Vermont child care inspectors undercount ‘serious’ violations, audit finds; Ice jam builds in Mad River Valley near Moretown and Waitsfield; Leadership change at Vermont National Guard as some members remain deployed overseas; Vermont Senator Alison Clarkson retiring at end of session
Lots of news to talk about today, Monday March 9, on Hot Off The Press on AM 550, FM 96.1, Wdevradio.com at 11:05 AM. Call us at 802-244-1777.
The move comes as federal lawmakers raise concerns that Vermont’s $2.3 billion program may be vulnerable to the same “industrial-scale” fraud recently uncovered in states like Minnesota.
This week is the last opportunity for new bills to pass between chambers, so this means that time is limited and committees often work long hours with few breaks. However, this excludes “must-pass” bills, like the budgets, which are given extra time.
Vermont is one of only fourteen states that don’t have any requirement for voter ID when voting.
Wall Street braces for huge sell-off as oil hits highest level in four years and gas prices hit $8-a-gallon; Kansas City International Airport is evacuated as passengers flee on to tarmac and flights are grounded; Trump says ending Iran war will be ‘mutual’ decision with Netanyahu; Ali Khamenei’s son Mojtaba is confirmed as Iran’s next Supreme Leader
The lawsuit, filed in Vermont Superior Court, argues the new law significantly narrows that option and violates the Vermont Constitution by arbitrarily limiting which schools families can choose.
Vermont produces six times less energy than it consumes and depends on trucked-in petroleum for both transportation and home heating.
The Vermont political leadership, at the federal, state, and local levels (except for Governor Phil Scott’s administration), has made numerous announcements about how they wish to control residential rental housing in Vermont. They have made it their mission to stigmatize those who are residential rental landlords with comments such as, “they are gouging their tenants, making huge profits while providing minimum services.”
From planning to policy
Brittney Roberts, also known as Brittney Metivier, 36, of Barre, was arraigned March 5 in Vermont Superior Court on one felony count of fraud or deceit involving a regulated drug.
State fire safety officials revoked occupancy in residence.
Anand succeeded interim editor Neal Goswami. His predecessor, Paul Heintz, departed in February, 2025. When Susan Allen starts work in June, she will be the fourth editor-in-chief in 16 months at VTDigger.
Organizers say the conference is particularly relevant for Vermonters because debates over gender identity policies in schools, health care and government in the Green Mountain State have intensified in recent years.
The amendment is expected to be considered when H.545 returns to the House floor, potentially on Tuesday.
Audit finds widespread inconsistency and delays in oversight of Vermont’s child care facilities; Dorset community fundraiser for Grand Kyiv Ballet of the Ukraine; Annual Spice on Snow music festival returns to Montpelier
Sen. Pete Welch said Noem’s leaving office is overdue.
A mail carrier has been cited on multiple theft and unlawful mischief charges after allegedly discarding mail in a dumpster on a regular basis dating back to October 2025.
The crooks know our seniors are susceptible to fraud.
State and local police busy with DUI, domestic abuse cases this month.
Police say the suspect is believed to have entered apartments in a 55-and-older residential community and taken property belonging to residents.
Deputy sheriff continues to recover from injuries
S.205 would ban centers over 100 megawatts while their energy use and water consumption is studied
Students and experts offer testimony on a bill that would allow for online driver education
Mesh networks like Meshtastic offer Vermont a potential practical backup for communication during storms and outages
Millet was charged following comments authorities allege he made during a phone call to the Veterans Crisis Line, the national suicide prevention hotline for military veterans.
Colchester taxpayers are absorbing double-digit tax hikes to heat, plow, and staff half-empty buildings in rural counties that have lost 40% of their students but flat-out refuse to consolidate.
In Burlington, poll workers and an education non-profit kept watch for federal immigration agents during Town Meeting Day voting.
Winooski police look for driver involved in hit-and-run with pedestrian; Barre school budget fails; why board member says he’s not surprised; Vermont governor kicks off maple season in Canaan; Delegation asks FEMA to explain why it denied aid for Vermont’s 2025 flooding damage
Lawsuit claims Wellpath negligence killed Vermont inmate with untreated diabetes
Driver flees, but caught in Grand Isle
This spring, VHS collections staff are focusing intensely on the items we’ve selected for the “50 for 250” project. One of these objects is a cane that was present at the famous St. Alban’s Raid, the northernmost Confederate action in the Civil War.
Officers reported finding a large amount of cash, a small quantity of crack cocaine and a jar of petroleum jelly inside the vehicle.
Donahue, following a long career in public life in Rutland, notably gained an endorsement from Governor Phil Scott.
A newly leaked memo says over $4000 per household, $2.23/gal “tax” on gasoline.
Politics in Vermont’s largest city not so sweet
Towns take the temperature on support for universal health care; Vermont voters say they can barely take another property tax hike
Meanwhile, residents in Waterbury overwhelmingly approved spending more than $4.3 million on a flood mitigation project aimed at protecting homes, businesses and infrastructure from future disasters.
