The Vermont Arts Council gave $3,692,500 in awards to 49 creative sector organizations and businesses in its first round of funding through the Creative Futures program.  On Jan. 5, it announced that round two is now open for applications. Supported by $9 million from Vermont’s share of the American Rescue Plan Act, the program aims…

About 33% of U.S. home fires involving Christmas trees occur in January. With this post-holiday fire hazard in mind, the National Fire Protection Association strongly encourages everyone to remove the hazards by disposing of Christmas trees promptly after the holiday season.  “As much as we all enjoy the look and feel of Christmas trees in…

When counselors at Vermont Student Assistance Corp. (VSAC) speak with students who have successfully completed high school and achieved their first early-adulthood goals — be it college admission, starting a technical program, or starting a job — there is usually one common denominator: Adults shared their expectations, their encouragement, and their advice. VSAC offers this…

By Peter D’Auria/VTDigger In June, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in a case called Carson v. Makin, finding the state of Maine could not withhold public money from private religious schools simply because those schools might use the money for religious purposes. In Vermont, which operates a tuition program that is similar to…

By Curt Peterson In an effort to streamline gathering of financial and human resources data from more than 300 school districts, former Agency of Education Secretary Rebecca Holcombe signed a $5.2 million contract in 2018 for eFinance. The state had been wrestling with data provided via multiple software systems from districts. The contract term started…

Staff report  Two skiers with Vermont ties made history, Thursday, Dec. 29 in Semmering, Austria. Mikaela Shiffrin secured her 80th World Cup win and 50th slalom victory on Thursday while Paula Moltzan came in second place, earning her first podium in the discipline. It was the first time Americans finished first and second in a…

The Legal Services Corporation in Burlington has received technology initiative grants for 29 legal services providers across the country. Legal Services Vermont is one of the organizations selected for a grant-funded project that leverages technology in delivering legal help to low-income residents. Legal Services Vermont will create online guided interviews that walk Vermonters through filling…

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is reminding the public to take precautions around wild birds, as virulent avian influenza (HPAI) continues to circulate in the state. Backyard flocks of domestic birds in Caledonia and Lamoille Counties have had to be destroyed after exposure to the virus, commonly known as avian flu. “Highly pathogenic avian…

By Erin Petenko/VTDigger Vermonters pocketed a median annual household income of $72,431 from 2017 to 2021 and are less likely to live in poverty than they were a decade ago, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. At first glance, the data — collected via surveys of thousands of people — shows…

By Fred Thys/VTDigger Vermont’s affordable housing advocates kicked off an expected legislative debate over the state’s housing crisis earlier this month by putting a $175 million price tag on what they say it will take next year for Vermont to build the homes needed to keep and retain workers. “We’re seeing employers really struggling to…

By Sarah Mearhoff/VTDigger Three years after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision opened the doors for states to legalize sports betting, Vermonters may soon be able to join their New Hampshire and New York neighbors in their gambling endeavors. That is, as long as a new proposal makes it through the Legislature. In a newly…

By Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger Joe Wiah grew up in the African republic of Liberia, fled its civil war at age 21 and has gone on to help the Ethiopian Community Development Council resettle refugees from Afghanistan. That’s why Wiah is now an award-winning Vermonter. The 49-year-old director of the ECDC’s branch office in Brattleboro — the…

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (Blue Cross) will forgo a contract with OneCare Vermont (OCV) for the 2023 plan year. Despite having collaborated with OCV every year since its inception, Blue Cross is unable to reach an agreement this year due to the lack of tangible quality outcomes, inability to bend the cost…

By Rep. Jim Harrison The popular holiday poem, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Clement Moore, was first published nearby in a Troy, New York newspaper on Dec. 23, 1823. With this past weekend’s fresh snow cover, the visions of St. Nick depicted in the poem should be alive and well this week. My best…

Now that winter has finally arrived with lots of snow for snowmobiling fun, the U.S. Forest Service reminds snowmobile enthusiasts to put safety first out on the trails, not only in the national forest but on all lands. Carelessness and hazards beneath the snow can ruin your whole day. For this and other reasons, snowmobilers…