California ranks No. 1; Maine is most improved; Northeast leads nation As Americans struggle to pay rising energy bills, leading states have instituted energy efficiency policies that cut utility bills—especially for those who need it most—while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to the 2022 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard. These policies can serve as models for…

By John Flowers/Addison County Independent You won’t find a lot of framed press clippings in the office of Patrick Leahy, the longest-serving member of the U.S. Senate. But there are two that stand out. One features a Vermont newspaper report that came out five days before the Nov. 5, 1974, General Election. The banner headline…

By Peter D’Auria/VTDigger Vermont’s education fund, the pot of money that finances the state’s schools, is brimming with a surplus of nearly $64 million. But despite that windfall — caused primarily by lower-than-expected spending on special education and leftover funds from the previous year — Vermonters’ property tax bills are slated to grow in the…

By Erin Petenko/VTDigger Vermont’s Covid-19 levels are still “low,” according to the state Department of Health’s weekly surveillance report, Dec. 7. The weekly update comes amid a national rise in Covid cases and hospitalizations, according to The New York Times. Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York have all reported a rise in Covid levels, particularly in…

By Kristen Fountain/VTDigger Thousands more Vermonters are poised to become eligible for health insurance savings this year after two recent changes to federal guidelines. For six more weeks, it is open enrollment season for Vermont Health Connect, the state health insurance marketplace and the gateway to federal health insurance subsidies. Just over 25,000 Vermonters get their insurance…

By John Flowers/Addison County Independent Years of college and graduate school plus decades in front of classes have prepared Principal Tracey Harrington for her job leading instruction for scores of students at Ripton Elementary School. On Monday, though, she found herself not in the classroom but in the lunchroom. She was filling a hole in…

By Peter D’Auria/VTDigger Vermont’s Agency of Education reached a final settlement in two lawsuits seeking to allow public money to pay for tuition at religious schools. A group of families sued the state in 2020, alleging that their children had been discriminated against because they were denied public money to attend religious schools. The suits were largely decided…

By Sarah Mearhoff/VTDigger Before she became one of Vermont’s youngest serving state legislators, Rep. Becca White, D-Hartford, worked for a short period as a restaurant server. Like countless servers in Vermont, White’s hourly wage was lower than that of Vermont’s standard minimum wage. Currently, Vermont’s tipped minimum wage, $6.28 per hour, is half that of…

By Andy Kirkaldy/Addison County Independent After a slow start to Vermont’s 16-day rifle season for deer locally, hunters brought a near-record number of bucks to be weighed at Addison County’s wildlife reporting stations. Between Nov. 12 and 27 hunters took 636 bucks to Rack ’N Reel in New Haven, Vermont Field Sports in Middlebury, Buxton’s…

By Juliet Schulman-Hall/VTDigger Hidden among the trees of Forest Road in St. George, two strangers, 40 years apart in age, began sharing a home. Carol Blakely, a retired teacher in her 70s and mother of four, once had a house full of people. But her children grew up and moved out, and her husband died,…

By Marin Howell/Addison County Independent Some may have been surprised when warm weather rolled in with the beginning of November, bringing sunny days and comfortable temperatures at a time when Vermonters are usually starting to bundle up for the winter. The unseasonably warm days threw off local bees as well, which proved to be detrimental…

On Nov. 21, Governor Phil Scott and the Office of Racial Equity promoted a new state initiative that encourages and supports municipalities across the state in their efforts to be more inclusive, equitable and welcoming. IDEAL Vermont, which stands for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Action and Leadership, officially kicked off in October with its first 14…

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department (VTF&W) recommends Vermonters wait to put up bird feeders until Dec. 1 to avoid attracting bears. “Winter bird feeding is a good way to attract birds arriving from Canada, including evening grosbeaks and purple finches, as well as resident birds including northern cardinals and black-capped chickadees,” said Doug Morin,…

By Lola Duffort/VTDigger People are declining job offers in the state because they can’t find housing. Homelessness is rising. Vermont has the lowest rental vacancy rate in the nation. Lawmakers who pounded the pavement throughout the summer and fall ahead of the November elections say Vermonters sent a clear message: Housing must be at the top…

Lord Snowdemort, Snowbe Bryant and many more newly named snow plows will join the 163 previously named plows on the roads in Vermont’s upcoming blizzards. Imaginative students once again came to the aid of the Agency of Transportation in the second year of its popular “Name a Plow Program” to help devise nicknames for plows…