Sandra Dragon was a force of nature.
Guy Page
Guy Page is the editor and publisher of the Vermont Daily Chronicle.
First Lady Jill Biden will fly tomorrow into Burlington International Airport, to be renamed for Patrick Leahy
Beta Technologies, Vermont’s emerging electric air transport manufacturer, will get a visit from First Lady Jill Biden tomorrow.
UVM reports “voluntary resolution” of fed investigation of campus anti-semitism
UVM’s announcement of a ‘voluntary resolution’ of a federal investigation into campus anti-semitism contains no admission of wrong-doing, no apology, and no specific plans to address anti-semitism.
Former VT governor sues college over ‘cancel culture’
Middlebury College quietly removed Mead’s name from the marble building on the morning of Sept. 27, 2021, for what it said was his role “in promoting eugenics policies in the state that led to the involuntary sterilization of an estimated 250,” the lawsuit filed by former Gov. James Douglas stated.
Dead of heart attack after basketball game brawl
After participating in a post-game brawl that shocked the state and made national news, an Alburgh man suffered a fatal heart attack in his car.
Hartford man, 21, dies in targeted shooting in Brattleboro
A Hartford CT man is dead in what police say was a targeted shooting.
Lee Zeldin headlines GOP dinner 4/20
A former congressman who almost became NY governor last year will speak at a GOP dinner in South Burlington.
Babesiosis, tick-borne disease now endemic in Vermont
A disease first reported in Nantucket in 1969 is now endemic to Vermont.
Vermont Guard soldiers inserted into Arctic on ski-equipped C-130
C-130s are HUGE. Landing them on ice requires a special rig of landing gear, as Vermont soldiers discovered.
BREAKING NEWS: Private school tuition House vote postponed until Wednesday, sources say
Do House leaders have enough votes to pass a bill restricting public tuition to private schools? And are they worried about the overburdened camel’s bite?
Mandatory paid family, medical, and safety leave bill gets prelim OK in House
In its first year, the paid family medical and safety leave ‘contribution’ would be .55% of earnings. Every year, it would be adjusted to cover all of the likely claims.
Alliance Defending Freedom fights Virginia transgender sports ruling
When males are allowed to compete in women’s sports, they routinely displace women and girls, robbing them of their constitutionally protected right to equal opportunity and victories they’ve worked so hard for.
Drug suspect dies in police custody
A man arrested on drug charges died in Bennington police custody yesterday afternoon. Also, police report several other deaths and death-related incidents this week.
Roper: Lawmaker tells ANR Secretary to ‘lighten up’ on informing citizens about cost of S.5
Somebody needed to do this because nobody else dared. So thank you, Julie Moore!
Majority of terrorist suspects now crossing Northern Border
A Montana lawmaker says that with the Border Patrol overwhelmed on the southern border, terrorists and cartels are focusing on the less-defending northern border.
Evslin: Legislators squandering money
The pandemic is over. Unemployment is near an all-time low. The federal funding ends March 31.
Senate expands cancer coverage for firefighters
Workers comp will cover firefighters for on-duty related forms of cancer under a bill that passed the Senate.
Gone fishin’, back April 3
We’re going fishin’. But you will still be able to read new news and commentary in the Chronicle next week.
Downtown development grants announced
$200K to convert a former high school into a multi-purpose community center, etc..
Thurston: Solar power most expensive carbon reducer
The truth is solar is very expensive. You must pay for it three times over.
Peaceful sidewalk prayer and presence doubles abortion no-show rate, Planned Parenthood admits
In California, the peaceful prayer presence on the sidewalk has resulted in a doubling of no-shows for scheduled abortion appointments, a Planned Parenthood executive fumes.
Pension fund divestment bill rejected by investment board
Climate-minded senators want to expel fossil fuel stocks from the pension fund portfolio. The state’s fund investors say it’s a bad idea.
MA men wanted for Pownal attempted murder
Two Springfield, MA men and a Holyoke MA man are wanted in connection with a shooting over a year ago.
Graphic description by House member of son’s suicide sets tone for gun control vote
Black made an emotionally-charged, first-person appeal to her House colleagues during a lengthy floor speech yesterday afternoon in support of H230, the suicide prevention/gun control bill.
Bradley: Suicide hasn’t risen with gun ownership
Of all the background-check-passing gun store purchases conducted in Vermont in the last 10 years, two have resulted in suicides.
Private school tuition bill goes to House floor tomorrow
Critics of H483 worry it will create hardships – and maybe even close – private schools now receiving public tuition.
