at adaptation strategies that the report says could reduce climate risks. Ski areas have a lot of priorities to balance when it comes to making snow in a changing climate.The majority of snowmaking machines at Vermont’s ski areas are several times more energy-efficient than
  
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• ‘Vermont wants a farm show’: Long-running agricultural event returns in April

  08-11-2026 13:24 via VTDigger
  
  Samual Jones, 3, of Milton, looks at Alison the cow with his dad Greg Jones, as Louie Terwilliter from Vermont Technical College looks on at the Vermont Farm Show. Photo by Bob LoCicero/VTDiggerThe Vermont Farm Show, a historic meeting place for farmers since the 1930s, is set to return next spring with the first show in seven years taking place April 16-17 at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction.The show, which attracted farmers and vendors from Vermont, New Hampshire, New York an
  
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• Vermont’s Sen. Bernie Sanders poised to get back powerful committee chair in new Congress

  08-11-2026 12:42 via VTDigger
  
  U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, speaks during a press conference with U.S. Senator Peter Welch, D-Vermont, at the Statehouse in Montpelier in February 2026. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerAfter Tuesday’s election swept Democrats into control of both houses of Congress, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said he intends to get back the powerful post he held two years ago: chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.He’ll use that post, he said in an intervi
  
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• Spiritual adviser to death row inmates visits Middlebury

  07-11-2026 12:50 via VTDigger
  
  Rev. Jeff Hood visits Middlebury Chapel during a trip to Addison County last week. Hood was in town for a screening of “The Spiritual Advisor,” a 23-minute documentary produced by Middlebury College professor James Chase Sanchez that follows Hood and his role as a spiritual advisor in the days leading up to the 2024 execution of Emmanuel Littlejohn in Oklahoma. Photo courtesy of Jeff HoodThis story by Marin Howell was first published in the Addison Independent on Nov. 5, 2026.MIDDLEBURY —
  
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• Susan Newell

  07-11-2026 00:59 via VTDigger
  
  Born: 04/08/1953Edinburgh, ScotlandDied: 09/11/2026Lebanon, NHDetails of service:In Loving Memory of Susan Newell (nee Donaldson).In the early morning hours of September 11th, 2026, Susan, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, passed away peacefully after a life that carried her from Scotland to the United States nearly 48 years ago. A graduate of the Edinburgh School of Nursing, she was a Registered Nurse and Certified Midwife.Fiercely proud of her Scottish roots, she carried Scotland with her wher
  
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• PHOTOS: Anti-ICE march of remembrance

  07-11-2026 00:20 via VTDigger
  
  More than 200 people participate in a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Williston on Friday, November 6, 2026. Local clergy carry cardboard coffins past the entrance to ICE’s National Criminal Analysis and Targeting Center during a march from there to ICE’s Law Enforcement Support Center. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerActivists staged a mock funeral procession Friday in Williston to protest the presence of two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in
  
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• Promising growth, Utah-based investor leads board takeover at Ethan Allen

  07-11-2026 00:08 via VTDigger
  
  The Ethan Allen factory pictured in Orleans. Photo by Fred Thys/VTDiggerTheo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.Three of Ethan Allen’s five board members were ousted on Wednesday in a shareholder vote, marking a successful takeover led by Utah-based investor and former Verifone CEO Doug Bergeron. Ethan Allen, a furniture and interior design company, was founded in Vermont in 1932, and has long been an “anchor employer” in the state’s Northeast
  
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• Burlington City Council president launches bid for mayor

  06-11-2026 23:58 via VTDigger
  
  Democrat Ben Traverse, Ward 5 representative and president of the Burlington City Council, announced his bid to run for mayor at a press conference in Battery Park on Nov. 6. 2026, flanked by supporters of his campaign. Photo by Auditi Guha/VTDigger.BURLINGTON — City Council President Ben Traverse is running for mayor, potentially setting up a contest with the incumbent, Progressive Emma Mulvaney-Stanak.The mayor said Friday, in a statement via her political director, that she will make an an
  
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• Vermont stores feel ripple effect of strike at grocery distributor

  06-11-2026 23:48 via VTDigger
  
  An aisle in a grocery store with canned food items. Photo via Adobe StockSome Vermont grocery and convenience stores are seeing reduced stock and delayed deliveries as a New England labor union refuses to give up its pension plan.“We certainly hope that this is resolved soon,” said Matt Cota, executive director for the Vermont Retail and Grocers Association, a trade group representing the state’s retail stores. Teamsters at the Associated Grocers Northeast warehouse in Pembroke, New Hamp
  
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• ‘Where is your emergency?’: Hartford’s emergency communications specialists shortage echoes national trend

  06-11-2026 21:54 via VTDigger
  
  Christina Kramer, 47, answers a 911 phone call in the communications center of the Hartford Public Safety Building in White River Junction, Vt., on Thursday, October 29, 2026. An emergency communications specialist, Kramer takes phone calls and dispatches all over Vermont, often working between 65 and 70 hours a week. Photo by Sophie Levenson/Valley NewsWHITE RIVER JUNCTION — In the bathroom at the Hartford Emergency Communications Center, there are two radios and a phone atop the toilet tank
  
