Shouldn’t quality, cost, convenience, what’s best for children, and local control be the driving forces behind these decisions — not the legislature?
Williams: Opposing H634 means preserving opportunity for our children
Timothy Page
Thayer: No such thing as a “safe injection site”
Vermont taxpayers paying for this bad behavior to stay high and unproductive in society, and to never seek help – how is that safe or right?
Vermont advocates renew push for single payer system
Critics say the proposal would add another layer of taxation to a state struggling to remain competitive by reducing the high cost of living.
Roper: My constituents want school choice and must be stopped!
Rep. Laura Sibilia introduces legislation intentionally opposed to her constituents’ interests.
126 years ago today, fire destroyed Barre Opera House
A glimpse into the devastating fire of January 18, 1898.
VT Headlines: VT lawmakers revisit single-payer universal health care
Burlington mayoral candidates debate for 1st time; North Country lawmaker seeks increased funding for nursing homes; Vermont doctors, patients seek living kidney donors
Evslin: A cease fire in Gaza will not make Hamas go away
It’s like ending crime by defunding the police.
Frenier: The limits of intersectionality
All social theories sooner or later are shown to be flawed. This is because no theory, no matter how brilliant, can capture all of reality.
Video: James Wilson and the American globe
One of Vermont’s claims to fame is James Wilson- a Bradford resident who produced the first globe in the Americas in 1802.
Conversations about conflict at Burlington High School
Teachers at Burlington High School are facing hard decisions about how to discuss the Israeli-Hamas war in class–or if they should discuss it at all.
VT Headlines: Should VT municipalities sign on to statewide ethics code?
St. Johnsbury hospital seeing surge in respiratory illness; Will this be the year Vermont bans flavored tobacco sales?; Vt. auditor finds ‘consequential mistakes’ in Burlington TIF accounting
Galfetti: Safe injection or throwing money in the fire?
A 12-year old child could walk in without a parent or guardian and proceed to “shoot up,” no questions asked.
Despathy: Supermajority bills usurp parent rights over healthcare, local control of energy, schools
If big government ever earns a final epitaph, it will be this ‘Here lies a contrivance engineered by know-it-alls who broke eggs with abandon but never, ever created an omelet.”
Davis: Infringing on freedom
Vermont’s ongoing battle for gun rights.
Rep. Jim Harrison: Making a point about legislative pay?
Pay the governor the same as legislators? Some Dem lawmakers are trying to make a point.
School curriculum sides with Palestinians, promotes socialism
Class on social movements and protest requires students to highlight work of Palestinian social movements, no equal time for Jewish, Israeli movements.
Milton High School Board flunks new flagpole for political flags
Milton High is not the only school debating whether to bring down its BLM flag, members of the Champlain Valley School District School Board are considering taking theirs down as well.
CLG: Trump projected winner of Iowa GOP caucuses
DeSantis poised for second, Haley third in Iowa GOP caucuses; Iran fires missiles at ‘terrorists and spies’ near U.S. consulate; Houthis hit U.S. ship with missile
VT Headlines: Barre’s ‘cliffhangers’ in limbo as city considers landslide buyouts
Anti-war protesters target Vergennes weapons facility; Split Council Restores Firefighter Job, OKs Budget – tax rate would go up 4.56%; Winooski FD responds to repeat structure fire on Main Street
Warner: VT GOP – call me crazy, but….
If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. (Galatians 5:15)
Roper: Stop forcing EVs down our throats
Soviet-style central planning does not work!
Wheeler: Political outage!
Recently someone complaining about one of the sad policies in our State blurted out: “Someone has a lot of work to do!” It never occurred to this person that the “someone” included them!
VT Headlines: Man arrested after stabbing person with sharp object several times
Leaders from across U.S. gather at Burlington’s City Hall to honor MLK; Lawmakers consider requiring home sellers and landlords to disclose flood risks; Utility crews make headway on Vermont outages
Klar: Is a nuclear renaissance on the horizon?
Proponents of climate change action are increasingly coming to terms with the factual reality that renewable energy manufacturing cannot possibly provide the baseload of power the world requires.
LaMarche: The misspent millions
This crisis is solvable. But state leaders’ proclivity for short-term, wasteful solutions, hinders effective and lasting change.
