Brattleboro Memorial Hospital says it plans to close its birthing center; Montpelier police appoint new interim chief; Fire chiefs explain how Vermont’s Act 162 affects their depts.; Firefighters respond to fires in Grand Isle, South Hero
VT Headlines: Judge blocks attorney from raising police misconduct as a defense in chase that killed Rutland officer
‘Us Vs. Them’ mentality threatens U.S., Scott tells new citizens
In my opinion, one of the greatest threats we face as a country isn’t from outside our borders, it’s right here from within,” Scott said. “The ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentality, the idea that consensus and compromise are somehow unacceptable or unattainable.”
Luxury hotel…for dogs? Tune in today
About seven out of every ten Vermont households own a pet. That’s one of the highest rates in the country.
UPDATE: Two still missing at Arrowhead Mountain Lake
The incident was reported at about 7:50 p.m. near the intersection of Highbridge Road, also known as Route 104A, and Arrowhead Lake Road. Initial reports indicated a group of relatives were fishing along the shore when a young girl fell into the water, and a man jumped in to try to rescue her. Neither of the individuals has been seen since.
It’s the law, now: Size of pot purchase reaches new high, stiffer stuckage fines imposed
A number of new Vermont laws took effect July 1, affecting consumers, motorists, criminal justice and renewable energy.
Vermont baseball player projected to go high in MLB draft
A hard-throwing pitcher from the Windsor County town of Chester has a chance to become the highest drafted major league baseball player in Vermont history.
Cops, schools concerned as illegal, unsafe youth e-moto biking grows
Colchester school officials and the Colchester Police Department are urging families to learn the legal differences between electric bicycles and higher-powered motorized bikes as more youth use electric-powered vehicles to travel to and from school and for recreation.
Evslin: Our basic assumptions were wrong
Time to rethink almost everything
Reynolds: Vermont deserves more affordable health coverage options
Too many Vermonters are struggling under the weight of extraordinarily high health insurance costs, high health care prices, and too few choices.
Southern Vermont loses Red Sox broadcasts
Sports now history at WEEY
Cohen: Balint misstates U.S. Supreme Court transgender sports ruling
Vermont’s U.S. representative incorrectly interprets decision
VT Headlines: Cooling centers open as region’s temperatures rise
Beta Technologies plans big expansion of South Burlington facility; Brattleboro ‘citizen journalist’ attacked by subject of his coverage; New gear library in Rutland is making outdoor recreation more accessible this summer
UVM druggist solves perplexing health mystery
A ‘brain teaser’ at UVMMC and one pharmacist who refused to give up.
Scott popularity dips to new low, still leads against Dems
Sharp dip in governor’s popularity among Republicans
Price-gouging egg dealers must donate 915,000 eggs to Vermont Food Bank
Vermont will receive about 915,000 eggs – that’s 76,500 dozen – and $56,000 under a multistate settlement with three of the nation’s largest egg producers accused of illegally conspiring to inflate egg prices, Attorney General Charity Clark announced Tuesday.
Roper: Economic momentum, progressive taxation, and my argument with AI
Other organizations rank states for economic competitiveness, economic outlook…. But “momentum?” What’s that all about? So, I asked my new AI pal Claude to help me define the term, and, yeah, what is shows is Vermont is pretty screwed.
Vermont banned food from the landfill. Its haulers can’t believe how much of it people still throw away.
A federal estimate says a family of four wastes nearly $3,000 of food a year. Vermont is one of the only states that can tell you what happens to it next — and the men hauling the cans see how much of it still ends up in the trash.
Vermont Air Guard’s July 4 flyover returns — even as much of the wing stays deployed overseas
If your first reaction is “I thought they were all in the Middle East” — that’s a reasonable assumption, and not a wrong one.
UPDATE: Missing Troy woman’s body found
Subsequent investigation has revealed the death is not suspicious and is believed to be the result of an accidental drowning. Independent witness statements indicate Richardson voluntarily went into the river and was quickly overpowered by the swift current.
O’Brien: Being smart about A.I.
Will the use of artificial intelligence promote a human-centered economy which recognizes the natural desire of the human person to work towards some end which is his own? Or will artificial intelligence become a new means by which some few impose their will upon the economic sphere and create a machine economy which treats people as objects with no higher needs than the energy required to keep the data centers of industry humming?
