By Katy Savage Gov. Phil Scott addressed the healthcare crisis on Wednesday, April 6 in front of a crowd of about 100 people during the Rutland Regional Medical Center’s annual meeting at the Paramount Theatre. Scott praised the staff at RRMC and other hospitals for being on the “front line of a battle we never…

Experts are holding their breath By Erin Petenko/ VTDigger Timothy Plante likens Vermont’s day-to-day Covid-19 data now to the very first days of the virus’s arrival in March 2020.  At the time, little was known about the progress of the virus because PCR testing was so limited, said Plante, an assistant professor at the University…

By Rep. Jim Harrison No, we are not talking about college basketball and the referees reviewing the monitors to see who last touched the ball when it went out of bounds. However, with live streaming now of House and Senate sessions, that is exactly what happened for the first time in the State House. A…

In cooperation with the Vermont League of Cities and Towns and the state of Vermont’s Office of Racial Equity and the Vermont Community Foundation is offering grants to Vermont villages, towns, and cities to foster inclusion and belonging for people of all races and backgrounds while at the same time addressing the opportunity gap—the divide…

Average health insurance premiums and cost burdens fall; areas of needed improvement emerge Nearly 97% of all Vermonters have health insurance, matching the state’s highest insured rate on record. According to the 2021 Vermont Household Health Insurance Survey released March 30, almost 600,000 Vermonters are covered. The data is consistent with studies from the U.S. Census Bureau…

With the unfortunate discovery of a deceased bald eagle in North Hero and one ill bald eagle in Shelburne on March 29, Vermont joined 33 other states across the country in detecting highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the environment.  The bald eagles were found near Lake Champlain in both towns.  Sampling was conducted by…

The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR) is reminding the public that it is mud season and many trails around the state are closed through Memorial Day weekend.  Mud season is the time period (typically the duration of April and May), when hiking and biking trails are extremely wet and muddy due to…

By Rep. Jim Harrison Last Friday was the last day for the second group of State House pages. The eight students were recognized before the House and Senate and given a standing ovation for their six weeks of service at the State House.  Serving as a page is both an honor and a great experience.…

By Sen. Alison Clarkson After many long Floor sessions debating and passing bills to the other body, the Legislature has pretty much completed cross over. This is the point in the session where all bills which have any chance of making it into law have to be passed from the House to the Senate or…

By Sarah Mearhoff/VTDigger Rep. Becca White, D-Hartford, is looking for a promotion. The two-term state representative on Monday, April 4, launched her candidacy for one of Windsor County’s three state Senate seats.  Unless any of the delegation’s incumbent senators — Alison Clarkson, Dick McCormack and Alice Nitka, all Democrats — decide to retire, White’s candidacy sets up an unusual…

By Liora Engel-Smith/VTDigger When Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital’s chief executive talks about the challenges facing his organization, housing is near the top of the list. “It’s really astounding,” Shawn Tester, who heads the hospital in St. Johnsbury, said last month. “ We ended up having to rent a dorm from one of our local high schools…

By Fred Thys/VTDigger Senators have offered a compromise to Gov. Phil Scott on a registry of home contractors — an issue that has been holding up a bill, S.226, intended to create more housing. Scott vetoed a contractor registry earlier this year, explaining that he does not think it is needed. He has since indicated that, if the registry…

High prices are here to stay, market was undervalued, experts say By Polly Mikula The average home in Killington sold for over $1 million in the first quarter of 2022 — the highest evaluation ever — and those prices are indicative of the town’s, region’s and state’s growing value, say local real estate agents who…

By Rep. Jim Harrison Last fall I had the opportunity to meet up with our son, Ben, and two of our grandsons, Luke and Graham, for a golf weekend. During round two of the excursion, Ben and I were teamed against the grandsons (12 and 10). Putting aside that their tee box was often 50-100…

By Peter D’Auria/VTDigger On March 1, voters in the Otter Valley School District went to the polls and, by a margin of 60 votes, turned down the budget for the upcoming school year. The unexpected rejection of the $22.7 million proposal, which came amid a steep drop in voter turnout in the district, has thrown…