On Monday, Nov. 9, the Clean Water Fund Board recommended spending a projected $10.4 million to reduce nutrient pollution in Vermont’s waterways. The funds will be administered by state agencies in 2016 and 2017, once the Lgislature approves the plan next session. Nutrient pollution carried in runoff can fuel excessive plant and algae growth in Vermont’s waters,…

On Tuesday, Nov. 10, six months after signing the historic education reform law known as Act 46, Gov. Peter Shumlin highlighted its early success in sparking local conversations statewide about how to enhance educational quality for Vermont’s kids. The governor made the announcement at Essex High School a week after voters from the towns of…

By Bruce Parker, Vermont Watchdog State lawmakers on Thursday, Oct. 29, sent a letter to Education Secretary Rebecca Holcombe and State Board of Education Chair Stephen Morse, urging the board to reverse a ruling that prevents many districts from keeping school choice as they merge with other districts. “We are writing regarding Act 46, and…

November marks the beginning of the three-month open enrollment window Many Vermonters getting their insurance through the online marketplace will see their monthly health care premiums decrease next year, Gov. Peter Shumlin announced Oct. 29. The open enrollment period is a once-a-year opportunity for Vermonters using VHC to reevaluate their health care needs and change…

By Mike Faher, VTDigger.org WILMINGTON – The owner of a private ski club must pay more than $72,700 for damaging three miles of trail in the Green Mountain National Forest, officials announced Tuesday, Oct. 20. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Vermont said James Barnes of Wilmington has agreed to pay $25,000 in civil fines and…

As the nights grow colder, the Agency of Agriculture’s Consumer Protection Division reminds Vermonters to take steps to ensure they “get what they pay for” when heating their homes. “With winter approaching, it’s important for Vermonters to know there are rules in place to govern transactions related to both fuel and firewood,” according to Henry…

On Monday, Oct. 26, Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Bernie Sanders, Congressman Peter Welch and Gov. Peter Shumlin announced a $10 million federal grant from the Department of Transportation to improve rail service along the state’s Western Corridor. The improvements will remove the final hurdle for restoring passenger service between Rutland and Burlington. In a joint…

$700,000 to aid employers, in the Northeast Kingdom and Bethel/Royalton area On Oct. 19, Gov. Peter Shumlin recommended using funds from the Vermont Enterprise Fund to attract over 120 jobs – more than 50 in the Northeast Kingdom and up to 73 in the Bethel/Royalton area. In addition to the jobs, the $700,000 in awards…

Event aimed to empower and promote women entrepreneurs On Monday, Oct. 12, the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET) and Hotel Vermont announced the InnovateHER VT Challenge, a new business pitch event in Burlington, Vt. InnovateHER VT is a part of a national pitch competition that celebrates and promotes women entrepreneurs and ventures that impact…

Since July 2015, when requirements for food diversion took effect for medium-sized institutions under Vermont’s universal recycling law, the Vermont Foodbank has seen a 24 percent increase in food donations from retailers over last year. On Thursday, Sept. 24, state agency officials, representatives from the Vermont Foodbank, and local grocers joined together at the Chittenden…

By Stephen Seitz Rutland is planning a 100-year project to make the city’s water infrastructure sustainable and easily maintained by the time it’s finished, according to Rutland Department of Public Works commissioner Jeffrey Wennberg. Wennberg recently appeared on the cable access program “Insight,” hosted this week by Rutland Herald editor Alan Keays c and the program’s…

$252,344 bonus recognizes state’s efforts administering federal food benefit program Gov. Peter Shumlin and Agency of Human Services (AHS) secretary Hal Cohen announced Sept. 30 that for the second time this year Vermont has received from the U.S. Department of Agriculture a bonus for increased performance in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which offers…

Local and state emergency crews in and around Northfield responded to an Amtrak train derailment Monday morning, Oct. 5, Vermont state police reported. The passenger train, “The Vermonter,” which travels daily between St. Albans and Washington, D.C. was headed south when it struck a rockslide and derailed in the town of Northfield at 10:30 a.m.…

Figure. 1. Vermonters’ views on the most important issue facing their state. The economy makes up fully one third of responses. Figure. 2. Importance of three major issue areas, by age Figure 3. Illustrates the relative differences in name recognition among the candidates and potential candidates that were included in our poll as a percent…

Kyle Young The Vermont State Police and Office of the Chief Medical Examiner released a preliminary report Monday, Sept. 21, that the untimely passing of Trooper Kyle Young, age 28 of Monkton, Vt. on Thursday, Sept. 17, at 2 p.m., was caused by heat stroke. Trooper Young had collapsed during training at the Ethan Allen…