VT Headlines: Family of Scott Garvey files lawsuit against VSP following fatal shooting, despite AG clearance
Road reported clear after car fire on I-89; Vermont MLB Draft prospect pitches in Twin State All-Star Game; 60 people accused of illegal entry into the United States via Vermont, prosecutors say; Rare ‘extreme’ heat alert issued ahead of midweek heat and high humidity in Vermont, New York
3 branches of VT government host America 250 events in Montpelier tomorrow
A reading of the Declaration of Independence by Vermont Supreme Court Justices in conjunction with historical context is scheduled for Wednesday, July 1 at 1:00 pm in the Vermont Supreme Court courtroom.
‘Politics Unusual’ independent runs for Congress
“This is Politics Unusual,” Seymour said. “Too many Vermonters feel ignored by a political system that seems more interested in party agendas than the people it serves.”
Ribbon cut on contentious, 61-year long highway project
The 2.8-mile, $84 million, parkway opens new traffic access from Interstate 189 into Burlington’s South End, with the goal to ease congestion while shifting traffic onto Pine Street and bringing visitors into the city’s commercial district near the Farmer’s Market and Church Street.
Student loan subsidy ends tomorrow. Bernie’s bummed
Because the question isn’t whether some borrowers are struggling. The question is whether taxpayers who never borrowed for college—or who worked multiple jobs to pay their own tuition, or who already sacrificed to repay their loans—should now be asked to pay someone else’s bills.
Elevated tornado risk looms over Vermont as state sees unusual activity
Forecasters from the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center (SPC) indicate that while the primary tornado probabilities remain low across the Northeast, isolated severe thunderstorms capable of producing brief tornadoes, damaging winds, and hail are possible on Tuesday, June 30, and into Wednesday, July 1.
Soulia: Flooding in the Age of Act 121
As the state pours money into flood resilience, the historical record and the latest science complicate a familiar story.
AI is planning Vermont vacations and Canadians are vanishing from the Kingdom: 7 takeaways from the State’s new visitor study
The tourism economy is, to a striking degree, the same loyal travelers coming back year after year. That loyalty is an asset, but it’s also a quiet vulnerability.
Can Vermont ever clean up 480 million pounds of legacy phosphorus?
Can Vermont ever clean up 480 million pounds of legacy phosphorus?
Boat strikes object in Lake Champlain, passengers ejected
The operator, Jireth Guardado, 27, of Essex, told police he was navigating north on Lake Champlain from the Burlington area when he struck an unknown object in the lake.
Morrow: Scott vetos missed opportunities
A member of the House energy committee says the subject of wind power never came up when H.710 was discussed.
Letters: Vermont’s absence from the Great American State Fair
Also, something is rotten in the state of Woodstock.
VT Headlines: People rescued following rafting accident on Otter Creek
Coast Guard rescues person from water in Burlington; Driver rescued after reported truck crash into Black River; 3 pets dead after house fire in Hinsdale; Vermont Green F.C keep undefeated season alive; defeat Black Rock FC, 3-1
Shorts: Giving birth costlier in VT and NY than NH
According to a FairHealth state tracker map, it costs more to give birth, both in hospital network and out–of-network, in Vermont and New York compared to New Hampshire. The tracker shows median costs for vaginal and c-section births.
Vermont taxpayer debt among worst in nation
Unfunded public pensions killing Vermont, much as Gov. Scott predicted.
Foresters adapt as insects become driving force in tree mortality
A recent University of Vermont study found that natural causes, including invasive insects, are killing more trees than logging in the Northeast.
Breaking: Man convicted for killing mom in DUI crash arrested again for DUI
A Windsor County man, who authorities say killed his mother while driving under the influence of drugs in 2017, was arrested again on Saturday on a felony charge of DUI — drugs, third offense, after crashing into a Highgate motel.
Cohen: Inviting tragedy on a Vermont lake
It’s no wonder people die on the water.
Nurse at VA Hospital steals meds from psych patients, tampers with drugs
A New Hampshire registered nurse pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Burlington on Friday to diverting drugs from psychiatric ward patients and tampering with medications at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in White River Junction for at least nine months last year.
