Vermont news

• For 25 years (and counting), VSAC’s GEAR UP program supports Vermonters’ college dreams

  18-09-2024 16:08 via vtdigger.org
  
  (Left to Right) Lizzie Vaughan, Amon Chumba, Cooper Hodgeman, Tate ParkerEvery September, VSAC celebrates National GEAR UP Week to make more Vermont families aware of the resources offered through the GEAR UP program—which stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. This federally funded program, which VSAC has administered in Vermont for the last 25 years, helps students from modest-income backgrounds find interest in, and prepare for, post-secondary educa
  
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• Burlington’s only movie theater — Merrill’s Roxy Cinema — to close its doors

  09-11-2024 02:07 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Roxy movie theater in Burlington on Friday, November 8. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerAfter a 43-year run Merrill’s Roxy Cinema in Burlington is closing, leaving the city without a commercial movie theater. The local theater announced the news Thursday in a Facebook post, and expressed gratitude for everyone who visited the theater over the past few decades. The company did not share a closing date. “We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all who have supported us
  
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• Voter checklist error prompts call for revote in Pownal House race

  09-11-2024 00:18 via vtdigger.org
  
  The ballot drop box outside the Randolph Town Clerk’s office seen on Friday, October 18. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerVermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas is calling for a revote in the race for the Bennington-1 House seat after an error was discovered in the town of Pownal’s voter checklist that may have impacted the outcome of Tuesday’s election.About 40 voters on Pownal’s checklist were placed in the wrong legislative district, according to the Secretary
  
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• Vermont’s biggest Election Day winner? Phil Scott.

  08-11-2024 23:11 via vtdigger.org
  
  Gov. Phil Scott and his wife, Diana McTeague Scott, speak with attendees of the governor’s election watch event at the Associated General Contractors of Vermont building in Montpelier on Tuesday. Photo by Josh Kuckens/VTDiggerVermont’s biggest election night winner was, by all accounts, Gov. Phil Scott.The Berlin Republican was widely expected to cruise to a fifth two-year term — and cruise, he did. Scott won 71.6% of the gubernatorial vote on Tuesday, besting his Democrat
  
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• Invasive golden clams found in Lake Champlain 

  08-11-2024 23:04 via vtdigger.org
  
  A pile of golden clams from Lake George in 2010. Photo courtesy of the Lake Champlain Basin ProgramVermont officials have confirmed the presence of the invasive golden clam in Lake Champlain, bringing the total count of aquatic, nonnative invasive species in the lake to 52. “It’s disappointing, but it is not surprising,” said Meg Modley, aquatic invasive species management coordinator for the Lake Champlain Basin Program. Officials found the clam in the Lake Champlain cana
  
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• Aging pipes cause water main breaks and loss of water in Barre

  08-11-2024 22:39 via vtdigger.org
  
  City Hall in Barre on September 19, 2023. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerBarre residents began losing water around 5 a.m. Thursday after a water main break occurred on South Main Street. The city worked to isolate the break by turning off valves, and by 5 p.m., water was shut off citywide as the low-pressure main was closed to complete repairs.City Manager Nicolas Storellicastro said water service was expected to be restored Friday evening — about 24 hours after all residents lost wat
  
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• Civil and reproductive rights groups in Vermont make plans in advance of Donald Trump’s return

  08-11-2024 22:12 via vtdigger.org
  
  Christine Hallquist speaks at a Vermont Women’s Rally in Montpelier on Saturday, November 2. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerIn the aftermath of Tuesday’s election, which brought former President Donald Trump a decisive victory, advocates for immigrants, LGBTQ+ people and those seeking abortions are urging Vermont officials to do more to protect the rights of the groups they represent. The ACLU of Vermont didn’t waste time in calling on state leaders to pass legislation to
  
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• Vermont Supreme Court rules in favor of Human Rights Commission in St. Johnsbury discrimination case

