Vermont has studied the need for a forensic system for years. We are now approaching another moment of déjà vu, as in 2023 when forensic facility language was removed.
Carroll: People charged with murder should be incarcerated
Timothy Page
Scott names AI task force for business, wants quick results
“AI is the first technology in a generation that gives small Vermont employers the same tools the biggest companies use,” said Lunderville. “New technology often widens the gap between big and small. This one can close it.”
$$ bills, Act 250 reform now in hands of small committees – let the Whiffleball begin
Adjournment won’t happen until conference committees can connect on the tax (H933), budget (H951) and homestead property tax (H949).
North: Coups and Constitutions
It’s been a busy week in the State House, yet as for Education Reform, Taxes, and the Budget… nothing.
Jesse: The Association of American Educators, an alternative to teachers’ unions
A new report sheds light on AFT and NEA spending tens of millions of dollars on electing Democratic political candidates, and prioritizing politicking over the needs and interests of their union members. The study found that of the NEA’s $450 million annual disbursement budget from fiscal year 2025, less than $46 million, or 10 percent, was spent on activities directly representing the union’s constituents.
Vermont’s roads kill at nearly three times the rate of its neighbors
A new study finds that driver behavior — not terrain, traffic, or infrastructure — explains the state’s disproportionately high fatal crash rate.
Fernandez: The trouble with The New York Times’ “The silence that meets the rape of Palestinians”
It is a moral error to imagine Hamas as “freedom fighters” since freedom fighters do not gang rape women and mutilate their corpses and laugh about it. Nor do they sexually torture teens at music festivals, burn families alive, and livestream it online.
Feds seize millions from Vermont crooks
$$ from Chinese fraudsters, Newport defense firm, Winooski pornster, Rutland embezzler goes to victims
Candidate rolls out ‘YIMBY’ property tax relief plan
Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Ryan McLaren on Monday, May 18 unveiled his “Yes In My Back Yard Tax Credit” plan to provide municipalities with $25,000 in education property tax relief for every new home fully permitted this year.
VT Headlines: Wrong-way driver causes multivehicle crash on I-89 in Middlesex
State officials and local residents respond to ongoing PFAS contamination concerns in Bennington County; Vermont motorcycle ride raises awareness for men’s health; Welch, Balint talk election integrity with town clerks
Castleton man faces aggravated stalking case for teen girl
Vermont State Police say they have new evidence that a Rutland County man arrested on a misdemeanor stalking charge, also was illegally pursuing a separate victim under the age of 16.
Rutland World War II monument plans take shape
The new monument will be placed just north of the Vietnam War memorial in the park.
New drive-in lane for Burger King?
A pickup truck crashed the Colchester Burger King Sunday morning.
McGuinness: Are persons identifying as animals exempt from Vermont’s bestiality laws?
Senator Steven Heffernan asked Senator Tanya Vyhovsky on the Senate Floor Friday whether persons that identify as animals would be exempt from Vermont’s bestiality laws.
Blotter: Man dies when Kia hits tractor-trailer head-on
Also: A mailbox, a driveway, and a fourth DUI.
Ryan: Freshman rep fights party leaders over ‘spite wells’
A first-term legislator is seeking solutions to a long-ignored consent problem inside ANR’s wastewater permitting. Party leadership told him to back down. He’s not backing down.
Soulia: What if Vermont’s Presidential vote no longer matters?
The agreement is called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC), a multi-state pact designed to ensure that the winner of the national popular vote becomes president of the United States. Under the compact, participating states agree to award all of their electoral votes to the national popular vote winner, regardless of how their own state voted.
Light summer reading: Gruesome Vermont deaths
“Villainous Vermont” contains 32 true accounts of murder, homicide and unresolved deaths in the Green Mountain State.
Vermonter PGA’s Keegan Bradley fails cut, scolded for playing too slow
Vermont Daily Chronicle follows state’s favorite PGA player
Boutin: Why the “Equal Rights” amendment doesn’t live up to the name
After reading the language and reviewing the testimony, I do not believe this amendment is written correctly nor do I believe it delivers on the promise of equal rights for all. That is important because this is not just some law that can be undone. There is a four-year process to make a constitutional amendment. It should be difficult and should be done correctly.
