Vermont News
818 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago - ★★★★ - 11 ratingsGet daily updates from Vermont's leading online news source. Read more at vtdigger.org.
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Episodes
Burlington police report first homicide in more than two years
July 08, 2022 21:30 - 2 minutes - 3.63 MBALSO: Law enforcement officials said a woman charged with murdering a rising cycling star from Vermont was found to have obscured her physical appearance while on the run; The nurses union at Vermont’s largest hospital has reached a tentative agreement with management; A new report found that the state apparatus governing Vermont’s child care and early education systems is fundamentally broken.
Vermont Farm Show canceled for third year
July 07, 2022 21:30 - 2 minutes - 3.89 MBALSO: Sen. Bernie Sanders has endorsed Becca Balint in the race for Vermont's sole U.S. House seat; Ben & Jerry’s is suing parent company Unilever in an attempt to stop the sale of its Israel business; Rutland Regional Medical Center has asked regulators for hefty budget increases.
1st peer recovery center opens on Champlain Islands
July 06, 2022 20:49 - 3 minutes - 4.76 MBPlus: Susanne Young sworn in as Vermont’s 1st female attorney general; Brattleboro’s EMS takeover, intended to save money, racks up higher costs; Corrections boss calls for ‘temporary’ staff changes with longer set shifts, 60-hour work weeks
Repeated vandalism plagues shores of Lake Willoughby
July 05, 2022 21:22 - 3 minutes - 4.6 MBPlus: Will Kasso Condry is the first-ever winner of the Vermont Prize, Hardwick keeps 2 police chiefs on payroll as investigations drag on, State officials are moving forward with a plan to transition to electric vehicles.
UVM Health Network is asking regulators to allow double-digit increases in private insurance service charges
July 01, 2022 22:20 - 3 minutes - 4.22 MBALSO: Vermont Medicaid will help thousands of low-income residents get access to services that private insurance may not cover, under a five-year extension of a federal waiver; Vermont’s Office of Professional Regulation has filed charges against Walgreens pharmacies across the state; VTDigger has the scoop on all of Vermont's best Fourth of July weekend celebrations.
Sen. Patrick Leahy scheduled to undergo emergency hip surgery after a fall
June 30, 2022 22:20 - 3 minutes - 5 MBALSO: Vermont schools are wrestling with which flags to fly after a Supreme Court ruling; The woman accused in a Vermont cyclist's murder was captured after more than 40 days; Unilever has sold its Ben & Jerry's subsidiary in Israel; VTDigger has launched its 2022 election guide.
U.S. House candidates grapple with Roe, court reforms and Jan. 6
June 29, 2022 21:35 - 2 minutes - 3.66 MBALSO: Montpelier has temporarily stopped accepting leachate because of E. coli levels, sending it out of state; Vermont Access to Reproductive Freedom says it has received a record-breaking surge in donations since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade; New rules are being considered for the use of wake boats on Vermont’s lakes and ponds.
Burlington set to clamp down on short-term rentals
June 29, 2022 02:53 - 3 minutes - 4.14 MBALSO: The two Democrats vying to be Vermont’s next attorney general say that, if elected, they’ll aim to bolster protections for people seeking and providing abortions in the state; Balint, Gray campaigns go tit-for-tat on super PACs; Aki Soga has become the first Asian American journalist to lead the Burlington Free Press.
Environmentalists fear more invasive species may soon come to Lake Champlain
June 28, 2022 03:17 - 3 minutes - 4.2 MBALSO: A Massachusetts company’s plan to build a telecommunications tower in an Enosburgh neighborhood has divided residents there; A new program from Champlain Housing Trust aims to help Black, Indigenous and people of color with down payments on their first home; Both Democratic candidates vying for the vacant state’s attorney seat in Washington County say they favor many of the same approaches to the county’s most pressing problems. But not entirely.
