What if the kids are reading every book in the library about school shootings?
Library bill protects children – from their parents?
Guy Page
Guy Page is the editor and publisher of the Vermont Daily Chronicle.
Welch bill would use AI to monitor weather, enforce international law
“By requiring federal agencies to use AI in proactive ways, such as boosting grid resiliency and improving weather forecasts, this bill will allow us to better predict and respond to extreme weather events and mitigate their impacts,” Welch said.
Republicans expose supermajority housing, affordability failures
“We’re being told that we still don’t have enough money. Clearly we do not have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem,” Rep. Scott Beck (R-St. Johnsbury) said.
After losing jury trial, paralyzed skier demands multi-million $$ settlement
A federal judge has agreed to hold a hearing on a claim by a New York skier that he had accepted a multi-million dollar out-of-court settlement minutes before a jury last month rejected all the legal claims he made about an accident that left him paralyzed at Okemo Mountain.
VT Headlines: UK nationals try to smash thru fence at border
Nine subjects of the United Kingdom tried to plow through a landowner’s fence at the Canadian border in Highgate.
Senate sends Fish & Wildlife changes, parental cut-out of library books, EV battery disposal bills to House
What will happen to EV batteries when they stop working?
House-approved Act 250 bill lacks veto protection
Touted as ‘pro-housing,’ the Act 250 reform bill gives a mid-2026 start date for Act 250 review-free housing, limits them to small areas of the state, and imposes a tight review process.
House rejects budget ‘transparency,’ then OKs $8.8 billion in spending
“I don’t think we should be voting on a budget that pretends a certain amount of spending,” Donahue said. “Transparency to our constituents is one of our most important obligations.”
Burlington honors Trans Visibility today
Burlington’s current mayor and Mayor-elect will raise a Burlington Trans flag sewn by a community member.
Newport man faces kidnapping/ Drug dispute stabbing arrests/ Catch & release/ Lock your car!
Police say Perry held people at gunpoint before fleeing the scene in a dark blue Dodge truck. He was nabbed after a high-risk chase.
VT Headlines: Jury draw for Grismore, diversion for beanbag cops
Kick or push? Jury being picked to decide the assault case against Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore.
Advertise your business in VDC
Daily edition emailed Monday-Saturday, on track to reach 1.6 million views.
Former lawmaker: “drunk uncle Joe” in charge of education spending
“That is essentially like me having my job working five days a week, 9-to-5, whatever else, and my drunk uncle Joe having my checkbook,” Scheuermann said.
Burlington cop, demoted for inaccurate timesheets, hired by Shelburne
Lieutenant Delgado was quietly demoted to corporal last year after an internal investigation showed he filed 25 timesheets that were inaccurate or untimely.
Drought drying up Canadian hydro power
Like all renewable energy, hydropower is at the mercy of Mother Nature.
VT Headlines: Teen internet addiction discussed
Eclipse hopes and fears. Car catches fire after striking deer. And Spelling Bee contestants prepare for words like ‘Chanticleer.’
Vermont-born businesswoman warns Legislature, “these taxes are killing us”
“We don’t want to sit at home. We don’t want to collect from the system,” said the woman who overcame severe dyslexia and ADHD to found a growing leather products business now threatened by high taxes.
Vekos suspended
A state’s attorney has been suspended for failing to answer questions about her DUI charge.
Armed home invader overpowered
A confrontation ensued between Suggs and the occupants, leading to Suggs being overpowered and detained until law enforcement arrived.
VT Headlines: ODs in construction industry
Octegenarian couple produces an original musical in Rochester. Vermont.
Senate slated to give final OK today to S.258, Fish & Wildlife bill
The Senate passed an amended bill that, although less restrictive than the original version, could be “the end of hunting as we know it in Vermont,” one senator said. The Senate retained the ban on baiting coyotes and hunting them with dogs.
Proposed $130 million in new taxes could mean veto session
The $130 million won’t provide property tax relief, but would pay for new and expanded programs.
BLM flag to come down from Milton school flagpole
AG will run again. Milton strikes the BLM flag. Huge gift stabilizes tuition at Dartmouth.
VT Headlines: Public transit $$ crunch could cut service
With the influx of federal $$ gone, Vermont’s public transit system is looking at cutting some service in order to meet budget.
