By Morgan True, www.VTDigger.org A new report prepared for the Green Mountain Care Board confirms wide variations in the price of medical services throughout the state and examines policy approaches to regulate them. Prices that Vermont’s 14 hospitals and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire receive from commercial insurers vary between 72 percent and 132…

By Morgan True, VTDigger.org Raw milk producers held a news conference Wednesday to say new Agency of Agriculture policies are making an otherwise friendly law more burdensome. The original raw milk law, passed in 2009, required producers to regularly send milk samples to certified labs to check bacteria levels. A new policy requires that samples…

By Anne Galloway, VTDigger.org Governor Peter Shumlin is hitting the airwaves with feel-good film clips of Vermonters talking about his accomplishments. He spent $235,000 in September, mostly on advertising, and he has raised $100,000 over the same period from unions, businesses and individuals. So far the governor has raised a total of nearly $700,000 this…

At a news conference on Tuesday Sept. 23, which included state officials, substance abuse experts, medical staff and others, Gov. Peter Shumlin outlined Vermont’s progress in the battle against opiate addiction since January. “I am proud of our state for taking on one of the most challenging problems facing Vermont and the nation, and moving…

Gov. Peter Shumlin formally proclaimed October as “Manufacturing Month” in Vermont in conjunction with National Manufacturing Day, Oct. 3.  “Manufacturing is critically important to Vermont’s economy,” said the governor. “I encourage all Vermonters to learn about the innovation of Vermont’s manufacturers, and particularly for young people to pursue careers offering quality jobs here in our…

At approx. 1:15 p.m. on Sept. 27, the Burlington Airport tower notified the Vermont State Police of a possible aircraft crash near the Basin Harbor Airport, Ferrisburgh, Vt. Upon arrival, police discovered that a 1958 Piper “Tri-Pacer” fixed wing prop-plane had made and emergency landing in a field near the Basin Harbor Airport. The pilot,…

RANDOLPH–The new Department for Children and Families commissioner Ken Schatz says he wants to scrutinize, and possibly change, the state’s practice of temporarily housing homeless people in motels. Gov. Peter Shumlin defended the same program an hour later. Schatz told housing advocates at the annual meeting of the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition in Randolph Tuesday,…

On Friday, Sept. 26, absentee and early voting began for the General Election. From now until 5 p.m. or the close of the town clerk’s office on the day before the election (which, for the General Election is Monday, Nov. 3,) any registered voter may request a ballot from their town clerk, whether in person,…

A bald eagle sits on a nest near Barnet along the Connecticut River. Bald eagles, once endangered, are now on the rise. During the 2014 nesting season,Vermont’s loon population had a record success, producing 65 fledglings (chicks that survived to leave the nest) on lakes and ponds throughout the state. Loons faced dramatic declines in…

On Monday, Oct. 1, Vermont will become the 15th state to ban the use of any handheld portable electronic device while driving. It is already illegal to use a handheld electronic device while traveling in a work zone and texting is prohibited statewide. Use of a mobile device will be permitted if an approved hands-free…

By Tom Brown, VTDigger.org Republican Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott answered challenger Dean Corren’s call for at least 10 debates Tuesday with a number of his own—four. Scott’s campaign manager, Rep. Patti Komline, R-Dorset, said the three-term incumbent lieutenant governor would rather travel the state listening to voters than champion his own views in exchanges with…

By John Herrick, VTDigger.org Vermont has raised more than $300,000 in private donations since May to help it defend its GMO labeling law, Act 120, in federal court. SumOfUs, a nonprofit issue advocacy organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., made the largest donation—$78,000—to a defense fund to help the state pay its legal bills. National trade…

By Anne Galloway, VTDigger.org Democratic Governor Peter Shumlin declared at his campaign launch on Monday Sept. 8 that he has put Vermont on a “progressive path” through a “bold” leadership style and investments in job creation, renewable energy, early childhood education and opiate addiction treatment. Shumlin touted the new GMO labeling law and his single…

Washington, D.C.–Tuesday evening, Sept. 9, the House of Representatives approved by a voice vote legislation authored by Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) to address the growing problem of Lyme disease. The incidence of this debilitating disease has increased dramatically in recent years in Vermont and across the Northeast region. The Vector-Borne…

On Tuesday, Sept. 16, the Shumlin administration announced that Vermont Health Connect has shut down its website temporarily to complete ongoing operational, technical, performance and security improvements necessary for a well-functioning customer experience when the next open enrollment period begins in November. The State made the decision to take down the website after consultation with…