Mask mandates are coming back on some federal and local levels. And schools prep for another pandemic return to the school year.
Water Cooler: TSA, Brattleboro reimpose mask mandate, schools lack paraeducators, booster shots coming
Man who ‘keys’ cars fears FBI, Burlington police chief and prosecutor say
A man accused of keying more than 100 cars across Vermont fears FBI torture and needs mental help, the Burlington police chief and county prosecutor say.
Working for menstrual equity, teen donates 15,000 period products
What started as a teenager giving a tampon to friends in need has become a large-scale distribution project.
McClaughry: federal court ruling threatens VT age-21 gun purchase law
A federal court just ruled a 19-year-old woman has a right to own a gun. If upheld, the ruling could invalidate Vermont’s gun law setting the firearms purchase age at 21.
Stenger pleads guilty to EB-5 fraud
Businessman Bill Stenger has pleaded guilty to a felony in connection with the Northeast Kingdom EB-5 scandal.
Prog coasts to victory in Burlington’s Ward 3
In the end, Burlington’s crime epidemic and rent serfdom weren’t enough to move Ward 3 voters from their loyalty to the Progressive Party.
Friends of Craig Bensen to gather Saturday
Family and friends of Rev. Craig Bensen are invited to celebrate his life, legacy and consider how to continue his work at 2 PM, Saturday, August 21 at Hunger Mountain Christian Assembly on Rte. 100 in Waterbury Center.
BBQ with the Badge in Newport
A free family event August 26 in Newport will feature food, K-9 demonstrations, police cruiser tours, and a meet and greet with representatives of many law enforcement agencies.
Doctor/nurse conscience rights sacrificed to abortion lobby
The decision to drop the UVMMC lawsuit shows the Biden administration is bowing to the abortion lobby and abandoning Vermont health care workers’ conscience rights.
Juvenile detention center hearing August 25
A privately-run youth detention center in Newbury would replace the closed Woodside facility in Essex Junction.
Water Cooler – food stamps benefit hike permanent / controversial Covid-19 theories published / Cops seize guns after raiding home
A White River Junction publisher is ‘pushing Covid-19 conspiracy theories,” according to a VT news source. And cops took a man and his guns into custody after raiding his home.
The Oppression Olympics
Commentator Johnny Bananas imagines the Oppression Olympics.
Police seek Williamstown sex attack suspect
Police are seeking a 5′ 7″, short-haired man they suspect of aggravated sexual assault outside of a Williamstown bar.
Drones, dogs find missing boy
First responders used drones and dogs to find a missing 11-year-old boy last night in South Pomfret.
Don’t let crime epidemic spread from Burlington
One pandemic is bad enough. Burlington’s self-induced crime epidemic needs some tough medicine.
38% of new VT cases are ‘breakthrough’ vaccinated
It’s not just a ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated’ anymore. But their disease rates are still much higher.
Water Cooler: EB-5 fraud guilty plea / Nightclub to require vax / Jenna’s House opens in Johnson / Class of 2020 gets diplomas / Whiffleball tourney goes bridge
A third man has pleaded guilty in the NEK EB-5 case. Politicians scurry from the spotlight. Meanwhile a popular South Burlington nightclub will require a vaccine passport.
‘Patriot Rally’ Saturday at State House
Experts on issues of concern to patriotic Vermonters will speak at a Patriot Rally at the State House this Saturday.
Video: Vax-skeptic journalists not welcome at guv’s press conference
Two vax-skeptic Vermont journalists have been refused a place at Gov. Phil Scott’s weekly press conferences.
Fatal Harley – UTV crash
A Harley-Davidson driver died after a UTV cut in front of him on Rte. 7 in Pownal Saturday night.
Former lawmaker makes emergency landing of bi-plane along I-89
A bi-plane co-piloted by a former Vermont lawmaker made an emergency landing near I-89 in Richmond Sunday afternoon.
Suspicious fire in Richmond
A Sunday morning fire that destroyed a Richmond garage and its contents is considered suspicious.
Billado: Burlington’s crime disaster
The Progressive-led defunding of the Burlington Police Department is a public safety disaster.
Opinion: Recycling delusional?
Since China got out of the recycling import business in 2018, is our recycling just going in the trash? A Florida mayor says yes.
Crime, housing shortage threaten 40-year Progressive hold in Burlington Tuesday
The Progressive legacy of too much crime and too little housing may give Republican Christopher-Aaron Felker a boost at the Burlington polls Tuesday.
