Johnson, a decorated veteran and use-of-force instructor, described the past year as the most difficult of his life, even more so than his military tours in Iraq.
St. J cop cleared of assault
Son of immigrant Coester says, ‘Vermont first’
My father, at ten years old, met brave, kind, and generous American soldiers at the end of World War II during the U.S. occupation of West Germany.
Balint ‘wipe our a–es’ comment explodes on social media, national TV
VDC estimates our clip has been viewed 2.5 million times on X alone and millions more on national television.
Supreme Court enforces Essex Jct. zoning outlawing cannabis-duck farm
The case involved landowner Jason Struthers, who raises and sells ducks and duck eggs, and also operates a licensed outdoor cannabis growing operation at his property.
Sex offender busted for knife assault at Burlington homeless camp
Jessup arrived at the encampment appearing angry and possibly under the influence. He accused a resident of stealing from him, then escalated the confrontation by producing a knife and slashing at the person.
No charges for woman who made bogus claim about being accosted by ICE
Vergennes Police said they had issued Grangent a court citation ordering her to appear in Vermont Superior Court in May on a felony count of false swearing and a misdemeanor charge of providing bogus information to Vergennes Police.
NH senator lobbied DHS to remove husband from travel watchlist
All the while, Tulsi Gabbard, and many other Americans, were placed on the Silent Partners’ Quiet Skies list with little to no visibility, awareness, explanation, or oversight.
Soulia: Political theater over policy
Four months in, Vermont’s budget Is balanced—but the real fight might just Be delayed
VT Headlines: Free naloxone vending machines coming
Lawmakers considering bringing the catamount back to Vermont. Many Vermonters report they’re already here.
Dawson: The role of AI in the office
Implications for Vermont’s public agencies and private businesses
Gervais: Vermont’s fiscal mess
Per the Joint Fiscal Office 2025 report, Vermont has the sixth highest per capita spending, at $15,426, yet when we look at results: Johnny can’t read, and our roads are crumbling. Let’s slash bloat and restore sanity
Trump ‘reshoring’ praised in GlobalFoundries $16 billion AI tech expansion
The company plans to expand its existing New York and Vermont operations, including additional investment in silicon photonics, gallium nitride (GaN) for power applications, and 22FDX® technology—key enablers of AI and edge computing performance.
Hansen: STEM immigration from India dispossessing America, again
Tech elites are now replacing another class of American workers; instead of offshoring factories, they are onshoring low-wage Indian immigrants.
No promises of property tax relief during next two years
Whatever Montpelier decides about school funding this month, it won’t affect property taxes next year or the year after.
VT Headlines: free entrance to state parks
June 14-15 entrance to state parks is free. Declining gasoline consumption means fewer transportation $$.
SHORTS: St. J star named two-sport Gatorade Player of the Year/ Balint challenger/ New voter portal
Never before has a Vermont athlete won the Gatorade award for two sports in the same year. Until now…..
Mott: How to give due process its due
Everyone says they want due process, but most of us only want it when it thwarts the ambitions of the other side, not when it constrains our side. But that’s not how due process works.
Letters: Payton on being a doormat, Mazur on the debt crisis
Also, Livingston on the need to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement through the 287(g) program
Nursing homes cited for inadequate staffing
Balint’s remark, apparently intended to underscore the urgent need for immigration reform and workforce development, drew mixed reactions—earning praise from some for its honesty and urgency, while others criticized it as crass or dismissive.
Klar: The battle over lab-grown meat heats up
Texas ban raises stakes for fake-steak makers.
Murray: A call to honor the Stars and Stripes
Let’s make a statement this summer. If you fly one flag, let it be the American flag. Let it fly high above our homes, our farms, and towns. Let it be a symbol of pride—an unwavering commitment to the liberties so many fought and died to preserve.