Vermont response to Roe v. Wade decision was swift and furious
June 24, 2022 22:13 - 2 minutes - 4.07 MBALSO: Many towns across Vermont are already welcoming early voters for the primary election; A coyote attacked a woman and a dog in Panton on Sunday; A large Windsor County employer laid off 80 employees on Wednesday and plans to close its Springfield manufacturing plant.
The EPA’s new health advisory for PFAS is drastically lower than Vermont's
June 23, 2022 22:10 - 2 minutes - 3.93 MBALSO: Gov. Phil Scott believes a state gas tax holiday is worth considering; Days after Attorney General TJ Donovan left for a job in the private sector, Scott appointed Susanne Young to finish out the term; Windsor County residents are paying attention to the local sheriff’s race.
Nearly 100 Vermont College of Fine Arts alumni say they strongly oppose the school’s plan to end on-campus programs
June 22, 2022 22:15 - 3 minutes - 5.17 MBALSO: A Bennington teenager who was shot during an altercation over the weekend is now facing an attempted murder charge; A U.S. Supreme Court decision will likely have a wide-reaching impact on Vermont's school tuition system; Burlington's pod plan for those experiencing homelessness gets tentative approval; Ten Vermont farmworkers are petitioning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to close their deportation cases.
Burlington in talks with Beta about hosting some technical programs for new high school
June 21, 2022 21:19 - 3 minutes - 4.16 MBALSO: South Burlington proposes bridge for pedestrians and cyclists over Interstate 89; Vermont is preparing Covid-19 vaccinations for children 6 months through 5 years of age; A Sandgate woman who shot her family’s pet dog the day after Christmas has been convicted of a felony.
Chittenden Solid Waste District plans to build recycling facility in Williston
June 20, 2022 21:14 - 2 minutes - 3.98 MBALSO: A campaign called Our Time Is Now aims to help Vermonters with disabilities join the workforce during a major shortage; Two state troopers have been put on paid leave during an investigation into an incident that seriously injured a Newfane man; Two property owners on Howard Street in Burlington are looking to remove one of the largest trees in the city.
Vermont ski areas report rebound from early pandemic slowdown
June 17, 2022 22:31 - 3 minutes - 4.21 MBALSO: Amtrak service from Burlington to New York City is scheduled to begin on July 29; The Bennington Selectboard has named the members of a new citizen police oversight group; The suspects in a Rutland slaying were arrested in a New Hampshire post office.
The candidates for lieutenant governor took the debate stage aiming to differentiate themselves
June 16, 2022 22:22 - 2 minutes - 4.03 MBALSO: The man shot and killed Tuesday outside a home near downtown Woodstock had showed up to support a woman in a dispute with her adult son over money; The Vermont College of Fine Arts will stop hosting students on campus next year and is considering selling or leasing all but one of its 11 buildings; Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger announced this week that the city will now celebrate Juneteenth as an official holiday.
St. Albans City Council ousts equity committee member
June 14, 2022 21:56 - 2 minutes - 3.28 MBALSO: A court ordered a 15-year-old Bennington girl be released from adult jail; A Brandon man accused of threatening to shoot neighbors has reached a plea deal; Police said they are investigating a suspicious death in a Rutland apartment.
Severe staffing shortages are changing Vermont’s approach to law enforcement
June 13, 2022 22:20 - 3 minutes - 4.28 MBALSO: Vermont will join the rest of the nation in launching a new three-digit number, 988, to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline; Gov. Phil Scott alleged poor legislative management led to technical errors in several bills approved this year; A lawsuit in federal court, aiming to block the long-beleaguered Champlain Parkway, could soon pick up some muscle.
Vermont may soon get Covid vaccines for kids
June 10, 2022 22:41 - 3 minutes - 4.48 MBALSO: Gov. Phil Scott signed an $8.1 billion state budget into law; Burlington officials are scrambling over concerns about the plan to pay for a new high school; The number of times guns were recklessly fired in Burlington this year has risen sharply.
