Bondi Beach mass shooting despite even tighter restrictions throws doubt on this idea.
Welch calls for “assault weapons” ban and stricter gun laws
Timothy Page
Soulia: When Vermont ignores reality – Part 1
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.
Sanctuary state refuses ICE detainer, releases illegal alien accused of causing multi-car pile-up involving a school bus
Juan Hernandez-Santos has a criminal history of multiple DUIs, possession of a controlled substance, and two prior removals from the U.S.
The December 15 ratification of the Bill of Rights
Safeguarding liberties in a new nation
Ghost-gun owning addict, car thief sent to federal prison
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.
Klar: MAHA’s war on ultra-processed foods was just vindicated
The medical journal The Lancet has just released three companion studies that vindicate this MAHA message.
Ben & Jerry’s #1 in industrial wastewater violations
Major dairy processors and manufacturers accumulated hundreds of permit violations in 2024 while state regulators emphasize “partnership” over enforcement.
Former homeless Mainer suspected in stabbing murder of Rob Reiner
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.
Illegal alien busted at Lamell Lumber sentenced for bogus immigration papers
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.
VT Headline: Multiple crashes, slide-offs on Interstate 89 due to icy roads, VSP says
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
Banzhaf: If “Jingle Bells” is racist, so are milk and fitness
Some intellectuals claim that they are
CLG: Brown University gunman hunt continues as police release person of interest
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
Soulia: “Jingle Bells” is racist?
What the research actually says
Former NCH employee accused of embezzling $163,000
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.
Burlington man arrested for Cambridge store burglary
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.
Bland pleads not guilty in Vermont death penalty case
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.
Roper: Given AI’s appetite for electricity, does it make sense to electrify heat and transportation?
Short answer: Nope.
VT Headlines: Hyde Park residents left without power during frigid night
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
Soulia: Act 47 and a story of Vermont’s compact future
The pressures shaping Vermont’s future are very real.
From national champs to big ten: Why Rob Dow is walking away from Vermont at the absolute peak
The 2024 national men’s soccer champion Catamounts face an uncertain future as their architect departs for the Big Ten.
U.S. House passes $800mn aid package for Ukraine
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
Energy supply expert to speak at UVM Dec. 16 via Zoom
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.
Vermont’s F-35 fighter jets deploy to Caribbean in major military mobilization
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.
Steidler: As AI grows in the U.S., so grows affordability
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.
Welch seeks missing pages from Federal disaster report as Vermont aid hangs in balance
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.
Klar: Justices Gorsuch and Thomas revisit the plenary powers doctrine
What is the legal standing of Puerto Rico?
VT Headlines: Vermont Catholic Church receives bankruptcy court’s OK to sell Rutland property
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
Klar: Toxic Chinese pet food killed thousands of U.S. pets
A wary eye on the food supply
“Faith Warms the Winter Night”
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.
Roper: Baruth offers partisanship, higher taxes, and zero solutions
VT Senate leader vows to fight Trump rather than solve Vermont issues.
Vaillancourt: Know your parental rights
Parents have the right to know what is going on with their child at school. That right is not surrendered at the schoolhouse door.
VT Headlines: Intelligence officials reviewing messages received by Winooski School District on Somali flag
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
Soulia: Vermont’s quiet tax break that everyone pays for
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.
Waterbury community gathers to build lanterns for annual River of Light parade
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.
Welch pushes to make airlines pay Vermont passengers for long delays
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.
Feds fund redo plan for flooded Montpelier post office
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.
Vermont Air National Guard mobilized on short notice: What we know about the deployment
Federal orders arrive with little warning
VT Headlines: Suicide prevention, education center to close due to ‘insurmountable’ financial issues
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
HOTP Today: Downtown woes, woodstove blues, and Somali flag story goes viral
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.
Shorts: Annual State House Christmas tree lighting today
Also, Vermonter dies in Ukraine war.
Soulia: Is affordable housing in VT affordable?
How a 24-unit project reveals a statewide crisis in cost, regulation, and taxpayer inefficiency
House committee opens investigation into Minnesota welfare fraud
Congress has begun an investigation into a large-scale fraud scheme that led to hundreds of millions of dollars being stolen from Minnesota’s social welfare programs under Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.
