By Rep. Jim Harrison With only 3-4 weeks left in the 2022 legislative session, key lawmakers in both the House and Senate are staking out positions on various bills moving through the process. The House education committee, for example, has been working on an initiative to provide free lunch and breakfast for all K-12 students…

Attorney General T.J. Donovan today announced April 13 that his office has reached settlements with two different online sellers of electronic cigarettes for violations of Vermont’s Delivery Sales Ban and Vermont’s Consumer Protection Act. Under the settlements, the companies resolved claims that they sold electronic cigarettes, e-liquids, or other tobacco paraphernalia to individual consumers. As…

By Ethan Weinstein / VT Digger Every morning, before she’s fully rubbed the sleep from her eyes, Natalia May checks social media for the latest updates from Ukraine’s more than 4 million refugees. Then, she starts digging. “I basically became, like, a concierge of research,” said May, who grew up in Russia and has lived…

By Liz DiMarco Weinmann On first meeting Avaloy Lanning, the executive director of Rutland’s NewStory Center, one is most impressed with her generous laugh, relentless drive, and abundant positivity. That NewStory Center is a nonprofit helping survivors of domestic violence every single day, makes Lanning’s approach to her work — and to life overall —…

By Katy Savage After two near-tragedies on the same day, the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) is reminding people to stay off of train tracks.  Toni Clithero, the state operation coordinator of Operation Lifesaver of Vermont, Inc. at VTrans, said a couple walking their dog on the Ethan Allen Express rail line in West Rutland…

By Katy Savage Gov. Phil Scott addressed the healthcare crisis on Wednesday, April 6 in front of a crowd of about 100 people during the Rutland Regional Medical Center’s annual meeting at the Paramount Theatre. Scott praised the staff at RRMC and other hospitals for being on the “front line of a battle we never…

Experts are holding their breath By Erin Petenko/ VTDigger Timothy Plante likens Vermont’s day-to-day Covid-19 data now to the very first days of the virus’s arrival in March 2020.  At the time, little was known about the progress of the virus because PCR testing was so limited, said Plante, an assistant professor at the University…

By Rep. Jim Harrison No, we are not talking about college basketball and the referees reviewing the monitors to see who last touched the ball when it went out of bounds. However, with live streaming now of House and Senate sessions, that is exactly what happened for the first time in the State House. A…

In cooperation with the Vermont League of Cities and Towns and the state of Vermont’s Office of Racial Equity and the Vermont Community Foundation is offering grants to Vermont villages, towns, and cities to foster inclusion and belonging for people of all races and backgrounds while at the same time addressing the opportunity gap—the divide…

Average health insurance premiums and cost burdens fall; areas of needed improvement emerge Nearly 97% of all Vermonters have health insurance, matching the state’s highest insured rate on record. According to the 2021 Vermont Household Health Insurance Survey released March 30, almost 600,000 Vermonters are covered. The data is consistent with studies from the U.S. Census Bureau…

With the unfortunate discovery of a deceased bald eagle in North Hero and one ill bald eagle in Shelburne on March 29, Vermont joined 33 other states across the country in detecting highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the environment.  The bald eagles were found near Lake Champlain in both towns.  Sampling was conducted by…

The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR) is reminding the public that it is mud season and many trails around the state are closed through Memorial Day weekend.  Mud season is the time period (typically the duration of April and May), when hiking and biking trails are extremely wet and muddy due to…

By Rep. Jim Harrison Last Friday was the last day for the second group of State House pages. The eight students were recognized before the House and Senate and given a standing ovation for their six weeks of service at the State House.  Serving as a page is both an honor and a great experience.…

By Sen. Alison Clarkson After many long Floor sessions debating and passing bills to the other body, the Legislature has pretty much completed cross over. This is the point in the session where all bills which have any chance of making it into law have to be passed from the House to the Senate or…

By Sarah Mearhoff/VTDigger Rep. Becca White, D-Hartford, is looking for a promotion. The two-term state representative on Monday, April 4, launched her candidacy for one of Windsor County’s three state Senate seats.  Unless any of the delegation’s incumbent senators — Alison Clarkson, Dick McCormack and Alice Nitka, all Democrats — decide to retire, White’s candidacy sets up an unusual…