With a veto-proof and disciplined 104-38 majority in the House, the Democrats are eager to pass a renamed “Clean Heat Standard” whether Gov. Phil Scott likes it or not.
McClaughry: The Affordable Heating Fraud
Evslin: Two lessons half-learned in 2022
We have come a long way from the socks (or was it gloves?) that President Obama sent after Russia’s invasion of Crimea.
Ehlers: $773,000 homes mean Montpelier really doesn’t want affordable housing
$730,000 homes aren’t the solution to Vermont’s affordable housing crisis. But what is?
Hartford CT man, Waterbury woman busted for felony cocaine possession / Vergennes break-in
Two people, including a Hartford CT man, were arrested for felony possession of cocaine in Montpelier.
VT Headlines: Sap runs in January / Livestock vet shortage
Sugar houses across Vermont were making the first maple syrup of 2023 during the cool nights and warm days of the new year.
With crowdsourcing, we publish and pay it forward
The dictionary defines crowdsourcing as “the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers.”
Video: Last Word to Our Readers for 2022
I have just published my last post for 2022. Wow, what a year it has been!
Vermont a target-rich environment for news reporter: a last look at 2022
Free speech, public safety, and answering the question ‘what is a woman?’ all proved problematic for local, state and federal officials in 2022.
WebCams invite virtual visits to small towns, ski slopes and the Queen City of Vermont
Many Vermonters, even those born and raised here, have never visited either Island Pond or Stratton Mountain. As their live webcams show, there’s a lot to see and do there.
U.S. Attorney collects over $2 mil in restitution, forfeiture in 2022
Criminal and civil action collections and asset forfeiture swept more than $2 million into federal coffers and then disbursed to victims, victims’ organizations, and law enforcement.
A teenager’s New Year’s Eve to remember
The only sober person in the room was a teenager without a driver’s license.
Affidavit: Suspended trooper investigated for stolen Rolex
A men’s gold Rolex watch was among the items reported missing from the temporary storage room at the state police barracks.
Dental services funded by federal earmark stalled due to hygienist shortage
Despite federal funding, a South Royalton dental clinic can’t offer services because it lacks dental hygienists.
Doctor suspended for prescribing Covid-19 treatment to speak in MA next week
Is it possible to have a reasonable conversation with your doctor about COVID-19 vaccines?
Utilities seek double-digit electricity rate hikes due to natural gas shortage
The regional natural gas shortage has led two Vermont utilities to request double-digit rate hikes for electricity.
VT Headlines: Cannabis growers want home delivery
Just a couple of months into legal cannabis sales, Vermont growers now want to cut out the retail ‘middle man’ and sell directly to customers. Farm stands, maybe?
Inflation, Ukraine partly to blame for dozens of dairy farms closing this year
Dozens of Vermont dairy farms have closed in 2022.
Barre, Brandon, Newport get federal Block Grant $$
$3.9 million in federal funding will help communities across Vermont strengthen community facilities and housing.
Video: words by Moses’ sister, music by Kathi Tarrant
A Waterbury musician has put the stirring words of Miriam, the sister of Moses, to music.
On the road with the Mitzvah Fund
Four-legged patients get loving, expert healthcare inside Baby Huey, the rolling veterinary clinic operated by the Mitzvah Fund.
Woman dies outside home during storm
A daycare operator died while trying to enter her Castleton home Friday.
VT Headlines: cost of heating rises, popular lightbulbs banned
Sure, it’ll be more expensive to stay warm in 2023. But at least we won’t be able to buy some types of fluorescent light bulbs!
Avian flu circulates throughout Vermont
Wild birds across Vermont have contracted avian flu.
Tell Steve Kirsch your Blood Clot Story (but only if you really have one)
Just the latest Internet Fear Fest? Or is there something to all of the online stories about rubbery blood clots being pulled from bodies alive and dead? Steve Kirsch is curious.
Rep. Wilson: parental rights, affordability my legislative priorities
Our children must be fully supported and our schools must prioritize parental rights and create a space in which all of our differences in belief systems and values are respected.
Trooper suspended for possible evidence theft
A state trooper has been suspended for alleged misconduct related to possible theft from an evidence storage locker in the VSP barracks.
Storm stats: 67,000 miles plowed, 80,000 gallons of de-icer, 0 highway deaths
Vigilance, good equipment and plenty of chloride-based de-icing.
