Discover More from This Category: State News
PTSD center in White River Junction poised for full funding
July 19, 2017
By Elizabeth Hewitt, VTDigger WHITE RIVER JUNCTION—A national Veterans Affairs center headquartered in White River Junction is likely to be fully funded in the next fiscal year. In the version of a budget bill that passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday, July 13, the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was fully funded at…
Leahy farmworker bill gains momentum, advocates
July 12, 2017
By Gaen Murphree A key to finally getting federal law changed so immigrants can more easily work on Vermont’s dairy farms is getting farmers and farm advocates here to reach out to their counterparts in Republican-leaning states. That is the analysis of people familiar with the legislative process in Washington, D.C., commenting on the future…
Fentanyl takes a deadly toll on Vermont
July 5, 2017
By Elizabeth Hewitt, VTDigger On Christmas Eve in 2015, Eric Morin died of acute fentanyl poisoning. His family was told it was nearly instant. “The counselor told us it was like turning a light switch on and off,” Morin’s mother, Rachel Coulter, said. “That’s how quick it was.” “It hits your system, and it’s just,…
Frustrated school board members form rival lobbying group
June 28, 2017
By Tiffany Danitz Pache, VTDigger School board members who are frustrated with the Vermont School Boards Association’s lobbying priorities have formed a rival group. Members of the Alliance of Vermont School Board Members are frustrated with the association’s stance on the school district consolidation law, Act 46. In a news release, the leaders of the…
State fines North Springfield slaughterhouse
June 28, 2017
By Troy Shaheen, VTDigger Mercy for Animals, an animal protection group based in California, is calling for an investigation into Vermont Packinghouse for what it calls “unfair and deceptive business practices.” The advocacy group filed complaints last week with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture and the Vermont Attorney General. State regulators fined the slaughterhouse shortly…
Young bears are released back to the wild
June 21, 2017
The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department successfully released several young orphaned bears back into the wild after a short stay with a wildlife rehabilitator. The cubs had shown up malnourished in residential areas earlier this spring. Working in partnership with New Hampshire Fish & Game, the young bears were brought back to health by bear…
Report provides snapshot of statewide homelessness
June 21, 2017
By Evan Johnson On a single night in January this year, 1,225 Vermonters were found to be literally homeless. The 2017 Point-in-Time Count Report, released Thursday, June 15, the Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness and the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance, showed an overall increase in homelessness by 11 percent compared to the 2016 Point-in-Time Count.…
Report rates statewide efforts to feed kids
June 21, 2017
A report released June 13 by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) confirms that Vermont continues to be a national leader in the fight to end childhood hunger, especially during the summer months when free school meals are not available. With outreach and assistance from Hunger Free Vermont, Vermont is one of the six…
State announces “Red Tag” rule for aboveground storage tanks
June 14, 2017
The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, June 8, filed a new rule for aboveground storage tanks that will require inspectors to affix red tags on heating oil tanks that are at imminent risk of a fuel spill. Fuel distributors are not allowed to deliver fuel to a red-tagged tank until the tank has been repaired or…
Report: Affordable housing is out of reach for low-wage Vermonters
June 14, 2017
In order to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at the fair market rent rate in Vermont, renters need to earn $21.90 an hour, or $45,545 a year as a family. This is Vermont’s 2017 housing wage, revealed in the annual “Out of Reach” report released last week by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a…
Medical marijuana expansion gets governor’s signature
June 14, 2017
By Elizabeth Hewitt, VTDigger Gov. Phil Scott signed into law a bill that expands Vermont’s medical marijuana system. The legislation, S.16, expands the list of conditions that qualify for the medical marijuana registry to include Parkinson’s disease, Crohn’s disease and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as of July 1. Under the new law, PTSD patients will…
Vt. universities awarded $1.3 million in grants
June 7, 2017
The U.S. Department of Education has awarded more than $1.3 million in grants for Vermont universities, according to an announcement Thursday, June 1, made by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.). The grants, awarded through the Upward Bound program, will go to four institutions of higher education to…
State penalizes Dollar General for price scanner violations
June 7, 2017
In response to 47 separate price scanner violations, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets has issued more than $210,000 in penalties to Dollar General stores in the state since 2013, including $24,000 in penalties this year. Agency inspectors have observed repeated pricing inaccuracies, which could shortchange consumers, such as discrepancies between the posted…
New Vermont law provides First Amendment protections to students and teachers
June 7, 2017
Gov. Phil Scott recently signed into law legislation that provides greater First Amendment protections for student journalists and their teachers and advisers in Vermont. “The Vermont Press Association is pleased the state Legislature moved quickly this year to provide proper First Amendment safeguards for student-journalists and their advisers,” said VPA President Adam Silverman, an editor…
More than 26,000 waiting for state income tax refunds
May 31, 2017
By Erin Mansfield, VTDigger Five weeks after the deadline for filing tax returns, more than 26,000 people are still waiting for the Vermont Department of Taxes to issue refunds on their personal income taxes. Some of those people are very low-income and are planning to use the refunds to pay living expenses, according to Susan…