Required gun storage in House bill appears at odds with 2008 Supreme Court decision
The Supreme Court specifically prohibits requiring locks on guns stored at home – one of the provisions in a bill on the House floor today.
‘Affordable Heating Act’ no more, S.5 goes to House Environment and Energy Committee today
The optimistic name is gone, but the controversial contents remain: S.5 is now in the House.
Down in the dumps? Listen to “National Emblem,” proposed as State March
“Anybody who was ever in the military or the Boy Scouts probably has marched to that song,” lead sponsor John Arrison said yesterday.
VT fatal overdose climb continues
Thanks to quick-killing fentanyl, overdoses in Vermont continue to climb – either with greater availability of Narcan.
Off-grid VTer: Affordable Heat Act is deceptive
I am looking at you, climate warriors in the State House sporting Caribbean tans this week.
Sen. Becca White slammed on social media for ‘throwing other women under the bus’
Only men could oppress women for thousands of years, then turn around, put on a dress, and complain they are the most marginalized group in society.
Big septic spill into Missisquoi River went unreported
E coli bacteria could have been entering the river for weeks afterwards.
Roper: VPIRG showcases widespread mental health damages they’ve inflicted on young Vermonters
Some Vermont teens have their Greta game on.
Woman dies after calling dispatcher from inside burning house
Two children and a family dog survived the blaze.
Scott backs private schools – but mum on controversial bill
House Ed bill clamps down on private schools.
Scott: 25-unit housing development exemption from Act 250 a must
It’s not V-for-Veto time yet, but Gov. Scott really, really doesn’t like a senate committee’s removal of Act 250 housing exemption for 25-unit housing developments.
Border Patrol leaving illegal immigrants at St. Johnsbury bus depot
The influx of illegal immigrants into Vermont has overwhelmed authorities’ ability to return or hold all of them. Now some are being left by the Border Patrol at a Northeast Kingdom bus station.
Windsor County senator defends tournament ban of Christian school over transgender forfeit
Discriminating against another person causes long-term outcomes for youth, Sen. Becca White said on a CNN interview. “They’re hearing rhetoric that tells them they are not valuable, that they’re dangerous.”
Bernie the Old Bolshevik fights on
Sanders knows well how the Left dropped the worker. But, as he knows all too well, to spell out how and why would be political suicide.
Ben & Jerry’s founder funds U.S. out of Ukraine group
The “Eisenhower Media Network” is the latest anti-military peace offensive mounted by Ben Cohen, founder of Ben & Jerry’s.
Underage drinking party at lawmaker’s home
Multiple juveniles were engaged at a drinking party at a lawmaker’s home Friday night, state police say.
Bear-proof dumpsters, electric fences, birdfeeder removal advised
Bear incidents have been on the rise over the past several years. 2022 saw high numbers of bear homes break-ins, and two bear attacks.
State police director: “extraordinary betrayal of the public’s trust”
“The charges against former state trooper Giancarlo DiGenova as outlined in court documents represent an extraordinary betrayal of the public’s trust, his oath as a sworn police officer, and his colleagues in law enforcement who serve the state honorably every day,” the head of the Vermont State Police said yesterday.
State trooper charged with stealing Rolex, cellphones, child’s ADHD pills
State Police today reported an arrest of a former state trooper for a lengthy, diverse list of thefts and other abuse-of-position offenses allegedly committed before his resignation last month.
Bananas’ Guide to a Banana Republic
This land is our land, this land was your land.
Statewide rental housing registry, gun control, bottle bill expansion, Art in State Buildings all survive House Crossover
A House bill giving the State of Vermont taking oversight of rental housing away from municipalities has survived crossover. So has the latest gun control bill.
Hides in department store until closing, removes security devices from merchandise
Caught in the men’s room with $500 of stolen merchandise.
Woodchipper thieves busted
When police saw two men carrying brand new woodchippers on a Colchester sidewalk at 4:45, their suspicions were aroused.
Black-masked law school protesters chant: ‘Counter-speech [heckling] is free speech’
Crazy stuff happening with nuclear power plants, CDC buying your phone data, leftist law school students browbeating professors – read it all in CLG.
Roper: Hypocrisy of Clean Heat Standard advocates on display
How’s this for hypocrisy…if you’re burning kerosene in your trailer to keep from freezing in February, you’re part of the problem. But if you need to create just that right ambiance to score with the very special someone you just met in the apres ski bar, fire up that Danforth Pewter oil lamp!