VT Headlines: Philly woman arrested for Esox gunfire
A Philadelphia woman who posted a social media video of herself socializing at a Burlington bar on Christmas Day was arrested yesterday for firing a gun there early Tuesday morning.
1,679 utility customers still without power
As of 11:38 Tuesday AM, more than 1300 rural customers of Washington Electric Co-op in Washington and Orange counties remain without power.
In puberty blocker decision, Baruth favors ‘medical professionals’ over parental consent
Commenting on a bill blocking parental rights to stop a child from being prescribed puberty blockers, Sen. Phil Baruth says “I tend to be the sort of person to side with medical experts.”
Police seeking woman who fired gun in Burlington bar
The bullet hit a pipe in the basement.
Woman stabbed, police seek SoBu man
The victim was treated for stab wounds to the head, neck and arms and has been released from the hospital.
VT Headlines: Dog caught in illegal trap
A dog died in an untagged, illegal trap in East Corinth, the dog’s owner says.
VT Headlines: Census data says we’re earning more, but experts not so sure
VT Digger reports census data showing wealthy Vermonters got wealthier. Jury’s still out on improvement at the lower end of the income scale.
Storm outages peaked at 73K Friday, now below 5000
Pockets of rural Washington, Orange, Addison and Franklin counties remain without power following the ice/wind/snow/rain storm of December 22-24.
$1.7 trillion in federal spending includes Leahy, Sanders earmarks worth $254 million
Vermont’s two senators brought home a whopping $254 million of earmarked spending in last week’s $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill.
Fixed-income Baltimore reader sends Christmas Eve gift
Publisher Guy Page and his wife were heading off to the hospital to visit a sick friend on Christmas Eve when we received a wonderful Christmas present in the form of a reader testimonial and contribution. Thank you, Steve Waldo!
Twitter censorship probe heats up
Jim Jordan, the hard-charging incoming chair of the House Judiciary Committee, wants the FBI to hand over all communications with Twitter.
60,444 outages as of 2:30 pm; warming shelter locations announced
Vermont emergency officials have announced hours and locations of storm shelters and warming shelters statewide.
61,476 without power as of 12:38 pm
Franklin and Addison Counties show the highest percentage of utility customers without power as of 12:38 PM today.
Walch: Legislature should “make a plan” that makes us less reliant on electricity
Facing power outages, Vermonters are told to ‘make a plan’ to deal with living in the cold and the dark. So, why doesn’t the Legislature approve more energy diversity, rather than less?
Donahue: Reflections on Article 22 vote
Colonialism and the massacre of indigenous people was not recognized as wrong, because conquerors had the right to claim new lands and new property rights and to kill for that purpose.
Second-degree attempted murder in Berlin
Police say a domestic incident at a Berlin motel resulted in the arrest of a 41-year-old man on charges of attempted second degree murder.
Mask mandate foe letter, three years of related media, published by Vermont Independent
A Vermont video news website has published a single link with three years of reporting on vaccine and mask freedom.
Casella required to develop system to reduce amount of PFAS at Coventry landfill
The discharge permit requires Casella Waste to develop a pilot system to reduce the amount of PFAS in the leachate.
Former St. A. cop sentenced to 3-6 months for striking handcuffed woman
A St. Albans cop fired after striking a handcuffed woman in a jail cell was sentenced yesterday to serve 3-6 months in prison.
Advertise in the Vermont Daily Chronicle
Advertisers seeking to reach our many and loyal readers in 2023 are encouraged to examine our one-page advertising rate card.
Vermonters Making A Difference #1: David Allaire, Mayor of Rutland
Rutland is a great place to raise a family, even as city leaders work on housing, police recruitment, and opioid epidemic challenges, Mayor David Allaire says.
50-60 MPH winds, rain, and flash freeze loom in coming weekend storm
Old Man Winter plans to thump Vermont this weekend. Be ready!
Have you seen this masked man?
Berlin police are seeking this masked man for making fraudulent withdrawals at credit unions.
Watercooler: New housing for Williston
One of the few fast-growing Vermont communities appears poised to add 93 more housing units.
VT transgender/transhumanist created android copy of wife
An early investor in Beta Technologies and legal advocate for transgender legislation, Martine Rothblatt also has created a socially-interactive android copy of a loved one.
School teacher busted for child sex assault to spend Christmas in Nazareth
A school teacher and Vermont resident accused of repeated sexual assault of a child will spend his Christmas holiday in Nazareth.
