Submitted Photo One: A map showing the 139 counties at risk. Photo Two: A map of bee abundance across the U.S. Photo Three: Taylor Ricketts and Insu Koh The first national study to map U.S. wild bees suggests they’re disappearing in many of the country’s most important farmlands — including California’s Central Valley, the Midwest’s…

Courtesy of VermontVacation.com Vermont’s New Year’s Eve celebrations often include vibrant fireworks displays. STATEWIDE — The Green Mountain State is host to traditional New Year’s Eve festivals full of fireworks, torchlight parades and fanfare, but there’s also an array of unconventional celebrations. From VermontVacation.com, here are Vermont’s top 16 events to ring in 2016. (Please check…

By Morgan True, VTDigger State Police process the scene at 101 Elmwood Avenue in Burlington where officers fatally shot a man during a drug raid. By Morgan True, VTDigger BURLINGTON — Police shot and killed a man during a drug raid at an apartment just north of downtown Tuesday evening, Dec 22, according to Vermont…

Vermont’s minimum wage will increase from $9.15 to $9.60 on Jan. 1. The measure is part of legislation that Gov. Peter Shumlin signed to raise the wage each year until it reaches $10.50 in 2018. The legislation signed in June 2014 raised the minimum wage from $8.73 to $9.15 in 2015. After rising to $9.60…

By Erin Mansfield, VTDigger Bruce Lisman Gubernatorial candidate urges others running to disclose financial records By Jasper Craven, VTDigger.org Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Lisman is worth $50.9 million, according to newly released tax and financial data from the campaign. Lisman spent four decades on Wall Street, primarily with Bear Stearns, and ended his career as…

By Tiffany Danitz Pache, VTDigger.org Three Act 46 school district mergers were approved Tuesday, Dec. 15, by the State Board of Education (SBE) at a meeting in North Clarendon. The Agency of Education expects citizens to vote on 15 mergers before July 1, 2016. Unification plans put forward by the Rutland South Supervisory Union, the…

By Christopher Biddle Annie Lees, age 74, at Lisa Rumrill’s Wreath Barn, in Cuttingsville, Vt. By Christopher Biddle CUTTINGSVILLE — If you need to find Annie Lees, of Cuttingsville, Vt. any time between the first of November and a week after Christmas, look no further than what’s become known as Lisa Rumrill’s Wreath Barn, where…

By Jasper Craven, VTDigger.org So far this year, Bernie Sanders has been on ABC “World News Tonight” for a total of 20 seconds. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has received 81 minutes of coverage on the same program. During a recent speech here in a crowded college gymnasium, it was unclear who the Vermont senator…

Katie Hunt and Gov. Peter Shumlin were wed on Dec. 15, 2015. By Anne Galloway, VTDigger.org Gov. Peter Shumlin, 59, married his longtime girlfriend Katie Hunt, 31, in a small, private ceremony Tuesday night, Dec. 15. The couple made the announcement in an email to friends and family with the subject line “happy and hitched.” The…

Agreement guarantees admission to select Castleton graduates CASTLETON – Castleton University announced Friday, Dec. 18, that an articulation agreement has been reached with Vermont Law School (VLS), home to the country’s top-rated environmental law program. The agreement states that any Castleton University student with a GPA of 3.0 or higher is guaranteed admission into any…

By Morgan True, VTDigger.org Three Central Vermont residents are accused of pouring gasoline on a young couple and lighting them on fire in their Northfield, Vt., apartment as part of a plan to rob them of drugs. One victim died, the other was badly burned. The three were arrested following the deadly blaze at the…

By Bruce Parker, Vermont Watchdog A limit on education spending is set to force Vermont school districts to reduce staff, but only if lawmakers don’t rush to stop it from happening. As part of Act 46, Vermont’s statewide district consolidation law, lawmakers imposed a new spending threshold to restrict the state’s out-of-control education spending. Called…

Major enforcement effort seeks to save lives Vermont joins the nation in the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, which began Friday, Dec. 18 and will last through Jan. 3, with a strong law enforcement presence on Vermont highways. Law enforcement agencies across the state include the DUI Task Force, local police, sheriff’s departments, and…

By Mike Polhamus, VTDigger.org Gubernatorial candidates spoke Tuesday, Dec. 15, afternoon to top Vermont manufacturers and businesses at a forum presented by the Associated Industries of Vermont. AIV represents the manufacturing industry and advocates for free-market economics and limited government intervention. The organization brought candidates Bruce Lisman, Matt Dunne, Susan Minter and Phil Scott to…

Engineer, parent and former school teacher crafts novel method for teachable moments In the history of child development, the widespread participation in the use of video games is not only a relatively new phenomenon, but a widespread one, too. The fact is that 97 percent of children and adolescents in the United States play at…