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Lack of Covid-safe mandates questioned as schools reopen

September 1, 2021
Gov. Scott announced vaccine requirement for more state employees and expanded school surveillance testing By Ethan Weinstein The Governor did not issue new guidance or restrictions in his weekly Tuesday press conference even as schools deal with Covid cases in their first week since opening. Scott did, however, announce a vaccine mandate for state employees…

Pediatricians in Vermont stretched thin

August 25, 2021
Delta cases in children are making it worse By Liora Engel-Smith/VTDigger Laura Derrendinger cared for patients with measles and cholera in war-torn countries, but the scenario that scares her the most is much closer to home. She’s lived the nightmare several times in recent years. Her 5-year-old, Pascal, gets hypoxic (faces inadequate levels of oxygen)…

School district wrestles with Covid in the classroom

August 18, 2021
By Curt Peterson The Windsor Central Unified Union School District convened a special board meeting Monday night, still on a “hybrid” regimen — about half the participants were present in the Middle School library, while the other half attended remotely via Zoom. The formula worked, although Chair Bryce Sammel (Barnard) had to wait 18 minutes…

Myths and facts about Covid-19 vaccination

August 18, 2021
By The Boston Globe MYTH: The Covid-19 vaccines were developed too fast to be safe. FACTS: It’s understandable that people would have this concern. The vaccines were rolled out in record time, two of them using a novel technology. The government entity that led the effort was even called “Operation Warp Speed.” But in reality,…

Summertime reflections

August 11, 2021
By Rep. Jim Harrison Unlike earlier this summer when daily Vermont Covid cases were declining and often in the single numbers, they are now significantly up due to the more contagious Delta variant. Last Friday, there were 88 new cases despite over 84% of Vermonters aged 12 and older having at least their first vaccine…

Absent a state of emergency, will schools be able to boot a kid for not wearing a mask?

August 11, 2021
By Lola Duffort/VTDigger When Gov. Phil Scott’s administration announced new Covid-19 guidance for K-12 schools on Tuesday, Aug. 3, it did so with an important caveat. The state’s recommendations — including around masking — were not themselves requirements. With the state of emergency no longer in effect, officials said they would need to rely on…

Gov. Scott announces plan to require vaccinations for some state employees

August 11, 2021
By Ethan Weinstein and Erin Petenko/VTDigger On Tuesday, Aug. 10, Governor Phil Scott announced that Vermont will require state employees at prisons, psychiatric facilities, and the Vermont Veterans’ Home to get vaccinated against Covid or face additional restrictions. Though the details are yet to be worked out, the mandate will not be “forced,” meaning employees…

Castleton, NVU and VTC to require Covid-19 vaccines

August 5, 2021
By Lola Duffort/VTDigger The Vermont State Colleges System’s three residential schools will require students to be vaccinated against Covid-19 before coming on campus this fall, regardless of whether federal regulators have granted full approval for the shots. College officials at Castleton University, Vermont Technical College and Northern Vermont University had earlier announced that they would require student…

Fall school restrictions still up in the air

July 28, 2021
By Curt Peterson Windsor Central Unified School District superintendent Sherry Sousa told the Mountain Times last week that protocols for reopening are still up in the air, presumably due to the recent upsurge in Covid cases across the country. “The Agency of Education [AoE] and Dept. of Health will be providing us with guidance regarding…

Most Vermont parents will begin receiving checks from the IRS this week

July 14, 2021
By Riley Robinson/VTDigger On July 15, most Vermont parents will begin to receive a new monthly payment from the federal government, as part of the Covid-19 relief signed into law in March. This new monthly payment system is a revision to the existing child tax credit, which was first enacted in 1997. Usually, parents have received…

Summer Menu Book: 2021

July 12, 2021
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2021 GRIP: Mountain bike trail guide

July 2, 2021
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Gov. Scott is confident Vermonters can celebrate Fourth safely

June 30, 2021
Eligible and unvaccinated drops below 1,000 By Hannah Laga Abram Covid-19 may have put our lives on hold, but we sure are ahead of schedule getting back to them.  Gov. Phil Scott’s Vermont Forward Plan, which the state has been following since early this spring, looked toward July 4 as an optimistic reopening date. Instead,…

All is well after a week without restrictions

June 23, 2021
State provides update on Delta variant, emergency housing program and veto session By Hannah Laga Abram It’s been a week since Vermont lifted all Covid-19 restrictions — and the skies didn’t fall. On the contrary, as Gov. Phil Scott emphasized in Tuesday’s press conference, new case numbers continue to decrease throughout the state, Vermonters continue…

Vermont hits 80% 

June 16, 2021
Governor lifts all Covid restrictions, recommendations remain in place for the unvaccinated  By Hannah Laga Abram Gov. Phil Scott Monday morning lifted all state-mandated Covid-19 restrictions.  The state of emergency, in place since March 13, 2020, will expire at midnight June 15.  The order came after the announcement that Vermont became the first state to…