Funds to improve energy efficiency and build renewable energy systems for farmers, ag producers and small businesses The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $772,881 to Vermont, under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). Funds will be used to improve energy efficiency and create renewable-energy systems in the state. “Renewable energy and…

Attorney General T.J. Donovan filed a lawsuit on Aug. 21 challenging the Trump Administration’s final rule to roll back requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that federal agencies review and assess the impact of their actions on the environment. The lawsuit, filed with a coalition of attorneys general, argues that the final rule…

[YUMPU epaper_id="64032703" width="512" height="384"]

The Public Service Dept. announced Aug. 21  $3,926,650 in grant awards to internet service providers to serve over 5,800 eligible locations with broadband connections in response to Covid-19. The PSD awarded $351,520 to Mansfield Community Fiber to extend fiber broadband to 676 locations and offset the customer costs for 10 locations; $171,770 to the NEW…

This summer, 350Vermont is launching a project to plant 100,000 trees across Vermont by the end of 2022. Rewild Vermont strives to build on synergies between food justice, climate action and ecological restoration to grow healthier, more just futures for Vermont. “I’m excited about this project because it puts into practice a new approach to…

Governor Phil Scott announced $8 million in available grant funding to assist Vermonters with overdue utility bills as a result of economic hardship due to the pandemic. “Many Vermonters are struggling to keep up with their basic expenses because of this pandemic, and these grant funds provide necessary relief for those who’ve fallen behind on…

Dear Editor, The Vermont Legislature is about to give its final approval to a bill called “The Global Warming Solutions Act.” Needless to say, the bill, H.688, does not solve global warming. In fact, the bill is downright bad climate policy because it prioritizes emissions reductions over environmental protection. The bill: Establishes targets for the…

Dear Editor, In 1970, when Governor Deane Davis signed Act 250 into law, he advanced a vision shared by Vermonters who wanted to protect Vermont’s unique cultural and historic ties to the land by addressing the environmental impacts of development, while allowing for economic prosperity. Now, 50 years later, many still hold that vision of…

Dear Editor, One of the brilliant features of the original Act 250 lets the public have a real voice in the proceedings of an Act 250 permit application. No other state or local permit proceeding allows such meaningful participation. The Legislature is now considering H.926, changes to Act 250. Among other things, H.926 will reduce…

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…