By Greta Solsaa/VTDigger In the wake of Vice President JD Vance’s ski trip to Sugarbush resort this weekend, the Mad River Valley was transformed into a hotbed of protests against the Trump administration. In the largest planned demonstration Saturday morning, March 1, Vermonters and visitors stood along a stretch of Main Street by the Mad…

Since 2013, thousands of high school seniors have earned college credits via Vermont’s Early College Program, part of the Flexible Pathways Initiative within the state Agency of Education. The Early College Program makes it possible for high school seniors to earn college credit tuition-free at the same time they complete their final year of high…

By Habib Sabet/VTDigger With 25% tariffs on Canadian goods expected to take effect Tuesday, many companies statewide are bracing for impact as that could eat away any margin of profitability for many.  “It hurts. It didn’t have to be this way,” said Kevin Moyer, owner of Vermont Frames, a Starksboro-based timber framing company that uses Canadian…

Pomfret’s informational town meeting was held Saturday, Feb. 22 – kicking off Town Meeting season. I always hope to attend as many of the 25 town gatherings as possible. Still, it is a challenge as the vast majority are held during three periods: Saturday morning, March 1, Monday evening, March 3, and Tuesday, March 4.…

Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced their version of the annual Budget Adjustment Act (BAA) on a party-line 4-3 vote (4 Democrats, 3 Republicans). Previously, the House passed their version on a partisan vote as well. The major obstacles continue to be extending the hotel voucher winter rules to June 30 and reallocating $20…

This past Friday was the final day for the first group of legislative pages. Always nice to see the recognition the eighth graders receive for their service with their families present at the State House. Pages serve for six weeks, with three groups comprising the scheduled 18-week session. The Legislature would normally be one-third of…

A record of just over 3,000 elementary and middle school students learned to find and identify signs of bobcat, raccoon, snowshoe hare and white-tailed deer this winter. This success marks the fifth year of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Dept’s Scat and Tracks program. Scat and Tracks is a hybrid outdoor education curriculum that got its start…

By Noah Diedrich, Community News Service Editor’s note: The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost. Can Vermont legislators distinguish an AI-generated portrait from a real one? That was the question facing the Senate government operations committee last…

Vermont State University’s (VTSU) Construction Management program is making strides in addressing Vermont’s skilled labor shortage while achieving national recognition with a new accreditation. The program, which prepares students for high-demand careers in construction, has earned accreditation from the Applied and Natural Sciences Accreditation Commission of ABET, affirming its commitment to excellence in industry-recognized education.…

By Carly Berlin/VTDigger Editor’s note: This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public. During the first days of his fifth term in office, Gov. Phil Scott emphasized a familiar priority: create more housing across Vermont. At a press conference at the Statehouse Jan. 21, members of…

Late last week, House Republicans banded together to vote against the annual midyear Budget Adjustment Act. The BAA, often a noncontroversial shifting of state funds between various accounts to address changes in budget actuals, included several policy issues that proved problematic for Republicans. Extending the winter rules for Vermont’s hotel assistance program to June 30…

Many of you have been in touch about the unprecedented actions being taken by our new President and those he has deputized. In addition to the scores of emails I’ve had from constituents, Montpelier was the focus of a huge demonstration on Wednesday, Feb. 5, protesting the actions taken by the Trump Administration targeting USAID,…

By Polly Mikula Gov. Phil Scott’s education proposal would allow every student to opt into a school choice lottery system within their regional school district.  Testimony from Education Secretary Zoie Saunders in the House Education Committee, Thursday, Feb. 6, was the first public explanation of how school choice would work in Scott’s “transformation” plan. “It’s very provocative,”…

At the beginning of the session last month, one of the first daily riddles I shared in our committee was a simple question, “Why is it good to balance on your left foot on New Year’s Eve? Because that way you can start off the new year on the right foot.” Unfortunately, that didn’t happen…

“I can’t afford to live here” and “It’s not worth it” is what I often hear when talking about property taxes. It is one of the main reasons I ran for office — to find a better, more sustainable way to pay for public education. The bulk of most property tax bills is the statewide…