Rural blight fight: knotweed-eating goats. Urban blight fight: limiting the junk left at curbside by departing college students.
VT Headlines: Fighting knotweed with goats
VDC-TV: Housing for Me, But Not For Thee
Guy and Paul look at where the other half live – you know, the people deciding our kids will live in towns and cities.
Rutland-Addison voters reject school budget for third time
Voters in the Slate Valley region declined a budget $211,000 less than the Town Meeting budget.
Critics question VT’s plan for a new women’s prison
Vermont’s only women’s prison is half a century old and in terrible shape. The state has set aside millions for a new facility, but construction is years away.
Swanton Sector border continues to see all-time record illegal crossings
In one week, from April 28 to May 4, agents apprehended 492 illegal border crossers, more than the total apprehensions for all of fiscal 2021 of 365.
From inside out: The real cost of data breaches in our workplaces
Vermont is no stranger to these kinds of attacks – and how it deals with them going forward will be key to its future success in the private and public sectors.
“Legislature wasted time” helping big shots, not the needy, former senator says
“This is a regressive bill. It will punish working class and poor Vermonters to make millionaires even richer,” Rodgers said.
Roper: Supermajority votes for even higher health insurance costs
H.766 will add estimated 3-7% increase on top of “normal” annual premium increases.
VT Headlines: Northern lights coming?
The spectacular Northern Lights may make an appearance in Vermont, thanks to a ‘severe’ solar storm coming our way. Photo by shutterbug extraordinare Adam Silverman.
S.258 a goner
“I think the majority (of Democrats) didn’t want to take it up in an election year with all the sportsmen voters out there defending Vermont traditions,” said Rep. Smith, of Derby.
McGuinness: Lawmakers play fast and loose with Prop 4 “equality of rights” constitutional amendment
Vermont lawmakers do not have the constitutional upper hand under Prop 4. Taxpayers can anticipate footing the bill for the State’s defense against anyone who dares to challenge them, if Proposition 4 is approved by voters in 2026.
Ann Story: Mother of Vermont
Heroine of Thompson’s Green Mountain Boys
Page: Howard Dean’s betrayal of the Abenaki
How Dean betrayed our first inhabitants, and the Republican who fought for them.
Woodstock adopts short-term rental fees, rules
The ordinance standardizes STR rules and fees across the Village and Town, along with capping the number of units.
Galfetti: A legislature on a dangerous course
Vermonters will continue to pay for a mirage that promises effective climate change legislation but yields no discernible results.
Dame: R in G.E.T. R.E.A.L! stands for Regulatory Reform
Regulatory stagnation is partly to blame for housing prices out of reach for young Vermonters.
Christian athletes from VT universities huddle at Norwich
About college-aged, student-athletes gathered on this Saturday night to worship together.
Federal jury convicts Colchester man on all counts related to fatal drug deal in Swanton
The jury needed just over 3 hours before convicting Dominque “Wop” Troupe, 37, on all four felony charges he faced during the six-day trial.
Biden DOL vs. Bradford restaurant: the other side of the story
According to the harshly worded DOL press release, a server at that restaurant will receive $50,000 in punitive damages and $829 in back pay after the investigation found that the “employer retaliated against them by terminating their employment for refusing to share tips with a manager.”
Day before today’s rally, House OKs new Act 250
“They have to have a way to build wealth,” Rodgers said. “Home ownership is a way to build equity and wealth which will turn into intergenerational wealth. Without that, people are just working like dogs and they’re handing all their money over to some business or business owner.
VT Headlines: Burlington Gateway construction hurts business downtown
It’ll be nice when it’s done, the dust clears, and the traffic starts flowing. Meanwhile…..
On King Street, a hope to pair laundry and literacy goes unanswered — for now
The storytimes give parents a chance to do a chore while their kids learn. Organizers hope people will turn out for the next event May 30.
Hunt more moose to save them from winter ticks?
Experts see few other ways to stem the grisly pests.
Data shows hard choices facing Green Mountain Transit
Five years of data shows the state’s largest transit system is approaching an inflection point on the back of haywire trends.
With days left is session, Guv bashes Legislature’s housing, school funding efforts
He doesn’t like what he sees in housing and school funding legislation. On public safety and affordability, he sees a glass half full.
Pew: Minorities suffered under regressive Act 250
Other progressive regions have added more housing, while Vermont’s regressive regulation has done real damage.