New Hampshire and Vermont: A tale of two states, thirty years later
Three decades have passed. Vermont’s policymakers had every opportunity to read the data and adjust course. They didn’t.
Suspect returns to scene of domestic double stabbing, turns herself in
This morning, 51-year-old Tamara Stone of Brandon returned to the home on Triangle Court where the incident occurred.
Ralph Wright’s life – in his own words
He would be quick to remind folks that politics like anything else took long hours and hard work – though he never denied that growing up in Boston in the 1940s made it come a bit easier.
Christian school sues state over Act 73 tuition exclusion
The appeal challenges Act 73, a law enacted by the Vermont Legislature that the school says effectively bars religious schools from participating in the state’s Town Tuition Program, Dual Enrollment Program and Early College Program.
Hit-and-run kills pedestrian
Pierro had been walking west on Main Street when he was struck by a passing vehicle.
BREAKING: Colin Wesley Palmer cited for smashing police van window at anti-ICE protest; glass blinded trooper
Police credit a large public response that helped identify Palmer as the person that seriously injured the state trooper.
Vermont couple caught up in Maine zoning fight
Rooster lawn ornaments aren’t passing muster in pricey Maine beach town
Investigation of deaths of Mechanicville, NY family of six focuses on grandmother
Officers were unable to contact anyone inside and obtained access to the apartment, where they discovered six bodies.
Legislators say Act 181 repeal online group ‘threatening,’ bot-driven
Four Washington County legislators are being taken to task on the Rural Vermont Rising Facebook group for what a poster says is their negative characterization of the grassroots organization’s successful efforts this year to repeal Act 181 and promote legislation protecting property rights.
VT Headlines: Mosquitoes in Charlotte test positive for Jamestown Canyon Virus
Committee moves to bring $500M parish assets into Burlington Diocese bankruptcy case; Vermont man tried to use axe to break into ATM in Middlebury, police say; Williamstown teenager charged with threatening homeless person
Newport yet to gain control of EB-5 ‘pit,’ must deal with contamination
“I prefer to call it the development opportunity block,” the Newport mayor said. “But we all hate it, and we all want to know what’s going to happen to it.”
Balloon, strawberry festivals draw crowds this weekend
Summer is finally hitting its stride, and the calendar shows it — balloons over Stowe, a Renaissance faire in Essex Junction, a small-town strawberry festival in the Kingdom, and the kind of street parties and porch-music Sundays that make late June in Vermont worth sticking around for.
How a Vermont fishing death from 2001 became the case for a new DNA law
A drowning at Sumner Falls went unsolved for 24 years. The technology that finally identified Brian Canfield is now at the center of a bill Sen. Peter Welch is moving through Congress.
22-yr-old passenger dies in side-by-side rollover, DUI charged
The young woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Beck: 50/50 votes and vetoes
Bills that will impact Vermonters are difficult by nature, and part of the serious business of a legislature. But votes shouldn’t be difficult because we don’t know how they will impact Vermonters or whether they will at all. None of these three bills should have made it to the Governor’s desk.
Batchelder: A fed bear is a dead bear
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.
Green: The Great Awakening that built the Constitution
The rugged Christian faith of the heroic founders was vitally interwoven with their patriotism and is inextricably linked by a sacred thread of purpose to the Great Awakening.
Relatives of missing POI stabbed, hospitalized
The underlying incident involved an attack on two of Stone’s adult relatives.
VT Headlines: Alburgh Fire Dept. stops water deliveries, residents panicking
Lippa’s Estate and Fine Jewelry moving from Burlington to Colchester after 93 years downtown; Vermont bans paraquat, weed killer linked to Parkinson’s; Person caught driving 106 miles per hour in Williamstown; Michelle Zajko charged in the killings of her parents in Pennsylvania
Across Lake Champlain, MAGA candidate wins primary, punishes press
What a difference a lake makes!
States that won’t obey Trump order will have their mail ballots halted, postmaster says
Postmaster General David Steiner defended the rule at a Senate hearing and dismissed accusations that the Postal Service was acting politically after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March restricting voting by mail.
After assault this morning, cops seek fleeing woman amid heavy police presence
Anyone who sees a person fitting Stone’s description should not approach her and instead call 911 or the Vermont State Police barracks in Rutland at 802-773-9101.
