The state’s no-bail policies and a perceived “revolving door” justice system have left many residents and businesses feeling unprotected. Beyond the personal pain and financial hardship crime causes, there’s a broader economic toll: individuals, businesses, and even the state suffer under the weight of persistent crime.
While national elections draw the most attention, many of the most immediate impacts on Vermonters — particularly school spending and local taxes — are decided earlier in the year, often with less public awareness.
Nonprofit that helped combat loneliness in Rutland County to close; New online ‘toolkit’ offers Vermonters a how-to for disaster recovery; Killington opens new Skyeship gondola on Christmas Day
FBI did not believe it had probable cause to raid Mar-a-Lago for classified documents; FBI accused of ‘corrupting’ Epstein jail footage after his death, bombshell memo claims; Trump deploys troops and special ops aircraft to Caribbean as U.S. moves closer to war with Venezuela
The most transformative aspect of the newly adopted plan is the authorization of significantly taller buildings along the city’s major corridors.
My presentation on grass-fed meats.
Officers were called to the area of North Winooski Avenue and Grant Street at about 9:36 p.m. on Dec. 22 after receiving multiple reports of gunshots. Witnesses also reported seeing several people running from the area, police said.
AG Clark’s press releases often overstate her role in lawsuits led by bigger states. Yet, a 2025 ruling requires Vermont to join them to secure federal funds.
U.S. Homeland Security Investigations began an investigation after learning Reginald Adam Velasquez, 33, attempted to buy a Glock .40-caliber pistol from a federally licensed gun dealer in Barre on Nov. 14, court records show. He listed his Bradford address on the form and not the more recent Barre residence, records show.
The real solution is to reduce current education spending and put in place mechanisms that apply downward pressure on future spending. Many of the components of Act 73 do this, the governance changes are intended to reduce administrative overhead, class size minimums will reduce instructional overhead, and a statewide foundation formula will provide the mechanism for downward pressure on future spending.
Brandon thrift store funds new town solar projects with $50,000 donation; Garneau Family Lights collects 80+ toys for kids this holiday season; White House rebuffs Catholic bishops’ appeal for a Christmas pause in immigration enforcement; Adrian Dubois introduced as UVM men’s soccer head coach
People saw the Cardinals as a way to connect with loved ones and often purchased several at a time from Norton’s Gallery of Woodcarvings, Norton’s namesake gallery in Shoreham.
Originally introduced at the 1992 Rio Summit, Agenda 21 is an international action plan for sustainable development that aims to address the balance between human activity and environmental sustainability.
Another case of following sweet-looking tracks without paying heed to destination or daylight hours.
Vermont’s chilling record of winter women in white
Garnett: The State of Vermont cannot be responsible for private landholders’ issues
From Roosevelt Roads, Vermont’s F-35s can conduct missions deep into Venezuelan airspace and return without requiring aerial refueling, according to technical specifications
Washington Central Board Votes to Close Elementary Schools in Calais and Worcester; New MRPS Budget Projects 44% Tax Increase for Roxbury Residents; CLA to Blame; UVM Hospice Team holds “Honk and Wave” protest over contract negotiations
A defiant burst of last-minute Christmas shopping marked a turning point in Vermont retail history on this date, December 22, in 1979, when several major stores openly violated the state’s long-standing Sunday “blue laws.”
U.S. Senator Mike Lee of Utah has introduced legislation that would revive a long-dormant constitutional power: letters of marque and reprisal. In plain terms, the bill would allow the President of the United States—specifically President Trump, under this legislation—to authorize private American citizens and companies to seize cartel property and personnel outside U.S. borders, on land or at sea.
Business podcaster keynote at Chamber annual meeting; AI non-bank lender expands into Vermont
To fix our housing crisis, Jericho woman says attitudes need to change as much as zoning regulations
Most notable are the updated regulations referring to panfish and the use of baitfish. Additional changes can be found in the 2026 Fishing Guide & Regulations booklet available free from license agents and on Vermont Fish and Wildlife’s website.
Stead gives End Homelessness Vermont address, and Bufka on being doers.
