Longtime journalist and educator Mike Donoghue of South Burlington has been selected to receive the Matthew Lyon Award for his lifetime commitment to the First Amendment and the public’s right to know the truth in Vermont. The Vermont Press Association, which represents the interests of 11 daily and about four dozen non-daily newspapers circulating in…

By Elizabeth Hewitt, VTDigger.org The number of Vermont children in the custody of the Department for Children and Families (DCF) has jumped by a third since the beginning of 2014, according to a report published this week. The child abuse hotline saw an increase of more than 10 percent in calls in 2014, with a…

The Vermont State Police participated in the July 4th weekend National Operation C.A.R.E. (Combined Accident Reduction Effort) over the holiday weekend from Friday, July 3 until Sunday, July 5. Sadly, there was one fatality on Vermont roadways this past holiday weekend. There have been 21 total fatalities in Vermont this year to date. 33 percent…

The outage will affect Pawlet and sections of Wells and Rupert. Green Mountain Power line crews need to interrupt electric service to 2,300 customers in Pawlet early Saturday morning so they can safely make reliability improvements to the system serving the Pawlet area. The outage will affect the town of Pawlet, customers adjacent to Route…

Same-sex couples will be free to marry throughout the United States On June 26, the Supreme Court held that same-sex couples can no longer be denied the freedom to marry guaranteed by the Constitution, assuring that soon all loving and committed couples will be able to marry throughout the United States. It was a 5-4…

Prison escapees found near the Canadian boarder By Polly Lynn Convicted murders David Sweat and Richard Matt had planned to drive to Mexico after successfully escaping from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y., more than three weeks ago. However, they had to improvise after civilian prison employee Joyce Mitchell, accused of aiding them, failed…

By Jess Wisloski, VTDigger.org Vermont’s largest union has joined the ranks of unions nationwide that are endorsing Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in his run for president. The Vermont National Education Association, which represents teachers and education workers across the state, issued a statement in support of Sanders’ bid for the Democratic nomination for president. “Bernie’s…

By Elizabeth Hewitt, VTDigger.org Two-thirds of homicides in Vermont last year were related to domestic violence, with victims ranging from 14 months to 60 years old, according to data from the Vermont Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission. The 2014 report, published this week, is an annual product of a 17-member commission that includes representatives of…

WALLINGFORD—On June 13 at about 2 p.m. Cedric Rogers, 58, of Wallingford, was traveling north on Route 7, approaching the intersection of Route 103.  Terri Harrington, 48, of East Wallingford, was driving on Route 103 approaching the intersection. Harrington collided with Rogers in the intersection and came to rest in the intersection. Investigation revealed that Rogers had…

By Morgan True, VTDigger.org Among the problems Rutland Mental Health Services must address to remain one of the state’s regional human services contractors is its management of a waiting list for adolescent mental health services, a state report shows. Within the past year a 13-year-old girl took her own life after waiting almost six months…

By Morgan True, VTDigger.org The Department of Corrections is not properly tracking transitional housing services delivered by community partners and is not adequately measuring how those services help released inmates reintegrate into the community, a state auditor’s report shows. DOC’s transitional housing program provides grants to 25 organizations statewide that offer temporary housing and support…

By Amy Ash Nixon, VTDigger.org A lack of high-quality early learning opportunities for Vermont’s young children has led the Vt. Legislature and Gov. Peter Shumlin to form a Blue Ribbon Commission on Financing High Quality, Affordable Child Care. The commission will collect information on the state of early childhood learning opportunities across Vermont and will…

Gov. Peter Shumlin has capped off this legislative session by signing the last of 76 bills passed by the Legislature this year. "I was proud to sign so many pieces of legislation into law that will help make Vermont's economy work for every Vermonter, protect our special quality of life, and build on the strong…

By Sarah Olsen, VTDigger.org On Tuesday, June 16, on the shore of Lake Champlain, Governor Peter Shumlin signed a bill that aims to improve the quality of the state’s waterways . The bill, H.35, raises money through a 0.2 percent surcharge on the state’s property transfer tax. The first $100,000 of the sale price is…

By Sarah Olsen, VTDigger.org There have been almost as many sewage discharges reported across the state in the past 35 days as there were in all of the previous year, according to state data. Twenty-five discharges have been reported since May 11, compared to the 31 reported between May 10, 2014, and May 10, 2015,…