By Rep. Jim Harrison Just like Santa, legislators are busy making a list. The legislative list of issues may be seen as presents to some and to others a lump of coal in the stocking. It all depends on one’s […]
Category: State News
Scott administration waits for post-Christmas, Omicron surge
By Ethan Weinstein “We’re about to face another challenge,” Governor Scott said Tuesday, preparing Vermonters for the coming dual threat of Omicron and the expected post-Christmas surge. This week, the state detected the first case of the Omicron variant in […]
Governor Scott joins national effort to address homelessness
Governor Phil Scott has joined the U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development’s (HUD) House America initiative, according to a news release Dec. 15. Through this national partnership, HUD and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) have encouraged state, […]
Becca Balint, leader of the Vermont Senate, joins race for U.S. House
By Lola Duffort/VTDigger Becca Balint, the president pro tempore of the Vermont Senate, is running for the state’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, she announced Monday morning, Dec. 13. “I’m running because I believe that, even with […]
‘A low simmer’: Vermont’s critical race theory backlash isn’t over
By Lola Duffort/VTDigger America’s school boards have once again become battlegrounds as a network of national groups stoke fears about “critical race theory,” a once-obscure academic theory turned by conservatives into a catch-all bogeyman signifying progressive school initiatives. In Vermont, […]
Attorney general’s office offers advice to protect Vermonters from ‘romance scams’
By Grace Benninghoff/VTDigger Romance scams are spreading, and the Vermont attorney general’s office of consumer assistance has issued a series of videos and other resources to help Vermonters avoid the widespread and particularly devastating tactic. Here’s how it works: A […]
Scott to the unvaxed: ‘You will get infected’
By Ethan Weinstein With cases rising country-wide, Governor Phil Scott and his administration focused their weekly Covid press conference on encouraging Vermonters to get their booster shots and faulting the unvaccinated for the state’s current surge. “It’s become clear that […]
State expects an ‘unprecedented’ $90 million surplus in the education fund
School tax rates likely to decrease By Peter D’Auria/VTDigger This spring, Vermont lawmakers may have a welcome question on their hands: what to do with a $90 million surplus in the state’s education fund. State tax officials unveiled the projected […]
Vermont gets $63 million for clean water and wastewater revolving loan funds
U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy and Governor Phil Scott on Thursday, Dec. 2, announced that Vermont will be receiving $63,041,000 in funding for drinking water systems and wastewater treatment as a result of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed […]
Another week brings record Covid hospitalizations, ICU patients and cases in Vermont
By Ethan Weinstein Despite another week of record high case counts, hospitalized Covid patients, and patients needing ICU treatment, Governor Phil Scott and his Covid team will not make any substantive policy changes to stop the spread of the virus. […]