Chittenden County candidates gear up for crowded race ahead of August primary.
South Burlington pediatrician Elizabeth Hunt announces Senate candidacy
VPA to pay $556,000 to Mid Vermont Christian
The Vermont Principals’ Association and its executive director Jay Nichols have agreed to pay $566,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees to partially settle a religious discrimination civil lawsuit brought by the Mid Vermont Christian School.
Roper: “Let them eat cake!” literally, say lawmakers
Leading VT Democrats advocate for letting SNAP beneficiaries waste over $25 million a year on junk food.
Steidler: How Sen. Sanders can serve Vermonters on AI
This Wednesday evening, April 29, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will hold a controversial forum, “The Existential Threat of AI.” As an added draw to the doom and gloom, he has recruited two AI experts affiliated with China’s government, incurred the wrath of U.S. Treasury Scott Bessent, and received much other attention for the event.
Rodgers, Wright guests at May 3 GOP dinner
Also scheduled to speak are Senate candidates Bruce Roy and Javen Sears.
Breaking: Former House member to challenge three incumbent Washington County senators
LaClair served as a Barre Town representative in the Vermont House from 2014-2022.
Vermont firefighters battle wildfires
According to the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, preparedness levels remain moderate, but local fire wardens are enforcing burn restrictions in many towns.
VT Headlines: Colchester School District says airsoft pellet gun led to student threat investigation
Burlington Police conclude investigation into March 11 excessive force complaints; Vermont Brewers Festival returning to Burlington waterfront; Miss Vermont and Miss Vermont Teen crowned
Despathy: Could renewable degradation be Vermont’s worst hypocrisy?
While property taxes go up every year, the pittance paid by renewable power projects is fixed for the life of the project. Feel free to scream or maybe cry.
Lenz/Zakov: After 181 repeal, what gets rebuilt?
The repeal of the “Road Rule” and Tier 3 was the easier decision, once the political math moved. What the Legislature builds in their place, and how it builds it, is the harder one. That work has just begun.
Breaking: Vermont case helps spark over $5 billion fine for Purdue Pharma
Opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma LP (Purdue) was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, and ordered to pay criminal penalties of over $5 billion for its role in fueling the opioid epidemic in a case that was uncovered partially by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Vermont more than six years ago.
Coester seeks to oust Balint, again
In a telephone interview with VDC Monday, Coester said he hopes to improve on his first run, when he earned the most second-place votes since 2006.
Deputy critically wounded after being dragged by suspect’s truck
Cpl. Jeffery Barriger, 42, of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department remains in critical but stable condition at the intensive care unit at the University of Vermont Medical Center. A spokesman said he sustained serious head, brain and bodily injuries when he landed on the road after being dragged. Court records also show he has a right eye fracture, blood in both ears, a fracture behind one ear, was vomiting blood and had an epidermal hematoma – a critical pooling of blood by the skull.
Dame: GOP needs candidates appealing to disaffected Democrats
If Republicans continue to focus on delivering on the affordability agenda while Democrats look for new taxes and to take away land rights voters may continue to move because Democrats seem to be particularly unresponsive to the voice of the people.
VT Headlines: Burlington Square project faces new delays
New Vermont law will allow suing federal officials in state court; Colchester sewer project faces expensive delay; Woman who brought gun into Northwest Medical Center in court; Federal government demands renewal for every healthcare provider that receives Medicaid
We’ve looked at lake pollution from farms and sewage systems. What about all those camps on the water?
Vermont has approximately 51,474 seasonal and vacation homes. A meaningful but unknown share of those structures sit on or near Vermont’s roughly 800 lakes and ponds.
Fix ethics system capacity, don’t scapegoat staff, ethics watchdog group says
The recent dispute involving the Secretary of State, the Ethics Commission, and the Chair of the VT-GOP erupted over how candidate financial disclosure forms are handled and when and where they would be available to candidates.
State House Spotlight: Why has the number of homeless youths doubled?
Scott allows anti-ICE lawsuit bill to become law
Olympic Medalist skier Ben Ogden ’22 to speak at UVM commencement Saturday
Two-time Olympic medalist cross-country skier Ben Ogden will deliver a special guest address at the ceremony. A fourth-generation Vermonter, Ogden grew up in Landgrove, Vt. He graduated from UVM in 2022 with a degree in mechanical engineering. Ogden will be introduced by Interim Provost Linda Schadler, who was his academic advisor and dean of the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences during his time as a student at UVM.