Citizen, school superintendent exchange re: BLM
A Barre resident asked the local school superintendent about Black Lives Matter curriculum, teacher training, and materials on display.
Media blackout continues for post-vax amputee Jummai Nache
The mainstream media blackout continues for the tragic case of Jummai Nache of Minneapolis.
Metaxas: What would anti-Nazi Bonhoeffer do?
The Christian hero of the German resistance to the Nazis would have challenging words for Americans today, says the author of the best-selling biography Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. Eric Metaxas will speak at a Montpelier banquet Sept. 10 and at a seminar in Williston Sept. 11.
Groton Second Amendment Sanctuary resolution fails
At a special meeting of Groton voters last Wednesday, a proposed Second Amendment Sanctuary resolution failed narrowly by a 39-41 vote.
Water Cooler: Bloods gang member in Burlington shootout, Yankees hit by ‘breakthrough’ virus again, Mary Powell to lead big solar company, Guard answers sex abuse questions
A member of the Bloods crime gang is being sought in connection with a July 31 shootout in Burlington.
State names new refugee office head, hopes for busy year
The Dept. of Health official building BIPOC partnerships during the pandemic will lead the state’s refugee office.
Page: the cost of housing and how Montpelier plans to make it worse
The current Vermont Legislature – so woke, so proud – is perpetuating injustice on tomorrow’s Vermonters, red and yellow, black and white. Like Mr. Potter in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Montpelier promotes unaffordable rent and discourages the hope of homeownership.
Hit-and-run victim dies of head trauma
A North Troy man died of severe head trauma after a truck ran him over in the early morning hours.
Today’s fascists threaten vax resisters with job loss, doctor says
The day after a Stowe doctor said fascists are threatening vaccine resisters with job loss, the state’s largest employer mandated vaccination.
Bucknam: Own your history, Democrats
Democrats insist on apologies and accountability from the rest of us. Democrats must take their own advice and own up to their own endemic racism.
McClaughry: Pearl Harbor time in the Green Mountains
Vermont is facing a “Pearl Harbor moment” on climate change, says an unelected but very influential government official.
Evidence of Plan-demic?
Wuihan to Bill Gates to the Rockefellers. Do the dots connect?
Dashboard shows State Police use of force
The public can now read about all Vermont State Police incidents of use of force.
Fatal crashes
Two men died in crashes on Vermont highways this week.
Water Cooler: Court House to shut down most days, sheriff can’t hire enough security
Headlines from today’s news: one more sign that Vermont doesn’t have enough cops, and people are suffering because of it.
Inspired by grandmother, Elle goes all-out in Olympic finals
On the morning of the biggest race of her life, the Richford Rocket recalled her inspirational grandmother. And butterflies.
Fact check: “Not one press person has shown up” for State House advisory meetings – FALSE
Actually, Madame Chair, one press person DID show up.
Public school vax clinics to open
Public schools will soon offer walk-in Covid-19 vaccination clinics. And UVM will require everyone to wear masks indoors.
BLM flag will still fly when school starts
The BLM flag will continue to fly when Essex schools open – contrary to the original agreement.
UPDATE: Hartford cop, man he killed identified
A Hartford police officer Thursday shot and killed a man trying to strangle him.
Water Cooler: Homeless honeybees / Burlington police report errors / home-schooling looking good / Gerrymandering
The power struggle over the future of the Burlington Police Department continues.
Leahy directs $23 mil to VT farm, rural projects
Sen. Patrick Leahy delivers $23 million in earmarked federal spending for VT farm and rural projects.
Elle goes for gold in 1500 finals Friday AM
Friday morning, Berkshire dairy farmer Elle Purrier St. Pierre will seek Olympic gold and glory in the finals of the Women’s 1500 run.
State spending rose 25% in last two years – and more is coming
State spending jumped 25% in two years. That’s not even counting a dozen more pending, huge expenses.
Closed-lipped CCP frustrates foreign investors, Gordon Chang reports
The Chinese government doesn’t like sharing information – even with foreign investors in Chinese companies. Gordon Chang reports.
Biden names VT gay marriage lawyer to U.S. Appeals Court
President Joe Biden has named the architect of Vermont’s gay marriage law to the U.S. Court of Appeals.
VT Medical Society backs healthcare vax mandate
The Vermont Medical Society supports mandatory vaccination in the healthcare workplace.
Water Cooler: LL Bean departure, police decision in Burlington; $1.65 mil for State House makeover; that awful knotweed
Cops, dogs, knife attack and LLBean in Burlington, big money to retrofit post-pandemic State House, and more hot headlines from Vermont media today.
