House Republicans will have an enhanced leadership role in legislation about education, taxation, spending, housing and other important issues.
GOP House reps named to chair or vice-chair 11 committees
VT Headlines: Nationwide data breach affects student, staff information at Vermont schools
Vermont businesses worried about Trump’s proposed tariffs; Elmore-Morristown school district settles with feds over allegations of racial harassment
It’s official – John Rodgers is Lieutenant Governor
“I’ve been swinging a hammer for a lot of years,” laughed the lifelong farmer/contractor. “I think I can handle a gavel.”
National legal brawl may decide what types of cars Vermonters can buy
All sides expect President-elect Donald Trump to try to revoke states’ authority to adopt California’s strict rules on carbon emitted by vehicles.
Crimes and consequences across Vermont
To read more, go to Keepvermontsafe.com
Despathy: Bird flu PCR test can’t detect infections
As explained by its Nobel Prize winning creator, Kary Mullis, PCR is not intended to and cannot detect infections.
Page: Don’t preach to me, California
California, you strain at the gnat of EV mandates while swallowing the camel of the fiery destruction of millions of acres of woodlands.
Klar: Learning from ‘green’ Germany’s downfall
Germany’s once-envied efficient economy is in freefall
Soulia: Senator Harrison’s vision vs. VT’s challenges
Senator Harrison argues that Vermont is growing, but the data paints a more nuanced picture.
Royer Auto Sales manager pleads guilty in fraud case
James Royer pleaded guilty on December 19 to felony embezzlement and forged paperwork charges, along with two misdemeanors related to DMV title documentation.
Graydon Barron Stevens, 1952-2024
Musician, chimney sweep and outdoor enthusiast had a deep connection to his Vermont roots
Dem leader won’t answer question about Trump and Sanctuary State Vermont
Lt. Gov. (for one more day) David Zuckerman told VDC he will be a regular host on WDEV’s Vermont Viewpoint, the station’s 9-11 AM public affairs call-in show.
Police arrest suspect in Lyndon gas station armed robbery
Vermont State Police are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying a suspect who robbed a Lyndon gas station at knifepoint on Sunday.
Baruth re-elected to lead Senate
Brock told VDC in the hallway that “amidst conversations with the Republican caucus we determined that it would not be the proper action at this time to oppose Senator Baruth but that could be readdressed in the future. Do you know what pro tempore means in Latin? President for the time being.”
Krowinski wins House Speaker race
Before the ballots were distributed, several lawmakers praised Krowinski’s even temperament.
VT Headlines: Illinois driver crashes into school bus in Richford, VT, DMV says
Decker Towers gets reprieve from drug traffic, squatters; Miro on housing crisis; Norovirus prevention recommendations
Correction: Sen. Gulick a school board association regional representative, not a lobbyist
Sen. Gulick serves as an unpaid regional representative on the VSBA Board of Directors, representing the Western Chittenden Region.
Randolph man dies in collision/ TT overturns on black ice
Donald Price was not wearing a seatbelt when his eastbound Nissan Frontier struck a Subaru Outback driven by Cynthia Brown, 67, of Randolph.
Voluntary gun surrender, gun theft bills introduced
The program would provide criminal and civil immunity from liability to participating dealers for any harm resulting from the dealer’s acceptance, storage, return, or refusal to return the firearm.
Reynolds lawyer wants gag order on Burlington police
State’s Attorney Sarah George supports the gag order motion, Reynolds’ lawyer claimed. A joint filing by both defense lawyer and prosecutor is expected soon, he said.
Two-vehicle crash in Swanton sends four to hospital
The crash occurred around 10:26 a.m. at the intersection of Woods Hill Road and Bushey Road, according to Vermont State Police.
Letters: The Uni-party; Gun v. car violence
The manipulating hidden hands, and the double standard of the anti-gun movement
Despathy: What to do about that Bird Flu – Part 1
It is absolutely urgent Vermont revisit the history and existing body of avian bird flu science.
Randolph man dies in crash
The deceased was not wearing a seat belt.
Harvey named to vacant Castleton House seat/ GOP introduces Clean Heat Standard repeal/ Speaker chair up for grabs
Harvey is a 5th generation Vermonter born and raised in the Green Mountain State. Over a decade-long career in financial services, he held various roles at the New York Stock Exchange and its parent, Intercontinental Exchange, a Fortune 500 technology and data services company.
Legal use of force, self-defense aftermath workshops at Parro’s Jan. 15
Learn the four things that must be true to legally justify the use of deadly force.