Trump administration releases education funds to Vermont
The funds will reimburse schools for activities including summer and afterschool programs, school renovations, teacher training, literacy and math coaches, and mental health programs.
Vermonter pleads guilty to two drug killings
Avoids death penalty; gets 3 life sentences
Massachusetts mom waives extradition in Vermont court
Charged with strangulation deaths of her two children, ages 6 & 7
Klar: Why we must listen to the vaccine injured
Covid-19 has waned, but the shot-pushers double down.
Car fire damages McDonald’s restaurant
A vehicle waiting in the drive-through caught fire, but the operator was able to get out before the car became fully engulfed in flames.
Woman rescues children strapped into burning car – thanks God
Authorities said that at the time the fire started, two children — ages 4 and 7 — were strapped into child safety seats inside the vehicle.
VT Headlines: Tractor crash, truck fire on freeway
Man charged after crashing into highway sign and electric pole with tractor; Vermont colleges are cautiously welcoming AI to campus; Truck fire closes portion of I-93 in Waterford; Cabot resident’s hope for reliable internet runs thin Even as Federal funding arrives
Roper: “Come down to Montpelier” song – sing along!
Inspired by Brian Dubie, I thought I’d try my hand at songwriting. Thanks to my AI bandmates for for writing the music.
Vermont is New England’s dairy powerhouse
Nearly half of New England’s dairy farms are in Vermont.
We know what Vermont farms contribute to lake pollution. What about the sewers?
Compass Vermont reported on farmers’ impact on lake conditions. Readers wanted to know about the impact of sewer systems. It’s a fair question.
Letters: Smith on lifetime tobacco buying ban/ Fernandez on anti-Israel protesters/ Pearl on editor’s failure
Parliament ponders a lifetime ban on smoking.
Soulia: Three ounces of deadly radiation and our open border
Three ounces destroyed a Brazilian neighborhood. The people who study this threat for a living don’t lose sleep over a missile from Tehran. They lose sleep over a shielded canister the size of a thermos that nobody screened.
North: Act 181 mountain being moved
It did seem that the Act 181 Road Rule and Tier 3 that threatened so many rural Vermonters was an unshakable mountain that could not be moved. But, by the small faith of many, working together, hearts and minds were changed, and that mountain is being moved.
2023 flood devastation funds released
Governor Phil Scott and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) last week announced the second round of Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grant awards totaling $10,218,236.
Legislature deciding who pays income taxes, and how much
Climbing expenses and fewer taxpayers requires tax increases, Legislature thinks – but for whom?
Smith: Throwing people into the telecom siting volcano
Be aware, rural Vermonters. With the push to build more towers, Vermonters in rural areas can expect they, too, will be thrown into the volcano, without compensation and with the potential for your property to lose value and your health to be harmed. That is our state’s and our country’s policy.
BREAKING: Patient helps disarm out-of-control woman with gun at St. Albans hospital
She was overpowered by a male patient in the waiting room.
CLG: Gunman opens fire at White House Correspondents’ Dinner as Trump and Melania rushed out, guests dive under tables for cover
Secret Service agent shot by gunman at White House Correspondents’ Dinner, expected to be okay; EU approves $105 billion for Ukraine; No time frame’ for ending Iran war – Trump
Breaking: Distraught mom slashed throat, charged with killing her two children ages 6 & 7
The two children were found dead inside the residence, police said.
Deputy sheriff dragged by pickup truck critically injured
The deputy approached the vehicle and ordered Seagroves to shut off the engine and exit, but Seagroves instead drove south on Route 104 while the deputy was holding onto the truck’s door, police said.
State-mandated candidate finance disclosure form in limbo
This seems to reveal the heart of the issue: a fundamental disagreement between the Ethics Commission and the Secretary of State’s office over who should post the disclosure for candidates, with both offices either unwilling or understaffed to answer questions about the form for prospective candidates.
Opt-out for Smart Meters, new opt-in for school tax credit considered
Opt-in to the federal school contribution tax credit, opt-out of smart meters talk of the Legislature today.
