By John Herrick/VTDigger.org Lt. Gov. Phil Scott By Jasper Craven and Anne Galloway, VTDigger.org Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Scott made official what has long been assumed — he will run for Vermont governor in 2016. “I’ve made this decision because I believe too many families and employers are on the economic edge,” Scott wrote in…

The Vermont Department of Health has received a $4 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to prevent overdose deaths related to prescription opioids, Gov. Peter Shumlin and Health Commissioner Harry Chen announced Sept. 4. The funding is part of the Prescription Drug Overdose: Prevention for States program. Vermont will be…

Research poll shows only one quarter of voters feel regulation is adequate On Aug. 26 news was released in Denver that is a negative for the marijuana industry. SmithJohnson Research, a polling firm who has worked with Democrats and Republicans, released a poll finding that a majority (51 percent) of likely Coloradan voters would oppose…

On Aug. 25, Sen. Bernie Sanders announced that all 11 community health centers in Vermont received funding totaling $493,860, in recognition of their achievements providing high quality health care. The awards are Vermont’s share of $63.3 million in nationwide grants for 1,153 health centers and will be used to expand access to high quality primary…

By Anne Galloway, VTDigger.org In a letter released Tuesday, Aug. 25, Justin Johnson, the secretary of the Agency of Administration, urged commissioners and secretaries to be “extremely cautious and restrained” as they develop budgets. Typically, budget instructions are issued to secretaries and commissioners in October and budgets are submitted about a month later. This year…

On Aug. 30, the American Red Cross announced it would be deploying Vermont and New Hampshire’s chief communications officer Lloyd Ziel to work in Wenatchee, Washington in response to the raging wildfires that plague the area. Ziel will work with the public affairs team, working with local and national media as well as working interdepartmentally keeping…

Courtesy of VF&W Bears are attracted to human-created food sources, so steps must be taken to reduce problems between bears and people. Bears are already thinking about winter and are currently in search of easy calories to fatten up. Because bears make a habit of feeding on human food sources once they find them, Forrest…

On Sunday, Aug. 23, at approximately 8:33 p.m., Hardwick Police Department responded to a residence on The Bend Road in Greensboro, Vt., to a report of a shooting. Upon arrival, they discovered Lou Ron Schneider, age 68, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Schneider was transported to Copley Hospital where he later died.  Subjects at the residence…

By Sarah Olsen, www.VTDigger.org Mary Brown-Guillory, president of the Champlain area National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), told a statewide civil rights panel Monday that her organization has received an “avalanche” of discrimination complaints. In the month since they’ve been open for business, Vermont’s first NAACP chapter has received at least 50…

By Erin Mansfield, VTDigger.org The local president of FairPoint Communications says the new settlement with Vermont’s ratepayer advocates will be a win for customers and help the company “reboot.” Beth Fastiggi, the Vermont president for FairPoint, said the company’s agreement to pour money into bringing broadband to 28,399 homes, issue retroactive credits to thousands of…

By Sarah Olsen, VTDigger.org The EPA released new pollution limits for Lake Champlain on Friday, Aug. 14. Gov. Peter Shumlin and federal officials announced Friday the new phosphorus limits at a press conference on North Beach in Burlington. Vermont is in the process of implementing new water quality legislation, which Shumlin signed into law on…

By Elizabeth Hewitt, VTDigger.org Police are investigating the death of a woman who was being detained at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility, Vermont’s only women’s correctional facility. Kristine L. Brennan, 49, died at the facility Monday, Aug. 17, following her arrest Saturday Aug. 15, on charges of retail theft and misdemeanors. In a press release…

First poll showing Bernie Sanders in the lead By Anne Galloway, VTDigger.org A Boston Herald-Franklin Pierce University poll conducted on Monday puts Sen. Bernie Sanders ahead of Hillary Clinton. According to that poll, 44 percent of respondents said they would vote for Sanders, while 37 percent would cast ballots for Clinton. In March, Sanders was…

On Aug. 11, Gov. Peter Shumlin and officials at Vermont Health Connect (VHC) announced that the change of circumstance functionality deployed at the end of May has allowed staff to reduce by more than half the backlog of customers waiting for changes to their health plans to be processed. The backlog currently stands below 4,500,…

Courtesy of Tom Rogers, Vt Fish & Wildlife Vermont’s wildlife biologists are watching endangered timber rattlesnakes for signs they’ve been stricken with a newly discovered infection called “snake fungal disease.” Vermont conservationists are battling a new obstacle in the effort to conserve the state’s timber rattlesnakes and other snake species–a recently discovered infection referred to…