Dr. Oscar Peterson and the Vermont Civil Defense Division
Dr. Oscar S. Peterson Jr. believed that nuclear radiation played an important role in the future, in its capacity to extend the lives of his patients, as well as its ability to cause irreparable harm. His work specializing in radiation therapy at the University of Vermont led to an invitation to serve as Vermont’s Radiological Consultant to the Civil Defense Division of the Vermont Department of Public Safety.
Law enforcement agencies in 40 states partner with ICE program – but not Vermont
Florida law enforcement tops in U.S. in ICE participation. Even its universities are involved. Vermont is at the other extreme.
Tractor trailer crash blocks I-89
Officials have not determined what caused Belaroussi to lose control, and it is unclear whether any charges will be filed. Authorities said he did not require hospitalization.
Path to adjournment expected/ New DUI penalties/ House rep moving to Canada
“Thank You, and So Long – I have received an excellent job offer in Canada, and will begin working July 7th,” Cordes wrote.
EV mileage fee begins 1/1/27
Climate change hawks have resisted mileage tax efforts for years in the interests of promoting EV affordability.
VT Headlines: Vermont Food Bank Rutland location reopens after yearlong renovation
Green Mountain Power seeks to install up to 1,200 storage batteries in remote homes; Anonymous donor gives Vermont Law and Graduate School $10 million
Samets and Feldman: Gaza is a humanitarian tragedy—but one orchestrated by Hamas
The canary died on October 7. Are you listening now?
Roper: Vermont has a $9.1 BILLION budget
Ronald Reagan once quipped that government is like a baby, an endless appetite on one end, and no discipline on the other. No place lives up to – or down to as the case may be — that analogy more so than Vermont.
Keelan: three out-of-control engines heading full speed to collision and disaster
The driverless engines of State
Ellis: The Biden trauma and tragedy
Democrats’ hubris gave us Trump. And we are living with the consequences of that disastrous decision.
List or no list, DHS pushing on against sanctuary jurisdictions, Noem tells Fox News
The 3,000 member National Sheriffs Organization said the list was published without their knowledge and offers little direction on how sheriffs should proceed.
Soulia: Same law, different outrage: The politics of deportation
Immigration enforcement is one of the most divisive issues in American politics, but when it comes to deportation numbers, the facts are clear: President Barack Obama deported more illegal aliens than any president in U.S. history.
Smokies investigate storage unit heist, drunk lawn mower driver
Troopers responded to a 911 call about a man operating a gas-powered John Deere riding lawn mower in Randolph.
Lawsuit withdrawn after state amends law targeting pregnancy centers
The Alliance Defending Freedom has filed for dismissal of its 2023 lawsuit against the State of Vermont after the 2025 Legislature amended a law targeting pregnancy resource centers’ free speech rights.
Man indicted for shooting at Border Patrol agents in Burke
The charges stem from a July 14, 2024, incident in which Sackal allegedly fired a privately manufactured 5.56 caliber AR-type pistol at five Border Patrol agents. Federal prosecutors say the weapon functioned as a machine gun but was not registered and lacked a required serial number under federal law.
Prominent doctor sues UVMMC for negligent treatment of drug-addicted son
A prominent world-renowned doctor based in Burlington is suing the University of Vermont Medical Center for medical negligence and wrongful death for the fatal overdose of his adult son five years ago.
VT Headlines: Missing woman found, hospital may close birthing center
A regional hospital may cut its birthing center due to the endemic budget crisis.
ICE detains construction workers in Newport
Mow later, save the birds. Vermont housing shortage #2 worst in nation. Cows healthy, though.
CLG: Multiple people injured in ‘targeted terror attack’ in Boulder, Colorado
Suspect in Boulder terror attack determined to be Egyptian man in U.S. illegally – FBI
Without school $$ bill, House out until June 16
House Speaker Krowinski announced the full House would come back on June 16, which was the date previously put on the calendar for a potential session to address any bills that the Governor vetoed. The plan is now for the education conferees to continue meeting over the next few weeks to hammer out an agreement that can also satisfy Governor Scott. Stay tuned.