28 months for dealing fentanyl at sober house
A Burlington sober house for women – since closed – was the scene of a fentanyl deal in January, 2021. A day later, two residents were dead of overdoses.
Senate committee OKs childcare bill
A Senate bill passed out of committee goes large on child care funding, and slower on paid family leave – at least slower than a $100 million-plus House bill.
Herbal farmer, former school principal named to open Hyde Park House seat
An herb farmer with a Masters in education will fill the seat vacated by the resignation of Kate Donnally (D-Hyde Park) earlier this year.
Direct action by fuel dealers urged against S.5 sponsors
Fuel dealers could provide a useful educational service to the senators who sponsored S.5, the Affordable Heating Act.
Senate tug-of-war continues over Act 250 housing bill
Key Senate committees are at odds over S100, the Legislature’s signature effort to relieve Vermont’s housing crisis.
Education Secretary French resigns
The chief of Vermont’s Agency of Education will leave the job next month.
Suspect in Waterbury gun theft busted by feds for drug house
The State of Vermont failed to jail a repeat offender even when he carried crack cocaine into the state probation office. A federal judge jailed him this week for using his home as a drug dealer haven.
Senate, House bills would keep state college libraries open, books on shelves
Half of the Senate is signing on to a bill to keep state libraries open and the book collection intact.
Windham County towns still in dark from nor’easter
Once the roads are plowed and the lights come back on, we quickly forget about a crippling snowstorm. But they’re in Day Four of darkness in Windham County.
No parental OK needed for transgender services under bills passed by House, Senate
Two abortion/transgender services bills passed, one passed by the House and the other by the Senate, take parents out of the decision-making process.
Former teacher charged with lewd & lascivious with 10-year-old girl / Rutland killing about drug territory
A former teacher at Founders School in Essex has been charged with years of unlawful sexual contact with a girl who was 10 years old when it began.
First pandemic fraud case sentenced
The owner of a cleaning business significantly overstated lost earnings in order to receive Pandemic Paycheck Protection funding.
Bennington public safety summit Monday
State and local Bennington leaders will gather for a first-of-a-kind public safety and health summit Monday, March 20.
Senate committee reimposes Act 250 housing restrictions
Tuition for religious schools, solutions to the housing shortage, and paid family leave are all up for discussion – and perhaps decisions – by the Legislature this week.
Paid time off to vote for Town Meeting, other elections
Pros and cons of giving everyone two hours of paid time off on Town Meeting Day and primary and general elections.
Senate prostitution repeal bill introduced
A Senate bill chooses repeal over reform of the state’s prostitution laws.
New York City man charged with killing another NYC’er in Rutland
A teenage Staten Island man was arrested at a Brandon convenience store for the November 7 targeted killing of a Brooklyn man in Rutland.
First-year med students told to call women ‘People With Cervices’
“The entire biomedical profession has been conquered by this aggressive ideology that inculcates a certain worldview,” a professor said.
In Berlin, one of Vermont’s 82 homeless hotels now must pay $70/hour for emergency services
WCAX reports that a Washington County town has negotiated a deal with a homeless hotel that is frequent user of its emergency services.
Roper: Yes, public schools should not be locking children in closets
This is where our system of one-size-fits-all, throw-all-the-kids-into-the-same-building-and-call-it-equitable public education breaks down.
Kaufman: Bernie, the Nazis took our guns, too
As the son of a Jewish mother, have you forgotten how the Nazis contrived to create an impression of public danger to “solve” their self made “crisis”, then confiscated the only functional protection available to and depended upon by German citizens: their firearms.?
Proposed constitutional amendment would ban hard labor
Last year’s constitutional amendment: ban slavery. This year: ban hard labor for convicts.
Heavy, wet snow knocked out power, sent schoolbuses off road
A hardworking, conscientious school bus driver was a little late arriving at the State House for his ‘day job’ as a legislator.
Kauffman: Detransitioning voices ignored by Legislature
I was suicidal, self-harming, and hated myself. The appointment with my gender therapist was only 15 minutes long. When I walked in, my “letter of recommendation” was already typed up on her computer, and she was filling in my name in minutes.”
Opinion: VPA booting Mid-Vermont Christian School ‘reprehensible’
The VPA’s rejection of Mid-Vermont Christian was reprehensible and also predictable, given VPA’s despisal of the “traditional” (i.e. biblical) definition of gender. There are two, in case you’re wondering.