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• Essex Junction cannabis and duck farmer poised to get his growing license back

  06-11-2026 21:51 via VTDigger
  
  Jason Struthers with some of the cannabis plants at his licensced growing operation at his home in Essex Junction on Tuesday, September 30, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThe Essex Junction man long mired in controversy for growing cannabis and raising ducks in his suburban backyard wants permission to keep cultivating. Vermont Superior Court Judge Thomas Walsh ruled late last month that Jason Struthers, who has farmed in his half-acre backyard since 2022, did not violate local zoning la
  
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• Clear the grid backlog and lower Vermont’s power bills

  06-11-2026 21:06 via VTDigger
  
  This commentary is by Alex Messinger, co-leader of the Vermont chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby.There’s a new bipartisan bill in Congress that will significantly reduce emissions, speed up clean energy and lower energy costs for us here in Vermont. The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act is a comprehensive package of permitting reforms that was recently introduced in the Senate. Climate champions Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., were at the forefr
  
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• Construction of the South Burlington Walk-Bike Bridge advances at Exit 14

  06-11-2026 20:11 via VTDigger
  
  Construction work continues on the South Burlington Walk-Bike Bridge near Interstate 89. Photo by Scarlett Glazebrook/Community News ServiceScarlett Glazebrook  is a reporter with the Community News Service, part of the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.SOUTH BURLINGTON — For people traveling on foot, walking along Williston Road over Interstate 89 means navigating the traffic barreling on and off the ramps leading to the busy highway at Exit 14. And
  
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• For new taxes, only room at the inn

  06-11-2026 00:33 via VTDigger
  
  People hold signs for candidates and ballot measures at Essex Middle School in Essex Town on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Photo by Brendan Kinney/VTDiggerLocal option taxes met a mostly chilly reception in Bennington, Hinesburg and Essex on Tuesday, with only one — a rooms tax  — passing in a preliminary vote.“People feel the stress of increased gas prices,” said Ted Brady, executive director of Vermont League of Cities and Towns. “They feel the stress of the cost of inflation, and the
  
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• ‘We will not be intimidated’: 3 anti-ICE protesters plead not guilty to federal charges

  06-11-2026 00:00 via VTDigger
  
  From left: Sherri Wormser, Henry Prensky, and Peter Booth read from a joint statement to supporters outside of federal court in Burlington on Thursday, November 5, 2026, following their arraignments on charges stemming from anti-ICE demonstrations in Williston. Photo by Alan J. Keays/VTDiggerBURLINGTON — Three people have denied federal charges stemming from demonstrations where they allegedly blocked doors at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement surveillance facility in Williston.Peter
  
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• Washington County voters approved $54.9 million bond for new career center

  05-11-2026 23:34 via VTDigger
  
  An architect’s drawing shows the proposed site plan for the new facility on the U-32 campus. Image courtesy of CVCCVoters in Washington County supported an effort to nearly double the Central Vermont Career Center, approving a $54.9 million bond to build a new campus. The current technical education center at Barre’s Spaulding High School only has space for about 250 students. Last year more than 400 kids applied, according to Jody Emerson, the center’s director. With a new building in
  
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• Vets Town Hall events will highlight veterans’ stories in November

  05-11-2026 23:29 via VTDigger
  
  Veteran Larry Stoneking speaks at a Vets Town Hall event in Colchester in 2022. Photo by Megan Humphrey/Waterbury RoundaboutThis story was first published in the Waterbury Roundabout on Nov. 2, 2026.The Vermont nonprofit organization Vets Town Hall will host 10 community storytelling events in Vermont and New Hampshire from Nov. 6-15 to increase community understanding between veterans and nonveterans.The public is invited to attend, regardless of whether one has any ties to military service. A
  
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• Wealth shouldn’t fast-track a private runway in Lincoln

  05-11-2026 23:20 via VTDigger
  
  Dear Editor,Few would dispute that Beta Technologies is a boon to Chittenden County employment and its economic environment. However, the company’s CEO, Kyle Clark, would like to be able to fly to and from his $3.5 million home in Lincoln, a 45-minute drive from Beta’s headquarters at Burlington International Airport. The planes could include traditional fuel-powered aircraft and not just quiet, nonpolluting electric planes.Vermont should hold public hearings about a private airport proposa
  
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• Lighten up and let ’em fly

  05-11-2026 22:47 via VTDigger
  
  Dear Editor,I keep reading with fascination about the ongoing contention over Beta Technologies CEO Kyle Clark’s desire to build an airstrip on his land. I live in Grand Isle, where there is an airstrip on my road as well as float planes on the lake. There has never been a problem. Not one. The noise is minimal and certainly far quieter than the F-35 training runs that can happen here several times a year. Seeing a plane in the air so close is almost magical. And when our neighbor sees us, h
  
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