Cannabis concentrates for teens/ Legislature wants more accountability to itself/ Guv says H.687 not housing-friendly
Plugging teens’ legal access cannabis concentrate. Housing slow-down bill. Why won’t State Government do what the Legislature tells it to do?!
Temporary homeless shelters cost $50K per night/ 20″ snowfall in Fairlee
The temporary shelters for a few cost more per night than the homeless hotels for the many – but that’s not the whole story, state officials say.
Vandals spraypaint ‘free Gaza’ on recruiting office/ Ski resort voyeur
Anti-Israel graffiti. A voyeur at Jay Peak. Catalytic converter suspect dies before trial. Police Welfare check on chronic suicide threatener goes bad for checkers and checkee.
VT Headlines: Sweet tooth in the Valley! Girl Scouts sell 3,200 boxes
Girl Scouts have been selling cookies since 1917. More than a century later, they’re not homemade anymore, but they’re still a delicious, popular fundraiser.
Roper video: Anti-fossil fuel lobbyist caught on hot mic moment
Behind The Lines columnist Rob Roper comes out from behind the keyboard to expose an anti-fossil fuel lobbyist’s hypocrisy.
Video: the path to 100% carbon free electricity the Legislature is ignoring – again!
Some things never change.
Corrected version: Senate passes S.258, Fish & Wildlife bill
The Senate passed an amended bill that, although less restrictive than the original version, could be “the end of hunting as we know it in Vermont,” one senator said. The Senate retained the ban on baiting coyotes and hunting them with dogs.
Breaking: Bray proposes softer version of S.258
Changes to S.258 on Senate floor now.
Guv appoints Education secretary
Vermont’s new Secretary of Education comes from Broward County, Florida.
Senate passes flavored tobacco ban, youth crime tweaks,
The Senate banned flavored tobacco, approved a flood safety bill, and adjusted youth criminal justice laws.
Burlington Police Chief: “Court inexplicably released” attempted murder suspect
“This is beyond bewildering, and beyond frustrating for the men and women of patrol who responded to a bar-closing shooting in the heart of our downtown, for the detectives who spent their weekend investigating and assembling a case for arraignment, and, most of all, for the victim who had a firearm pointed at his chest at close range and was shot in the arm,” BPD Chief Murad said.
Shorts: One celebrity doctor reprimanded, another gets big State job/ Bernie, AOC housing Green New Deal
An expert in pandemic-related mental health problems will lead Vermont’s Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living.
VT Headlines: Students home on Eclipse Day
Schools say it’s safer for students to be home on Eclipse Day.
Man with 1600 police interactions has one more
Drunk, spitting on and headbutting cops after (again) refusing to leave, police say.
H.289 ‘shoved down our throats,’ lawmaker says on floor
A Northeast Kingdom legislator tells her colleagues on the floor just what she thinks about their plan to get Vermont to 100% zero carbon emissions for electricity.
The path to 100% zero carbon emissions the Legislature is ignoring
Both the Legislature and the governor have a plan to get to 100% zero emissions from power generation by 2030. One will cost $110 million over 10 years – and the other is far more expensive.
Banyai pepper sprayed by constable, jailed on ‘protected persons’ assault charge
Banyai was a passenger in a car stopped for speeding by the town constable. An altercation ensued.
VT Headlines: Judges consider suspending prosecutor’s law license
What to do with a prosecutor who (police say) drove drunk to a crime scene then wrote an angry, embarrassing letter about the cops she works with?
FBI Albany, Vermont State Police announce $40,000 reward in Brianna Maitland case
No tip is too small, the FBI said of the 20-year-old cold case.
Taking away parents’ right-to-know goes to Senate floor today
If the Senate says so this afternoon, parents will be one step closer to being in the dark about what books their children are reading.
Senators consider education board power shift, government meeting in private, illegal drug law overhaul
How much of the Truth & Reparations process be shielded from public view?
VT Headlines: Obama picks Cat March Madness upset
Former president and hoop junkie Barack Obama picks the UVM men’s team to upset Duke Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Doctor challenges Senate incumbent
A Democratic candidate for Congress in 2022 has set his sights on running for a state senate seat in the district where Sen. Ginny Lyons now holds a seat. His platform: changes in Vermont’s health care system.
