The objective of the Clean Heat Standard is to make using fossil fuels for home heating so prohibitively expensive that people give it up for other options.
Roper: Legislature ducks accountability for disastrous energy bill
Just like Act 46, the school merger law, the Clean Heat Standard shifts policy-making power to an unappointed board. If something goes wrong (again), will legislators just wring their hands (again)?
Kunin: “Politics has gotten nastier since I was in office”
Former Gov. Madeline Kunin is glad more women hold office than when she was governor. But they’re still not at 50%, she notes.
Big coke smuggler sentenced
A million-dollar cocaine smuggling deal was broken up by undercover DEA agents in Burlington.
House GOP: Lawmakers, not appointees, responsible to plan Clean Heat Standard
Once more the majority party of the Vermont House is letting appointees do the hard, unpopular work of implementing energy policy.
‘Old forest,’ teenage voting, household products disposal bills pass House last week
An anti-development forestry bill that didn’t go through the forestry committee and heard no testimony from landowners passed the House.
Canada lets vaxxed Canadians cross border
Vaccinated Canadian tourists may visit the U.S., the Canadian government has announced. This will make border towns and the tourist economy very happy, Gov. Phil Scott says.
ST J murder suspect arrested / Kitten neglected, not lost / Rte. 12 burglar on the lam
On the lam: suspected Rte. 12 Burglar. Arrested: Brooklyn man suspected of St. J murder. Neglected, not lost: kitten in Londonderry.
When Lake Champlain was known as ‘Irish Lake’
Between 1840 and 1860, a great wave of Irish immigrants washed up on the shores of Lake Champlain. So many, in fact, that Vermont’s inland sea has been nicknamed the Irish Lake, according to a presentation by Vermont’s pre-eminent historian of Irish-Americans in the Green Mountain State, Vince Feeney.
Vermont leads the way (?)
Once again Vermont is leading the way….or taking one for the team… or something.
Anti-fossil fuel Clean Heat Standard passes House
A bill to force conversion from fossil fuel heating passed the Vermont House yesterday.
EV’s awful, embedded environmental costs
Making a single EV auto battery requires 500,000 pounds of ore – including some mined by children in dangerous mines in the Congo.
Gun seizure violates ‘probable cause’ protection in Constitution
The Constitution allows property seizure based on ‘probable cause’ that a crime has been committed. S4, the gun seizure bill, fails that standard.
7.3 earthquake, blackout hit Japan coast
A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima in northern Japan on Wednesday evening, triggering a tsunami advisory and plunging more than 2 million homes in the Tokyo area into darkness.
Orange woman, pilot and hunter, celebrates 100 years
Anna Chandler of Orange, age 100, earned her commercial pilot’s license in 1967.
UVM: “Everywhere chemical” linked to childhood cancers
You may not be able to pronounce phthalates, but it’s everywhere and UVM researchers now link it to childhood cancers.
Republican Senate primary looms as West Pointer, career Army officer declares
Today, Gerald Malloy of Perkinsville officially announced his candidacy as a Republican for the open U.S. Senate seat.
Your Letters: Biden’s failed leadership / fixed-income sticker shock for heating fuel
The United States was once the leader of the free world. We’re now humiliated and ignored in just one year due to the election of Joe Biden as President.
High gas prices = ‘conservation’
Some legislators are okay with the high cost of gasoline because it promotes conservation. How about you?
Bill would prevent immigration busts at courthouses
A bill before the Vermont Senate would protect illegal immigrants from arrest while in a courthouse in support of a family or household member.
UVM lifts mask mandate
The University of Vermont will lift its mask mandate March 19.
Gas prices dip slightly, still over $4
Hopes for a resolution in Ukraine have led to a small drop in the cost of Vermont gasoline in the last two days. But unless you’re in spitting distance of Quebec AND New Hampshire, you’re still paying over $4, Gas Buddy says.
Water Cooler: Attack sub Vermont crew tours state / another Congress candidate / Spelling bee winner
Crew members of the latest USS Vermont naval vessel – an attack sub – toured Vermont and the State House today.
Gun bill now on House floor new threat to property rights, senator says
For the first time ever, Vermont law would allow the government to seize a citizen’s guns without notification. The bill passed the Senate and goes to the House floor tomorrow.
‘Racist, anti-immigrant?’ Former Montpelier chaplain’s wife born in Mexico
A volunteer police chaplain with extensive experience in dealing with mental illness and substance abuse crises was let go by Montpelier PD after three days. There’s no official reason why – but public comments take aim at his fulltime job as a Baptist pastor.