White supremacist bites U.S. Marshal, bail $100,000: police, media reports
Palermo’s record includes child sex assault and cocaine trafficking.
House draft bill creates new tax on investment income
This new 4% VIP surtax would target investment income, such as capital gains and dividends, for individuals with total income over specific thresholds,
Permanent Burlington diversity office becomes law
Also: Former rep, special educator named to State Board of Education, and State revenues higher than expected
VT Headlines: Brattleboro teen arrested after reports of shots fired
Gov. Scott signals veto for road salt runoff reduction bill; Potential bill could change who is authorized prescribing; Federal reclassification of marijuana could ‘turbocharge’ Vermont’s medical market; Cyberattacks on water plants are on the rise. Can the state do anything to stop them?
You set the agenda for Feedback Friday at 11:05 AM….
….but we have a few conversation starters culled from the headlines and a startling suggestion by a HOTP caller.
VT weekend guide
St. Albans is the obvious anchor this weekend, but the rest of Vermont isn’t sitting still — get out there and find your corner of it.
Soulia: Becca, Bernie, Musk, & math
The policy argument is straightforward. The picture of what that wealth actually is bears closer examination.
Small Dog Electronics to close retail store, end repair services April 28
The company is not shutting down. “Small Dog isn’t going away,” the spokesperson said. “Just the retail side of the operation is going away.” Sales will continue online, by phone, and by email, with continued computer shipping and consulting services. The spokesperson said the business is shifting toward a business-to-business focus. Repair services, however, will be discontinued entirely. Customers whose devices are currently in for service have until April 28 to pick them up.
Roper: Act 181 isn’t the only attack on rural Vermonters
It’s a multi-front war on multiple issues.
Vermont raised DMV fees to match inflation, but fewer showed up to pay them
Road costs are rising at 10% a year. Revenue is rising at 1.33%. The extra $15 on your registration hits a budget that is losing ground every year against the actual price of asphalt.
Suspected pickpocket of 80-year-old man arrested
Police say he went into Market 32 in Rutland and pickpocketed an 80 year old victim and stole their wallet while they were shopping.
Dame: Fire the Ethics Commission Executive Director
Suspend the financial disclosure provision of state law for just this election? what gives? Ii seems like there is a more severe dysfunction at work, Paul Dame says.
VT Headlines: Vermont Maple Festival starting in St. Albans tomorrow
Brush fire in Shelburne spreads after homeowner burns field without permit; Lawmakers venture to the Springfield prison; Vermont State House briefly evacuated after fire alarm goes off
Planet Hank: Police dog helps investigate drive-by shootings
Several bullet holes confirmed in building located in densely populated residential neighborhood.
Dean criticizes nuclear, data centers in Vermont energy debate
Former Vermont governor Howard Dean is warning that proposals to expand nuclear power and attract large-scale data centers risk creating long-term environmental and economic problems for the state.
Another woman killed by someone the State knew was a threat, and still there is no secure facility
Since 2021, lawmakers have studied, debated, passed, stripped, reintroduced, and delayed a bill to close the gap that keeps producing these deaths. Kelly Carroll has watched every round.
Southern Poverty Law Center, which put VT parents’ group on ‘hate map,’ indicted for bankrolling the Ku Klux Klan
The SPLC had a field source who was a member of the online leadership chat group that planned the 2017 “Unite the Right” event in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Bills on land posting and sextortion head to Governor’s desk
Two bills reported on by Vermont Daily Chronicle earlier this year are on their way to the Governor after being passed on Tuesday, one from each chamber of the legislature. One makes clarifications to Vermont’s land posting laws and the other criminalizes blackmail for extortion using explicit images
Sarah George gives pass to six anti-ICE protesters police arrested last month
Several state troopers were seriously injured as they attempted to keep peace between the protestors and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
Rav-4 driver dies in head-on crash
A westbound driver attempted to avoid the crash by swerving, but Vautrain also tried to return to his lane at the last moment, resulting in a head-on collision.
Public Safety Commissioner, VSP Director deplore Sarah George failure to charge anti-ICE protest arrestees
Individuals at the Dorset Street incident repeatedly stated that State’s Attorney George would not prosecute them for their behavior that day.