Former Gov. Douglas agrees it’s time to GET REAL
“It seems to me this legislative session it has not been just a drift, it’s been a very dramatic shift,” Gov. Douglas said.
Stack: The Vermont Taxpayer Wakes Up!
John and Jane Doe Taxpayer have exited the “complicit” phase and are now entering a more aware/active and, yes, skeptical “show me” phase.
Except in Burlington, no interest in temporary shelters
Apart from Burlington, use of the proferred temporary shelters was low – but that doesn’t mean the transition out of ‘homeless hotels’ was easy for everyone.
Bank robbery suspect arrested
It was unclear why Blatt, 32, was free in the community. Since 2010, Blatt has amassed at least 20 adult criminal convictions, mostly felonies.
FBI, state police talk on 20th anniversary of Brianna Maitland disappearance
State police and feds outline ‘new resources’ to be used on the 20-year-old missing person case.
VT Headlines: WDEV general manager out
Steve Cormier, a longtime star in the Vermont broadcasting world and a key transitional leader between owners at community radio station WDEV, is no longer general manager, VTDigger reports.
Evslin: Remembering Tim Hayward, my best friend
Over the last 50 years, Tim Hayward was the greatest force for good and effective government in Vermont that you never heard of.
Windsor County GOP endorses Trump With 54-0 vote
The county committee voted: “We, hereby formally Endorse and Support the presumptive Republican Presidential Nominee, Donald J. Trump, for President of the United States!”
Video: Trees are the ‘quintessential renewable natural resource”
“We owe a debt of gratitude to those that sustain our forest economy: the landowners, the foresters, the loggers, the sawmill workers, and the craftspeople.”
Dr. Dynasaur for adults faces crossover this week
Money bills – like Dr. Dynasaur for adults up to 26 – face Crossover this week.
House considers new sales taxes to pay for education
Seeking tax relief for property owners, the House tax committee is looking to the Cloud and short-term-rentals.
Baseball myths explored/ Former GOP advisor passes/ Women learn the trades
It is becoming more widely known that Doubleday had no connection to baseball, but why, and for what purposes, did baseball’s boosters construct an origin story with him at the epicenter?
Suspected Decker Towers drug dealer indicted
Drugs, child porn, and convenience store trespass.
Roper: House passes racist, homophobic flavored tobacco ban
One of only two Black Reps accuses colleagues of “dehumanizing Black and LGBTQ adults.”
Correction: Underage Vermonters buying alcohol online
Vermont’s legal online sales of beer and wine is being used for the purchase of alcohol by minors.
VT Headlines: Mud-season winter hard on loggers
Skidders and other logging vehicles don’t like mud. This winter, there’s been a lot of it.
Bill to save Salisbury fish hatchery moves to Senate floor
The Senate has approved another year of funding for the Salisbury fish hatchery.
Senate moves to toughen bail, conditions of release
A Senate committee has approved tougher conditions of release and more latitude for judges to impose bail.
Dear Sen. Baruth – Republicans fought climate change when you didn’t
‘Fess up – you’ve been too picky about your flavor of carbon-free electricity.
Speaker’s Act 250 & housing bill has three-year delay
The Act 250 exemption for urban housing development won’t take effect until at least 2027 – and then under tight regulatory control.
Bean: the Legislature is coming for your Zyns
They’ve never tried them, they barely know what they are, but the Legislature is coming for your Zyns.
Fifth bank robbery in two weeks
A masked bandit got away after perpetrating the fifth bank robbery in Northwestern Vermont in two weeks.
Roper: Rearranging one deck chair on the sinking Clean Heat Standard
S.5 requires a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels – now Senators Bray, White, Watson, McCormack and MacDonald say, ‘Meh. Who cares?’
Brave Christian school holds fundraiser/ No juvy in Newbury/ Top cop in Newport/ Sex offender release
Army vet named top cop in Newport. Embattled Christian school holds fundraiser. Sex offender release scheduled. School budget revote April 15. A rabbi addresses the New Anti-Semitism.
VT Headlines: Beanbag shooting trial starts soon
State troopers face trial for shooting a suspect with a beanbag round, right before he fell from a roof.
Senators squabble over future of S.151
Senior senators squabble over health care bill that includes minor consent for vax.