Election Stolen? Don’t believe Fauci? You’re the new DHS target
DHS Secretary Mayorkas has released new rules on “extremism.” The new guidelines on extremist behavior include those who question the fraud in the 2020 election and people who question the regime’s talking points on COVID and its treatments, including the mandates.
Morrisville child porn dealer sentenced / Criminal threatening against DCF / Fatal crash
A Morrisville man with the user name “IncestKyle” has been sentenced for distributing child pornography.
Georgia man charged with selling fentanyl in South Burlington
A state of Georgia man has been charged with selling fentanyl in South Burlington.
How did YOUR rep vote on Scott veto of 16-year-old voting age in Brattleboro?
Vermont House members overrode Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of Brattleboro’s charter change to allow teenagers to vote.
Water Cooler: Race for Secretary of State / skied down the wrong side of Mansfield / Welch has Covid
Secretary of State Jim Condos’ hand-picked successor will have competition in the 2022 election for Secretary of State.
At least he got the lollipop
Anthony Fauci is all in on all future Covid-19 injections.
Pfizer pushes Shot #4 – ‘not now,’ Scott, Levine say
Regardless of what Pfizer says, Vermont doesn’t need to push shot #4 now, the Scott administration says. But in the future? Time will tell.
Coyote, leghold trapping bills cross over, move to full Senate
With changes, bills restricting coyote hunting and leg hold trapping met the crossover deadline and will go to the full Senate. Same for bills on suing police, stopping development in 50% of all land area, and other ‘hot button’ issues.
BIPOC center opens today at former Johnson State College
Named for a sophomore who died in 2020, a resource center for BIPOC students opens today at Northern Vermont University in Johnson.
Rejected Barre votes transcribed by hand: questions raised, answers given
133 votes were rejected by the tabulator at the Barre City Meeting, Clerk Carolyn Dawes ordered them transcribed and tabulated. Former candidate Brian Judd asks penetrating questions about what happened and why.
Bananas: Fill out those brackets for this year’s anti-Christ
March madness is already here. Vegas odds on the identity of the Anti-Christ!
Kidnapped! Rescued! Remember Baker remembered
Famed Green Mountain Boy Remember Baker’s kidnapping and rescue will be celebrated in Arlington March 21.
Take down the feeders, here come the bears!
Hungry bears want to snack on your bird seed.
Woman wants her heroin back, goes for state trooper’s sidearm / Homeowner shoots possible invader
Note #1 to self: don’t leave heroin where police officer can see it. Note #2: when he takes the heroin, don’t try to take his gun.
Thayer: Parents stood up at Town Meeting
Do you know what is going on in your local schools? On your local schoolboards? In your local district’s administration offices? These courageous parent candidates did not either, until one day they started to listen, pay attention, and ask questions.
Vermont feeling wartime pain at the pump, at the store, and on the assembly line
Gasoline is just the most obvious commodity shortage affecting Vermont consumers and industry.
Jury trial change, senior tax exemption, cannabis regs, Clean Heat Standard, etc. survive Crossover
Civil trial lawyers love S178, allowing non-unanimous jury decisions. It and other better-known bills passed Crossover Friday. Part 1 today.
Montpelier nixes volunteer police chaplain
A local Baptist pastor with experience working with the mentally ill, substance abusers, and veterans won’t be the volunteer chaplain for Montpelier PD, after all.
Watercooler: Homeless pods in Burlington / UVM off to the Big Dance / microburst flattens Flatbread greenhouse / ferry prices up
Hot headlines from today’s Vermont media.
Spaulding and Montpelier square off at the Aud!
Being in “the Aud” for the big Montpelier-Spaulding semi-final last week brings it all back for a 1972 Northfield High cager.
Perrino plugs Nolan for Senate on Fox
One of America’s most savvy political analysts thinks 2022 might be the year for Republican Senate candidate Christina Nolan.
113 MPH on I-89 / Drunk hits police cruiser / Busted for two bank robberies
Teenager tops out at 113 MPH on I-89. 59-year-old woman U the I backs her car into a police cruiser. Police arrest Barre man for bank jobs in Essex and Burlington.
Condoms for kids now available in Vermont schools
Vermont public schools, in partnership with the largest abortion chain in America, must provide free condoms to students as young as 12 – even if their parents object.
Jericho woman met Mother Theresa in Calcutta, urges lawmaker to support unborn
Mother Teresa’s voice was soft as she spoke to us— I sat literally at her feet on the cool concrete and contemplated her gnarled hands and bare toes.
Obama tests positive for Covid
“Michelle and I are grateful to be vaccinated and boosted,” the former President said. “It’s a reminder to get vaccinated if you haven’t already, even as cases go down.”