Vermont’s iconic ice cream maker faces governance crisis as corporate restructuring triggers legal battle over brand’s activist independence
The federal government added roughly $1.8 trillion to the now $38 trillion national debt in fiscal year 2025. While net interest on the debt totaled $970 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the federal government’s net interest payments exceeded $1 trillion for the first time.
Stephen A. Lane, 56, who operates Single Needle Acupuncture on Battery Street, appeared in federal court with his two defense lawyers on Friday for arguments on why he should be released to the community pending trial.
Planned Parenthood and other abortion service providers have long benefited from public funding of life-ending procedures for pregnant women seeking to terminate their pregnancies. After Roe v Wade was overturned, panic in blue states went into hyperdrive, not just to support abortions but to attack those who offer mothers an alternative. Privately funded pregnancy centers help women who wish to keep their babies by providing diapers, baby bottles, instruction, and moral support.
When Federal promises meet property tax reality
Police were called to the area at about 11:39 a.m. on Dec. 20 after a family member reported their daughter may have been assaulted by her partner, Khalil Young, 28, and was possibly unable to leave the residence. The caller also reported that the partner was threatening to harm himself with a firearm in front of her.
Judge throws out Vermont’s lawsuit against facial recognition software firm Clearview AI; Two Vermont soccer stars drafted by Major League Soccer teams; Candlelight vigil held for International Migrants Day in downtown Burlington; Vermont Emergency Management prepares for possible power outages with high winds and heavy rain projected today
Last year’s Danville eighth grade class saw 13 out of the 30 students choose another school. In 2023, another mass migration of eighth graders occurred
Tuesday, December 16, the halls of the Vermont State Capitol were filled with light and song as the community gathered for the annual Hanukkah celebration. A tradition for the last 15 years, the event serves as a public declaration of religious freedom and communal resilience.
Douglas Reynolds, 37, tried to outrun the marshals service in his black Volkswagen Jetta at speeds over 100 miles per hour, but eventually ran out of gasoline in Ryegate during the pursuit on Oct. 24, 2024, officials said.
The Naval Support Facility in Thurmont, Maryland, more commonly known as Camp David, does not appear to be getting the same level of use it once did.
Morgan Walker Brown died peacefully surrounded by love on Tuesday December 16th. A person of enduring determination and wise compassion, to the very end he used his prose and his voice to advocate for people in need. Morgan inspired many to follow in his example of empathy, kindness, and compassion.
Late one night, a tired writer falls asleep at his desk while faint organ music drifts in from somewhere distant. In his dream, an old man named Word appears on a high cliff and tells him to seek the House of Bread—then the writer wakes up, packs his things, and sets off with his companion to find it.
Watch your language: Trump admin questioned Vermont Head Start provider’s funding request over DEI terms; Storm to bring heavy rain, record warmth and wind; Mad River Glen inks final purchase and sale agreement for 1,100 acre
Second-warmest year on record, climate scientist James Hansen says, with record heat expeccted in 2026
What Vermont cannot do is continue pretending it can sustain prohibitive regulation, minimal growth, lavish spending, high-cost labor structures, small schools everywhere, expansive public programs, and low taxes at the same time.
Part 2 picks up where that conversation left off, continuing through the remaining structural challenges affecting Vermont’s economy, cost of living, and long-term fiscal stability.
Vermont Public reporter Peter Hirschfeld joined Hot Off The Press call-in radio show Thursday.
Hulsen filed an equal pay violation lawsuit in U.S. District Court in November 2020 claiming she was cut loose from her high school job when the position was redefined and a younger man was hired at a substantially higher pay rate for the new post in August 2020.
Vermont is among the 35 states to reach agreements with the Kia and Hyundai automakers to retrofit existing models with anti-theft technology, the Journal-Opinion reports today.
The proposal addresses an estimated $200 million increase in the education fund, which could result in an average property tax increase of about 12%.
Shouldn’t the qualifications for a referee be based on merit and his or her ability to do the job with skill, excellence, and integrity, instead of an artificially imposed quota of arbitrary external characteristics?
