By Jon Margolis Editor’s note: Jon Margolis is VTDigger’s political columnist. Republicans in the Legislature think state government spends too much. They might be right. For the last several years, state spending has grown faster than the state’s economy. From […]
Tag: VTDigger
Op - Ed
Big Marijuana industry puts pressure on lawmakers, public opinion mixed at best
By Julia Purdy Writer-investigative journalist Upton Sinclair authored “The Jungle,” a fictionalized exposé of the toxic, unregulated underbelly of the Chicago meat-packing industry. That and other revelations of corruption in the early 20th century led directly to the Pure Food […]
Local News
Despite spending cap tweak, 106 school districts to be hit with tax penalty
Photo by Tiffany Danitz Pache/VTDigger Nicole Mace, executive director of the Vermont School Boards Association, speaks to the House Education Committee on the annual growth percentage component of Act 46. By Tiffany Danitz Pache, VTDigger.org The House Education Committee heard […]
State News
Officers fatally shoot man during drug raid in Burlington
By Morgan True, VTDigger State Police process the scene at 101 Elmwood Avenue in Burlington where officers fatally shot a man during a drug raid. By Morgan True, VTDigger BURLINGTON — Police shot and killed a man during a drug […]
Op - Ed
Where every student has a voice
By Rebecca Haslam Editor’s note: This commentary is by Rebecca Haslam, who is the 2015 Vermont State Teacher of the Year. It is republished here with permissions from VTDigger which published the commentary on Aug. 18. Haslam teaches first grade […]
State News
Auditor reports state land leases to ski areas are outdated
By Laura Krantz, VTDigger.org Vermont’s ski industry has outgrown the terms of decades-old leases of state land that were designed to help resorts grow and now result in lucrative deals for booming resorts, a state audit released last week found. […]
State News
State could earn $20-$75 million from legal pot
By Tom Brown, VTDigger.org Vermonters illegally consume between 33,000 and 55,000 pounds of marijuana annually, according to a study by the Rand Drug Policy Research Center. Legalizing, taxing and regulating that volume could generate $20 million to $75 million a […]
State News
Governor Shumlin sworn in for third term
By Laura Krantz, VTDigger.org Gov. Peter Shumlin was re-elected to a third term Thursday morning, Jan. 8, in a secret ballot by a joint assembly of the Vermont Legislature. Shumlin defeated Republican Scott Milne in a 110-69 vote. In the […]
State News
Marijuana legalization supporters join forces
By Tom Brown, www.VTDigger.org Groups that support the legalization of marijuana joined forces Tuesday, saying that decades of prohibiting recreational use of the drug has failed. “No matter how you slice it, marijuana prohibition has not been an effective policy […]
State News
Education Secretary presents stark contrast between schools as student enrollment declines
By Amy Ash Nixon, VTDigger.org Rebecca Holcombe, the secretary of the Agency of Education, presented two scenarios to lawmakers on Friday. School A has 300 students and a long list of science classes and several science teachers, including a few […]