Podcast: Matt Musgrave, Associated General Contractors of Vermont
Some podcasts are interesting because of the subject matter, others for the personalities and conversation. This one’s both.
SHORTS: State vehicle auction Saturday
Summer Free Fishing Day, opening day of Vermont’s bass fishing season, as well as the Grand Isle Family Fishing Festival, all on June 8.
Five school districts pass school budgets Tuesday
The Yes votes in three big school districts followed budget cuts of $1 million or more.
Son helps mom murder step-father, gets 18 years-to-life
Kory Lee George, 36, and his mother Angela M. Auclair, 52, formerly of Williston, have been implicated in orchestrating the nighttime ambush killing of David Auclair, 45, of Williston almost five years ago.
VT Headlines: Sanders says he hates anti-semitism, supports free speech on campus
Middlebury puts money on the table to renovate library. Volunteers needed for lakes and ponds. Hospital backs food bank services.
MEMORIAL MONTH: Brigadier General Lewis A. Grant
The valor of a Vermonter, in peace and war
Klar: Identity crisis at Middlebury
A backfired effort to cancel John Mead.
Harrison: Big Oil bill a big gamble for Vermont
Not only will Vermont need to front its own legal costs and hire various experts to back up its claims, but the State could also be on the hook for the defendants’ legal bills if it loses the case on constitutional grounds.
Rutland woman competes in international beauty pageant
Sunita Dholakia, of Rutland, is one of 114 finalists competing in Haut Monde Mrs. India Worldwide, an annual beauty pageant for married Indian women across the globe.
Adjournment still on for Friday
Gov. Phil Scott appointed a Democrat to fill the seat vacated by Progressive Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, who was elected mayor of Burlington.
MacDonald: The ‘dome’ Winooski built
Years later, the town, more woke than ever, has achieved a different kind of dome, one that protects exorbitant public school spending at great expense.
Thursday’s rally leader John Rodgers live on VDC-TV tomorrow
“I am helping to organize these events to represent working class, Vermonters and the working poor, who have been forgotten by the majority of our state legislature,” the former state senator said.
Roper: The climate crusade that’s bankrupting Vermonters
This week Vermont Senate passed the Renewable Energy Standard bill (H.289) by a vote of 18-8.
‘Super-pot’ bill in Senate opposed by doctors
Child poisoning from THC has risen 2000 percent and Vermont has one of the highest youth use rates in the nation, Antley said.
Klar: Vermont’s virtue signaling Proposal 4
Here’s the rub – no advocate for Proposal 4 has actually furthered a need for the legislative change aside from a feel-good virtue-signal.
Two first-time school budgets pass on floor votes
South Burlington leads the school districts facing failed school budget revotes today.
VT Headlines: New bishop, familiar face
Return of the Bird Bikes. Late-night cookie chain comes to Burlington. Missing children found safe.
Book Review: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything, by Chris Rufo
‘I have seen the hideous face of revolution,” observes journalist Christopher Rufo, and “it radicalized me.”
McGuinness: House committee rejects porn protections for young library users
Rep. Michael Mrowicki, who declined to accept a written copy of VFA’s testimony, stated that public libraries are sacred institutions. VFA told the Committee that families are sacred institutions that no individual, organization, or government entity has a right to undermine.
Warner: Anti-semitism Awareness bill in Congress stifles free speech
The FIrst Amendment reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…” Does HR 6090 violate that right?
S.310 to mandate language assistance services for emergency info
Amid a hefty bill focused on the state’s natural disaster response is a provision to better inform Vermonters who can’t hear or speak little English.
As medical cannabis services wane, lawmakers look for solutions
Vermont only has five medical cannabis dispensaries as opposed to at least 51 recreational businesses opening within the last two years.
Sanders will seek a fourth term in the U.S. Senate
His time in the Senate, along with his previous 16 years in the House of Representatives, makes him the longest-serving Ind. congressman in American history.
Bruner: CONS of S.258
Hunters have been the primary force for conservation since it’s inception in the US.
Fatal crash in Georgia last night, Berlin triple-fatal victims ID’d
Police are looking for the causes of two crashes that took four lives.
CLG: Bomb threat emailed to nearly two dozen Jewish sites in NYC as disturbing text revealed
France sends combat troops to Ukraine battlefront; ‘Damning’ report details Biden regime’s Big Tech censorship push
House lawmakers look at hard drug decrim, police interrogations, $6 billion for school upgrades
Vermont aging school buildings need a $6 billion facelift – spending that would be above and beyond the burgeoning sum under fire by taxpayers.