What’s in the Secretary of State’s ‘new’ civics?
What version of civics education will the Vermont Secretary of State’s office produce?
Wandering pals escape tragedy on I-89
Two wandering dogs escaped tragedy on I-89.
Klar: resist indoctrination
CRT holds that equal opportunity and merit are mistaken ideas. Instead, “equalizing” outcome and redistributing wealth will create a wonderful new society. NOT!
Montpelier city councilor named Burlington City Attorney
Montpelier City Councilor Dan Richardson will resign if Burlington hires him as its next city attorney.
Scam of the week: password blackmail
Scammers have one of your passwords. Now they’re blackmailing you. What can you do?
Joke? – Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire are on a Road Trip
Four guys from Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts are in a car….
Biden wants Cuomo to resign
Looking across Lake Champlain, Vermonters see NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo in BIG trouble.
Shrier: Gender ideology run amok
In 2007, America had one pediatric gender clinic; today there are hundreds. Testosterone is readily available to adolescents from places like Planned Parenthood and Kaiser, often on a first visit—without even a therapist’s note.
Indoor hockey rink planned for Shelburne Road
The only Vermont native to captain the UVM hockey team wants to build a 30,000 sq. ft. indoor rink off Shelburne Road.
Winters: fight cynicism with civics
Vermonters mistrustful of state and national elections and government need a good dose of civics education, Vermont’s Deputy Secretary of State says.
Water Cooler: Biden admin dismisses abortion suit against VT hospital
A federal lawsuit on behalf of a pro-life UVMMC nurse who said she was manipulated into participating in an abortion has been dropped by the Biden administration.
State says unvaxed should wear masks in school
After the first few weeks, students and staff at schools with 80% or more eligible students vaccinated won’t need to wear masks – except for the unvaccinated.
Vax booster shots likely coming as virus mutates, leading VT doc says
As the Covid-19 virus mutates, vaccine booster shots likely will be needed to keep Vermonters out of hospitals, a leading physician says.
Former GOP lawmakers named to Act 250 board
Two former GOP lawmakers have been named one of Vermont’s Act 250 review boards.
EBT families’ food benefits rise
The federal government has authorized the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF) and Agency of Education (AOE) to provide temporary food benefits to students (Pre-K to grade 12) who would normally receive free or reduced-price meals at school.
Chittenden County should mask up indoors, CDC warns – but state leaders disagree
Vermont’s most urban, highly-vaccinated county should mask up indoors, the CDC recommended today. However, Vermont government leaders don’t agree.
Employee vax mandate subject of Chamber poll
A leading business organization is asking its members if they will require employee vaccination.
Woman buys gun for boyfriend, drug dealer
Vermonters buying guns for their drug dealers, dealers failing the drug recovery program, and New York drug dealers plying their trade in Vermont – it’s all in the recent public record in U.S. District Court.
Shootout, hate-crime assault follow call for more Burlington policing
“My Progressive opponents continue to have their heads buried in ideological sand. It’s time to put public safety over politics,” Burlington City Council candidate Christopher-Aaron Felker said today.
Water Cooler: copter crash on Causeway, hate-crime assault in Burlington
Hot headlines from around Vermont: reaction to a Burlington shootout, a race-related assault in the Queen City, and a copter crash on the Causeway in Colchester.
Big Newport employer to close facility, hopes to employ most workers remotely
A large call-center employer in Newport reportedly will close its building soon. The company hopes to keep as many employees as possible working remotely, a development official said today.
10 animals test positive for rabies
To prevent a rabies outbreak, Vermont and federal wildlife officials are collaborating on the 25th annual anti-rabies bait drop.
Metaxas: What would Bonhoeffer do?
The Christian hero of the German resistance to the Nazis would have challenging words for Americans today, says the author of the best-selling biography Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. Eric Metaxas will speak at a Montpelier banquet Sept. 10 and at a seminar in Williston Sept. 11.
$120 mil redirected to VT towns, cities
Federal millions$$ once ticketed for Vermont’s 14 county governments will instead be given to cities and towns.
Low-tax NH attracts workers. High-tax VT pays them to come
In our neighbor across the river, Vermont looks like a dying state that pays people to move here.
Mask ‘masked’ skin cancer
A man thought the sore on his nose was just rubbing from the mask he had to wear at work. It wasn’t.