Wright: A call to restore the true meaning of Christmas
This world-shaking miracle has been pushed to the margins of relevance within the cultural bubble that much of secular America, and even many believers, now inhabit.
One town’s secret to affordable housing? Mobile homes
Colchester is a haven for manufactured housing in pricey Chittenden County
Vermonter Kyle Dezotell wins national soccer title at Tufts
Two assistant coaches have deep Vermont ties.
JD Vance says he is ‘fascinated’ by Bernie Sanders
In a recent NBC News interview covering topics from his personal life to potential 2028 ambitions and rising antisemitism, Vice President JD Vance shared his respect for three progressive political figures: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D).
Cops raid Swanton drug nest
Swanton Police arrested Mustafa M. Muhammed and Anthon R. Avery and seized crack cocaine, fentanyl, cash and a defaced gun.
VT Headlines: Mount Mansfield sets record for earliest 50″ snow depth amid coldest start to December in decades
Humble Revelry in Milton closes after car crashes into building; Rutland Regional Medical Center grilled by Green Mountain Care Board over proposed unit closure; Montpelier Finance Director Resigns; Swanton family decorates home with 25,000 Christmas lights for toy drive; In Winooski, 3 arrests upend a family’s quiet life
Truck driver from India serving sentence in Vermont fatal crash
Homeland Security reports other fatal/serious accident TT crashes with Indian drivers
Funeral home says yes to dissolving the dead
Alkaline hydrolysis — a cremation process that dissolves body tissue in water and chemicals — has been introduced to Vermont as a greener afterlife alternative.
Cota: Dropping enrollment, rising costs = more property tax pressure
Vermont is facing an estimated 12% increase in education property taxes next year unless lawmakers again step in with a General Fund subsidy.
Alternative media Vermont Back Porch debuts
Learn more about the new alternative media, Vermont Back Porch, when Hot Off The Press interviews founder Amy Hornblas today at 11:40 AM on WDEV. Call ins welcome at 802-244-1777.
Could VT’s property tax crisis close the door on $2.1 billion in outdoor recreation?
While Vermont property owners who permit recreational use of their land are legally protected, they receive no compensation or tax relief for their generosity.
Republicans divided over how to address rising health care costs
While House Republicans will drop the text of a health care policy bill as soon as Monday, individual Republican senators have introduced a hodge-podge of ideas via separate bills.
Letters: Livingston on the stock market failure on the horizon
Brook on new conspiracies
Soulia: Is Montpelier coming for your woodpile?
Vermont likes to call itself a leader in combating climate change, but leadership implies setting an example others want to follow. Instead, Vermont is becoming a cautionary tale of what happens when ideology trumps practicality. The result? A state struggling under the weight of policies that deliver the opposite of what they promise.
Response to Benedict: School Redistricting Task Force not ‘failure’
With respect, the evidence does not support that conclusion, nor does the characterization of the thousands of Vermonters who participated in the process as merely “organized activism.” That phrase is a dysphemism—substituting a negative label for something legitimate in order to undermine it.
Vermont’s $51.5 million railroad bridge rescue
A seven-year project to modernize critical freight infrastructure faced delays and cost overruns—but may have saved Western Vermont’s rail economy.
Judge reverses Village Trustees’ decision on Woodstock Chief Swanson’s demotion
A Vermont judge has reversed an April ruling by the Woodstock Village Trustees upholding the demotion of Police Chief Joe Swanson, and the case will now go back to the village board.
Winooski mom and child caught at border with bogus papers
The illegal possession of fraudulent documents, including a bogus social security card, is the reason a Winooski mother and her 7-year-old son were detained at the International border over the Thanksgiving holiday, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Friday.
Morley named to Orleans Senate seat
Morley grew up in, and resides in, Orleans County with his wife, Jodi. He has worked for the Village of Orleans for 33 years, managing an electric department, street department, water and wastewater department, fire department, and library. Morley is an active member of the community, serving on many boards, in addition to having served in the Vermont House of Representatives for six years from 2004 until 2010.