Soulia: $1000 per bill introduced and you pay the tab
$1.2 Million Spent on Legislative Proposals in 2023-2024
U.S. Attorney for Vermont steps down
Nikolas “Kolo” Kerest, the U.S. Attorney for Vermont for the past three years, submitted his resignation Monday effective Jan. 20.
CLG: Congress defies snowstorm to certify Trump’s election
New Orleans terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar wore Meta Smart Glasses during attack; Biden issues sweeping offshore oil, gas drilling ban in 625M acres of federal waters ahead of Trump transition
VT Headlines: Dem leader Dandeneau steps down from top job
Elections have consequences for party leaders who lose a supermajority. Will House Speaker Jill Krowinski be next?
Winooski School District wants “sanctuary” status
The policy would prohibit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, and potentially compromise access to any federal funds used to run the school.
BREAKING: Trudeau resigns
Big changes at the top this month south AND north of Derby Line and Highgate border crossings.
GOP could pick up one more House seat in Bennington challenge
The challenge stems from voter checklist errors that resulted in Pownal residents receiving ballots for the wrong House district, an issue brought to light after the November 5 election, in which Democrat Jonathan Cooper unofficially defeated Republican Bruce Busa by 23 votes.
CLG: Mask mandates return in multiple states
Ohio Gov. DeWine vetoes ‘medical free speech’ rights of doctors who dissent; Mysterious fog sweeping U.S. sparks bioweapon fears
Sibilia claims she’ll win if GOP backs her
As the challenger to incumbent House Speaker Jill Krowinski pleads for Republican support, an influential columnist and former GOP State Chair calls on the House GOP caucus to run their own candidate.
Adornay: Two roads diverge…
I was in Kenya during their last national election, in 2022. And it was scary. We are walking down that same dark road.
Big Oil sues Vermont on climate Superfund law
Vermont’s Secretary Agency of Natural Resources is now being sued on ‘both sides’ of the political spectrum for a law seeking to recover billions from Big Oil.
Celtics enforcer coached at Norwich in crazy ’60s
Thus, was the strange winter of the Vietnam War, D3 Norwich playing DI UVM, and a great 3-pt gunner whose long-distance baskets only counted for 2.
Roper: Randy Brock for Senate President Pro Tem!
And thoughts on the race for Speaker of the House
Ice fishing prospects abound in the Green Mountain State
VT Fish & Wildlife at the Yankee Show, Jan. 17-19; Hunters took more than 17,000 deer in 2024
Corrections Commissioner pulls plug on dangerous inmate release
With the loud public outcry this week, Deml said he ordered a further review of Breer’s case “due to my concern regarding the significant risk he poses to public safety and the Department’s ability to effectively supervise him in the community.”
Citing upbringing in Russian orphanage, judge sentences man who assaulted state trooper to 3 weeks in prison
After appeals for mercy from his family and employer, and despite the evidence justifying a harsher sentence, Judge Michael Kainen sentenced Robert Maximov, 28, of East Haven to 21 days in jail, citing his traumatic childhood in Russian orphanages as a mitigating factor.
Car crashes into supermarket, sparks fire
The suspect has said he’d rather be shot by police than arrested.
VT Headlines: Burlington rugby star debuts in Bristol, England
Burlington Dems name council candidates. Bucks for Barre building stir spending controversy.
Fleeing man tries to stab cops with needle
Aaron Montgomery, 35, of Springfield, who had an arrest warrant, also resisted arrest by kicking, spitting on, and attempting to bite officers.
Newborn and mother die in fire
The investigation is continuing into the origin and cause of the fire.
Newbury saffron farm sustains vision of experimentation
About half the shares of Calabash Gardens are owned by family and friends, and 39% are owned by people of color.
Legislature backing off Clean Heat Standard?
The legislature and the majority as a whole have reached a pivotal point where they will have to decide whether or not they want to attempt to implement the CHS by increasing taxes in fees or if they instead want to incentive the switch the energy transition with tax-breaks and “carrots,” Beck explained.
Roper: Legislature, resolve to cut spending in the new year
Since 2019, the year before Covid, the state budget has grown from about $5.8 billion to $8.5 billion. That’s a $2.7 billion spending increase in just 4 years.
Koch: “Scribblings” on education finance
The legislature should make education reform priority ONE for the next two years.