Condos: Sunshine isn’t enough to combat election ‘myths’
Condos and Winters remind us that public faith in government has plummeted to its lowest level since the Nixon era.
House overrides veto of Brat 16-year-old voter bill
The House of Representatives today overrode Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of a bill allowing 16-year-olds to vote and hold office in Brattleboro.
Let’s hope so…..
Watercooler: homeless ‘pod’ coming to Burlington
Burlington will try a new tactic to serve its homeless population. That headline and others from Vermont media today.
Warner: a personal case for prayer
Aaron Warner was homeless and living in a friend’s garage when he decided to inquire of the Creator’s willingness to help.
Cops will leave VT if qualified immunity bill passes, Schirling warns
Legislators, who can’t be sued for the decisions they make on the job, are considering a bill to strip cops of the same protection. Vermont’s top cop predicts all-time low police staffing if S254 passes.
Scott to sign Ukraine assistance bill Tuesday at Freedom & Unity Vigil
Russian gasoline and liquor are driving Vermonters and other Americans less and less these days. All liquor store proceeds from the sale of Russian-made products for one week have been set aside for humanitarian assistance in Ukraine.
Biden gives NH Planned Parenthood $500K, thwarts state defunding
The Biden administration has given NH Planned Parenthood $500K to offset the state’s defunding of the Granite State’s largest abortion provider.
Gas hits $5.19 in Johnson
Responses range from acceptance to blaming Biden By Guy Page Good news! You can still buy regular-grade gas for less than $4/gallon – if you drive to the Northeast Kingdom town of […]
Woman driver arrested for dragging cop 50 yards
The driver who allegedly dragged a state trooper at 20 MPH is now behind bars.
Keelan: so many crises, so little unity
Every issue crisis is framed as ‘number one.’ Our leaders focus on the loudest cause-seeker who has their immediate attention.
Even boring photos tells a story
Do as I say, not as I do?
$1.5 million State House cafeteria redesign panned
Should the Legislature spend $1.5 million in federal $$ to redesign the State House cafeteria? Gov. Scott thinks not but lawmakers say it will add much-needed space for committee rooms.
Big climate rally opposes Clean Heat Standard
Vermont labor unions oppose the Clean Heat Standard because it funds climate change programs “on the backs of the working class.”
Water Cooler: Exodus from Burlington Racial Equity Office / Winooski 100 years old / Homeless funding extended
100 years ago, prosperous, urban, one-mile-square Winooski concluded its lengthy divorce proceedings from rural Colchester – and promptly saw its industrial base go into a tailspin from which the Onion City has never fully emerged.
“First in the nation” household waste bill goes to House floor today
Another of the Vermont Legislature’s ‘first in the nation’ bills may add costs and reduce availability of household goods containing hazardous chemicals.
Judd: no transparency and integrity in transcribed Barre ballots
Problems feeding 133 paper ballots into Barre City voting tabulators at last Tuesday’s City Meeting led the City Clerk to have them transcribed onto other pieces of paper and then tabulated. Brian Judd questions the transparency and integrity of transcribing ballots.
Vermont law enforcement donates body armor to Ukraine
Vermont law enforcement agencies are teaming up to donate used and expired body-armor vests to military units in Ukraine.
Dartmouth canceled Ngo due to censorship, not safety
Dartmouth’s eleventh-hour cancellation of a student event featuring journalist Andy Ngo due to “safety” concerns was actually driven by censorship.
Redic: The right to bear arms and Ukraine
The assault on the right to bear arms, whether from Ukrainians or Vermonters, neither secures borders nor restrains “dangerous behavior.”
Point/Counterpoint on Postal Reform
Everyone agrees postal service is getting worse and worse. Two national experts discuss whether a bill passed by Congress will fix the real problem or just make it worse.
McClaughry: John Kerry talks climate amid Ukraine crisis
Sure hope the war and death in Ukraine doesn’t make Important People lose focus on climate change, John Kerry says.
‘Old growth’ forest tax break passes House
Climate change warriors have secured tax breaks to keep Vermont forestland undeveloped.
106 MPH in 55 MPH zone
A young man from South Burlington was stopped for speeding on I-89 in Winooski and then processed for DUI by state police.
West Virginia moves COS past half-way mark to Constitutional Convention
The Mountain State is all in on the Convention of States. The Green Mountain State? Not yet.
Federal bureaucrats busting your chops on passport, housing, taxes, etc.? Call Bernie
Stuck like a fly in the web of the federal bureaucracy? Call Bernie – or rather, call Bernie’s constituent affairs peeps. Politics aside, they might be able to help.