Eshelman: Traditional public school vs. tuitioned school choice
With School Choice Tuitioning there is a choice. In a monopolized traditional public-school format, parents get what they get.
Banned chemicals PCBs found in East Montpelier’s U-32, remediation underway
U-32 Middle and High School in East Montpelier has joined dozens of schools in the state testing positive for the toxins, also called polychlorinated biphenyls.
Cole: Against unlimited government
Apparently, our legislators see the boundaries and shrug them off. This is akin to me getting elected and proposing a ban on all abortions despite the recent limits on abortion restrictions Vermonters put into the state constitution.
VT Headlines: Legal online sports betting officially launches in Vermont
Vermonters still without power ahead of winter storm forecasted on Friday; Swanton Village voters to weigh public safety expansion; Vt. lawmakers revisit flavored-tobacco ban
CLG: U.S., U.K. begin bombing Yemen
Democrats fume after Biden orders Yemen airstrikes w/o congressional approval; Ukraine shells Donetsk hospital on Christmas Eve; Pentagon report fails to track $1 billion in weaponry for Ukraine
Roper: House Democrats pass BYOD State Supported drug dens
Despite being Federally illegal: Bring your own drugs! What could go wrong?
Baker: I want to be Ben Shapiro
Not really be him, but I sure would love his intellect and ability to debate. Let me tell you why.
VT Headlines: Utility crews spread across rural areas of VT to restore power before upcoming weekend storm
Low-income Vermonters struggle with loss of Medicaid coverage; Vermont woman hospitalized after building collapse in Dummerston; Authorities clean up South Burlington encampment
Bill prioritizes minorities and illegal immigrants for flood reimbursement
A bill introduced Jan. 10 deprioritizes the majority of Vermonters for proposed flood recovery assistance.
MacDonald: Vermont Surpasses 2022, With 27 Homicides in 2023
Only half of the homicides were gun crimes, a fact lawmakers choose to ignore.
Keelan: Efficiency Vermont just keeps growing
Efficiency Vermont is not different than most Vermont nonprofits that are, in effect, quasi-state agencies. They have substantial mission creep.
Windham County man faces Fed. court for lumber poaching
USFS claims “299 merchantable trees were unlawfully harvested. Many small non-merchantable trees (an inch or less in diameter at breast height) were also cut, but not tallied.”
Frustration grows over out-of-staters committing crimes in Vermont
A suspect in a shooting that occurred in October of last year was apprehended in Union, New Jersey on Jan 4. This is the latest incident that involves out-of-state residents committing crimes in VT.
Klar: New York law attacks religious freedom
Chick-fil-A is targeted for its faith yet again.
End-of-life assisted suicide up since 2021; policy may undermine neighboring states
Vermont possibly to become a “suicide tourism” destination.
Free ice fishing Jan. 27
Festival at Elmore State Park
DMV official put on leave while FBI investigates
Wade Cochran, director of the enforcement and safety division at the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, has been placed on paid leave pending an unspecified Federal investigation.
Evslin: How not to control disease
Overstrict rules are counterproductive
VT Headlines: How Vt. communities are working to turn problem properties into profit
Chelsea tackles rise in crime with help from neighboring communities; Burlington again struggles to find consensus on police oversight; Fire rips through Vermont home
McClaughry: Civil society
What is less likely to make news are act of kindness, generosity, good Samaritans, people stepping in to help those who have suffered misfortunes.
Lawmakers to hold hearing on ‘woke ideologies’ influencing the military
Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Chairman Glenn Grothman, R-Wisc., will host the hearing.
Vermont Huts reaches out
Vermont Huts Association looks to bring more people into the outdoors
Director of Elections moving on
Secretary of State announces nationwide search.
Roper: Make VPIRG pay
For flood damage to our communities and mental health damage to our children
Silverstein: Selection bias, a trojan horse and a Don Tinney proposal: a financially toxic threesome
Failure to review and reflect on the entirety of all relevant information almost guarantees that the conclusions drawn will be neither justified nor reliable.
VT Headlines: Some Vermont schools have been without potable tap water for years
Taxes on sugary drinks cut consumer sales by 33%, study says; Welch talks border policy changes and workforce issues; Police want your help identifying a Smuggler’s Notch burglar
LaMarche: An affection for injection
“Safe injection” sites are coming to a community near you.