Greta Garbo won’t talk in Brandon
Brandon has recently become Vermont’s “capital” for the revival in interest in silent films by both students and film fans. See Greta Garbo in “Wild Orchids” Saturday, August 7 at 7 pm.
Keelan: does VT really want new housing?
Here’s the dirty little secret about Vermont’s affordable housing crisis: communities don’t want more housing.
Second Amendment Sanctuary vote Wednesday in Groton
If approved, the proposal would bar the town of Groton from using funds to store firearms that have been confiscated or are being stored “for the purpose of enforcing any other law that unconstitutionally infringes upon the right of the people of Groton, Vermont to keep and bear arms.”
Water Cooler: VT demand for vaccines stagnant / paid family, medical leave pushed / hotel room costs climb / Big chair in Bennington damaged
Friday’s hot headlines from Vermont media.
Jummai Nache not part of mainstream media coverage of Covid-19
Vermont media have run news stories about Covid-19 skeptics in Oklahoma contracting the disease and now on respirators. But nary a word about Minneapolis missionary Jummai Nache suffered chest pains just three days after her second Pfizer vaccine shot in February. Since then she has suffered blood clots, cardiomyothapy, and amputation of both legs below the knee – with amputation of her hands to follow soon.
VW settlement pays for all-electric bucket truck
Thanks to money garnered by the State of Vermont from a multi-state settlement with Volkswagen over falsified emissions statements, the state’s largest utility has purchased an all-electric power line maintenance bucket truck.
Bob Beeman: fix-it man at the Olympic Games
Despite high heat and humidity and ever-present protocols, Bob Beeman of Morristown is enjoying his seventh Olympic games.
Tree wardens are the real life Lorax
Appointed by local selectboards, tree wardens make determinations about public shade trees. A new state law requires more reporting but also offers educational opportunities.
States weigh ban on ransomware payoffs
At least three states—New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania—are considering legislation that would ban state and local government agencies from paying ransom if they’re attacked by cybercriminals. A bill in the Vermont Legislature would study possible ransomware prevention and enforcement measures.
Jewish group plans protest at Ben & Jerry’s
A Jewish community group will rally Sunday at 11 am at the Ben & Jerry’s plant on Rte. 100 in Waterbury to protest the company’s July 19 boycotting of ice cream sales in disputed territories in Israel.
Water Cooler: 71% Burlington property owners see tax hike / vax ‘breakthrough gap’ narrows / Leahy wants $2.1 billion for more capitol security
Brattleboro’s new black, woman police chief promises a new perspective.
Roper: So-called ‘Smart Growth’ forces Vermonters into flood zones
The ‘Smart Growth’ concept of building homes in urban areas would force Vermonters to live in high-risk flood zones. Good idea? Maybe not.
News report: Act 250 delayed Waterbury gun shop, stopped sugarhouse at Mormon historic site
A sugarhouse near an historic site and a firearms shop expansion both faced unexpected, questionable opposition during the Act 250 review process, according to today’s Burlington Free Press.
Lake Monsters on 19-2 tear draw record crowd
Tuesday night’s record crowd at Centennial Field in Burlington shows that local baseball fans are noticing that the Vermont Lake Monsters are playing like, well, champs.
Thayer: Rise Up
Instead of teaching that our great Country was founded on the desire to be free and choose one’s own destiny, Critical Race Theory teaches that America was founded on racism and oppression. This is not about promoting the American dream for all citizens, it’s about pitting people against each other in a never-ending power struggle.
William Shatner brings Star Trek to North Country
William Shatner brought the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise with him to Ticonderoga, NY last week.
Cops seek masked armed robber
Wearing a disguised that included a surgical mask, an armed man robbed a Fair Haven gas station yesterday.
Exciting news about how the Vermont Daily Chronicle is growing – and how you can help
This July saw the best-read day, week, and month in the history of the Vermont Daily Chronicle. My heartfelt thanks to you.
Water Cooler: Covid up but restrictions unlikely; replacing Bible at VA; septic waste fertilizing stops; register women for draft?; winery won’t reopen; VT’s ‘Boston Tea Party’ celebrated
Will Bibles be taken from the NH VA? A farmer stops spreading septic waste on his fields. Covid cases up, but restrictions unlikely. These and more headlines from VT media.
Runner, rower, and patriotic rugby player represent VT in Tokyo
A dairy farmer’s wife, a disgruntled skier, and a patriotic rugby player represent Vermont in the “2020” Tokyo Olympics.
Covid aside, how healthy is Vermont?
For a state often called “the healthiest in the nation,” Vermont has some troubling health risk indicators.
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