By Fred Thys/VTDigger Federal benefits run out on Sept. 4, which means that people collecting unemployment (UI) benefits will no longer receive the extra $300 a week they have been getting. Vermont Labor Commissioner Michael Harrington said in a video […]
Category: State News
Pediatricians in Vermont stretched thin
Delta cases in children are making it worse By Liora Engel-Smith/VTDigger Laura Derrendinger cared for patients with measles and cholera in war-torn countries, but the scenario that scares her the most is much closer to home. She’s lived the nightmare […]
50,000 Vermonters to receive new driver’s licenses after barcode errors caused travel issues
By Ashley DeLeon/VTDigger Almost 50,000 Vermonters are expected to receive new driver’s licenses after several newly printed cards were rejected by federal transportation scanning machines, according to the Vermont Dept. of Motor Vehicles. The error did not impact people’s ability to […]
VNRC begins Dunklee Pond Dam removal in Rutland
RUTLAND — Removal of the Dunklee Pond Dam on Tenney Brook in the City of Rutland is now underway following a three-year design and permitting process, according to a news release from the Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC), Aug. 6. […]
Summertime reflections
By Rep. Jim Harrison Unlike earlier this summer when daily Vermont Covid cases were declining and often in the single numbers, they are now significantly up due to the more contagious Delta variant. Last Friday, there were 88 new cases […]
Former GMP president Mary Powell named CEO of largest U.S. residential solar company
By Sophia McDermott-Hughes/VTDigger Former Green Mountain Power President Mary Powell is now the chief executive officer of Sunrun Inc, the largest residential-solar company in the U.S. Powell stepped down from Green Mountain Power (GMP), Vermont’s largest utility provider, in 2019 after working there […]
As cases surge, experts call for stronger mitigation steps in schools
By Lola Duffort/VTDigger State officials announced last week that students and staff should start the school year masked but could bare their faces once 80% of students in a school had received their Covid-19 shots. Two days later, the Agency of Education and […]
Vermont towns, cities to receive federal American Rescue Plan funds this week
Governor Phil Scott announced Tuesday, Aug. 10, that that cities, towns and villages expecting to receive American Rescue Plan Act Local Fiscal Recovery (ARPA-LRF) funds should receive their payments in the next few days. The state disbursed the first payment […]
Absent a state of emergency, will schools be able to boot a kid for not wearing a mask?
By Lola Duffort/VTDigger When Gov. Phil Scott’s administration announced new Covid-19 guidance for K-12 schools on Tuesday, Aug. 3, it did so with an important caveat. The state’s recommendations — including around masking — were not themselves requirements. With the […]
Gov. Scott announces plan to require vaccinations for some state employees
By Ethan Weinstein and Erin Petenko/VTDigger On Tuesday, Aug. 10, Governor Phil Scott announced that Vermont will require state employees at prisons, psychiatric facilities, and the Vermont Veterans’ Home to get vaccinated against Covid or face additional restrictions. Though the […]