Las Vegas bombing suspect graduated from Vermont’s Norwich University
“We can confirm that the person identified in media reports completed an online degree in 2019 in strategic studies and defense analysis,” a Norwich spokesperson told VDC yesterday.
Special interests keep pushing the War on Carbon, Senate may have cold feet
Rather than take voters’ cue to slow down on expensive energy policy, EAN urges the Legislature to stay the course with the fossil-fuel to electricity transition at home and on the roads. But even leading climate hawks in the Senate aren’t so sure.
Beware the Wampahoofus
Vermont’s cryptid with particularly slanted views
VT Headlines: Drought means bare patches on iconic Brattleboro ski hill
Warm temps and low water at a nearby pond make for tough sledding in Brattleboro.
A Colchester community reflects on its first year as a village
It’s been a year since the Westbury mobile home park in Colchester became the Village of Westbury, the first village established in Vermont in nearly a century.
Roper: What’s to show for 25 years of Democrat/Progressive control
Let that be your New Year resolution: Hold your representatives in Montpelier accountable for what they are doing in your name and, ostensibly, on your behalf.
School Board to principals: Recite Pledge of Allegiance every day
The Southwest Vermont Union Elementary School District Board (SVUESD) voted shortly before Christmas to have the Pledge of Allegiance recited every day.
Former school board lobbyist should not chair Senate Education, CFV warns
“This is an inherent conflict of interest to have a person employed, or even recently employed, by a lobbying organization leading a policy-making committee,” Kinsley said.
St. Albans man charged with animal cruelty in dog neglect case
For the Love of Dogs Vermont rescued the canine, who had lost about 77 pounds and was left w/o food, water, electricity, or heat for an extended period.
Klar: A New Year’s resolution (of political differences)
New Year’s 2025 celebrations augur the second inauguration of Donald J. Trump as president of the United States.
Low disposable income makes Vermont 5th worst state for work
Despite the highest workplace safety and a 37.8 hour work week on avg., Vermont ranks low due to a 48.46 happiness index and $15,263 average disposable income.
GOP State Senate leader: We won’t forget Vermonters
The new legislature needs to continue to focus on the difficult work of passing systemic change. VT voices deserve to be remembered and acted upon.
Keelan: VT nonprofits a new source of State revenue?
The Vermont nonprofit sector is one of the largest sectors of the State’s economy, measured by revenue generated and employees, yet is primarily unregulated.
Bossange: America’s lost political parties
If this past election proved anything, it confirmed the death of the national GOP, the unraveling of the Democrats, and the emergence of a new MAGA Party.
CLG: New Year’s ‘terror attack’ kills 10 people, injures 35 in New Orleans
Ukraine ends transit of Russian gas to EU; Canadian Teen Recovers From Severe H5N1 Bird Flu Infection; Fog Causing Mystery Illness Is Documented By Social Media
Furlough for dangerous inmate put on hold after public outcry
Breer has as a criminal history includes arrests for sexual assault, kidnapping, aggravated domestic assault and numerous violations of probation and parole.
VT Headlines: New Year’s baby named after Star Wars character
The couple from Wilder have named two of their children after Princess Leia’s parents.
Two die in New Year’s Day fire/ Colchester fire fatality ID’d/ Child struck by school bus, driver cited/ Christmas Day burglary suspect on the lam
A 77-year-old school bus driver has been cited for grossly negligent operation after the Waterbury school bus he was driving struck a 12-year-old.
Woman fights back, stops abduction
The adult woman defended herself and struck the man in the face, possibly causing cuts.
Vermont targeted as ‘sanctuary jurisdiction’ by pro-Trump legal group
The first shot across the bow in the Sanctuary State legal war has been fired.
VT Headlines: Ice jam shuts down Route 5 in St. Johnsbury with flooding
VSP interviews St. Johnsbury PD captain in connection with ongoing investigation into Dec. 13 shooting; Snow, rain to impact Vermont on New Year’s Day
Man with 1,850 police encounters refuses to leave hospital, assaults guards
“He has harmed huge numbers of people; he routinely endangers himself and others; and Burlington’s officers deal with him more than any other person. He has exhausted outlets of charity, treatment, or relief, and burned bridges with entities that seek to help the disadvantaged,” Murad said.
Vermont’s outdoor recreation economy grew to $2.1 billion in 2023
Green Mountain State maintains #2 ranking for outdoor recreation as part of GDP.
Homeless squatters arrested for burglary, resisting arrest
The squatters defecated and urinated and started an indoor fire inside the unoccupied house, police say.