  08-11-2024 21:58 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Vermont Supreme Court building on State Street in Montpelier on Tuesday, June 18. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThe Vermont Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of the Human Rights Commission, reversing a lower court decision on a discrimination lawsuit the commission had filed against the town of St. Johnsbury.The commission, a state body that works to promote civil and human rights in Vermont, has argued the town’s development review board discriminated against St. Johnsbury resid
  
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• Rev. Devon Thomas: Love is the seed of justice

  08-11-2024 17:43 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Rev. Devon Thomas, pastor of the Ascension Lutheran Church in South Burlington.First, I must encourage everyone to accept the results of the 2024 election. The people have spoken and while many in Vermont may struggle with this choice, we still have a responsibility as citizens of this nation to respect the integrity of our elections. That does not change that I am feeling a lot of anxiety over the election.Rev. Dr. King famously said that the moral arc of the universe bend
  
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• Vermont Supreme Court upholds revocation of Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore’s police certification

  08-11-2024 17:13 via vtdigger.org
  
  Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore is seen on July 22, 2024, in North Hero during his trial in Grand Isle County Superior criminal court for simple assault for striking Jeremy Burrows in 2022, who was under arrest and in shackles at the time. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThe Vermont Supreme Court has upheld the revocation of the police certification of Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore.The Vermont Criminal Justice Council voted in December 2023 to permanently revoke Grismore’
  
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• Rep. Rebecca Holcombe: Making Vermont a place working families want to call home

  08-11-2024 12:57 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Rebecca Holcombe, a Democratic Vermont state representative from Windsor-Orange-2.Vermonters are suffering from unsustainable increases in the cost of everything from property taxes to health care.Too many people are working hard and stretching social security checks, but still worry about bills. To understand why, we need to talk about demographics.The aging of our population means more demands on our health care system, fewer kids in our schools and fewer working-age Verm
  
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• GOP finally unseats Sen. Mark MacDonald, 34-year veteran of the Statehouse

  07-11-2024 23:36 via vtdigger.org
  
  Larry Hart, left, and Mark MacDonald. Photos by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerFor years, the Vermont GOP has been trying to win the Orange County seat held by Sen. Mark MacDonald. But MacDonald, a Williamstown farmer and former social studies teacher who spent 11 years in the House and 23 in the Senate, has bested a succession of Republican challengers. In the past decade, MacDonald has not won less than 52% of the vote in a general election contest — that is, not until Tuesday. This yea
  
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• Emboldened by unexpectedly strong results, Vermont Republicans will share more power — and responsibility

  07-11-2024 22:51 via vtdigger.org
  
  Pattie McCoy, left, and Randy Brock. Photos by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerHaving outperformed even their sunniest of down-ballot forecasts on Election Day, Vermont’s Republican leaders are now starting to contemplate how they’ll utilize their newfound political power when they return to the Statehouse in January.“I haven’t even thought about that yet,” House Minority Leader Pattie McCoy, R-Poultney, said Wednesday afternoon. “We’re less than 24 hours out. I s
  
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• Climate policies teeter after Vermont Democrats lose supermajorities

  07-11-2024 21:56 via vtdigger.org
  
  Sen. Chris Bray, D-Addison, chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee, speaks as the committee takes testimony on a bill that would provide a statewide river management system at the Statehouse in Montpelier on February 13, 2024. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Credit: Glenn RussellThe future of environmental policies championed by Democrats and Progressives is in question after the parties lost their veto-proof supermajority, and unseated a senator who has spearheaded thei
  
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• On Election Day, Henry Heck kicked off his early bid to be Rutland City’s next mayor 

  07-11-2024 21:15 via vtdigger.org
  
  Henry Heck, left, and Mike Doenges. Photos courtesy of Heck and DoengesAs Rutland City voters arrived at the polls to cast their ballots on Tuesday, many were met by Henry Heck — current alderman and former city clerk — holding signs declaring his campaign for mayor.While petitions to run for mayor are not due until January, Heck said he decided to kick off his campaign on the day of the presidential election to start “a little buzz” and encourage more voters to come back
  
