Manchester Center, VT — The White River Junction Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System in partnership with Northshire Civic Center will be hosting an off-site COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic on Wednesday, March 24, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., at the rink in Manchester Center, VT.  This clinic will be open to enrolled Veterans of ALL ages.…

Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging (SVCOA) announced the kick-off of its “Get Out and March for Meals” campaign which will run from March 21 through March 27. Food insecurity and isolation have grown with the Covid-19 pandemic, and Meals on Wheels (MOW) is working hard to keep up with the growing demand for its services.…

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By Secretary of State Jim Condos 2020 was no ordinary year. Now three months into 2021 we have endured the health, societal, and economic challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic that have rocked our communities for over year. Many people have lost their lives, or their loved ones, along the way. Our country is experiencing…

Dear Editor, Most people who rent out a property they own through Airbnb or VRBO are people like myself who are just trying to make ends meet and be able to afford a small slice of Vermont. We rent out our vacation homes to pay the mortgage and the upkeep. There’s no big profit to…

Dear Editor, Over the past several weeks, we have seen a growing anxiety around conversations happening in the legislature regarding public employee pensions. We have seen a rise in misinformation and confusion concerning what is actually happening and why these considerations are occurring at this time. The reason I have prioritized this issue is simple:…

Dear Editor, Faithful political representatives of the people in ancient Rome participated in peaceful negotiation and regular compromise with their adversaries. This concept of “concordia” was so highly admired by the citizenry that a temple and a bronze statue were built for Lady Compromise, and people worshipped her as a god in heaven. The nation…

Dear Editor, As the elected legislative body in the town of Stockbridge, the Select Board received a petition to start the process of breaking up the merger of Stockbridge and Rochester’s schools in 2020. This merger created the RSUD or Rochester Stockbridge Union District. This merger was the result of the arduous and lengthy Act…

Editor's note: this commentary was signed by Alison Notte from Rutland City Public Schools along with 30 other  school board members from around the state.  Our Vermont legislators recently commissioned a state-of-the-art study to investigate how best to apportion funds to schools equitably.  Unfortunately for the students of Vermont, it detailed serious inequities in school…

Bipartisan bill makes critical reforms and provides at least $250 million to support recreational trails U.S. Representatives Peter Welch (D-Vt) and John Curtis (R-Utah) reintroduced legislation that will more than double funding for the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) on March 11.  Since 1991, the RTP has provided funding to states to develop and maintain outdoor…

Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) March 9  introduced legislation to connect every household in America with high-speed broadband service capable of supporting remote schooling, online businesses and remote work, telehealth appointments, and entertainment streaming. The most recent Federal Communications Commission Broadband Deployment Report indicates that 18 million people lack access to broadband service. The Vermont Dept.…

H.128, an act relating to limiting criminal defenses based on victim identity, colloquially referred to as “gay panic,” passed in the Vermont Statehouse 144-1 on March 11. The single "Nay" vote came from Rep. Rodney Graham (R-Orange-1), of Williamstown. The bill was introduced by Rep. Mari Codes and Rep. Taylor Small, and co-sponsored by 24…

By Xander Landen/VTDigger A federal coronavirus relief bill approved Wednesday, March 10, by the U.S. House would direct more than $2.7 billion to Vermont, according to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. That includes nearly $1.3 billion in direct aid to the state and tens of millions of dollars to Vermont municipalities. “My top priority for this relief…

On March 15, Vermont Electric Co-op (VEC) and Green Mountain Power (GMP) each launched a broadband deployment program to help more Vermonters in some of the hardest-to-reach corners of Vermont get connected to broadband quickly and cost-effectively. The plans approved Friday by the Vermont Public Utility Commission lower the cost for broadband providers to connect…

On Friday, March 12, Governor Phil Scott announced updates to Covid-19 guidance for small multi-household gatherings and table seating at restaurants. Effective immediately, the changes allow two unvaccinated households to gather at a time, and permitting restaurants to seat multiple households together, but no more than six people can be seated at the same table. Masking, distancing,…