Hunting bill send to appropriations, Tobacco ban vote postponed
The controversial Fish & Wildlife bill was passed out of a policy committee and now is in the Senate’s money committee. And a flavored tobacco ban may or may not have the votes to pass in the House.
Cohen: Dems get blown out in Burlington
It was voter repudiation of the way Democrats have run – or not – the crime-and-drug-infested city.
Windsor County Republicans file lawsuit
Republicans suing Republicans in spat over county chair position.
Broken baseball bat, knife found at scene of double homicide
Cirill Brown pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and a felony charge of burglary.
State seeks to suspend state’s attorney charged with DUI
Vekos had issued an email to law enforcement in Addison County saying she did not feel safe round them and would no longer meet with them.
St. Marthe: ‘All blacks should vote Democrat’ undermines diversity
The narrative of encouraging minorities to abort their babies while simultaneously supporting migrants bringing their babies across the border is contradictory and perplexing.
VT Headlines: Burlington ODs down, city asks why
A patchwork of responses by the City of Burlington are being given credit for reducing the overdose rate this year.
VDC TV Episode 2: Hillsdale College student testifies in Senate against reducing vax consent age to 12
The likelihood of sex abuse is high when parents are shut out of knowing about their child’s STD vaccination record.
Some non-citizens could receive VSAC grants under bill passed by Senate
Tuesday the Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill that would allow some non-citizens to access VSAC advancement grants.
Doctor pleads innocent to child sex/ State trooper gets another theft charge
Snowmobiler dies in Town of Washington. Doctor pleads innocent to child sex charge. Former state trooper gets another theft charge. Woman sentenced for Covid-era paycheck protection fraud.
Danville murder-for-hire defendant pleads guilty
Gumrukcu asked Eratay before the summer of 2017 to help find a hitman, the plea agreement said. Gumrukcu wired about $300,000 to two bank accounts controlled by Eratay.
GOAT? Shiffrin ties record with World Cup title #8
Returning from injury, Vermont’s Mikaela Shiffrin tied the record for most World Cup season titles for slalom racing.
BREAKING: S.258, hunting/fishing/trapping bill, OKed by Senate committee
S.258 is strongly supported by anti-hunting and fishing organizations, but passage on the Senate floor is not certain.
Senate takes on “magic” mushrooms, parental consent for library books, STD vax
Bills would keep parents from knowing which library books their kids check out and their STD vaccination status.
URGENT! Tell YOUR House member to Vote NO on cannabis concentrate bill
Sponsored post: Vote No on bill to remove caps on THC concentrates in legal sales of cannabis.
Two more suspects sought in drug murder
The murder victim, a member of a well-known local family, was associated with drug traffickers. Her bullet-riddled body was found stuffed in a metal can on the Missisquoi River.
PUC seeks comments tonight on McNeil, BED plan
Concerned about Burlington’s McNeil power plant? The state energy court is holding a hearing tonight.
VT Headlines, & a must-read from Bari Weiss
The heirs of Cincinnatus are farming, and fighting, in Israel.
UVM doctor cited for sex crime with child
The Underhill man will face charges in a Washington County courthouse today.
Letters: Party unity, anti-hunting bill
The calls for party unity are readily made when the dissenters are the MAGA conservative elements of the party. Not so much when the objections are coming from the more liberal Republicans.
House bills on school construction $$, bullying, soliciting children, class sizes, licensing illegal immigrants race to Crossover deadline
The Legislature knows replacing crumbling old schools over the next two decades will cost $6 billion. Where will that money come from?
Vermonters ‘should do everything they can’ to stop Trump, Scott says
Gov. Scott said he’s open to voting for Democrat Joe Biden. Again.
State trooper critically injured in crash
The police cruiser crashed into a stopped fire truck on I-89.
Double fatal in Barnet / thief with sweet tooth knocks over sugarhouse/ SO dies in prison
Two young woman died Saturday afternoon after their car left I-91 and struck a tree.
VT Headlines: Wet snow causes statewide power outages
We didn’t think we’d get out of winter without another good snowstorm, did we?
VDC TV Monologue: the Vincible Supermajority
Like good panhandlers anywhere, the Vermont Legislature knows you can’t push you too hard.
Gonter: Don’t let Legislature pick F&W board
The anglers, hunters and trappers on the current Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board are Vermont’s most committed wildlife advocates and conservationists.