Dame: VTGOP condemns Rep. Balint’s “wiping” comment as demeaning towards immigrants
Last week, Vermont’s sole Congresswoman, Rep. Becca Balint, held a town hall where she stated that if we don’t increase immigration, “we’re not gonna have anyone around to wipe our asses.”
Education finance impasse: “More time is needed”
Negotiations on school finance reform will go on into June.
Governor Scott’s office insists Vermont is in full compliance with federal immigration law
“Advocates with the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project said 10 construction workers were detained by ICE in Newport on Thursday,”
Podcast: Feds go after ‘Sanctuary’ VT /Property taxes / CHS vampire
The undead Clean Heat Standard
Rob Roper on today’s Vermont Podcast
We will also discuss:
-DHS citing Vermont as a ‘sanctuary jurisdiction’
-Vermont’s potential new health commissioner
-Clean Heat Standard is now ‘Dead’ ?
We will also discuss:
-DHS citing Vermonts as a ‘sanctuary jurisdiction’
-Vermont’s potential new health commissioner
-Clean Heat Standard is now ‘Dead’ ?
And more!
BREAKING: State of Vermont cited by Department of Homeland Security as ‘sanctuary jurisdiction defying federal immigration law’
The entire state of Vermont and the cities of Burlington, Montpelier, and Winooski have been labeled as ‘Sanctuary Jurisdictions’ by the department of Homeland Security, and now face federal funding cuts under Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown.
Roper: PUC thumbs nose at legislators over Clean Heat Standard
Refuses to enforce stupid, unworkable law.
Five-time felon admits violating probation by doing no community service in drug case
Michael V. Larrow Sr., 67, of Grand Isle had no intention of doing the 200 hours of community service ordered by Judge Sam Hoar Jr. in September 2023, State’s Attorney Doug DiSabito told the court last week.
Breaking: Education finance bill compromise under discussion – Legislature could adjourn today
A House Education Committee member this morning told VDC that the H.454 Conference Committee is taking seriously Gov. Phil Scott’s concerns about affordability and implementation timeline in the current House/Senate versions of this session’s landmark legislation: transformation of Vermont’s public education financing and governance.
Police nab MA suspect in St. J shooting
At about 4:45 PM Thursday, Berlin police were told of a vehicle that was in the area of Burger King located on US Route 302 in Berlin. Guichard was believed to be in the vehicle.
VT Headlines: Renewable energy plant in St. Albans celebrates grand opening
Johnson General Store gets warm welcome; Vermont’s craft beer industry shifts from booming to ‘maturing’; Tensions rise in Essex over prospective Amazon facility construction
Scott’s press secretary stays rooted in Bradford
Amanda Wheeler hopes to show you don’t have to leave home to make an impact.
Church to break ground on NEK’s first hospice house
A groundbreaking ceremony will be held Saturday for Living Waters Hospice House, the first dedicated hospice residence serving Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.
Hartford CT gang member gets 10 years for Brattleboro drug, gun crimes
Barbosa, a member of a violent gang in Hartford, Connecticut, called “GMS,” was trafficking large quantities of drugs to Brattleboro.
Tariffs in American history
Being one of the earliest forms of taxation, it is not surprising that tariffs produced one of the earliest forms of tax evasion: smuggling.
Man charged with Colchester killing got deferred sentence for 2024 assault at request of Sarah George
A Colchester man, who was charged this month in the fatal stabbing of a Milton woman, is also now facing a violation of probation case for an attack last summer on another woman as she walked in the city of Essex Junction.
Study: Wildlife underpasses save amphibians
Amphibian road mortality drops by over 80% with wildlife underpasses, study shows.
Scott to Legislature: your school funding bill costs property taxpayers too much
Rather than let a minority of Democrats and every Republican pass the Senate Education bill, Senate leaders scrapped it and successfully pushed a more House-friendly version.
VT Headlines: Waitsfield targeted in sophisticated financial hack for $81,000
Vermont Veterans Outreach Program to face shutdown without congressional funding; Federal judge in Vermont orders release of Russian-born Harvard scientist; Rutland City school board and union ratify a teachers’ contract; Essex Development Board resumes public review of Amazon warehouse proposal
McCallum: Should I stay, or should I go?
