Vermont news

• Final Reading: Does the future of the Statehouse involve more security?

  28-03-2025 23:30 via vtdigger.org
  
  People evacuate the Statehouse in Montpelier after a fire alarm went off on Friday, January 10, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerIf you’ve visited the Statehouse this session, you’ve likely noticed that X-ray machine stashed by the loading entrance, draped in a tarp like a grill in winter. This year’s capital investment bill, H. 494 — which directs spending on state infrastructure and received preliminary approval on Friday, sets aside $100,000 in part to reimbur
  
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• Phil Scott extends motel stays for families and ‘medically vulnerable’ individuals

  28-03-2025 22:07 via vtdigger.org
  
  Gov. Phil Scott at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. File photo by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur/VTDiggerThis story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.Gov. Phil Scott took executive action on Friday to extend motel voucher stays for unhoused families with children and certain people with acute medical needs through June 30. Without the extension, this group of unhoused Vermonters would have f
  
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• House and Senate education reform plans diverge as Gov. Phil Scott demands swift action

  28-03-2025 21:06 via vtdigger.org
  
  Rep. Peter Conlon, D-Cornwall, chair of the House Education Committee, speaks as the committee is briefed on an education system restructuring bill at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Friday, March 28. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThe Vermont House and Senate have constructed diverging versions of education reform proposals in recent weeks, setting up a clash between the two chambers.Meanwhile, Gov. Phil Scott called for swift action on Thursday, throwing his weight behind the Senate’s ex
  
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• Vermont House approves 2026 budget with eye toward more federal cuts

  28-03-2025 20:53 via vtdigger.org
  
  Representatives gather for a morning session in the House chamber at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Friday, Jan. 10. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerMONTPELIER — The Vermont House on Friday passed its version of the state budget for the 2026 fiscal year, including a proposal that would let top lawmakers access more state dollars to plug feared future losses in federal funding. The bill now heads to the Senate for further consideration and then would go before Gov. Phil Scott.The “big
  
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• Alerts to crime victims in Vermont are full of flaws

  28-03-2025 20:24 via vtdigger.org
  
  Kelsey Rice poses for a photo in Brattleboro in March 2025. Photo by Catherine Morrissey/CNSCharlotte Oliver is a reporter with the Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship.On a Sunday night Kelsey Rice found her abuser at her home again, out on bail after an arrest hours earlier. The courts had ordered him to stay away. He didn’t.He assaulted her that March 2019 night, she said, threatening to kill them both — and not for the first time. Authorities
  
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• Kevin Mangan

  28-03-2025 13:19 via vtdigger.org
  
  Born Jan. 21, 1955Poughkeepsie, New YorkDied March 20, 2025Burlington, VermontDetails of servicesFuneral services will be held on Friday, April 11, at 10:45 a.m. at Saint Mark’s Catholic Church (1251 North Ave, Burlington).In lieu of flowers — and in honor of Kevin’s deep and abiding sense of justice — memorial contributions may be made to:Doctors Without Borders USA
  PO Box 5030
  Hagerstown, MD 21741-5030(Or online at: donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/secure/donate?type=tr
  
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• Beth Ann Maier: What are we doing, Vermont?

  28-03-2025 12:05 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Beth Ann Maier of Waterbury. She is a retired pediatrician, a deacon in the Episcopal Church and a member of Vermont Interfaith Action.Housing availability in Vermont is similar to a game of musical chairs. If there are 10 chairs and 10 players, everyone gets a chair. If you take one chair away, everyone scrambles to get a seat. The person left without a seat is most likely to be the one who must navigate life with challenges.For some, it may be difficulty with mobility, br
  
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• Bill Calfee: Amazon’s expansion threatens Vermont’s small businesses and workers

  28-03-2025 12:03 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editor,Amazon’s proposed distribution facility in Essex isn’t an economic win for Vermont — it’s a threat to the small businesses and workers that sustain our local economy. Amazon has a long track record of undercutting independent retailers, avoiding taxes and mistreating its workforce. We shouldn’t roll out the welcome mat for a company that prioritizes profits over people.READ MORE Amazon is seeking to build a distribution facility in Essexby Corey McDonald
  
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• Kate Seaton: Say no to Amazon

  28-03-2025 12:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Kate Seaton of Shaftsbury. She is a tech industry professional and serves as a justice of the peace.In the last 5 years, Vermont has seen a very concerning trend: efforts to further concentrate wealth and extract as many resources as possible. We see examples of this in exorbitant campaign spending, in the decision to sell out vulnerable Vermonters by allowing online gambling, in continued efforts to further privatize or cut public services, in allowing corporate entities t
  
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