Barre married couple busted for drug, gun crimes
David Tom, 37, and Tiffany Fisk, 32, who are married and both of Barre, were charged with drug and gun crimes.
Water Cooler: Gas prices drive us to EVs? / Lost urn discovered / Loons rescued
Will high gas prices be an “incentive” to drive electric? Maybe – or maybe the cost of electricity will climb sky-high, too.
Scott would return $45 million in Ed Fund surplus to taxpayers, spend rest on tech centers
Scott’s plan for unexpected $90 million surplus in the state Education Fund: give half back to taxpayers in $250 checks this summer, and spend the rest teaching trades to young Vermonters enrolled in technical education.
Strong: Proposal 5 gives autonomous right to something that takes two people
Autonomy means “having the freedom to govern oneself or control your own affairs.” But, scientifically speaking, reproduction takes two people.
State law requires zero-emissions new cars by 2035 – because California says so
A Vermont law passed in 2006 requires state regulators to adopt California emissions standards. And California wants zero-emissions new car sales by 2035.
Coyote hunting, leghold trap bans may wait a year
Three controversial anti-hunting bills won’t make crossover and appear headed to summer study.
Snowmobiler facedown in stream, no feeling in legs
Too much speed on too much ice propelled a Connecticut snowmobiler facedown into a stream.
Water Cooler: Gas prices soaring / Caviar Emptor / privileged Vermonters / Bus drivers have new contract
For rural Vermonters who depend on the bus, a new labor contract ensures they can still get to work, the doctor, and the store. This story and others from today’s Vermont media headlines.
Virologist: COVID race stats need review
Although the dominant official and media narrative says Covid-19 harms more black people than white people, the actual data says otherwise.
Gun bill veto ‘compromise’ lets out-of-staters use high-cap magazines
A ‘compromise’ bill to the vetoed S30 was approved by Senate Judiciary today. It creates a seven-day waiting period, allows gun seizure without due process, and lets out-of-staters use high-capacity mags.
Bananas: How to be an anti-racist, Vermont style
Whiteness is an essential feature of systemically racist Vermont, particularly in winter, where the outdoor topography can be seen covered in soft blankets of snow, knitted by an equally racist Mother Nature.
Dame: this war is Putin’s fault, not Biden’s
Pretty refreshing to see a national leader grab for a rifle instead of a ride out of town. Would ours do the same for us?
Evslin: call the Russian Bear’s bluff
Vladimir Putin NEEDS to export oil and gas. If he didn’t, he’d have threatened to cut off NATO Europe weeks ago. Call his bluff.
Opioid settlement upped $1.2 billion
Vermont AG TJ Donovan and other AGs get another $1.2 billion out of Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family for their role in the opioid crisis. The Sacklers also must “express regret.” But the deal doesn’t send them to jail.
Mountain medic appointed to Vermont House
Mountain safety expert and former Lyndon State College Prof. John Kascenska replaces former Rep. Patrick Seymour (R-Sutton) who recently resigned.
McClaughry: Expanding parental choice in education
The Supreme Court said the state must pay tuition to sectarian schools, if that’s what the parent wants. Because, school choice. But the Vermont Senate Education Committee chair says students and staff must be “protected” from religious schools.
Poached deer search turns up 880 bags of heroin, meth
3000 rounds of ammo and 880 bags of hard drugs were seized by an alphabet soup of state and federal police agencies in the town of Athens. No word about the poached deer, though.
Refugee housing tax break considered
A bill giving a property tax break to homeowners providing housing to refugees has cleared the Vermont House and is now in the Senate.
Barre crack bust / 99 MPH on I-91 / Suicide on I-89
A traffic stop for a car registration violation in Barre led to a bust for possession of crack cocaine and fentanyl.
Water Cooler: Electric snowmobiles, masks off in Essex, Burl/SoBu bike path, Rice & Rutland in state hoop championship
Powerhouse Rice Memorial High School is, once again, seeking the state crown in boy’s basketball. And the masks come off in a big Chittenden County school district.
Russia: Ukraine destroying evidence of U.S. bioweapons program
Trucker convoy in DC area – that’s a fact. US bioweapons program in Ukraine – that’s a Russian claim.
Thayer: As gas prices soar, so does Progressive desire to tax more
Progressives will make our gas crisis worse, not better.
Jesses: Under Proposal 5, do Black Lives Matter?
Where’s the racial equity in black/white abortion statistics?
State $$ for your failed well or septic system
The State of Vermont is providing $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to support low- and moderate-income Vermont homeowners in repairing or replacing their failed or inadequate on-site water or wastewater systems.