Senate reverses vote on pregnancy resource center amendment
On Thursday this week in an uncommon move, the Vermont Senate reversed one of their previous votes and struck down an amendment to a bill that the same Senators had approved by high margins the day prior.
VT Headlines: Vermont man at center of gun trafficking network to Canada
BPD releases body camera footage from March 11 Dorset Street ICE operation; Burlington daycare center ONE Arts temporarily closed; Brattleboro hospital and its support staff avert strike by signing first contract; Barre city manager stepping down to take deputy role in South Burlington
The corridor that never closed: Two centuries of immigrant smuggling at Lake Memphremagog
Long before the U.S.-Mexico border dominated American conversations about immigration enforcement, a cold lake in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom had already been the site of one of the country’s longest-running and least-told human smuggling histories.
S.227 would restrict school cooperation with immigration enforcement
Vermont lawmakers are considering a bill that would require schools to adopt immigration protocols restricting when school officials may cooperate with federal immigration enforcement and when law enforcement officers may access nonpublic areas of school buildings.
Roper: Vermont kids can’t read, Democrat politicians don’t care
Democrat leaders refuse to fund a proven literacy program in Vermont.
UVM Police phone number being spoofed
While these callers may possess some of the recipient’s personal information, it has been gathered from public records — they have no access to law enforcement databases or warrant systems. UVM Police emphasize that they will never call to request money, payment information, photographs, or to warn of an ongoing investigation or open warrant.
Bananas: WHO demands national IQ test before mid-terms
After electing Joe Biden and then Donald Trump for a second time the American people are being questioned by the international community about their ability to form a coherent thought.
Four arrested for trespassing charges at ICE facility in Williston
Peter Booth, 58, the vice chairman of the Jericho selectboard, Henry Prensky, 79, of Burlington, Aiden Balentine, 39, of Montpelier and Casey Seem, 20, of Oakham, Mass. They are due in state criminal court in Burlington on June 30. For Booth and Prensky it was the second time arrested for a similar blockade at a building containing a support office for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, state police said.
Judge finds Windham County man not guilty in major tree cutting case
A federal judge has ruled federal prosecutors failed to prove a Windham County man, who cut down about 300 trees, did it in an area designated for protection as part of the Green Mountain National Forest.
Gov. Scott appoints Kevin Geno as Rutland County Assistant Judge
Geno has served in law enforcement since 1976, first with the Rutland City Police Department and, most recently, with the Rutland County Sheriff’s Department following his retirement as commander of the Rutland City Police Department.
The village that vanished
Gaysville and the Great Flood of 1927
Whitmire announces run for Bennington Senate seat
Pledges tax caps and full Act 181 reform to protect working families and rural Vermonters
Letters: Mattoon on remembering fallen Vermont submarine sailors
Always remembered, not forgotten.
VT Headlines: $20 million in FEMA funding will repair flood damage in Montpelier, railroads
Enosburg Falls cream cheese producer agrees to pay the state $265,000 for allegedly releasing untreated wastewater; Eight migrants arrested for illegally crossing US-Canada border in Vermont, CBP says; Budget challenges ahead for UVM with enrollment down 7%
Proposal 4 passes House floor with no pre-vote discussion, questions
One ‘No’ vote says Vermont needs to follow the Bible
Texas Roadhouse issued fines over food waste found in trash.
The restaurant off Williston Road, known for its steaks, peanut shells, and Texan atmosphere, found itself the target of an investigation by the Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD) over unusually high amounts of food scraps found in landfill waste.
St. Albans native joins long list of Navy admirals from Franklin County
A St. Albans native has been named to command the surface ships of the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet.
Vermont’s Notch fine just got ten times bigger. The driver will probably still pay it.
A bill moving through the final days of the legislative session targets the carrier. The national truckers’ association says that rarely holds. And the driver gets five points on their CDL.
McGuinness: House Republicans, your Prop 4 silence speaks volumes
Well, you know what, House Republicans? Your silence and poor arguments for voting in favor of Prop 4 “Equality of Rights” on the House floor yesterday spoke volumes. Volumes of fear of losing one’s seat and pandering to Democrats.