VT Headlines: Water main breaks overnight on small road off Shelburne Road
11th annual ‘Troy’s Toy Drive’ accepting new, unwrapped toys this Saturday; New protections for seniors at risk of scams; Registration for ‘Scat & Tracks’ educational program open
Bossange: Is Trump bigoted? And does anyone care?
Whether or not you respect President Trump’s approach, the fact remains America has never had a president who has had so many documented incidents of using racist, antisemitic, and misogynistic language.
Vermonter won Congressional Medal of Honor at age 11
When the Civil War erupted, Willie’s father answered the call to defend his adopted country, enlisting in the 3rd Vermont Infantry in June 1861. The boy, desperate not to be separated from his father, begged to accompany him to war.
Vermont alumna becomes ‘Doctor Brain Barbie’
Neurologist Dr. Jessica Lowe brings medical expertise and 230,000 followers to national telemedicine company
Soulia: The hidden cost of government-run welfare
Public aid vs. private generosity
CLG: FBI makes arrest in Jan. 6 pipe bomb probe nearly 5 years after devices were discovered
University of Delaware student arrested with car full of guns, plans to carry out mass shooting – and chilling note about ‘martyrdom’; 11 U.S. warships and 15,000 troops now in Caribbean as Venezuela tensions escalate; Stricter guidelines demanded for flu shots by FDA regulator after memo links Covid jabs to deaths of ten kids
Turning Point Club approved at VTSU Castleton after pushback
Student Government Association approves club after initial denial and pressure from a club member’s parent.
VT Headlines: DOJ sues Vermont over voter registration data
Montpelier Council Selects Three Finalists for City Manager; USDA’s threat to withhold SNAP funding won’t directly impact recipients; Vermont Legislature’s top economist slams Trump’s trade war
Roper: Healthcare in Vermont is a government facilitated grift
And EVERYBODY is paying the price.
MA man arrested on assault charges in Newark over the weekend
State Police arrested a Massachusetts man early Sunday after he allegedly threatened troopers with an axe and chainsaw.
Vermont Veterans’ Home receives its Christmas tree for 2025
For the seventeenth year in a row, The Vermont Veterans’ Home received its Christmas Tree from Marine Veteran Don Keelan’s property in Arlington. The tree, a 15-foot balsam, was delivered along with the traditional honorary escort from several Troopers with the Vermont State Police.
Waitsfield butcher featured in Food and Wine Magazine article about best value steaks
Joshua Turka of 5th Quarter Butcher and Provisions offers guidance as beef prices hit record highs
Soulia: What parents need to know about Vermont’s minor-consent laws
Vermont’s consent laws for minors allow adolescents to seek medical care for STIs, mental health, and gender-affirming services without parental consent or notification. Supporters highlight the seeming public health benefits, but others highlight the dangers posed.
Governor Phil Scott defends Afghanistan refugees in Vermont
Governor Phil Scott defended Afghanistan refugees in Vermont on Facebook Tuesday in response to the recent high-profile shooting in Washington, D.C., involving an Afghan refugee suspect.
Gov. Scott appoints Michael Hoyt to VT House of Representatives
Also, Governor Scott on the need for “education transformation” this legislative session.
Presumptuous skiers in backcountry concerning for Stowe Mountain Rescue
If you leave the trail, even following another’s tracks, there is a real risk of no way back.
Compass Vermont: Armed with questionable data, GMCB sets its sights on Gifford Hospital
The Green Mountain Care Board seems to continue to prioritize standardized billing data in order to support their policy goals even after receiving the more reliable clinical reality.
South Burlington man sentenced to 10-years for exploitation
In addition to the 120-month prison term, Judge Vyskocil ordered 10 years of supervised release after McGrath completes his sentence.
Puma back in trouble after 3 Federal felony charges for threatening
A longtime South Burlington man, who received a 20-month federal prison sentence in 2023 for intimidating phone calls to Vermont criminal justice officials, is back in trouble – this time for state charges of stalking and criminal threatening Middlebury College employees.
