By Jim Harrison Fall is a good time to start planning for the upcoming session (begins in January) with the sharing of ideas and concerns. I hope you will stop by during one of my upcoming “office hours” (sometimes referred to as “dump and donuts”), especially while we can still enjoy being outside. Friday, Oct.…

Down slightly over last week’s record By Erin Petenko/VTDigger and Polly Mikula Vermont reported 1,448 Covid-19 cases within the past week, a slight decline from 1,520 the week before but far higher than the 1,050 cases reported just two weeks ago, according to a state data presentation. It was still the second highest week of Covid cases ever…

By Grace Benninghoff/VTDigger Vermont’s legislative leadership has called off plans to reconvene this October due to substantial delays to President Biden’s federal infrastructure bill. The decision likely forecloses the possibility that the Legislature could seek to enact more stringent Covid-19 protocols this fall, as some Democrats have urged. As the 2021 session wound down in…

Vermonters 65+ and 18+ with underlying medical conditions or who work in certain occupational settings are eligible Staff report Vermonters 75 years of age and older are now eligible to schedule and receive Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine booster doses. Registration started Monday, Sept. 27. Beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 29, that eligibility expands to any Vermonters 70…

By Jackie O’Brien/VTDigger Authorities are investigating why a Stowe Mountain Resort employee crashed and died while riding a zip line on Thursday. Scott Lewis, 53, of Stowe crashed into the anchoring platform that holds up a zip line at the resort just after 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 21, police said. Lewis was working at…

By Liz Dimarco Weinmann For most of my four decades in Vermont, I worked for large marketing agencies and nonprofits based in New York City and Washington, traveling from Rutland throughout the country. For most of 2020 and 2021, I hunkered down here, a Zoomer Boomer working remotely, and I have had more opportunities to…

Board of trustees to make decision on name, Sept. 29 By Tiffany Tan/VTDigger The Vermont State Colleges System’s board of trustees will consider public comments before deciding whether to adopt “Vermont State University” as the new name for the planned consolidation of Castleton University, Northern Vermont University and Vermont Tech. About a thousand Castleton alumni, for…

By Fred Thys/VTDigger More than 22,000 Vermonters who filed for unemployment last year could get a tax refund, according to the Dept. of Taxes. The state announced on Sept. 14 that it has begun sending checks to people who collected unemployment in 2020 and filed their taxes electronically before April 1 of this year. The…

By Ethan Weinstein Despite a call from Lt. Gov. Molly Gray to issue stricter pandemic measures, Gov. Scott remained firm during his press conference Tuesday, Sept. 21, that he would not provide pandemic measures such as an indoor mask mandate without a state of emergency. “I know there are some who would like to see…

By Lola Duffort/VTDigger Amid a rise in cases, Lt. Gov. Molly Gray on Sept. 16 called on the Scott administration to take “greater measures” to dampen the spread of Covid-19. The Vermont Dept. of Health reported a record-setting 314 cases Thursday but said an IT problem might be partly to blame for the day’s spike…

When viewing civics through a geographic lens, it becomes clear that those who have the power to draw district boundaries have the power to determine political representation. In most states, state legislators redraw congressional, state house and state senate districts every 10 years to ensure district boundaries reflect population shifts over time. National news commonly…

When Mattel was looking to make over its iconic Barbie doll it decided to shine a light on empowering role models past and present in an effort to inspire young girls. As a key part of the toy company’s Dream Gap Project it is introducing girls to women’s stories from all walks of life to…

Staff report Hospitalizations continue to reach recent highs, according to data from the Vermont Dept. of Health. As of Tuesday, Sept. 14, 43 people were hospitalized for Covid, with nine in intensive care. That’s the highest daily count of hospitalizations during the current surge for the second day in a row, according to the state.…

By Alan J. Keays/VTDigger Three Vermont State Police troopers out of the Shaftsbury barracks have resigned and a criminal probe is underway to determine whether they may have violated federal law by making fake Covid-19 vaccination cards. The matter has been referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont, as well as…

Area ski resorts among them By Fred Thys/VTDigger Some large Vermont employers say they’re waiting to learn more about President Joe Biden’s order that all employers with more than 100 workers be vaccinated against Covid-19 or be tested weekly, while others says they already require employees to be vaccinated. Biden’s order will affect about 100…