Alleged dealer sold kilo of cocaine per day
Joshua P. Bedard, 38, is named in a criminal complaint in federal court with drug distribution in Windham County in April, but his business operated as far north as the White River Junction region, according to records.
Cohen: Vermont Hospital Chief’s cooperation a breath of fresh air vs. arrogant predecessor
Out with Eappen, in with Leffler
VDC Headlines: Burlington Police Commission holds closed-door meeting discussion on March 11th protest
Barre voters strike down school budget for a second time; Vermont’s congressional members are rich. But they don’t buy stocks; Rutland County covered bridge damaged by town work vehicle
Dem House majority rejects adding Current Use to conservation goals
An effort led by Rep. Mark Higley (R-Lowell) to force a floor debate on a stalled current-use land bill failed Tuesday after a lengthy House debate over legislative process and committee authority.
Roper: Voting rights bill debate exposes major problem with VT elections
And legislators don’t want to solve it.
Klar: New farm bill a step in right direction
Stripped of a liability shield for manufacturers, the bill is a major MAHA win. Still, not all farmers and farmer advocates are happy.
Rabid skunk found in Westmore, residents urged to take precautions
The department said the detection of a rabid animal indicates the virus is circulating among wildlife in the greater Westmore area.
Grand Isle DA DiSabito denies DUI charge
Case will be held in Franklin County
Ethan Allen, Windham jail, Westminster massacre subjects of VT history award winners
These awards are handed out annually by the society to recognize the exceptional work done by individuals and community heritage organizations across the state to collect, preserve, and share Vermont’s rich history, with particular emphasis upon innovation.
BREAKING UPDATE: Student, teacher data firm makes deal with extortionist hackers
Instructure, whose Canvas learning management software was compromised, claims to have “reached agreement” with the extortionist hackers at the last minute in order to halt release of roughly 275 million records from more than 8,800 educational institutions.
Letters: Salat on affordability
Fireovid on the problems with Prop 4.
VT Headline: BTV mayor says city won’t release body cam footage from March 11 yet
Swanton Electric seeks 30% rate hike from state regulators; Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark takes leading role on AI, internet privacy
VT announces neglect, Medicaid overbilling in NEK
Pattern of ‘upcoding’ reaped undeserved benefits for the region’s human services agency.
Breaking: Biden gave pass to major drug dealer/tax cheat in Vermont
Biden gave pass to major drug dealer/tax cheat in Vermont
Republicans challenge 50% conservation by 2050 on floor today
Abenaki celebration on State House lawn today; Shout out to VDC from…. John Walters?
Hinesburg community weighs pros and cons of proposed turf field
Student-athletes face disruptions when the school’s grass field is unplayable, but critics worry about the environmental risk of turf.
Vermont’s state fish is ‘thriving’ despite national population decline
As the weather gets warmer, Vermont’s brook trout are staying cool.
Diaper drive at State House on May 13 to help Vermont families during deployment
For households with infants and toddlers, diapers and wipes are amongst ongoing expenses that can place added strain on family budgets, particularly during periods of transition and uncertainty.
Breaking bread: Dismas reconciles formerly incarcerated people with their community
Dismas works with the Department of Corrections to find housing for incarcerated individuals who are ready to leave jail
Sandbar burn this week targets one of Vermont’s most threatened forests
A multi-agency team will set fire to 53 acres of the Sandbar Wildlife Management Area in Milton starting Tuesday, in an effort to restore one of Vermont’s rarest and most endangered forest types.
VT student and educator data exposed in Canvas data breach
The incident, first reported in early May, has raised serious concerns for families and schools in the Green Mountain State, where Canvas serves as a primary platform for online learning, course management, and communication at higher education institutions and through virtual learning programs. The deadline for the data ransom is May 12.
Soulia: Special treatment for Baruth’s gun ban
It’s good to be the king
VT Headlines: Vermont State Police investigating suspicious death in Norwich
Man arrested after shooting in St. Albans Town; Georgia town reinstates police department after mayor fires officers; Date officially set for Jason Eaton attempted murder trial; Utility pole severed after crash in Colchester;
Vermonters are rich (in home equity) / Homeschoolers dodge Big Guv oversight
Anti-semitic government sanctions north of the border – could it happen here?; A government sanction you WON’T be seeing here in Vermont anytime soon – Florida has passed a law pressuring teachers’ unions.
