LURB suspending Tier 3, road rule work, member tells Chester Telegraph

The statement by a member of the regulatory board charged with writing rules for implementing Act 181 comes a week after Chair Amy Sheldon and every other member of the House Environment Committee, as well as House Speaker Jill Krowinski, announced plans to repeal the rural development restrictions passed in 2024 over Gov. Phil Scott’s veto and slated to take effect this summer. 

Keelan: Missing in action

The federal and state income taxes that exist today are progressive by statute. The more one earns, the greater the tax. It has been such since 1913, when an income tax was allowed under the 16th Amendment to the Constitution. It has been reported that about 80% off all income taxes are paid by the top 10% of filers. They are also the major contributors to the non-profit community. So why is it that they are allowed to be ostracized by the Bernie crowd without any support at all from the non-profit world?

Gutmann: The choice for Vermont: mausoleum or real world

Vermont is at a tipping point. Vibrant little towns like my beloved Wallingford—where one still sees mothers pushing strollers, school kids trooping home with their backpacks, and deer hunters hanging out in driveways to show off their trophies—could become frigid, exquisitely-maintained mausoleums inhabited only by one or two affluent summer people whose children have long since left.

Roper: Aly Richards, poster child for failed government

While I’ll buy Richards is likely to put up a better show than Esther Charlestin or Brenda Siegel based purely on fundraising capabilities and a political network, Democrats might think twice about hitching their wagon to what, when examined under the brighter scrutiny of a campaign, is a dumpster fire of a record that any sane politician would run away from.

Harbin: We want Vermonters to feel safe in their homes

While Vermont’s visible challenges with drug trafficking maybe happening on streets and in parks, what’s happening inside residential apartment buildings is also putting citizens and their neighbors at risk, largely out of sight. These illegal enterprises are surprisingly often operating under tacit protections from State law and the resulting risks are exacerbated by a lengthy court process that takes months to resolve. And this is putting vulnerable Vermonters in harm’s way.

Deadline approaches for Vermont to receive $195M for rural health care

Lawmakers on the Senate Health & Welfare Committee received an update Thursday from AHS on the status of the funding and how the state plans to use it. Director Jill Mazza Olson and Sarah Rosenblum, said Vermont will receive $195 million in 2026 for its first year of funding and has put out notices for six opportunities to bid with plans for ten more. According to the newly created public webpage, the submission periods for the first six proposals end starting April 10.

Meet the NGOs that shape Vermont’s laws this Saturday

The 2026 Vermont Changemakers Summit, organized by the Vermont Natural Resources Council and co-sponsored by more than two dozen of the state’s most active advocacy organizations, comes to Harwood Union Middle and High School on April 11 — a free, full-day convening billed as a gathering for “community activists, organizers and advocates passionate about people and the planet.” For Vermonters who have watched property tax bills climb, heating costs rise, and land use regulations tighten, it is a rare opportunity to meet the coalition responsible in person.

Abuse alleged at NH youth lockdown used by VT

Complaints include: “Lockdown” status was in place at the facility for approximately a month and a half. Also, the initial “full lockdown” for 2 weeks; single movement (which means 1 child out of their sleeping quarters at a time), no off-unit time, all muscle movement on the units (which was very minimal), shackled to walk around off unit if needed/approved, and no education.

Vermonter averts double death penalty trial, accepts life sentences

Under the 13-page signed plea agreement filed Thursday, Bland admits to causing the deaths of both Solomon and White during a drug trafficking crime on Oct. 12, 2023. Both criminal charges carry life sentences. He also has admitted to carrying and using a gun on Oct. 14, 2023 during a drug trafficking crime, which calls for a consecutive life sentence, the plea agreement notes.