Most of the people who go to college in Vermont — 57 percent — leave the state after graduation. That’s more than any other state.
Federal Judge says Murder-for-Hire civil lawsuit can resume
A federal judge has agreed to allow a long-stalled wrongful death lawsuit to resume against a California scientist convicted last month in Burlington for being the mastermind in a cross-country murder-for-hire-case seven years ago in Danville.
Hornblas: Life, death, and a new Vermont Health Commissioner
The increase in deaths is only the tip of the iceberg. We are also failing in all of our health outcomes, across the board. Schools and businesses have struggled to find enough staff who are healthy and able to work, and health facilities are flooded with patients.
Digital wildfire: NotPetya, the most destructive cyberattack in history
How Russia weaponized America’s hacking tools to burn down the internet, and how Vermont lays vulnerable
Rally for African incarcerated by ICE
As NEKASAN members waited outside, they were informed only that “things have changed.” Lamidi, it turns out, was handcuffed upon entering the building and taken into custody.
House passes Gender X license bill
This Vermont bill is a response to a January 20 executive order issued by signed by President Donald Trump, mandating that federal agencies, including the State Department, recognize only two sexes (male and female) based on biological sex assigned at birth, effectively eliminating the “X” gender marker option for passports and prohibiting gender marker changes that do not align with birth certificates.
Police seek MA ‘career criminal’ in St. J shooting
tate police say Ladjuan Anthony Guichard, 27, of Dorchester, Massachusetts is wanted on a charge of attempted second-degree murder arising from the shooting of 30-year-old Adam Belliveau on Concord Avenue.
Clean Heat Standard dead without another vote, PUC states and House chair agrees
The Clean Heat Standard can’t be implemented without additional legislative approval, a key House committee chair concedes.
Veterans’ Place helps homeless vets find independence
The Veterans’ Place in Northfield has begun their 2025 fundraising campaign and they are seeking your support!
Senate leaders avoid GOP-led school reform vote
Voting on the Senate Education Committee bill might have gone 18-12 with all 13 Republicans voting in favor – creating a new GOP/blue dog coalition unacceptable to Senate Dem leadership.
VT Headlines: VT’s community radio stations get state funding for disaster response work
Rutland City School Board ratifies teachers’ contract in unanimous vote; Killington Select Board candidates call for financial audit to move forward
Roper: Democrats go full partisan on education reform
Kill bipartisan bill in favor of special interests.
Former Senate pro tem hangs art in State House cafeteria
A former Senate leader who took up painting during Covid now has an art show in the State House cafeteria.
Klar: Vermont’s Middlebury College should not receive Federal funding
DEI, CRT, and anti-Semitism must go!
Samets and Feldman: Vermont legislators have a chance to save Jewish lives—now
Vermont is the only state in New England without any Holocaust education standards, despite bills being introduced seeking this change since 2017. By equipping Vermont’s educational institutions to confront this hatred directly, H.310 not only offers protection but also affirms the dignity and identity of Jewish Vermonters.
Soulia: S.124: A decade of drowning in Vermont’s water policy
Ten years and over $200 million later, Vermont is right back where it started—struggling to comply with the Clean Water Act, while farmers, taxpayers, and lawmakers all try to catch their breath.
Klar: What’s controversial about the MAHA commission report?
Conflicting reactions suggest it hit the sweet spot.
Youth internet bill passes House, goes back to Senate
Intended to protect teens from predatory online practices, S.69 also would prevent youth online presence on business-related sites that also cater to adults.
Letters: Bruner and Mazur on anti-semitism
This is a classic example of an unhinged, white female liberal who sits in her cozy home reading the leftist propaganda known as the “failing New York Times”.
Unpaid leave, corpse abuse bills signed into law
No person shall, knowingly without legal authorization, intentionally burn, mutilate, disfigure, dismember, or destroy the dead body of a person.