Jablow: PROS of S.258
Misinformation is a threat to our democracy, both nationally and as a state. At least here, being fact-based and credible is important to the bulk of advocates,
‘Tap Trees, Not Vermonters’ follow-up rally Thursday at State House
“As more and more Vermonters are finding themselves left out of the political process, diverse groups are gathering together to be heard and make change,” a spokesperson for the coalition-based Downstream Vermonters rally said.
Sibilia: Looking for state accountability on education spending
State leaders aren’t acknowledging their role exacerbating these challenges while also repeatedly making expenditures out of the education fund without paying.
Senate ponders clothing tax to pay for public schools
The Senate also is reportedly considering taxing clothing purchases of more than $150, raising taxes on sugared drinks, and dipping into reserve funds and tax surpluses to further reduce the property taxes.
Green Up Day protects the ‘golden goose,’ News 5 Stephen Biddix reports
Crowd-sourcing the solution to Vermont’s litter problem since 1970. Smuggs stuckage solution. State Hospital burial grounds. Cannabis controversy.
Ambassador to UN won’t speak at UVM commencement
The U.S. Ambassador to the UN won’t be speaking at UVM. But pro-Palestine demonstrators who’ve been demanding her disinvitation will face the music for UVM policy violations.
What the Senate DIDN’T know about Zoie Saunders
Agency of Education Secretary Zoie Saunders a hired gun with no personal stake in Vermont? Hardly
FRIDAY AT FOUR TODAY: Why do we call it a Creemee Cast? And what DIDN’T the Senate know about Zoie Saunders?
After what one senator called a ‘vicious’ nomination rejection this week, information about Zoie Saunders and her connection with Vermont come to light. Tune in at 4 PM today for Friday at Four on our YouTube channel.
Roper: “Clean” heat mess gets even messier
It was neatly summed up by TAG member Christopher Trombly’s revelation, “We’re taxing the poor so that the rich can benefit.”
Fraudster bilks $1.2 mil in pandemic unemployment benefits
The stolen funds were deposited into accounts in the names of individual victims or fictional organizations, such as the ‘Peaceful Protesters Bail Fund,’ ‘BLM New England Trust,’ and ‘Anti-Drumpf League.’”
Crips tag Burlington courthouse
Parts of Vermont have been flooded with an influx of gang members, who have been recruiting new members, including youthful offenders in Burlington for drug and gun crimes, federal and state authorities have said.
Ellis: The view from 34E on Biden’s election problem
Sure, in the end, my son will probably vote for Biden. But he is not happy about it. Neither are thousands in his generation who have lost faith in the system and no longer care about defending the institutions of democracy.
Prayer warriors gather at State House for NDP
They came from all over Vermont to pray for the state’s leaders and people.
Chelsea Green’s Legacy: Wisdom and Unwavering Dedication to Free Speech
“I wish the Vermont liberal media was a little more self aware of how little it does in promoting diverse views and engaging in serious discussion of the problems we all face instead of its current ideological bashing of viewpoints it disapproves of. But in the end it is just a reflection of the larger media environment that it tries to emulate,” Chelsea Green Publisher Emeritus Margo Baldwin said.
Headlines: License plate sales make flood relief $1.2 million stronger
Students walk out in support of school budget. Wanted: Teeth cleaners. Runner’s 100th half-marathon.
Letters: Jewett on The Blob, Iselin on Marxist librarians, Wells on term limits
I am in hopes that library trustees, like many citizens, will strongly question and dismiss the “American Library Association” with its Marxist Socialist agenda.
CLG: Trump doesn’t rule out cutting aid to Israel
House votes to expand definition of antisemitism as anti-Israeli war demonstrations rage across U.S.; Trump to address ‘Libertarian Party concerns’
Dean, Scott positioning for guv race
Scott said at a press conference this week that the Senate’s treatment of Education Secretary nominee Zoie Saunders has made him more likely to run for re-election.
Social justice leader calls prominent Prop 4 critic “white and privileged” on House floor
“This is systemic racism, what we’re dealing with right here,” Hughes said. “I mean come on, we’re talking about now sending it back over to the Senate because one person who happens to be white and privileged came in and told you one thing about some civil liberties that could potentially be taken and you got a black man right here telling you about civil liberties that are currently at risk.”