VT Headlines: Data breach at Dartmouth College exposes personal information of 40,000 people, incl. many Vermonters
Authorities search for missing Whitingham man; Montpelier’s acting city manager resigns in the middle of search for new city manager; Fireworks show on Burlington waterfront Wednesday night; USDA demands SNAP data from states
The Liberty Food Festival returns
December 11-13 at the Bellows Falls Opera House
Frenier: Act 73 is a danger to ALL independent schools
Parents of independent school students: rattle a few cages and get your school’s leaders to step up.
First snow of the season keeps Vermont State troopers busy with 50 crashes
From midnight to 2 p.m., Vermont State Police responded to 50 weather-related crashes: 27 in the northern half of the state and 23 in the south. Seventeen of those wrecks happened on interstate highways, with one injury reported, while 33 occurred on secondary roads, resulting in three injuries.
Keelan: And then there was one…
Governor Phil Scott has been, for some time, the clarion: the State is losing its young people. Flood recovery, increasing school taxes, healthcare costs, illegal drug use, and climate change took center stage. Meanwhile, the workforce kept descending. And institutions of learning have kept closing.
Berlin Police report ‘theft’ at mall
Police are looking into a light-hearted series of theft reports at the Five Below store in the Berlin Mall after officers received a second call on November 29 involving what appears to be the same mischievous suspect.
Highway surveillance cameras raise privacy concerns
As Vermont’s law enforcement agencies mark the 12th year of the state’s regulation on Automated License Plate Recognition Systems (ALPRs), members of the VDC team have highlighted the potential double-edged sword of this surveillance technology and the increasing prevalence of electronic surveillance technologies.
Norwich to lay wreaths at university cemetery December 6
Norwich University in Northfield will host its first Wreaths Across America Ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 1 p.m., at the Norwich University Cemetery. Students, alumni, veterans, and members of the Central Vermont community are invited to take part in the laying of remembrance wreaths and the reading aloud of the names of the fallen.
Feds to seek death penalty in NEK double homicide
Second case by Justice Department in as many months
Book Review: The Tech Exit
Is a Smartphone on your child’s Christmas wish list? Not so fast…
Soulia: VT’s Constitutional consistency on trial: Non-citizen voting vs. gun restrictions
If constitutional silence is grounds for exceptions, how does this logic apply to Vermont’s other rights not involving voting—specifically, Article 16, which guarantees the right to bear arms?
MacDonald: Illegal and unconstitutional
No one breaks laws or violates rights like Democrats. Keep that in mind as they work to build their latest anti-Trump “unlawful orders” narrative.
Paula Welden disappears 79 years ago today
December 1, 1946, an 18-year-old college student named Paula Welden vanished while taking a hike on the Long Trail near Glastenbury Mountain. Welden had informed her roommate that she intended to go for a walk, but she never returned. The subsequent search involved hundreds of volunteers, including military personnel, but no concrete evidence was discovered.
Court to Vermont State Employees: go back to the office
Return-to-office stays on track. The conflict now moves to the Vermont Labor Relations Board (VLRB) for adjudication.
Page: December 1st, a fateful date
State workers back in the office, the Property Tax Letter, and the vote on Obamacare.
VT Headlines: Energy assistance funds released to states after government shutdown delay
Small Business Saturday; Rutland man helps fill gap with peer-run sober living community; Multiple crashes in Vermont, New Hampshire during busy holiday travel weekend
Vermont medical debt relief will roll out soon
The Legislature this year unanimously passed a new law that will erase up to $100 million in medical debt—with no new taxes or fees. The Governor signed it into law on May 15.
Moffett: Rep. Maggie Goodlander: Seditious or just shameful?
There are many angles from which to view the “Scandalous Saga of the Seditious Six,” the recent Video-Gate story of six Democrat congresspeople who went public to admonish serving military personnel that they don’t need to follow orders they deem illegal.
Police: Addison County reckless driver found in Burlington
Patrick Cota, 32, sped away from both the Addison County Sheriff’s Department and the Middlebury Police on Friday during separate incidents in Salisbury and Middlebury, officials said.
Breaking: Orleans County man busted for illegal gun buys while facing felonies in two states
Angel Elias Estremera, 26, also possessed five other firearms unlawfully that were unknown to law enforcement when they conducted a court-ordered search at his Derby Line residence late last month, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said in federal court papers.