Change to state constitution could empower homeless, immigrant, transgender rights
“That the people are guaranteed equal protection under the law. The State shall not deny equal treatment under the law on account of a person’s race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or national origin. Nothing in this Article shall be interpreted or applied to prevent the adoption or implementation of measures intended to provide equality of treatment and opportunity for members of groups that have historically been subject to discrimination.”
Ellis: NYT – cover to cover
One of my great pleasures – still – is reading the New York Times in detail, in hard copy, in my hands many times a week, especially on Sunday.
A gas station worker in Senegal was in dire pain. The Vermont National Guard made a house call.
Three soldiers from Vermont spent two weeks last month working in three hospitals in southern Senegal. It is the kind of story most Vermonters never hear about their National Guard.
7 more busted in $21 million Grandparent scam
Seven more Canadians, wanted in Vermont on federal charges as part of a multi-million “Grandparent Scam” that targeted vulnerable elderly people, have been arrested in Quebec on a new fraud indictment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Burlington said Friday.
New Jersey man gets 18 months for human smuggling
The U.S. Border Patrol found Tyshan Murray, 45, with four adults and five children stuffed in his Nissan Murano in Richford during a traffic stop about 1 a.m. Sept. 8, 2024. Two young children were located in the rear cargo compartment sitting on luggage without seatbelts or safety seats, the Border Patrol reported.
Roper: Vermont’s Prop 4 “Equality of Rights” Amendment is racist
Specifically designed to allow legal, constitutional discrimination against “white, ‘cis’ men.”
VT Headlines: State budget deal would ban ICE agents from wearing masks, end 287(g) agreements
Man wanted in connection with Holyoke homicide captured in Vermont; Deaths by overdose continue to drop in Vermont; Election integrity roundtable held in Shelburne
Greenhouse gas bill likely to pass/ Scott mum on Homan meeting details
House Republicans gear up for Act 59 challenge/ Homeschoolers fear H.930 amendment will give schools, DCF undue influence/ Diaper Drive for military families
Senate OKs bar, restaurant gun ban on party line
Third reading is scheduled for today. It is unclear how the House will respond to the statewide banning of firearms in guns and restaurants.
On a mission of ‘glorious obscurity’: Clare Dolan’s Museum of Everyday Life
This summer, an exhibit on chairs comes to the Glover institution.
Ellis: “Less money – more justice”
Ben Cohen fights to win back Ben & Jerry’s from the corporate overlords
U.S. Marshals from Vt. and Mass. nab murder suspect in Springfield
A Massachusetts man, wanted for a murder charge in his home state from last month, was arrested in North Springfield by federal, state and local law enforcement officials from two states on Thursday. The U.S. Marshals Service in Vermont and Massachusetts said Daniel Medina, 22, who has a documented history of firearm-related offenses, was apprehended about 3 p.m.
Green Mountain Boy colonel runs for Senate
Javen Sears of South Burlington also is running as a Republican for one of the district’s three seats.
Antisemitic incidents in New England decreased in 2025, yet remain nearly double pre-October 7 levels
First regional decrease since October 7, 2023; K-12 incidents remain a growing concern
VT Headlines: Burlington man sentenced for gun charges after Church Street fight
Scott says his administration invited border czar Tom Homan following ICE operation; Two Candidates Join Democratic Primary Race for Montpelier’s State House District; Burlington ramps up tickets for street sweep scofflaws; Vermont inspectors test gas pumps statewide to protect drivers
House Judiciary advances gender rights amendment, anti-ICE bills
Democrat-majority legislators continue to rail against the federal administration by advancing a proposed constitutional amendment and two bills that are suspiciously unconstitutional.
Guv wants Legislature to fund forensic treatment facility
The bill is currently in House Judiciary. It is also being reviewed by House Human Services, House Corrections and Institutions, and House Health Care. None of the four committees has voted.
Lake Carmi records clearest water ever, thanks to alum
A $3.7 million chemical treatment completed last fall on Vermont’s only designated “Lake in Crisis” has produced an extraordinary early result.