4 juveniles have been held at Vermont’s adult jails since Woodside closed in 2020
June 09, 2022 22:49 - 2 minutes - 3.99 MBALSO: 25 years in, Vermont’s oldest regional conservation partnership is a lasting symbol of regional cooperation; Congressman Peter Welch voted Wednesday in favor of the Protecting Our Kids Act; ACLU-Vermont announced Wednesday that it is launching the state’s first database to track law enforcement officers whose credibility has been questioned.
Democratic candidates for secretary of state debate the details of good governance
June 08, 2022 19:45 - 2 minutes - 3.93 MBALSO: Gov. Phil Scott vetoed the Legislature’s opioid response bill on Tuesday; Former Jay Peak CEO and President Bill Stenger has reported to a federal prison in Massachusetts; Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale’s shuttered congressional campaign keeps fundraising to pay off debt.
VSEA board resignations highlight the divide between leadership and progressives
June 07, 2022 20:53 - 3 minutes - 4.43 MBALSO: The Burlington City Council voted to bring back ranked choice voting; A cryptocurrency mogul’s flirtation with a U.S. Senate run in Vermont could cost him a generous tax decree in Puerto Rico; A former city councilor was injured in a shooting at Burlington’s Roosevelt Park Sunday evening.
The battle lines are mostly drawn as Vermont's political filing deadline has passed
June 06, 2022 22:24 - 3 minutes - 4.29 MBAlso: Green Mountain Transit is making adjustments to its two-year MyRide pilot project; A Colchester-based startup specializing in mRNA manufacturing plans to expand; The Vermont Legislature requested nearly 100 new studies this year.
A Lake Region Union High School student has been charged with domestic terrorism
June 03, 2022 21:51 - 3 minutes - 4.54 MBAlso: Five White River Valley towns plan to formalize a regional group in hopes of sharing municipal resources; Vermont’s most powerful state Senate delegation is set for a major overhaul next year; Gov. Phil Scott's veto of a bill that would have set conservation goals has drawn criticism.
In the past three years, the state has spent $370 million on housing
June 02, 2022 21:50 - 3 minutes - 4.72 MBAlso: According to the Vermont Department of Health, May was the deadliest month of the Covid-19 BA.2 surge; Gov. Phil Scott has vetoed a bill that would have updated Act 250; The Green Mountain Care Board is about to gain some new faces.
Corporate tax reform bill expected to benefit manufacturers
June 01, 2022 10:04 - 2 minutes - 3.97 MBAlso: Vermont officials are asking the South Hero Selectboard to do more investigation of the extent of PFAS contamination at the town’s closed landfill; The governor signed bills Tuesday that will create a meal program for Vermont students and ban offensive school mascots; Two groups of communities in northwestern Vermont are close to an agreement with Google Fiber.
Vermont motor vehicle fatalities on the rise
May 31, 2022 22:26 - 3 minutes - 1.75 MBAlso: It’s been almost five years since officials declared Lake Carmi the state’s first “lake in crisis"; The Vermont Huts Association is working to create a network of backcountry huts; A federal grant will support study of a petroglyph site in Bellows Falls by the Elnu Abenaki.
South Burlington students walk out of class to protest gun violence after Texas shooting
May 27, 2022 21:28 - 3 minutes - 1.5 MBAlso: Police are seeking the public’s help in solving the murder of a New Hampshire couple with Vermont ties; Some primary races will see remarkably little competition come August, while others will be heated; The Rutland mayor has nominated Republican state Representative Peter Fagan to fill a vacancy on the school board.
Authorities probe reported threat to Champlain Valley Union High School
May 26, 2022 21:54 - 2 minutes - 1.38 MBAlso: Two young boys report being sexually harassed at a trampoline park in Williston; Montpelier police said they have seized firearms but made no arrests during an investigation into a potential threat against Montpelier High School; The University of Vermont plans to build more dormitories on Trinity Campus.