Leahy’s $1.7 trillion spending bill renames Lake Champlain Basin Program after himself
A Lake Champlain protection program long favored by Sen. Patrick Leahy will bear his name if his $1.7 trillion spending bill passes.
Superintendent of NEK school with mask requirement shuts down opponent
In the elementary school serving the Caledonia County town of Newark (pop. 589), masks aren’t a thing of the past. The local superintendent wants a mask mandate opponent to butt out.
‘Can you hear me now?’ In much of rural VT, answer still no
The red lines on the map show where drivers found no cell service at all. Very few of them are in populous Chittenden County.
Gates, WHO, Johns Hopkins wargame another pandemic
Observers are hoping THIS ‘tabletop exercise’ about the next pandemic isn’t as prophetic as the last one.
Bananas: World Cup rocked by #MeToo scandal
Many of the players’ overprotective and enabling mothers have come out in defense of their grown baby boys asking such pertinent questions as “Why are you letting this happen to my baby?” “Who is responsible for hurting my baby?” and “Why isn’t the grass softer?”
Springfield, MA man arrested for vicious Northfield assault
A Massachusetts man is charged with stabbing someone with a sharp broomhandle and other violent acts.
Former lawmaker named Windham County side judge
A former Agriculture committee chair who reportedly urged non-residents to vote in a Windham school election has been named as a county assistant judge.
Leahy farewell: don’t point fingers, point the way forward
“If we don’t start working together more, the world’s greatest deliberative body will sink slowly into irrelevance – and, heaven forbid, become our own version of the House of Lords.”
Watercooler: Biggest health insurer quits all-payer program
Vermont’s health care reform program just lost the participation of Blue Cross -Blue Shield.
Scott worried about big storm on Christmas weekend
Vermont law enforcement will be briefed by the Border Patrol on the uptick of illegal crossings. “Increased collaboration” is a possibility, but not a certainty.
Legislature poised to hear legal gaming pitch
Legal sports betting will get a serious look in the Vermont Legislature next year.
Wire fraud added to murder-for-hire charges
Federal authorities have added wire fraud to the list of charges related to the murder-for-hire of a Danville man in 2018.
Leahy releases $1.7 trillion spending bill
In one of his final acts as a U.S. senator, Patrick Leahy dropped a $1.7 trillion spending bill on the U.S. Congress yesterday.
Watercooler: More FTX campaign contributions to Balint, VT Dems surface
VTDigger and the New York Times unearth even more donations from FTX founder and fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried and his pals to Becca Balint, Peter Welch and the Vermont Democratic Party.
Dame: Balint, Welch and VT Democratic Party took big campaign $$ from Bankman-Fried
The Vermont Democrat Party should return the nearly $10k it received from Bankman-Fried, so that law enforcement can use that money to make defrauded investors whole.
VPACT makes its case to stop Milton school equity policy
“The next step is to wait to see if the school board responds to our request to put this on the next school board agenda for January 5,” petition co-organizer Nichole DeLong said Monday. “We will continue this fight – we are just warming up.”
Evslin: Nuclear fusion is good news – except to renewable-industrial complex
Suppose you’re in the solar energy or nuclear energy or battery business. Should subsidies continue to flow to you or should we have a Manhattan project to commercialize nuclear fusion given evidence that it can be harnessed?
Frank Pavone, pro-life priest with Vermont history, removed from priesthood
A pro-life priest with a national following and a history of speaking out on Vermont abortion initiatives has been irreversibly removed from the priesthood by the Vatican.
Sununu, 24 other governors ask Biden to end federal Public Health Emergency – but not Scott
25 governors are concerned about the rise of socialized medicine under guise of the pandemic declaration of a federal Public Health Emergency. But, apparently, not Phil Scott.
On party lines, lawmakers OK California ICE car, truck ban
The ban on buying gas-powered vehicles was approved November 17 on party lines.
Milton parents submit 1,000 signature petition with opposing equity policy
In 2020 the Milton school board ‘buckled like cheap lawn chairs’ and authorized planning for a school district equity policy. Now more than 1000 Milton residents have signed a petition to stop the policy’s adoption.
U.S. infantry 20 miles from Russian border
What is a U.S. Army infantry company doing in Estonia, 20 miles from the Russian border?
In Vermont schools, the kids are NOT all right
From widespread student-led vandalism at UVM to Vermont teachers demanding mental health training, the signs of mental trauma in Vermont schools abound.
