By Rep. Pattie McCoy A few months ago, the Legislature adjourned without passing a full fiscal year’s budget. The hope by the majority party in Montpelier was Congress would come to the rescue and appropriate more money to the states so we could plug our budget holes with federal dollars. Some of us voted against…

Dear Editor, I am optimistic about our future. We are experiencing two societal traumas, one new and one as old as our history, which will either make us stronger or pull us further apart. I choose to engage with the challenges before us and work with you to improve the systems that lie at the…

Dear Editor, I’d like to tell a story that I’ve never told in print before. I’ve written hundreds of policy-oriented pieces for local and national newspapers, but I’ve never told this story because it’s very personal. I’m telling it now because I want everyone to know what guides me and directs my work. This traumatic…

By Lisa Loomis There has been considerable recent discussion about why Vermont’s response rate to the 2020 census form is so low. Several possible excuses have been floated, but one explanation is frequently overlooked when discussing why 43% of Vermonters have failed to complete the census form. The Census Bureau in its ill-conceived marketing plan…

By Fred Baser Editor’s note: Fred Baser of Bristol is a Vermont Housing Finance Agency commissioner. He is a member of the District 9 Act 250 Commission and an Addison County Home Health board member. He was a Vermont state legislator and small business owner. It seems odd going about the activities of daily life, albeit…

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), vice chair of the Senate appropriations committee, and Vermont Technical College (“Vermont Tech”) President Patricia Moulton Monday, Aug. 31, announced a $7.969 million contract awarded to Vermont Tech from the U.S. Army’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) office as part of its National Imperative for Industrial Skills. The contract, which…

Governor Phil Scott, the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) and the Department of Taxes announced on Aug. 19 an increase to the maximum grant award for Economic Recovery Grants for Vermont business sectors most negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent closures and capacity restrictions. The increase in the maximum grant award…

On Aug. 31,the Everyone Eats program in Rutland handed out 250 meals in about a half hour at the The Vermont Farmers Food Center (VFFC). VFFC is coordinating the statewide program in Rutland County, handling the distribution of up to 22,000 meals beginning Monday Aug. 31, and running through Dec. 18. Meals will be prepared…

In support of the Bureau of Land Management’s mission to sustainably manage wild horses and burros, the agency posted a request for information seeking potential sources in the eastern United States with the interest and ability to provide corral space for excess animals. Depending on the level of interest shown, the agency plans to follow…

By Emma Cotton/VTDigger Several wooden pallet paintings, one with the Black Lives Matter slogan made by a racial justice advocate, placed on a Wallingford lawn were vandalized Wednesday evening, Aug. 26, according to the homeowner. State Police are investigating the incident. When the annual Wallingford Day — a celebration with music, vendors, and fireworks that was…

Ernie Royal hailed as ‘Jackie Robinson of the food service industry’ Ernie Royal, a Rutland restaurateur who became a national leader in the food industry and a purveyor of fine dining known across the region, will be honored on the Rutland Sculpture Trail in 2021. A national call for artists’ proposals will be issued for…

Killington Resort partners with  VFFC to give 700 bags of local foods and produce to community members in need Killington Resort announced on Aug. 26, a Farm-to-Trunk community grocery giveaway happening on Thursday, Sept. 3 from 3-6 p.m., or until all 700 bags have been given away, at Pico Mountain. The 100% locally sourced grocery…

First-of-its-kind facility in Vermont turns waste into renewable resources Casella Waste Systems, Inc. announced that it has broken ground on a state-of-the-art facility designed to separate spoiled and contaminated food products from their packaging. The facility, known in the waste and recycling industry as a de-packaging operation, uses a mechanical process to separate food waste…

By Kit Norton/VTDigger Gov. Phil Scott has proposed putting $2 million toward stimulus payments for Vermonters who were ineligible to receive $1,200 in federal Covid-19 stimulus checks this spring. In the budget proposal sent to lawmakers last week is a plan to help Vermonters who filed federal and state income taxes without using Social Security numbers,…

By Rep. Jim Harrison While the first week of the return of the Legislature may have seemed quiet, at least in terms of bills approved by the full Senate or House, virtually all committees were meeting on everything from budget details and Covid-related stimulus funds to legislation left unfinished in June. In the House, two…