With policing bills reduced to studies, justice reform advocates see a pattern of inaction
May 25, 2022 22:05 - 3 minutes - 1.53 MBAlso: Gov. Phil Scott has appointed three new members of the state’s Fish and Wildlife Board; Experts and high-risk Vermonters tell VTDigger that they’re worried about the loss of state-run Covid testing; Michael Schirling is stepping down as Vermont’s public safety commissioner, and is taking a job at the University of Vermont.
Burlington voters will again use ranked choice voting to elect city councilors
May 20, 2022 20:00 - 2 minutes - 3.87 MBAlso: Vermont officials say tick season is now all year; By declining to advance a seemingly obscure tax reform proposal, lawmakers left a pot of money on the table; Burlington police have launched a new system for patrolling downtown
Gov. Phil Scott is running for a 4th term
May 17, 2022 23:09 - 3 minutes - 4.53 MBAlso: Top cyclist from Vermont killed in Texas; Three more state senators have announced they’re not running for reelection; More than half of Vermont House committee chairs will not return to the Legislature next year.
Charity Clark is running to be the state’s top prosecutor
May 16, 2022 19:43 - 2 minutes - 4.07 MBAlso: Burlington’s long-delayed CityPlace project still hasn't broken ground; South Hero child care facility plans to expand into Grand Isle; CVS Health asks Gov. Phil Scott to veto contentious pharmacy bill
In a Vermont Christian school, a state investigation highlights anxiety over discrimination
May 10, 2022 20:26 - 3 minutes - 4.17 MBVermont lawmakers strike a budget deal; Why is Vermont at the center of the nation’s latest Covid-19 surge; Private health insurers have asked state regulators to approve double-digit premium hikes in 2023.
House overrides Scott's pension reform veto, enacting it into law
May 06, 2022 20:09 - 3 minutes - 4.64 MBAlso: Mike Pieciak formally kicked off his campaign for state treasurer; Washington County State’s Attorney Rory Thibault announced his campaign for state's attorney general; Ted Kenney is contesting incumbent Sarah George for the Democratic nomination for Chittenden County state’s attorney.
Senate unanimously votes to override Scott’s pension bill veto
May 05, 2022 20:06 - 3 minutes - 4.49 MBAlso: Phil Scott has signed into law Vermont’s first-ever statewide code of ethics for public officials; Another bill aimed at police reform in Vermont is being gutted; The Vermont House of Representatives has approved an Act 250 bill.
Treasurer Beth Pearce intends to retire when her term expires in January
May 04, 2022 20:59 - 2 minutes - 3.95 MBAlso: A daytime shelter for people experiencing homelessness in Burlington is slated to move from downtown to the Old North End; Gov. Phil Scott vetoed legislation to give Burlington leaders the authority to pass tighter restrictions around rental housing; Housing, restaurant proposed on ‘gateway’ South Hero site.
Abortion is protected in Vermont and would remain legal if Roe v. Wade was overturned
May 03, 2022 23:19 - 3 minutes - 4.74 MBAlso: Vermonters have their first candidate for governor this year; Workers at a Starbucks in South Burlington are trying to unionize; Gov. Phil Scott on Monday vetoed a pension reform bill.
Ariel Quiros has been sentenced to five years in prison
April 29, 2022 22:15 - 3 minutes - 4.51 MBAlso: 7 of Vermont’s 14 counties now have “high” Covid-19 community levels; The state Senate gave preliminary approval Thursday to a clean heat standard; Paxlovid shortage frustrates Vermonters seeking Covid treatment
A person threw two chunks of concrete into the Pride Center of Vermont’s headquarters
April 26, 2022 21:13 - 3 minutes - 4.48 MBAlso: Regulators are itching for progress on plans for a standalone psychiatric unit at Central Vermont Medical Center; A Rutland landlord has acknowledged violating the state’s lead laws on rental housing; Burlington city councilors unanimously approved a $45 million contract Monday to build the first phase of the Champlain Parkway.