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• Royalton and Bethel voters narrowly reject school bond

  07-11-2024 20:57 via vtdigger.org
  
  Chris Dartt, left, waits for the tabulator to register his ballot as poll worker Linda Armstrong, watches at right, at White River Valley School in South Royalton on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Dartt said he voted for Donald Trump for President because, as a business owner himself, he feels Trump runs the government like a business. “I’m not a hard-line conservative by any means,” he said, but in the few months since Joe Biden left the race he had not learned enough about Kamala Harris to
  
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• Vermont State Police probe involving Woodstock police chief ends with no criminal charges

  07-11-2024 19:01 via vtdigger.org
  
  Woodstock Police Chief Joe Swanson. Screenshot Woodstock Community TelevisionVermont State Police have closed an investigation into an incident that prompted the suspension of Woodstock Police Chief Joseph Swanson, with no criminal charges being brought.Adam Silverman, a state police spokesperson, stated in an email Tuesday to VTDigger that “VSP was unable to move forward with the case due to the reported victim’s declining to cooperate with the investigation.”Silverman added,
  
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• Brattleboro fire knocks out power, communication lines in three towns

  07-11-2024 17:51 via vtdigger.org
  
  Brattleboro firefighters extinguish a blaze Thursday morning at the abandoned Sportsman’s Lounge on Canal Street. Photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDiggerBRATTLEBORO — A blaze early Thursday morning at the abandoned Sportsman’s Lounge knocked out power and communication lines that serve residents in this town and neighboring Guilford and Vernon.The Brattleboro Fire Department responded to the boarded-up building on Canal Street shortly after 5 a.m. to find flames reaching as high
  
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• David Zuckerman concedes lieutenant governor’s race to John Rodgers — but with a caveat

  07-11-2024 16:40 via vtdigger.org
  
  Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman presides over the Senate at the Statehouse in Montpelier on April 25, 2023. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerLt. Gov. David Zuckerman conceded his reelection race to Republican challenger John Rodgers Thursday morning, after falling more than 6,000 votes short in Tuesday’s election, and said he would not seek a recount. But he nodded at the possibility that the Legislature could overturn the result — and suggested it had good reason to do so.Zuckerman
  
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• Don Tinney: Gov. Scott, where are the children in your school budget schemes?

  07-11-2024 13:07 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Don Tinney of South Hero. He is an English teacher and the elected president of Vermont-NEA, the state’s largest union. He has also served as chair of the Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators.Recently, I came across an extraordinary video produced by Gov. Phil Scott’s Agency of Education. It was a beautiful, well-produced exploration of what makes the tiny Cabot School — the type of school the governor and his adherents would shutter if they
  
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• Christine Hallquist: There is work to do to protect our state

  07-11-2024 13:07 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Christine Hallquist of Burlington. She was the Democratic nominee for Vermont governor in 2018, and was CEO of the Vermont Electric Cooperative for 13 years.I am Christine Hallquist, a proud and out transgenderwoman now living in Burlington. I am deeply concerned about the potential impact of the future leadership in our country on civil liberties, particularly for marginalized communities. Vermont has been my sanctuary, and I believe we need to start preparing contingency
  
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• Where Democrats lost ground in Vermont’s House

  07-11-2024 00:29 via vtdigger.org
  
  In Tuesday’s election, Vermonters voted to change the balance of power in the state’s House of Representatives during the next legislative biennium. Republicans picked up 17 seats, bringing their ranks to 55 in the 150-member chamber. Democrats held 105 seats alone by the end of the 2023-2024 session, but now will be left with just 88, meaning they’ve lost their supermajority. Their numbers are bolstered by alliances with Progressives and independents, who will occupy the
  
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• Trailing by more than 6,000 votes, Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman has yet to concede to John Rodgers