Segregation, not talent, prevents women from playing big league baseball, state-paid women’s advocate tells Legislature
Brown declined to answer a legislator’s question: ‘What is a woman?’
VT Headlines: Vermont City Marathon approaches as organizers work to cut down on waste
No charges for protesters cited at South Burlington ICE protest; Three arrested in Brattleboro for alleged cocaine sales; Racial disparities in Vermont traffic stops resurge after Covid-era dip, study finds
Burlington teen charged with attempted murder outside Domino’s
South Burlington Police said they received a report of shots fired at about 7:23 p.m. Officers arrived within two minutes, but all individuals involved had already left the scene. A short time later, a victim connected to the incident arrived at University of Vermont Medical Center with an apparent gunshot wound. Authorities said the injuries were not life-threatening.
Despathy: Admitting our worst environmental hypocrisy could solve Act 181 conundrum
Key questions are now in play – how will Act 181 shift and what might accompany the repeal?
LURB suspending Tier 3, road rule work, member tells Chester Telegraph
The statement by a member of the regulatory board charged with writing rules for implementing Act 181 comes a week after Chair Amy Sheldon and every other member of the House Environment Committee, as well as House Speaker Jill Krowinski, announced plans to repeal the rural development restrictions passed in 2024 over Gov. Phil Scott’s veto and slated to take effect this summer.
Prairie: Speaker Krowinski has an epiphany
If you were having trouble putting your finger on that one thing that bugs you about the Whiz Kids on the Winooski (aka the Vermont legislature) you only have to read the recent apologia of House Speaker Jill Krowinski concerning the ill-considered Act 181.
Klar: The Iran War threatens to pull the plug on American farming’s life support
America’s energy-dependent food supply is highly vulnerable to a global spike in oil prices and to many other potential disruptions.
McLaren: Fixing Act 181’s fundamental flaw
Act 181 revealed a fundamental inequity in policy from Montpelier—wealthy, urban communities get a choice. Rural or poor communities don’t. Montpelier must fix it.
Barre bans public nudity, citing inquiry from nude taxi driver
Barre City Manager Nicolas Storellicastro confirmed to The Bridge that the ordinance was prompted by an inquiry from “Tara,” who operates a taxi while naked in St. Albans. He said Tara called the clerk’s office and the police department in March asking about applications and permits.
Johnson: “We already have a Homo Deus”
An Oxford professor’s take on the transhumanist agenda
Teen charged after video shows he threw Bullet the Puppy
A video circulating online showed the suspect holding a puppy, identified as “Bullet,” and throwing it a distance out of view of the camera.
VT Headline: SoBu police chief reports on ICE raid
Vermont man charged with aggravated assault, unlawful restraint; Burlington man faces child sex crime charges; No suspicious package found after HAZMAT team called to Williston ICE facility; Hundreds of students gather on UVM campus for 4/20 celebration
Fatal crash victim ID’d/ teen suffers life-threatening injuries in crash
David McGuire, 39, of Maine, died at the scene from injuries sustained when a six-passenger utility terrain vehicle left the roadway, went down an embankment and struck multiple trees at about 8:25 p.m. April 18.
Don’t declare victory on Act 181 yet, committee rep says
“We are far from repealed. We haven’t seen any updated legislation,” North told VDC in the State House cafeteria this AM. “I asked that question and did not get a definite answer. Which is concerning.”
CLG: Iran’s armed forces say Hormuz back under military control
U.S. seizes Iranian cargo ship, Tehran vows to retaliate
Report: 199 VT schools allow student gender transitions to be kept from parents
A national education watchdog group says dozens of Vermont school districts have policies that may allow student gender transitions to be kept from parents, according to a report released April 20.
Tiemann: Proposed law H.817 raises concerns over parental rights and school focus
Supporters frame it as strengthening “protective factors” for youth and increasing mental health awareness. However, we see it as shifting decision-making away from families toward schools and government entities, undermining parental authority in sensitive health and identity matters.
Keelan: Missing in action
The federal and state income taxes that exist today are progressive by statute. The more one earns, the greater the tax. It has been such since 1913, when an income tax was allowed under the 16th Amendment to the Constitution. It has been reported that about 80% off all income taxes are paid by the top 10% of filers. They are also the major contributors to the non-profit community. So why is it that they are allowed to be ostracized by the Bernie crowd without any support at all from the non-profit world?
