By Tiffany Danitz Pache, VTDigger The State Board of Education has approved the Agency of Education’s revised draft rules that will guide how school districts that don’t want to or can’t merge under Act 46 will make their case to the state. The rules—on what are referred to as “alternative structures”—will now go to the…

By Mike Polhamus, VTDigger Four House members are proposing what they’re calling tax reform bills that all seek to institute carbon taxes while reducing or eliminating other taxes or returning the revenue to Vermonters through other means. One of the bills would eliminate Vermont’s sales tax and raise the same amount from a tax on…

Vermonters struggling to make ends meet can receive wage supports like Low Income Heating Assistance Program (LIHEAP) fuel assistance to help pay for heating expenses—crucial for Vermonters during our cold winter months. This program is also directly linked to the 3SquaresVT program (also known as SNAP or food stamps) and eligible recipients of LIHEAP often…

By Elizabeth Hewitt, VTDigger At a panel discussion Thursday, April 6, Vermont officials discussed how different economic approaches could help address poverty in the state. The panel, hosted by Capstone Community Action and the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, featured Treasurer Beth Pearce and Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman alongside Bob Friedman, of the Corporation…

First-in-the-nation program makes N.Y. state public universities tuition-free for residents making up to $125,000 per year; over 940,000 families qualify New York will be the only state in the country to offer universal public college tuition coverage for working- and middle-class residents after the program was included in the recently approved budget package. New York…

Mountain Times featured in Stuck in Vt. https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/next-gen-newspaper-publishers-killing-it-in-killington-siv484/Content?oid=4856614

Vermont’s 232 fire departments responded to an average of 3,000 emergency calls per month in 2016, according to an annual report released by the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The report contains information from over 45,000 recorded emergency incidents. Those calls were not only for working fires (3,200 reported for the year), but emergency…

On March 17 Senate Health and Welfare committee members unanimously voted “yes” on legislation aimed at saving lives and money by reducing tobacco use in the state. Leaders from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Lung Association, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the March of Dimes and the…

RUTLAND—Over the weekend of March 18-19, the Cobra Gymnastics Team participated in the superhero-themed Vermont State Gymnastics Championships at Bellows Falls High School. A cosmic team banner depicted the gymnasts as their own kind of superheros. Their motto of the day was a quote from author Roman Payne who said, “You must give everything to…

By Gaen Murphree Motivated by constituent outrage over unregulated coyote hunting, some Legislators are asking state wildlife officials to rethink Vermont’s open season on the canine predator. “Coyotes are important animals, not vermin to be attacked,” said Rep. Jim McCullough, D-Williston. “They’re important ‘people’ that need, if you will, the honor of having controls on…

Governor Phil Scott and members of his senior staff and cabinet traveled to Québec City this past week for the first official meetings with their Québec counterparts, as well as meeting with businesses and industry groups in the province, according to a Feb. 17 press release recounting the trip. “Our partnership with Québec plays an…

By Adam Federman, VTDigger A ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upholding a Seattle judge’s decision reversing nearly all of the provisions of the Trump administration’s executive order on immigration means that refugee resettlement will continue in Vermont. However, the program is still operating under a cloud of uncertainty and it remains unclear…

By Erin Mansfield, VTDigger Ten members of the Vermont House have introduced a bill intended to get to the root of why people take their own lives. H.184 would require the Department of Mental Health to issue a report to the Legislature every year describing why suicides happen and recommending ways to prevent them. Under…

By Mike Polhamus, VTDiggger Plastic bags are sometimes said to last forever, but they might not last much longer in Vermont after legislators last week introduced a bill to ban single-use carryout bags. The bill, H.105, is one of two intended to curb the use of disposable plastic bags. Another, H.88, would impose a 10-cent…

By Jasper Craven, VTDigger The U.S. House has unanimously passed a bill co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., that aims to improve the quality of rural phone service. “Whether an emergency call or a business order, Vermonters should have confidence that their calls are completed without disruption,” Welch said in a statement. “This bill…