Jesse: What we need from a new Essex-Westford school superintendent
They will have to focus on student academic achievement by setting specific measurable goals and focusing district resources on meeting those goals.
Gov. Phil Scott announces appointments to the newly-created land Land Use Review Board
This new Board is a reorganization of the Natural Resources Board, the organization responsible for the administration of Act 250, Vermont’s land use and development law.
Fatal crash/ trio of shoplifting suspects arrested/ Arson & insurance fraud/ Stolen Christmas card
A Manchester woman is dead after her car struck an oncoming car on Rte. 7 in Sunderland.
GOP lawmaker backs Dem Speaker
“Many of us returning this biennium may share feelings of frustration from the last term. Yet, during those moments, I found myself in conversations with the Speaker, candidly expressing my concerns…..”
As euthanasia booms in Canada, Vermont elections have weeded out assisted suicide proponents
Vermont’s “End of Life Choices” law means that doctors may prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients if that’s what they choose.
2024 Healthcare: More sickness causing costs to rise?
In a nutshell, Vermont is getting sicker and older and our current health care system is going broke.
Celebrate in style at the best reception and event venues in Vermont
Vermont is home to many estates, hotels, and events places that offer picturesque settings to set the right mood for any occasion.
Police say homeless Barre man beats, robs elderly man
Police said they jailed Carlos Manuel Perez, 33, for lack of $3,500 bail at the state prison in St. Johnsbury following the arrest on Saturday.
Mennonite mudders, hero cop, dead toddler stories draw most reader interest in 2024
The two biggest ‘talkers’ were both about courageous sacrifice in response to tragedy.
VT Headlines: Joan Shannon will not seek reelection to Burlington City Council
Vernon police seize fentanyl, cocaine in traffic stop, two arrested; Wakefield police seek help finding missing 14-year-old; Buprenorphine initiative in Burl.
Soulia: Equal pay, unequal costs
How Vermont legislators spent your money on H.861
Swenson: From Montpelier to Austin
Lessons Vermont needs to learn from Texas. Vermont deserves better, and it’s time for its leaders to deliver.
Klar: Who will be VT’s new Lt. Governor?
Because John Rodgers unseated incumbent Lt. Gov. Dave Zuckerman with less than 50% of the popular vote, the VT Legislature will select who gets the job.
CLG: Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States, has died at 100 years old
Democratic Lawyers Call for Congress to Block Trump From Taking Office; Bird flu virus shows mutations in first severe human case in U.S., CDC says
Bennett: Jimmy Carter and the Marsh Rabbit
If a marsh rabbit can care about politics, the one in this story was surely a Republican.
Suspect in vicious beating/robbery released to mother
Abdirahman Mohammed, 22, is accused with four others of attacking a couple in downtown Burlington back in April.
Happy New Year, Legislature – now fix ‘catch and release’
You can call it the ‘Michael Reynolds Law,’ after the Burlington-area transient with more than 1600 police interactions since 2012 and still going strong this month with reported abusive, disruptive, threatening behavior.
Keelan: Is Zuckerman the reincarnation of Bernie?
The Lieutenant Governor’s traveling around the State to warn us of the crisis of book banning was irrelevant, and it fell on deaf ears.
A bone-chilling record
Vermont’s coldest day: December 30, 1933
Bird Flu confirmed in backyard flock in Franklin County
Officials alert animal owners of need for continued vigilance to protect bird flocks and cattle in Vermont
VT Headlines: Abandoned rottweiler recovering
EV infrastructure challenges; Church Street difficulties; Cats catching bird flu and how to keep them safe.
Clean Heat Standard snafus dominate state energy news in 2024
Get cozy, throw another log on that wood-stove before it gets regulated into oblivion, and let’s revisit some of the most important energy stories of 2024.
Klar: Biden renews technology-sharing treaty with China
All the while, Chinese drones threaten US national security.
Young-people’s rate of non-fatal overdoses increasing
Among these overdoses, cannabis, prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and stimulants account for the most increase.
Queen City drug dens go viral
New social media clips show drug dens in Burlington as staffing challenges getting worse.
It’s cold. New England’s burning oil and coal to keep the lights on
Thanks to Vermont’s large, hard-working, decentralized network of heating oil fuel dealers, and the renewable-preferring state government’s opposition to extending natural gas lines, heating fuels like oil, propane and kerosene provide about 59% of the Green Mountain State’s heat. More populous southern New England is far less energy-diverse.
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