Gutmann: The choice for Vermont: mausoleum or real world
Vermont is at a tipping point. Vibrant little towns like my beloved Wallingford—where one still sees mothers pushing strollers, school kids trooping home with their backpacks, and deer hunters hanging out in driveways to show off their trophies—could become frigid, exquisitely-maintained mausoleums inhabited only by one or two affluent summer people whose children have long since left.
Roper: Watch Democrat leaderships’ words carefully regarding Act 181
They have not really changed their minds, only their tactics.
VT Headlines: Vt. State Police cruiser involved in crash in Jamaica; 5 people injured
Driver crashes on Norwich University campus, police say; Some sugarmakers break records, though a range of results reported across Vermont; Vermont Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired celebrates 100 years; Charlotte FD battles bedroom fire
N.H. man busted for crossing state lines to have illegal sex
The girl was also afraid because Hutchins insisted that if he got arrested he would be bailed out in an hour and he would find her.
VT child welfare reporting system: quick to act, slow to provide services
Vermont refers children to child welfare services at three times the national rate. It’s also first in the nation in placing foster children with relatives. However, the state’s mandatory reporting system needs updating, and the state’s provision of services to child abuse victims is twice as low as the national average.
Father of modern snowboarding craze, whose son is a Vermont corporate ‘Board’ guru, dead at 89
Alden’s son, actually, has been actively involved in Burton Snowboards, a Vermont firm named for Jake Burton, one of the inventors of modern snowboards.
Pianist vowing to ‘Play Every Town’ to present Waterbury concert April 26
A multi-year project by Vermont concert pianist David Feurzeig comes to Waterbury on Sunday, April 26, for what will be the 98th concert in his Play Every Town series to perform in every community in the state.
Bill banning herbicide linked to Parkinson’s moves to Senate
Paraquat, one of the most widely used herbicides in the U.S., would be phased out over five years
Soulia: S.205 solves a problem Vermont doesn’t have
Vermont’s S.205, at four years, proposes the longest moratorium period of any state bill filed this cycle. The PUC study and report are due January 2027 — leaving more than three years between the report’s delivery and the moratorium’s expiration.
Boutin: Fighting to deliver real reform
Fixing our education system is hard, but we must do the hard thing, because it is the right thing to do.
Leary: Vermont’s little-known Liberty Bell replica
In 1950, President Harry Truman launched a campaign to sell US bonds to fund the rebuilding of our military after WWII. As part of the Treasury Department initiative tied to the bond drives, more than fifty Liberty Bell replicas were cast in France and distributed across the country – one for each state and territory.
Cops seek man who threw a fit in store
The man became upset when an employee did not immediately comply with his request to dispose of trash.
Panhandling & prostitution/ Fatal DUI side-by-side crash/ Wrong-way freeway driver/Alpha male DUI bust
Cops hearing complaints about prostitution among transients. Early AM wrongway driver. Alpha male arrested for drunk driving.
Hanson: Trump just crushed Iran in 5 weeks
I know a lot of you have been exasperated by the reaction to the Iran war, from the Democratic grandees in the House and Senate, the liberal media.
Dismas House leader named Mother of the Year
After a stint in Bolivia with the Sisters of the Presentation, Black found motherhood to be a happier calling.
Twister hits town
90 MPH winds destroyed an old sugarhouse and sheared the tops off trees.
Dems bash guv for ignoring their House rep recommendations
“The local district committee did their job, meeting and putting forward three qualified members of the community in a timely manner. The Governor chose to ignore them..”
VT Headlines: South Burlington Police Department releases body camera video from March 11 ICE raid
NWS surveying thunderstorm damage in Williamstown; Bristol man reported missing Thursday; Burlington School District lawsuit against Monsanto moves forward
House passes education overhaul bill
Lawmakers emphasized that the bill does not mandate school district consolidation. Any mergers would remain voluntary and subject to local voter approval.
Big Sugar is in the House!
Nicknamed Big Sugar for the most famous product made in Vermont, USS Vermont is the 19th Virginia-class sub.
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