Following the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, on Wednesday, Dec. 2, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called for sensible gun safety legislation at a press conference with his Democratic colleagues in the Senate. His remarks are transcribed here: “Here is the very sad truth and that is that it is very difficult for the American…

By Tiffany Danitz Pache, VTDigger.org The State Board of Education will revise rules for state approval of private schools in the coming year. The decision, made at a meeting earlier this month, caught the Vermont Independent Schools Association off guard. The recommendation for review was brought by William Mathis, a board member, who raised concerns…

By Bruce Parker, Vermont Watchdog A poll of registered voters in Vermont, conducted by the Center for Regulatory Solutions, has found that most Vermonters oppose adding higher amounts of ethanol into gasoline. According to a survey of 600 registered voters taken earlier this month, 67 percent of respondents said they disagree with the federal Renewable…

By Jasper Craven, VTDigger.org As part of a comprehensive immigration plan, Sen. Bernie Sanders says as president he will give all undocumented people who have been in the country at least five years immunity from deportation. Sanders also calls for a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. Sanders’s made…

RUTLAND—Community College of Vermont (CCV) is partnering with GE Aviation and Adecco Staffing USA, part of the world’s largest recruitment and workforce solutions provider, to offer a Certified Production Technician (CPT) course in Rutland, which began last week. This course is the first step in establishing a manufacturing pipeline to help GE address a skills…

KILLINGTON — For the second year, Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, will participate in the nationally recognized charitable giving campaign, #GivingTuesday on Dec. 1. It will harness the generosity of an anonymous Vermont Adaptive family participant, who has gifted a matching gift challenge of $20,000 to be used to leverage additional funds. Last year, the same…

Projects will bring affordable housing, jobs and flood protection to nine communities New jobs in Brattleboro, and new, energy-efficient affordable housing in White River Junction and Addison County are among the nine projects receiving more than $2.4 million in grants from the Vermont Community Development Program (VCDP), announced Friday, Nov. 20. “From Brattleboro to Barre,…

To ensure Vermont highways remain safe, the Vermont State Police will be participating in the national “Click It or Ticket” campaign; as well as Operation C.A.R.E. (Combined Accident Reduction Effort) over the holiday from Nov. 25-29. Vermont has experienced 48 traffic fatalities so far this in 2015. By using high visibility enforcement coupled with education,…

On Friday, Nov. 20, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders launched his sixth annual State of the Union essay contest, calling upon Vermont’s high school students to address what they view as the major issues facing the United States. The U.S. Constitution calls for the president to “give to the Congress information of the State of the…

All Vermont fourth graders can get a free Christmas tree cut from national forest land RUTLAND – Gov. Peter Shumlin announced Monday, Nov. 23, that for the first time in Vermont history, the State House Christmas tree will come from federally managed land within the 400,000-acre Green Mountain National Forest (GMNF). The 32-foot balsam fir…

RANDOLPH — PoemTown Randolph organizers are excited to announce the third annual celebration of poetry in Randolph throughout April, National Poetry month, and are seeking submissions from Vermont poets as the centerpiece of the month-long event. PoemTown Randolph 2016 presents a public opportunity for Vermont poets to share their work. Throughout the month of April, posters…

Rutland and Windsor County programs recognized Between 1997 and 2008, Vermont’s prison inmate population grew by 86 percent. After years of work to create a more rational criminal justice system that locks up fewer Vermonters that trend has been reversed, and today Vermont’s inmate population is at its lowest point since the early 2000s, Gov.…

By Jasper Craven, VTDigger.org Sen. David Zuckerman, P/D-Chittenden, announced Tuesday, Nov. 10, he is running for lieutenant governor next year. Zuckerman joins a young cohort of Democrats running for lieutenant governor — Burlington Rep. Kesha Ram, 29, and Brandon Riker, 28, of Marlboro, a relatively unknown candidate who has never held elected office, as well…

Aging demographic trends help explain By Bruce Parker, Vermont Watchdog The U.S. Department of Labor on Friday, Nov. 6, released an upbeat monthly jobs report showing the economy added 271,000 jobs in October. The number was well above the 185,000 jobs projected for the month. The national unemployment rate, which declined slightly to 5 percent,…

Two weeks into the third annual open enrollment period for Vermont Health Connect, Gov. Peter Shumlin and top health care officials provided an update on Tuesday, Nov. 17, and pointed to the long road the state has traveled to improve the health care marketplace since its launch in 2013. So far this open enrollment period,…