New gothic horror novel plays with sonnet structure
Cindy Ellen Hill’s new novel, “Leeds Point,” will be released on June 26.
Man arrested for third time at same property in Lyndonville
Officers entered the building and found Gilman hiding in a small closet or crawl space off an upstairs bedroom.
After video of daytime City Hall Park OD, skepticism about mayor’s ‘Burlington is back” statements
A day after the mayor of Vermont’s largest city proclaimed “the city is back,” a local videographer featured footage of an apparent drug overdose in the park behind City Hall.
Is Vermont’s Sharp Cheddar going soft? We asked a cheese chemist
The hunch that the sharpest cheddars don’t bite the way they used to is everywhere in Vermont. The science says the answer is more complicated than “they ruined it” — and partly about you.
White supremacist denies biting U.S. deputy marshal in Vermont
Court records show Palermo attempted to flee and resist arrest when confronted by the U.S. Marshals Service and Vermont State Police as they executed two extraditable warrants from New Hampshire on April 24 in Groton. State and federal investigators had tracked Palermo to a house at 100 Tinkham Road when they confronted him on the front porch, state police said.
Cop shooting of mentally ill man justified, AG says
Also, the Attorney General’s Office also announced charges in two separate Medicaid fraud cases as part of a nationwide health care fraud crackdown.
Klar: Welcome to the Revolution!
The MAHA movement is going strong…
Vermont women buying guns, learning to shoot
They are learning to defend themselves and their loved ones from some bigger, stronger threat just yards away and moving towards them with violent intent.
Director of defunct Wuhan research organization a Vermont veterinarian
EcoHealth Alliance was shut down by founder Peter Daszak in April 2025. He then started Nature.Health.Global.org, another research organization. There is no record of Baum’s involvement in Daszak’s new venture.
VT Headlines: $2.9 million will help expand college education in Vermont prisons
Vermont attorney general says trooper justified in fatal shooting during standoff; Anti-Bullying Rally Overshadowed by Criticism of Organizer’s Past Conduct; Vermont State Police release photo of suspected hit-and-run driver in Swanton; City of Burlington forms hiring committee to help choose next police chief
Crisis hotline cutback, broadband signup changes coming
Help count Vermont’s wild turkeys
Suspect in retribution attack on journalist held without bail
“So this one hits pretty close to home, because I am the victim of this assault,” Poitras says in the video.
Steidler: Data centers start to drive residential electricity bills down
Several major electric utilities have recently announced that their residential customers will have lower electric bills because of major investments in new power plants and the electric grid, enabled by data centers.
CLG: U.S. lifts sanctions on Iranian oil
Iran to set up Hormuz hotline with U.S.; Trump says Iran will be allowed to have missiles as part of peace deal: ‘They don’t blow up the planet’; Trump on Israeli military action in Lebanon: ‘You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody’
Scott signed the Forensic Facility Bill. Now Vermont has to build it.
The five-year fight over who runs it is settled. The fight over whether it gets built just started.
Only 1 in 5 high school seniors Is proficient in math. Where does Vermont land?
A fresh national snapshot puts U.S. math proficiency in plain numbers — and Vermont right around the middle of the pack. There’s also a quiz. See how you’d do.
Chelsea fire fatalities ID’ed
Both victims were residents of the home.
VT Headlines: Two pedestrians injured in reported Barre vehicle collision
Driver charged with driving 111 miles per hour in Brattleboro; ‘Vermont that still feels wild’: Three waterways proposed for the ‘National Park System for rivers’
High courts backs fur trappers, coyote hunters over POW
In a decision issued June 12, the high court affirmed a lower court ruling rejecting challenges brought by several animal-rights organizations to rules adopted following legislation passed in 2022.
Vermont Chamber: Vermont is in trouble
Staying the course is not a viable option. It only gets worse from here if nothing changes. We are aging, shrinking, and pricing out our own children, workers, and entrepreneurs. Schools face consolidation, taxes are climbing, and employers struggle to fill jobs. We’re too dependent on federal funding to support state spending. A housing shortage is driving up prices, slowing economic growth, and leaves young people feeling forced out.
High E. coli levels close Lake Willoughby North Beach to swimmers
The beach will remain closed until further notice. Town officials noted that even after skies clear, runoff creates conditions favorable for E. coli bacteria and harmful cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae.