New York’s new law regulates blogs with ‘hate postings’
“Legislators can fight crime and respond to hate without violating the First Amendment or drafting me into the speech police,” a critic of New York’s new ‘hate speech’ law seeking $1000/day fines says.
Roper: Expand, don’t restrict school choice options
What this means for Vermont is that now other high achieving schools, such as Rice Memorial High School (tuition: $12,214) in Burlington and Christ the King (tuition $5,590) in Rutland are available choices for tuitioning students. That’s a good thing.
More than 8,000 customers still without power from weekend blizzard
The weekend blizzard saw almost 25 inches of snowfall in one southern Vermont town, fallen trees and power lines stopping traffic and power, and the Chain Law invoked for trucks on Rte. 9.
His Burlington remarks were banned by YouTube. Here, Dr. Aaron Kheriarty talks freely about ‘technocratic biosecurity surveillance regime’
A key speaker at a Banned-On-YouTube Burlington seminar on October 25 talks with Vermont Independent about the new technocratic biosecurity surveillance regime.
Klar: Correcting my harsh commentary about Zuckerman
It appears that I was mistaken in my attack of David Zuckerman, for which I owed him a meeting, and an apology.
Watercooler: Elected leaders name top staff
Every ship’s captain needs a good executive officer. Vermont’s elected attorney general, secretary of state, and treasurer – all new to the job – have picked Montpelier veterans as their top aides.
Drugged drivers outnumber drunks among Vermont highway fatalities
Police will be patrolling through January 1 watching for drunk drivers.
Don’t limit drug asset forfeiture, study group says
The seizure and forfeiture of drug proceeds is an important component of police efforts to disrupt the interstate drug trade, police say.
Speaker of the House hiring more staff – job pays $47K
Help Wanted at the Vermont Speaker of the House office.
Watercooler: Montpelier names new police chief
A deputy chief has been picked to sit in the Big Chair – and perhaps the hot seat – of the Montpelier Police Department.
Fatal fire, crash victims identified
Three Vermonters in their 70’s died earlier this week in separate fire and car crash incidents.
Wilton to Milton school board: you’re supposed to manage administration, not the other way around
The Milton school board appears to be managed by the administration, rather than the school board managing the administration as duly elected representatives of Milton’s citizens.
Habitual offender stands in river rather than surrender
Which is worse – the river or the trooper, a habitual criminal may have been asking himself early this morning as he shivered in the Barton River.
Good book for Christmas gift? Health Choice Vermont recommends ‘Cause Unknown’
Young people started dying in greater numbers and for no apparent reason beginning in 2021. A new book asks why.
Mazur: Fed/Twitter collusion is election tampering, not a ‘nothing burger’
If Republican candidates were influenced positively by social media censorship and Justice/FBI departments, it would be front page news and scourged for weeks.
Despathy: Keep Vermont Cool is not so cool
Those Drive Electric ads you see with the huckster trying to sell internal combustion to skeptical Vermonters? The real life hucksters were in St. Johnsbury, trying to sell the Clean Heat Standard.
YouTube cancels Burlington panel of pandemic experts
“The cancel culture is real! YouTube has cancelled us!” Restoring Our Faith leaders said today.
Physicist, retired Air Force colonel to speak on election integrity January 14
Frank shows how our elections are manipulated and how citizens and elected officials can defend and improve election integrity, a Vermont Grassroots statement said.
Deep, heavy snowfall expected tonight through Saturday
Beginning tonight, expect up to a foot of heavy snow mixed with rain, to be followed by possible power outages. And watch out for carbon monoxide poisoning!
Bananas: Brian Stelter, former CNN producer from Vermont to lead Disney’s new ‘Pinocchio’ network
A former CNN producer from Ludlow Vermont and former CNN news personality Brian Stelter will anchor a new Disney news initiative.
Anti-cop Burlington city councilor won’t run again, leaves behind undermanned police force
Burlington police needed help from two other police agencies but were still too undermanned to prevent a rear-window escape.
Evslin: Burning the ships when we still need them
It’s a brave gesture to burn your ships behind you. But what if you still need them to survive?
Targeted killing at St. J apartment linked to suspected Springfield, MA fentanyl dealer
A Springfield, Massachusetts suspected fentanyl dealer was arrested in the Hastings Street apartment in September.
Keelan: If a 7-year-old can trust and hope, so can we
The boy asked, “Is there any hope that my mother and father could be together at my house on Christmas morning? Can you make this happen, Santa?”
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