  06-11-2024 23:43 via vtdigger.org
  
  David Zuckerman, left, and John Rodgers. Photos by Riley Robinson and Mike Doughtery/VTDiggerThough unofficial results show that he lost Tuesday’s election for lieutenant governor of Vermont, Progressive/Democratic incumbent David Zuckerman had yet to concede the race as of Wednesday evening — even as his opponent, Republican John Rodgers, was all but declaring victory.“Vermont, we have a new lieutenant governor,” Rodgers wrote on his campaign Facebook page Wednesday morn
  
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• OneCare Vermont to shut down

  06-11-2024 23:08 via vtdigger.org
  
  Abe Berman, CEO of OneCare Vermont. Courtesy OneCare VermontOneCare Vermont, an accountable care organization aiming to reform how health care in Vermont is paid for, will shut down at the end of 2025, the organization announced Wednesday.The University of Vermont Health Network subsidiary was the lead organization running the state’s “all-payer” model, a health care reform program that seeks to improve Vermonters’ health and decrease costs. The all-payer model, a federal
  
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• Vermont’s federal delegation reflects on a new reality in Washington

  06-11-2024 23:05 via vtdigger.org
  
  From left: Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Becca Balint and Sen. Peter Welch. Photos by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThough Vermont’s congressional delegation didn’t face much in the way of a challenge on Election Day, their role in Congress will look different with Republicans taking control of the White House and the Senate.U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt, and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, easily bested their opponents on Tuesday. But along with U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt, who wasn’t up f
  
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• Town-by-town election results: How Vermonters voted in key races on Tuesday

  06-11-2024 23:00 via vtdigger.org
  
  All 247 Vermont municipalities have reported their results, and the 2024 election is over. But what about your town? Or the next one over? How did those residents vote? The Green Mountain State chose a Democrat for president and Republicans for governor and lieutenant governor. Find out how each town in Vermont voted in those races with our interactive maps below.Shortly after the polls closed, media outlets began calling Vice President Kamala Harris’ unsurprising win in Vermont, wher
  
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• Republican gains in Vermont House cast new spotlight on speaker’s race

  06-11-2024 22:40 via vtdigger.org
  
  Laura Sibilia, left, and Jill Krowinski. Photos by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerDemocrats’ Election Day loss of their supermajority in the 150-member Vermont House is casting a new spotlight on the coming race for the chamber’s top leadership post.Incumbent Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, is set to run for a third term at the podium in January against at least one challenger: independent Rep. Laura Sibilia of Dover.Sibilia, who just won an uncontested race for her Windham-2 district s
  
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• Vermont Conversation: Former Gov. Madeleine Kunin on the next Trump presidency

  06-11-2024 21:56 via vtdigger.org
  
  
  Former Governor Madeleine Kunin speaks at a campaign event for democratic candidate for Lt. Governor Molly Gray in Burlington on February 27, 2020.File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThe Vermont Conversation with David Goodman is a VTDigger podcast that features in-depth interviews on local and national issues with politicians, activists, artists, changemakers and citizens who are making a difference. Listen below, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Spot
  
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• Mickey Nowak: Even early on, the Long Trail welcomed female hikers

  06-11-2024 13:15 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editors,As a Long Trail hiker for the last 50 years I enjoyed the essay, “Then Again: Treasuring the trail” about the “Three Musketeers” — Catherine Robbins, Hilda Kurth andKathleen Norris — hiking the Long Trail together in 1927.It’s a great story about a great adventure, but I would like to take issue with one topic. The author, Mark Bushnell, makes the statement that, “Womanhood wasn’t widely seen as being compatible with such rigors
  
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• PHOTOS: Winners, losers and election night watchers

  06-11-2024 08:37 via vtdigger.org
  
  Supporters of Gov. Phil Scott applaud as he delivers his victory speech at the Associated General Contractors of Vermont building in Montpelier on Tuesday. Photo by Josh Kuckens/VTDiggerThroughout the state on Tuesday night, Vermonters waited as the results of the 2024 election trickled in — whether huddled around the TV at election watch parties or glued to their phones for updates. Photographers Glenn Russell and Josh Kuckens followed candidates and voters as the results were called.Need
  
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