U.S. may have been double-billed for Wuhan projects
Both the Chinese lab and the NIH may have double-billed the U.S. government for their ‘services’ in pathogen research.
First non-Vermonter granted access to doctor-aided death law
WCAX reports that a Connecticut woman will be allowed to participate in Vermont’s ‘aid in dying’ law.
Peterson: the real Goliath is the VPA
Did anyone in the VPA think to include the students of Mid-Vermont Christian School in the discussions around all this? Call me a skeptic but I very much doubt it.
News video: Balint says plan to save Big Tech bank “not a bailout”
“It’s not taxpayer money, and it’s not a bailout,” Balint said on today’s Morning Drive program on WVMT.
Don’t kill me, Canada
Just a stone’s throw from Vermont, Canadian doctors’ rules for euthanasia are becoming more and more lax.
Former Burlington diversity chief leaves Minneapolis post under financial cloud
Working a similar diversity job in Minneapolis, former Burlington DEI director Tyeastia Green reportedly made false statements about fundraising for the city’s Black expo.
VPA to Christian school: No Dance for You
“Cancelling our membership is not a solution and does nothing to deal with the very real issue of safety and fairness facing women’s sports in our beloved state,” Head of School Vicky Fogg said.
Warner: VPA not interested in a diversity of opinions
Banning MVCS is the exact opposite of inclusion.
Roper: Can we dispense with the ‘we’re just asking’ lie?
At least Sen. Mark MacDonald, who can always be counted on to commit candor, ‘we’re in the business of forcing people” to use less fuels. So enough with Sen. Bray’s ‘asking’ baloney.
Biden to introduce new gun restrictions today
Recognizing the impossibility of passing gun control legislation, President Joe Biden is taking executive action instead – and will outline just what he plans in a speech today.
Vermonters living in nature deplored by those living outside it
We hunt, fish, and trap, because that is a natural extension of living outside the four walls that define our house. We are one with our wilderness surroundings.
Mid-Vermont Christian falls short in championship game – then banned from tournament play
Plucky David Mid-Vermont Christian School gave it their all in Saturday’s exciting state championship match – perhaps the last such experience for the faith-based school.
Voters in Brattleboro – Brattleboro! – reject just cause eviction, worry about growing crime
An ordinance that would make evictions tougher for landlords was rejected by Town Meeting voters of one of Vermont’s most ‘progressive’ towns.
Deer, moose management public hearings next week
Fish and Wildlife wants to hear from Vermonters about moose and deer herd management.
It’s Baby Sea Turtle Time
Like baby sea turtles that must run a gauntlet of predators before escaping into the sea, hundreds of bills in the Vermont General Assembly face legislative ‘death’ this week – at least for this year.
Victim in brutal prison beating dies / Scott aide DUI / Randolph kidnapping, sex assault
A 21-year-old South Burlington man may be facing murder charges following the death this weekend of the 55-year-old cellmate he allegedly beat in December.
Vermont trans athlete rules: fair or farce?
Vermont telling boys they can compete against girls in sports where the performance advantages are unavoidable creates psychological harm for everyone, parents included.
Homeless hotel owners named their price / Highway deaths hit 10-year high / UVM wins hoop crown
The Vermont taxpayer is paying top dollar to house the homeless in hotels around the state.
Bill hopes to stop slaughter of kangaroos… while Legislature endorses unrestricted abortion of humans
It is believed that other pro-abortion states, including Connecticut, New Jersey, and Oregon will introduce bills to protect kangaroos from being harvested to make soccer cleats.
Solons top Falcons for D2 boys hoop crown
Montpelier High School boys basketball team cruised to another D2 championship this weekend – and the future looks bright for more to come.
Sanders nixes fed bailout of Big Tech bank, but OK with bank-to-bank bailout
“If there is a bailout of Silicon Valley Bank, it must be 100 percent financed by Wall Street and large financial institutions,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said.
Mermel: Will Bernie bail out Big Tech bank?
SVB is different. It was a major tech lender. And tech has been among the major funders of the far left.
Credit union manager pleads innocent to $137,000 credit card fraud
A Windsor credit union manager finagled the credit card software to steal $137,000, court records say.
CORRECTION: Giant killer Mid-Vermont Christian to play for state crown NOON Saturday at Barre Auditorium
Fresh from a one-point, come-from-behind victory over taller Long Trail, Mid-Vermont Christian School will face a bi-state high school in the state championship game Saturday night.