Many non-biblical historians and objective, skeptical scholars insist that he was a historical figure.
The pedestrian has been identified as Mauricio M. Martinez, 52, of Schenectady, New York.
We are already paying more than our fair share.
Four people charged in alleged human smuggling operation in Vermont; Governor pitches Vermont lawmakers on plan to avert 11.9% property tax hike; Wilmer Chavarria sues U.S. government for violating Fourth Amendment rights; White out: Vermont’s tallest peak buried under record-breaking powder
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a coalition of 17 other Democratic attorneys general are urging the U.S. Department of Education to withdraw a proposed expansion of federal data collection on college admissions, arguing it would violate student privacy and distort civil rights law.
It saddens me us that on a private not government community social media page an invitation to share in the true meaning of Christmas is prohibited.
Vermont ice cream company’s governance restructuring eliminates activist leaders, raises questions about brand independence
A convoy of kindness will roll into the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital on December 18, carrying far more than boxes and bags. It will bring smiles, comfort, and a powerful reminder that the community stands shoulder to shoulder with its youngest patients.
State relaxes truck driver hour restrictions through mid-January as Northeast faces propane and heating oil supply crisis
Charitable giving should be more public
A two-year old driving while intoxicated court case against besieged Addison County State’s Attorney Eva P. Vekos appeared to come to a close Tuesday when she pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge.
I’m very grateful for Jarrod Vaillaincourt’s excellent commentary in the Dec 10th issue of the Vermont Daily Chronicle. He exposes efforts by elementary school staff to market a new school-sanctioned “sexuality” club – to elementary school students! Although such conduct by public school educators is beyond revolting, it’s unfortunately not surprising.
Vermont family says nephew is ok following mass shooting at Brown University; Man dies by suicide following police investigation in Essex; Three arrested in Bennington following drug trafficking investigation
The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote as early as Tuesday on H.R. 3492, titled the Protect Children’s Innocence Act, legislation that would prohibit gender-related medical interventions for minors.
Listen at 11:05 AM today on WDEV AM 550, FM 96.1, and on wdevradio.com. Call in at 802-244-1777. You can also email your comment or question to news@vermontdailychronicle.com.
Bondi Beach mass shooting despite even tighter restrictions throws doubt on this idea.
What Vermonters are experiencing now is the predictable result of multiple systems breaking down at the same time: education finance, demographic decline, housing scarcity, regulatory overreach, healthcare inflation, workforce deterioration, and a tax base that continues to shrink while public obligations grow.
Juan Hernandez-Santos has a criminal history of multiple DUIs, possession of a controlled substance, and two prior removals from the U.S.
Safeguarding liberties in a new nation
Anthony T. Seagroves, 34, was ordered to serve a 26-month prison term on Friday for having a loaded privately made firearm — also known as a “ghost gun” — in downtown Burlington on Oct. 14, 2024.
The medical journal The Lancet has just released three companion studies that vindicate this MAHA message.
Major dairy processors and manufacturers accumulated hundreds of permit violations in 2024 while state regulators emphasize “partnership” over enforcement.
The couple’s 32-year-old son and screenwriter Nick Reiner is the prime person of interest in the deadly stabbing, sources told the New York Post.
An illegal alien from Mexico, who authorities say used counterfeit immigration documents to get hired at a Chittenden County business, has been sentenced to five months in federal prison for unlawful reentry into the United States after being deported multiple times.
One person dead following US Route 7 collision; Burlington City Council to discuss sidewalk obstructions, grant for drug recovery shelter; Brattleboro hospital’s chief financial officer exits amid projected $14.5M shortfall
Some intellectuals claim that they are
Brown U. gunman shouted something before opening fire; 2 killed, multiple injured in mass shooting at Brown University as Ivy League campus is plunged into lockdown; Trump’s Israeli-born pick for U.S. anti-Semitism czar plans to work with social media to suppress ‘hatred,’ label it ‘misinformation’; Gunmen kill 16 at Australia’s Bondi Beach Jewish holiday event; Elections impossible under Zelensky’s ‘terrorist regime’ – Ukrainian MP
What the research actually says
A former maintenance supervisor at North Country Hospital allegedly embezzled more than $163,000 through fraudulent expense claims, inflated on-call pay requests, and reimbursements for cancelled or returned purchases, according to police.