Six arrested in major Barre drug bust
Over a pound of crack cocaine seized
Roper: Affordability? The thing Vermonters can’t afford is our government
One solution is a Taxpayer Bill of Rights.
Bean: OGA connects with Secretary Kennedy on Geoengineering
A fruitful two weeks in Bandera, Texas at ‘Confluence,’ and ‘American Regeneration Conference’ with AcresUSA
McGuinness: Planned Parenthood’s death cult coloring pages for kids
These coloring pages target the hearts and minds of children that were born less than ten years ago, indicating that PPNNE has no age limit for which it would consider its propaganda to be inappropriate. The subliminal message to these tender young minds is that life has no value, and that it is acceptable to extinguish it for any reason.
Mom accused of murder strangling of two children headed back to Massachusetts
The Wellesley, Mass. mother, who is charged with strangling to death her two young children and leaving them in her bed, is expected back in the Commonwealth today to face two murder charges.
Douglass: From exploitation to restoration
S.157, a win for Vermont recovery
Vermont Public’s Brendan Kinney named CEO of VTDigger
He succeeds Sky Barsch, who joined VTDigger as CEO in April 2023 and announced her departure in January. Barsch’s tenure included reducing the organization’s annual financial losses and completing a new four-year union agreement with newsroom staff. Her last day is June 1.
North: Correcting the next environmental injustice
The House is voting today, Wednesday May 6, to repeal the Road Rule and other rural property restrictions in Act 181. You might ask, what’s the next environmental injustice we need to correct? The answer is Act 59.
VT Headlines: MA elementary student, Green Mountain Academy skier dies after tree topples onto school playground
Former Northfield police chief sues town, alleging racial discrimination; Champlain Parkway Project nearing completion; Rutland Habitat for Humanity says new facility has made building affordable housing more efficient
Vermont weather-monitoring ‘Mesonet’ launched
The University of Vermont has opened the first weather station in the Vermont Mesonet, a planned statewide network of automated weather stations to monitor and report real-time data to improve extreme weather preparedness, agricultural planning, and research.
Ban on firearms in bars, machine guns goes to Senate floor tomorrow
On Thursday, May 7 the Vermont Senate will take up legislation that will place into effect a statewide prohibition on machine guns and create a statewide ban for bringing firearms into establishments licensed for alcohol, sponsor and Senate Pro Tem Phil Baruth (D-Chittenden Central) told VDC today.
Free state park access for eligible Vermonters continues for second season
Vermonters enrolled in 3SquaresVT, the Essential Person Program, Fuel Assistance, General Assistance, Reach Up, Summer EBT or WIC are eligible for free day-use entry to Vermont state parks from May through October.
Body recovered in Quechee Gorge
Hartford Police received a call at 11:37 a.m. on April 28 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reporting a body in the water south of the Quechee Gorge Bridge. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers remained with the body until relieved by Hartford Police.
Williams: If you’re not writing policy, you’re negotiating theirs
It’s time for Vermont to step back and develop a clear, transparent, long-term strategy that looks at the full picture and puts Vermonters back at the center of these decisions.
First woman of color elected in Vermont honored with State House portrait
Former Rep. Louvenia Dorsey Bright served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1989 to 1994, representing South Burlington.
Keelan: All the crumbling is connected
Crumbling roads. Crumbling schools. Crumbling Bennington Monument. Crumbling tax base. It’s all connected.
Human bones found in partially-buried hiking boots
The Vermont State Police is investigating the discovery of human remains in the town of Mt. Tabor within the Green Mountain National Forest. The identity of the deceased person and the circumstances surrounding the death are unknown at this time.
CT man faces drug trafficking charges following subsidized housing raid
The bust is the latest evidence of drug activity at Barre Manor. Longtime residents say the federally-subsidzed housing is a ‘trap house’ – where residents with money and or/drug problems allow out-of-state drug dealers to live there and play their deadly trade.
VT Headlines: Former Rutland police sergeant who shot two men in 2023 is sentenced to probation
Car fire near Grand Isle ferry access quickly extinguished; Vermont Supreme Court agrees to step in quickly on appeal of overturned return-to-office mandate; Essex Town Manager: decision could ‘prevent any development’