Vermont third in northern border encounters during Biden admin
Vermont had 59,298 encounters during that period, compared to just 82 in New Hampshire, which has a narrow border with Canada and no cross-border interstate highway. Vermont has two interstate crossings.
When Vermont barn dances were all the rage
Someone’s grandparents always seem to remember one, and sometimes you can still find the scruffs and scrapes of shoes and boots on the floors. But where’d those hoedowns go? What were they like? And what did they do for small, rural communities?
Teenager surprises grandfather veteran with Memorial Day honor
Ed was seriously injured in a catastrophic fire and series of explosions in 1967 while aboard the USS Forrestal in the Gulf of Tonkin.
VT Headlines: Burlington man credited with saving woman from burning condo
Vermont, state officials honor fallen veterans for Memorial Day; Burlington businesses feeling strain from downtown construction; Route 5 reopens after tractor crash in Hartland
Fernandez: Behind Hamas, you will find BLM
Shalomyah Bowers, a leading administrator with BLM Global Network Foundation, was sued by the organization for “siphoning millions “from the group into his own “personal piggy bank.”
Police investigate fatal shooting in Brandon
Vermont State Police officers are investigating a suspicious shooting death of a 46-year-old Brandon man over the weekend. The victim, Brian Bailey, was found unresponsive inside his home on Champearl Road shortly after 7 a.m. Saturday, state police said in a news release. Bailey was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders, police said in the release.
Harrison: Sausage-makers grinding out housing, school funding bills
The legislative process is sometimes likened to sausage making, not pretty to watch. That was certainly true last week at the State House with education reform and a major housing bill being considered.
Despathy: VT media’s climate propaganda strikes again
Vermont Public’s propaganda superficially simplifies a complex issue into ‘the Democrats want climate policy and the Republicans are pushing back’.
Legislature honors Vermonters who served and died
“In our own body we have in our midst two members who have lost family as a result of service to our country during conflict,” Morgan said.
Deal: On guard, and for our Guard, on Memorial Day
Let us today never forget what such a memorial means for our freedoms, and for those we love. Let us never stop striving to do better for those who have given everything imaginable to us all.
Congress kills California/VT gas car ban
Congress has passed a measure to overturn California’s phased-in 2035 ban on the sale of new gas cars.
Bernie bashes Dem overuse of identity politics
Bernie: “And then you get to what we call identity politics. You’re black?, ‘you’re wonderful, you’re tremendous.’ You’re gay? ‘You’re the greatest human being on earth…’ Rather than say ‘what do you stand for?’ You’re gay? That’s fine, who cares?”
Roper: Unless it lowers taxes, vote NO on the education “reform” bill
Don’t just do something for the sake of doing something.
VT Headlines: Vermont’s Jewish community reacts to Israeli Embassy staffers killed in DC
Vermont state auction draws deal-hunters from across the Northeast; School board ratification vote on Rutland teachers’ contract postponed, rescheduled for next week
Men charged with gun, sex crimes, woman with hammer threat
Troopers investigating the incident determined that Mclain had fired a gun several times in the direction of Sirois’ residence.
State housing authority says no new vouchers
Portability will now only be permitted to areas where the Voucher Payment Standards are less than or equal to VSHA’s highest standard.
Jesses: Young people need civics
Upon graduation, our students need to be aware of how steeped our country is in values that recognize both the uniqueness of our form of government and how exceptional our country is in offering Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness to all without regard to religion, race, sex, ethnicity, or other demographic factors.
Balint fights ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ all night, but it passes at 6:56 AM
Reconciliation bills are considered by Congress using expedited legislative procedures that prevent a filibuster and restrict amendments in the Senate.
Klar: The vindication of Dr. Bhattacharya
Banished by the medical establishment for resisting Covid policies, he now runs the agency that made them
Sims: Trans anger at our protest of biological male Levine’s address to Smith College grads
They call us the haters and the unkind people but they always show their true colors. We did not have to do anything. The proof is in the video.
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