Vermonters rallied to challenge political threat to food, water, and shelter
The diverse group chose the cafeteria to voice their concerns recognizing that the politicians could not get away with eating Vermonters’ lunch without at least having to look them in the eye.
Vision clash in the Senate over housing, Act 250
The Senate will hold a noon-hour caucus today to help its members understand recent amendments to an already complicated housing/Act 250 reform bill.
Klar: White farmers matter!
“Natural disasters don’t discriminate. Neither should USDA.”
Bananas: Governor Scott hires Ted Lasso to save economy
After seeing VT holding down the second worst spot in the US for economic prospects Governor Scott called to Ted Lasso to turn around VT’s bleak future.
Vermont among states least addicted to gambling…so far
With Vermont’s okaying sports betting, the ranking may change.
House backing off school budget ‘three strikes and you’re out”?
I showed up promptly at 8:55 to find an empty room. Apparently, they canceled the hearing. One can’t help but wonder…Why?
Pro-Hamas camps at VT colleges, mass arrests at Dartmouth
“You’re up past your bedtime,” police told protesters before arresting 90 students and non-students at 1:30 AM May 1 at Dartmouth College.
VT Headlines: Coin-free parking in the Queen City
One less reason to keep spare change in the car. Marxist support for Hamas spreads to Dartmouth. Vergennes the home (again) for new Juvy Hall.
Missed crossover deadline, but bill banning drone surveillance still viable
Legislators added the original bill’s language to H.878, which deals with “miscellaneous judiciary procedures.”
Counting critters: Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas turns 30
The project has amassed 123,000 entries since its founding in 1994.
Admiral Dewey: The Vermont hero who made naval history
In 1854, Dewey entered the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, embarking on a path that would define his legacy.
Thurston: Taxpayers suffering in cold and silence
Ten years of being priced out of our own state by legislators who want to be “good stewards of the planet.”
Constitutional amendment protecting gender identity and expression has public hearing today
“The government must not deny equal treatment and respect under the law on account of a person’s race, ethnicity, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or national origin,” the proposed amendment says.
VT Headlines: Drug use source of blood infection surge at UVMMC
Another lethal consequence of Vermont’s craving for fentanyl and other illegal injected drugs.
Seven districts vote no, four yes in Super Tuesday school budget revote
Seven revised budgets rejected. Four others approved on the second try.
Hey, Vermont – Africa’s getting clobbered with ‘global warming solutions,’ too
Growing food on a continent where hunger is still a reality for many, an African farmer calls out EU error and hypocrisy for criticizing fossil-fuel fertilizer.
Dyer: Today is Law Day, and I’m thinking about William Brewster of the Mayflower
Branded “SS” (stirrer of sedition) on his forehead, William Brewster’s ears were cut off and he was put in prison “until a convenient time.”
Letters: Mazur on Marxist anti-semites, Heaslip on destructive taxation, Moyer on boots in the mud
Cries for sanity in a turbulent time.
McClaughry: Controlling education costs
So what can Vermonters do to curb education costs? Here are five proposed “solutions.”
Shoplifting felony bill faces Senate scrutiny
A bookstore owner and House Democrat co-sponsored the bill.
Dame: Dean, like Dems, turned unrecognizably radical
There is no better candidate to represent the Democratic Party than Howard Dean. Both have undergone an incredible transformation that leaves them barely recognizable from the 1990s.
Bill to create new state division of ‘Animal Welfare’ gets Senate committee review
It further states that the Commissioner of Public Safety will appoint a Director of Animal Welfare to be in charge of the Division.
Criticism of ‘3 cue’ teaching removed from reading reform bill
Vermont 4th grade reading scores have been dropping steadily since 2015.
Senate thumbs down on Saunders
Just three Senate Democrats backed the nomination of Gov. Scott’s choice for Secretary of Education.
Evaluating a new rainbow trout strain for Vermont
State Fisheries Biologist Lee Simard: “We are evaluating the new Eagle Lake strain of rainbow trout against our traditionally stocked Erwin-Arlee strain…”
Roper: The new Klan with a Nazi twist
The antisemitic, pro-Hamas movement looks a lot like the KKK of the 1920s.
Sims joins race for open Orleans Senate seat
The Orleans District of the Vermont Legislature includes 20 towns spanning Orleans, Caledonia, and Franklin counties.
VT Headlines: Mt. Abe students protest teacher cuts
Just like CVU, students earlier this month, students at Mt. Abe are protesting likely RIFs of teachers in the wake of a rejected school budget.
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