42 years after State Police raid seized children, Island Pond church going strong
At 5 AM on June 22, state police – acting on child abuse reports from state officials – raided the church community in Island Pond and removed children. Judge Frank Mahady ordered the children released, citing a lack of evidence.
Green Mountain Books celebrates 50 years in Lyndonville
Once a commercial auto stop, the bookstore has been a staple of the Lyndonville community.
Letter: Crosby on ground solar and the unelected NGO running our towns
Also: Fernandez on Islam’s troubling ayat (verses)
Worsening tick activity may be new normal, state officials say
Experts attribute the growth of tick-related illnesses to climate change and more frequent tick-human contact.
Planet Hank fights off knife-wielding home invader
A potentially deadly tussle between the angry rugby playing college student, armed with a knife, and the 43-year-old retired Marine and martial artist ensued.
Chronicle Conversations radio program debuts at noon today
Today’s scheduled guests for the inaugural episode are Dave Soulia of FYIVT.com to discuss concerning developments in Vermont’s wetlands map, and former Rep. Bob Frenier to discuss a pending school choice lawsuit and the disparity between school districts.
Two tornados touched in towns 50 miles apart
Lincoln, located in Addison County on the western slope of the Green Mountains, was struck by a 105 MPH tornado about .3 miles long and 200 yards wide.
VT Headlines: Busy and successful Vermont soccer weekend
How Vermont’s new pharmacy law could change rural healthcare; Vermont State Police searching for Fairfax trespass suspect; Burlington celebrates Juneteenth with music, art and community gathering
Homeless advocates receive $200K in state funding for organization
The funding, approved in the annual budget by the Vermont Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Phil Scott, will help the organization continue providing statewide housing navigation, case management, service coordination, technical assistance, appeals assistance and permanent housing support for individuals with disabilities and complex needs, Siegel said.
Republican Javen Sears joins Democrats and Independent at the Candidates of Color Forum
Featuring candidates seeking office in the 2026 election cycle, the forum will showcase individuals whose combined experience spans education, healthcare, family and children’s services, community advocacy, business, youth leadership, and public office. Together, these candidates bring decades of professional, civic, and political experience to conversations about Vermont’s future.
White: Vermont dairy industry reaches critical turning point
How we got here: farms, industry, policy
Vermont’s greatest golfer ever big fail in U.S. Open
The Woodstock native, who is otherwise the best golfer ever to come out of Vermont, tied for 32nd place Sunday in the U.S. Open.
Soulia: Got wetlands? Act 121 puts Vermont landowners on notice
The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation is inviting the public to review the latest round of updates to the state’s wetland maps, a process that could carry real consequences for property owners whose land is newly mapped, remapped, or placed closer to regulated wetland areas.
Scott verdict on ’26 housing bills: “At the end of the day, the Legislature did very little”
“What absolutely is not the right approach is actively pursuing ways to lessen the value of rural property, an approach that is all too often on display,” farmer Becky Castle said.
Feds arrest Milton drug suspect on “crack house” charge
Released earlier on conditions from state drug charges
Frenier: The inequality of “equality” in education
Almost 40 years after the VT Supreme Court rendered its Brigham decision, supposedly ensuring equal educational opportunities for all Vermont kids, the opportunities to be academically proficient in Vermont schools remain decidedly UNequal.
Judge sets Ex-Chief Swanson’s demotion appeal for June 30
Embattled former Woodstock Village Police Chief Joe Swanson’s appeal of his latest demotion by Municipal Manager Eric Duffy will be heard in Vermont Superior Court at the end of this month. The Village Trustees voted 5-0 earlier this year to support Duffy’s decision, but Swanson has appealed the demotion as groundless. He wants to be reinstated as chief of a department where he has worked for two decades. Duffy has said he wants Swanson gone.
Morrison: Vermont’s healthcare crisis is real – S.190 wasn’t the solution
Vermonters have every reason to be frustrated with the state’s healthcare system. Costs continue to climb, insurance premiums consume a growing share of household budgets, and access to care remains uncertain for many families. That frustration helped fuel support for S.190. But good intentions do not always produce good policy. Breaking down the problem with S.190 will help Vermonters understand the Governor’s veto and why this legislation was not a real solution.
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