Dear Editor, My name is Jesse Webber, I am the New England assistant team leader for The Fallen Outdoors. The Fallen Outdoors is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the sole focus of getting veterans and service members into the great outdoors. We do this through coordinating and facilitating hunting, fishing, canoeing, hiking, and camping trips…

Dear Editor, I’ve been watching the work of the Legislature closely this year as a business owner concerned with the economic toll the pandemic has taken on our state. The majority of the Legislature’s work this year has revolved around the pandemic and offering economic relief to Vermonters. There is real and justified concern in…

By Maura Collins Editor’s note: Maura Collins is the executive director of the Vermont Housing Finance Agency and Chair of the Board of Pathways Vermont. This commentary is from a 10-part series in which the authors respond to the pressing topics developed by the non-partisan Vermont Council on Rural Development. Part 4: Vermont must reduce…

By Joe Fusco Editor's note: Joe Fusco, vice president of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. in Rutland, served on Governor Scott’s Vermont Climate Action Commission and currently chairs the Vermont Climate Economy Action Team. This commentary is from a 10-part series in which the authors respond to the pressing topics identified in a draft “Proposition for…

A new federally funded Vermont Emergency Rental Assistance Program (VERAP) will provide aid to eligible residents of Vermont who cannot pay their rent due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  VERAP will be administered by the  state-authorized  Vermont State Housing Authority (VSHA) with an online application provided by ReFrame Solutions, call center, and case management services from BPO…

On March 29, the Public Utility Commission issued an order extending the temporary moratorium for natural gas, electric, and traditional landline telephone service through May 31, 2021. (Water service is presently covered by an involuntary disconnection moratorium that was enacted last year.) “We recognize that many Vermonters are still suffering from the public health and…

By Sen. Alison Clarkson The Vermont Constitution is a living document and, as such, is allowed to be amended. However, the authors of our Constitution in 1777 did not make it an easy document to amend. It is a multi-year process, requiring review and approval in two consecutive legislative biennia (in this case 2019-20 and…

By Rep. Jim Harrison Last week there were unmistakable signs of spring around us. Warmer temperatures, area golf courses reopening, crocuses and daffodils blossoming and more. Another sign of spring happens in the Legislature this time of year as well. It is evidenced by the beginning of passage of bills in either the House or…

The U.S. Small Business Administration officially open the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) application portal on April 8 for operators of live venues, live performing arts organizations, museums and movie theaters, as well as live venue promoters, theatrical producers and talent representatives to apply for critical economic relief, as those eligible entities are some of the first that had…

By Lola Duffort/VTDigger The public costs of domestic and sexual violence total an estimated $111 million a year in Vermont, with more than half that money spent not on direct services to survivors, but on incarceration and law enforcement. That’s according to a new report released Monday, April 5, by the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence,…

Funding from the American Rescue Plan is in addition to the state’s annual award of $3.4 million  Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced Monday, April 12, that Vermont has received more than $11 million in additional funding for affordable housing construction under the American Rescue Plan Act, through…

By Lola Duffort/VTDigger At the start of the pandemic, state and education officials worried that Covid-19 would be a financial catastrophe for the pre-K-12 system. Instead, the opposite happened. With three major federal relief packages approved by Congress since the start of the pandemic, schools in Vermont and the Agency of Education have been allocated a combined $566…

On Wednesday, April 7, 2021, Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC) held its annual meeting of the corporators virtually, for the first time. With close to 100 participants, the hour-long meeting featured various reports, special presentations as well as the election of new corporators and members of the hospital’s board of directors. The meeting including a…

By Emma Cotton/VTDigger and Polly Mikula Around the state, slots for vaccines have filled up quickly at several clinics organized specifically for Vermonters who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and those in their households. Megan Herrington, public health services director for the Bennington district, said around 3,000 Vermonters who qualified registered for the…

By Brett Yates Last spring, when the Rutland Redevelopment Agency (RRA) established a temporary lending policy to assist mom-and-pop businesses devastated by the pandemic, city officials hoped that, within a year, business would be back to normal. But now, it seems Rutland City’s entrepreneurs may need some extra help. “We’re finding that a number of…