If you know if your local school budget passed or failed, email results and (if you have them) totals RIGHT NOW to news@vermontdailychronicle.com.
Vermont spends 72% of its child welfare budget on out-of-home placements, the third-highest in the US. It’s spending is fourth-lowest on preventive services at 2% and second-lowest on child protection
Also, Mazur on Arab cooperation against Iran. McCormick on needing 3 more Republican Senators.
The restoration of wild turkeys in Vermont is one of the Fish and Wildlife Department’s most notable wildlife restoration efforts. It began on February 28, 1969, when wild turkeys were live-trapped by the department’s former turkey biologist William Drake in southwestern New York and stocked in Pawlet, Vermont.
The woman had been brought to Copley Hospital by a friend after suffering significant abdominal trauma.
The Barre Auditorium was heating up despite punishingly cold winter conditions outside. The number four seed Mid-Vermont Christian School (MVCS) Eagles took on the number one Richford Falcons in a battle of high soaring offenses and tight clawing defenses.
The contest to pick a challenger to five-term Republican incumbent Susan Collins has become a proxy war for the future of the Democratic Party, and Vermont’s own Bernie Sanders is at the center of it.
Wrongful death lawsuit filed by family of man who died following injury in Vermont prison; One person taken to helicopter after rescue from Saxtons River; Vermont fighter pilots deployed to Iran, officials confirm
Windham Elementary School has been closed since 2023, when financial, staffing and legal troubles led the Town to shutter the school and tuition children to nearby Townsend. Town Meeting voters in 2024 opted to sell the asbestos-ridden building to the Town for $1 for possible use as a community center. According to the Commons, the community newspaper for Windham County, school voters will be asked to approve a two percent funding increase.
The bulk of the $950,000 would be spent on the police department to address the lingering asbestos and black mold issue
Vershire officials postponed town meeting to Saturday, April 11 after the town failed to comply with state law that requires town reports to be distributed to the voters of the town at least 10 days before town meeting.
Supreme Court rules that California cannot hide children’s gender transitions from parents; landmark decision protects parental rights nationwide
With an estimated 12 percent increase to property tax rates looming and school budget votes knocking on our doors, a Vermont House committee briefly discussed a bill to freeze property taxes.
Trump promises swift retaliation for drone attack on U.S. embassy and deaths of service members as Americans told to flee 15 countries amid ‘major uptick’ in strikes; Israel strikes Lebanon following Hezbollah attacks, widening Iran conflict; Oil tanker attacked off coast of U.S. ally; Moscow condemns U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran
Among the longest‑serving hospice volunteers in the nation, Charlotte Kenney, Jan Watt and Lil Venner have each devoted more than 45 years to UVM Health – Home Health & Hospice because, they say, helping patients and their families make the most of the time they have left of this earth is a privilege, rooted in grace and connection.
Ground rules are out for hearing; Trustees plan to keep decision a secret
The Vermont Environmental Justice Network is among more than 140 organizations supporting comments filed by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry opposing a proposed fluoride assessment by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Petraeus had one caution: leadership succession. Unless one emerges that is counter to current leadership, Iran will remain a threat.
Shut out of tourney play because they wouldn’t play against a team with a male player, Mid-Vermont Christian was reinstated after a court settlement and is now vying for the state championship.
Eight states bucked the national trend. Vermont recorded a 5% increase in traffic fatalities, joining Hawaii (+25%), Wyoming (+12%), Kansas (+10%), New Mexico (+8%), Idaho (+7%), Louisiana (+5%) and Colorado (+3%).
In the case of the Vermont Air National Guard and the 15th fighter wing, they were mobilized for Operation Absolute Resolve, and then were tasked to take their F-35As across the Atlantic, instead of going home, in order to be prepared for this operation,” Cain said.
Protest in BTV over Iran strike/ Faith leaders rally in South Burlington for immigrant support/ Vermonters rally outside ICE facility in Williston as part of nationwide protest
Vermont’s drug trafficking problem is getting worse. The two-sided debate over what to do about it shows that both parties are right — and both ignoring the pieces that don’t fit their argument.
If the Legislature seizes on the JFO report to enact a broadbased sales tax on services, the state’s next budget could hit $10,000,000,000 – its first-ever 11 figure budget.
Increased ICE presence has caused a ripple effect across the entire state, according to Winooski Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria.
Paper ballots make voting easier but take away the ability to “change each other’s minds,” expert says.
During a recent budget hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Vermont officials cited a specific example of what multilingual access can cost: approximately $18,000 to translate one statewide policy into 13 languages and produce an American Sign Language (ASL) video version.
Vermont’s two newest Supreme Court justices hit the ground running Wednesday — their first day for hearing appeals since they were confirmed by the Vermont Senate this month.