Police say the burglary occurred on November 28, at about 12:57 a.m. at the Cambridge Village Market on South Main Street in Cambridge. Following an investigation, troopers developed probable cause that Ian Gardner, 39, of Burlington committed the offenses of burglary, grand larceny, unlawful mischief and possession of stolen property.
A former Stowe resident has pleaded not guilty in federal court to a series of felony charges, including a possible death penalty case for reportedly killing two out-of-state drug dealers in the Northeast Kingdom in 2023.
Short answer: Nope.
Burlington faces up to $12M budget gap for fiscal year 2027; Vermont regulation could lower number of THC products you can buy at one time; Student plans to show Gazan protest documentary delayed due to pushback
The pressures shaping Vermont’s future are very real.
The 2024 national men’s soccer champion Catamounts face an uncertain future as their architect departs for the Big Ten.
Trump gives Zelensky ‘days’ to respond to peace plan; U.S. lawmaker pushes for withdrawal from NATO; U.S. deploys fighter jets to Gulf of Venezuela in closest known approach yet; How Covid vaccines can cause heart damage
Richard Heinberg, a senior fellow at the Post Carbon Institute and a prominent voice on global energy trends, will give a public presentation on December 16 examining what he describes as mounting pressures on both the world’s—and Vermont’s—energy systems.
The F-35s from the Vermont Air National Guard will join the growing U.S. force massed in the Caribbean aimed largely at the Maduro regime.
Today, artificial intelligence (AI), a technology that is more profound in its capacity to change and improve lives than electricity, holds the promise of transforming America. Indeed, it can take us to the golden age President Trump envisions.
At stake is more than bureaucratic transparency. Vermont is appealing the Trump administration’s denial of disaster relief for a July 2025 storm that caused $1.8 million in verified damage to roads and infrastructure in the Northeast Kingdom—damage that exceeded federal thresholds but was nonetheless rejected in November.
What is the legal standing of Puerto Rico?
Two central Vermont elementary schools could face closure; Gov. Scott, Vermont party leaders call for Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos to resign; Vermont directs flood recovery funds to housing on higher ground
A wary eye on the food supply
Revelation 3:21 reminds us that grace is not inherited, but chosen: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Amen.
VT Senate leader vows to fight Trump rather than solve Vermont issues.
Parents have the right to know what is going on with their child at school. That right is not surrendered at the schoolhouse door.
Winooski Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria to testify in Washington, D.C.; Man sentenced in Vermont 1986 cold case murder of Sarah Hunter; Vermont officials push early action as health coverage deadlines near
Vermont’s Use Value Appraisal Program—commonly known as the Current Use Program—has been a central part of the state’s land management approach for more than four decades.
The interior of Waterbury’s Brookside Primary School gym is usually reserved for basketball games and physical education classes. But for a handful of days last month, it served a different purpose: a workspace for the River of Light — Waterbury’s upcoming annual community lantern parade, happening this past Saturday, Dec. 6.
The legislation seeks to establish a standardized system where airlines must pay passengers for delays and cancellations that are deemed within the airline’s control.
Thirteen community and infrastructure projects across Vermont will receive a combined $8.9 million in federal funding through the Northern Border Regional Commission’s Fall 2025 Catalyst Program, state and federal officials announced Tuesday.
Federal orders arrive with little warning
Vermont Democratic Party head calls for resignation of Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos; As bitter cold hits Vermont, new shelters open for the first time this season; State waterways could lose federal protection under new rule
Today’s Hot Off The Press show will be a little city and a little country. In the first half hour, we’ll be talking with Kolby LaMarche, editor of the Burlington Daily News, about downtown Burlington amid the desperate holiday shopping season, and in the second half of the show with pig farmer, inventor, and FYIVT publisher Dave Soulia and climate change activists making noise about taking away your woodstove.
Also, Vermonter dies in Ukraine war.