Vermont is counting on federal money for an ambitious plan to bring fiber optic service to the state
April 26, 2022 21:12 - 3 minutes - 4.51 MBAlso: Who should run Burlington International Airport; What started as a bill to ban qualified immunity has been gutted; Windham County will likely have its first competitive state Senate race since 2014.
Vermont turkey hunters are being asked to be on the prowl for lone star ticks
April 22, 2022 21:30 - 2 minutes - 4.05 MBAlso: The Sharon Academy receives taxpayer money to educate students from towns with no middle or high school; Police reform bill runs into opposition in a hearing before a House panel; Gov. Phil Scott on Thursday signed into law a medical monitoring bill.
Essex Junction is set to become Vermont’s newest city
April 21, 2022 22:09 - 2 minutes - 3.65 MBAlso: Gov. Phil Scott and state legislators honored Sen. Patrick Leahy for his 47 years in the Senate; Lawyers for a White River Junction publisher and Sen. Elizabeth Warren laid out their cases in a First Amendment lawsuit; William Kelly has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Phil Scott ramps up pressure on lawmakers to make changes to a pension deal
April 20, 2022 19:14 - 3 minutes - 4.87 MBAlso: Travelers using transportation systems across Vermont can shed their masks; Peter Welch is receiving donations from industry groups that frequently lobby Congress; Federal authorities have charged a second man in the kidnapping of a Danville resident who was found shot to death in 2018.
Slate Ridge owner to allow town officials onto the property within 30 days or he faces jail time
April 19, 2022 19:04 - 3 minutes - 4.32 MBAlso: Judge makes final approval of a $34 million settlement in Bennington-area PFOA lawsuit; UVM Health Network pauses plans for an inpatient psychiatric unit for children and adolescents in Burlington; Visionary architect behind Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace dies at the age of 85.
Federal judge sentences former Jay Peak Resort president to 18 months in prison
April 15, 2022 19:02 - 2 minutes - 4.03 MBAlso: Senate plans to shrink the House’s proposed child tax credit to include other kinds of credits; Department of Corrections announced it plans to end its Covid-19 intake quarantine measures; A man charged with killing a transgender woman pleaded not guilty to a second-degree murder charge.
1 of Vermont’s 2 state police dispatch centers had to activate portions of its emergency plan
April 14, 2022 00:07 - 2 minutes - 3.99 MBAlso: Two Burlington school administrators have agreed to step down; Peter Welch was in eastern Europe to get a closer look at Russia’s war on Ukraine; Vermont’s Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations continued to tick up over the past week.
State police say severe staffing shortages are curtailing their ability to assist local police departments
April 12, 2022 18:56 - 3 minutes - 4.21 MBAlso: Some health care officials say warning signs of future Covid-19 surges may arrive too late; 2 U.S. House candidates voiced their support for The University of Vermont staff union; Proposed Champlain Parkway is projected to be considerably more expensive than city officials expected.
Vermont senators vote to confirm to Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.
April 08, 2022 20:34 - 2 minutes - 3.55 MBAlso: Legislative committee approves bill that would provide free school meals to students for the upcoming school year; Slate Ridge owner has paid the town of Pawlet nearly $53,000 in fines; Officials say the 93-mile Lamoille Valley Rail Trail is entering its final phase of construction.
Phil Scott signs law making it easier to amend the gender identity listed on one's birth certificate
April 07, 2022 20:11 - 3 minutes - 4.55 MBAlso: As the Cannabis Control Board moves ahead with licensing and pre-approval, many applicants are struggling to find reasonable banking options; Gov. Phil Scott has signed into law the Legislature’s redrawn district maps; Lawyers for Bill Stenger are arguing he should serve no jail time for his role in the failed EB-5 project