CUAD wrote on X: ‘Marg bar Amrika.’ In Persian, the statement means ‘Death to America.’
Small town faces small school closure at Town Meeting.
The Town of Cambridge cut municipal spending, but paying taxpayers are still looking at a big tax hike.
Donahue: longtime alderman, endorsed by Gov. Phil Scott. Reynolds: electrician and entrepreneur. Just two of the candidates in the all-write-in election for Rutland mayor.
“At this point I will be voting no,” Scott said, citing a projected increase of $250/$100,000 of home values.
Emerson is already wanted on a $25,000 warrant for failure to appear in court on outstanding fentanyl trafficking and child abuse charges.
Three years after being banned from all extracurricular activities, including sports by the Vermont Principals’ Association, the Mid Vermont Christian School is headed back to the post season girls basketball tournament.
When you have self-worth and purpose, you build self-respect. You learn respect for others. You become a productive member of society. That is what most people struggling with substance use disorder truly want.
Wooster had been traveling north in the southbound lanes for about 1.5 miles before colliding head-on with a southbound vehicle.
Dredging project along Burlington’s waterfront continues to keep marinas safe and functional; CVU families to vote on $13 million improvement project; Montpelier mayor’s race uncontested, but questions about infrastructure, housing loom
I am seeking corrections or the removal of the story and I have filed an ethics complaint with the management of Seven Days. Errors are common and mistakes happen, but not in these amounts. But I’ll leave you with one last thought, would Alison have reported about me if I had gotten a job at McDonalds or a gas station or really anywhere else than at her competition?
During recent House Health Care Committee discussion on H.817, a bill that proposes to provide optional mental health literacy and peer-to-peer mental health clubs in public schools.
The Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation (VCPL) announced it will hold a post-election press conference March 4 at the steps of the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier to highlight the results of its “Apartheid-Free Community” campaigns across the state.
While a recent Wall Street Journal report highlights that Americans are leaving the country in record numbers, many Vermonters are beginning to view the international border as a financial lifeline.
Stop giving it more money!
This week, the House Committee on Human Services has heard testimony on H.657, a bill that changes or establishes multiple practices within the Department of Children and Families (DCF), including overseeing a qualified minor’s social security income, defining the proper use of restraints and transportation for minors, restricting the use of solitary confinement on minors, the use of pregnancy calendars or tracking pregnant individuals, and reforming unaccompanied homelessness for minors.
Troopers determined the children were able to leave the room on their own and were later found in what authorities described as a dangerous situation.
LPD did not identify the state where the suspect resides, but Vermont is a non-New Hampshire state in the vicinity of the Walmart in West Lebanon.
SDGs, dogma, and the shrinking space for debate
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover, a U.S. Army helicopter pilot and graduate of Norwich University’s College of Graduate and Continuing Studies, was awarded the Medal of Honor during Tuesday’s State of the Union address by President Donald Trump.
Vermont National Guard to train Ukrainian soldiers in Germany; This Town Meeting Day, Vermont towns consider calling for universal health care; Landowners could restrict hunters with purple paint under bill in Vermont house
Vermonters are “stuck using fossil fuels, the polluting fuels of the past,” committee chair says.
U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan said authorities are reviewing Daly’s possible ideology and any links to the Zizians, two of whose alleged members face charges in a fatal Vermont highway shooting last year.
Considering Thomas Jefferson was an experienced lawyer, the Declaration of Independence reads more like poetry than a legal document. In what many believe is the greatest breakup letter of all time, Jefferson clearly explained, to the entire world, that the problem was not the colonists in America, the problem was the king.
It took a speech made by the Commander in Chief to an estimated 40 million people for VDC to learn how George “Buddy” Taggert earned his Purple Heart – and Bronze Star.
Rutland mayor race widens, as new candidates announce write-in campaigns; Vermont school budgets appear to be totaling lower than predicted; Vermont House advances data protections for people who use genetic testing sites; Addison County BIPOC+ will celebrate a ‘Golden’ Lunar New Year
Understanding what actually happened requires looking beyond headlines to examine the mechanisms, money, and competing pressures shaping this decision.
A group of Vermont state representatives has introduced H.550, a bill designed to establish comprehensive standards for the intake, classification, and housing of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex individuals within the Department of Corrections (DOC).
Now Democrats copy his misleading accusations that Republicans were the root of the problem.
The Vermont African American Heritage Trail was created by the Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing. Explore museums, cultural sites, exhibits, films, and tours that illuminate African American history in Vermont.
The following testimony from Retta Dunlap, Woodbury, VT was submitted to Senate Natural Resources Committee.
Documented arrests in Vermont show that ICE operations here have involved individuals with serious criminal histories.
Working families are priced out of existence
Vermonters expect their elected officials to represent them diligently, especially when Congress is in session. Yet too often, it appears our senior senator, Bernie Sanders, is focused elsewhere.
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