Bananas Exclusive: Gay’s resignation letter
Johnny Bananas is the nom de plume of a fake news reporter living in Vermont. Nothing he reports ever actually happened. This is satire, folks.
Resort faces safety violations after toddler’s July, 2023 water tank drowning
The water tank entrance was supposed to be clearly marked with danger signs and have a secure cover held shut with metal bolts. Smuggs failed on both fronts, a state report says.
CLG: SCOTUS to take up Trump Colorado ballot case
37 Epstein Documents Released in Their Entirety; Wyoming judge dismisses effort to bar Trump from ballot; Maine GOP state lawmaker moves to impeach state secretary over Trump ballot removal
Iselin: American Epiphany
We have created a society in which those who favor and advocate the truth in real life, just as Jesus did, rather than only in abstract ivory towers, are sneeringly, mockingly persecuted as “Truthers” by the shamestream media and by censorship.
Beck: What a mess
The annual discussion over Vermont’s Education Fund and wringing of hands over education property tax rates is an unprecedented mess this year, and that’s being kind.
Fired Woodstock coach loses first round in transgender lawsuit
The Woodstock Union High School coach, fired after he joined a private conversation last Feb. by two students on his team about transgender athletes, lost his first battle to win back his job.
VT Headlines: Authorities work to solve surge of homicides from 2023
Vermont Senate beefs up financial disclosure requirements in response to VTDigger reporting; Brattleboro’s municipal EMS takeover plan may face state review; DEC outlines bathroom environmental action
Coast-to-coast drug kingpin sentenced in Burlington to 12 years
A part-time Vermont resident, the mastermind of a coast-to-coast conspiracy to distribute hard drugs and launder drug money, was sentenced to 12 years.
Stevenson: Fish and Wildlife Department defies legislators
Vermonters have been trying to change how the Fish and Wildlife Board and Department treats wildlife and the public for decades but reach grid lock, every time — and here we are again.
Roper: Sen. McCormack: “Am I so out of touch? No, it’s my constituents who are wrong.”
Democrat does his best to paraphrase Principal Skinner.
Zupan: McClaughry is a treasure that will be missed
John McClaughry would be deemed a national treasure if Vermont had not claimed him first.
Burlington Police 2023 Report: 22% more incidents than last year, 43% more than 2021
Key takeaways include that serious incidents such as overdoses are up and the department is engaged in replenishing its staffing levels.
VT Headlines: Central Vermont lawmakers host rally to launch flood omnibus bill
Police, lawmakers look to curb retail theft; Newport to get mental health urgent care facility; Vt. towns still working out how to pay for flood repairs; Hartland names new town manager
State grant could help Waterbury brewery curb its wastewater
Last month, Freak Folk Bier brewery received a grant from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation’s wastewater management program.
McGuinness: How much will Article 22 cost Vermonters?
Under Article 22 of the Vermont Constitution, Vermonters may be required to pay for medical procedures related to reproductive choice through increases in health insurance premiums.
Klar: Who trusts the WHO?
A story of global bureaucratic incompetence.
Green Mountain Transit to begin collecting some fares starting March 6
Green Mountain Transit (GMT) has announced that fare collection will resume on March 6, 2024, for its Chittenden County, Commuter, and LINK Express routes.
Miro: Vermont should follow Burlington’s lead
Burlington’s outgoing Mayor lists what he’d like to see Vermont do for energy affordability and climate,
VT Headlines: Lyndon Rescue ambulance damaged in car crash while transporting patient
Vt. judiciary tackles effort to address mental health and recidivism; Tunbridge trails battle goes to Vermont Supreme Court
Roper: VT Democrats open 2024 session with 10% income tax hike
Now it’s in the House, and you have a chance to let your Representatives know what you think about all this. Please do!
Dame: Democrats attacking democracy
At the end of the day, our Democracy is only as robust as our willingness to defend those ideals – even when we prefer different outcomes.
Despathy: Dear Legislators, please check your Green Colonialism
The majority of these bills are in place ready to be taken up and molded into legislation that will serve Vermonters and keep Vermont affordable.
Smith: The MADCAP policies of the Vermont legislature
The Vermont Legislature has a modus operandi: “Make As Darn Complicated As Possible”
Miro: Building housing and ending homelessness
We are long past the time for more debate. It is time for comparable State action to address wasteful and exclusionary State land use and housing policies.
VT Headlines: Missing Vermont man found dead
New year means new laws that will affect Vermonters’ wallets; Police investigate gunfire incident in South Burlington; Lamoille County food share overwhelmed
Newly-formed committee to pick next federal judge for Vermont
A seven-member screening committee is expected to begin work later this month reviewing the names of Vermonter lawyers interested in filling the seat of U.S. District Court Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford.
McClaughry: The end of the line
I take leave of the Ethan Allen Institute, and of my 30 years of biweekly efforts to defend and advance the principles that over the years have made our little state strong, proud and free.
Beal: In defense of wildlife advocacy groups
I felt compelled to correct misleading statements that misrepresented the values and goals of wildlife advocates. It’s okay to disagree, but the continued misinformation needs to be addressed.
Despathy: What this Legislature SHOULD be working on
Any legislator who cannot refocus efforts away from carbon should move to China and help them deal with their rapidly growing coal situation.
LaMarche: Vermont’s unpleasant New Year’s surprise
Instead of raising the fees on every Vermonter, why don’t state lawmakers draw their wanted revenue from their political paymasters?
LaMarche: Haley’s missed opportunity
You’ll often hear Southerners claim the Civil War was an issue of state’s rights. They aren’t wrong. They are just lacking a bit of detail: state’s rights over slavery.
Roper: When is someone paying more than “their fair share”?
There is some discussion that at least some Republicans will offer a Taxpayer Bill of Rights bill for consideration in 2024. Let’s give them support when they do.
Updated with photo: Firefighters battle bulldozer blaze
The incident occurred at approximately 2:35 am, prompting an immediate dispatch of fire units to the scene.
Bucknam: Barbarians
Today, barbarian ideas are resurgent in the West and across the world.
VT Headlines: New Year’s Eve celebrations
Burlington officials say encampments monitored for health and safety; HIV case numbers remain consistent in Vermont; 2023 was Burlington’s warmest year on record, capping a year of ‘wild’ weather
CLG: States still don’t know what to do about Trump
Despite backlog of veterans’ claims, VA using resources to help illegal immigrants; U.S. senator calls for bombing Iran Blinken and Mayorkas Fly to Mexico, Discuss Amnesty for Millions of Illegals
MacDonald: Slippery, meet Slope
Canada represents the cutting edge of progressive thinking where socialized health care meets socialized mass murder under the guise of your having asked for it.
Homeless encampment fire near Battery Park
The fire turned out to be a homeless encampment made up of tarps and a flat wooden platform. It had spread to the surrounding vegetation, causing concern for the safety of the area.
History firsts on the First
The first day of the new year also marks the anniversary of several milestone moments in history. See how many of these “firsts on the First” events you know with this short, fun quiz.
Vermont librarians face patron drug abuse, homelessness
More people aren’t getting the help they need for basic services, which has meant the library is asked to fill that gap.
Stack: The broken Vermont education system
The real disaster is the lack of awareness by the participants of the unintended consequences that double digit spending increases wreak on current and potential future community members.
New trapping regs take effect January 1
Vermont’s Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules’ objection does not prevent the new trapping regulations from coming into effect.
State prosecutor says system not designed to investigate and prosecute shoplifters in a timely manner
She continued that she wishes both the police and her office could collect, investigate, and prosecute shoplifting in a more timely manner but “that is not how our system is designed to work.”
Athens man pleads guilty to Federal and State charges in deer poaching investigation
Ryan Goodrich, 38, of Athens, Vermont was sentenced to five years in federal prison to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release
VT Headlines: Frustration mounts over ongoing Vt. unemployment claim dysfunction
Vermont’s wastewater treatment plants strained under December flooding; Senior housing in Hinesburg underway amid statewide push; Stakeholders discuss law to prevent catalytic converter thefts
Eshelman: FPF, legislative cartel spin 18% school tax increase
More from the Front Porch Forum/VT Legislative Cartel – this time on the Education charade.
U.S. service academy nominees announced
The five military academies are: U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, Coast Guard Academy, and Merchant Marine Academy.
MacDonald: NH border stores should stock up on fluorescent light bulbs
The old standard is not illegal to own or use. You simply cannot sell them in Vermont or transport them into the state for sale after the first of the year.
