By Rep. Jim Harrison Unlike earlier this summer when daily Vermont Covid cases were declining and often in the single numbers, they are now significantly up due to the more contagious Delta variant. Last Friday, there were 88 new cases despite over 84% of Vermonters aged 12 and older having at least their first vaccine…

By Sophia McDermott-Hughes/VTDigger Former Green Mountain Power President Mary Powell is now the chief executive officer of Sunrun Inc, the largest residential-solar company in the U.S. Powell stepped down from Green Mountain Power (GMP), Vermont’s largest utility provider, in 2019 after working there for 20 years. In that time, the company posted a more than 300% increase in…

By Lola Duffort/VTDigger State officials announced last week that students and staff should start the school year masked but could bare their faces once 80% of students in a school had received their Covid-19 shots. Two days later, the Agency of Education and Dept. of Health issued a two-page memo, which reiterated — but did little to elaborate on…

Governor Phil Scott announced Tuesday, Aug. 10, that that cities, towns and villages expecting to receive American Rescue Plan Act Local Fiscal Recovery (ARPA-LRF) funds should receive their payments in the next few days. The state disbursed the first payment of $29 million in ARPA-LRF to 274 eligible local governments on Aug. 9. As the…

By Lola Duffort/VTDigger When Gov. Phil Scott’s administration announced new Covid-19 guidance for K-12 schools on Tuesday, Aug. 3, it did so with an important caveat. The state’s recommendations — including around masking — were not themselves requirements. With the state of emergency no longer in effect, officials said they would need to rely on…

By Ethan Weinstein and Erin Petenko/VTDigger On Tuesday, Aug. 10, Governor Phil Scott announced that Vermont will require state employees at prisons, psychiatric facilities, and the Vermont Veterans’ Home to get vaccinated against Covid or face additional restrictions. Though the details are yet to be worked out, the mandate will not be “forced,” meaning employees…

By Ethan Weinstein Last Thursday, July 29, the House approved nine of Rep. Peter Welch’s community projects to be included in FY22 Appropriations bills, including nearly $1.7 million for the Vermont Farmers Food Center. While the funds still require further approval in the Senate, it is a big step toward their eventual allocation. “From investing…

By Hannah Laga Abram Vermont students will be able to return to fully in-person instruction when the school year begins this fall, with only a few state health recommendations in place, Gov. Phil Scott announced at a Tuesday press conference. With Covid-19 cases on the rise nationwide, including in Vermont, the CDC last week recommended…

By Lola Duffort/VTDigger The Vermont State Colleges System’s three residential schools will require students to be vaccinated against Covid-19 before coming on campus this fall, regardless of whether federal regulators have granted full approval for the shots. College officials at Castleton University, Vermont Technical College and Northern Vermont University had earlier announced that they would require student…

By Sophia McDermott-Hughes/VTDigger The largest anaerobic digester in the Northeast began full-scale production of renewable natural gas on Wednesday on the Goodrich Family Farm in Salisbury, just south of Middlebury. The digester is an important step in reducing the state’s dependence on fossil fuels and in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the agricultural industry, which…

By Curt Peterson Windsor Central Unified School District superintendent Sherry Sousa told the Mountain Times last week that protocols for reopening are still up in the air, presumably due to the recent upsurge in Covid cases across the country. “The Agency of Education [AoE] and Dept. of Health will be providing us with guidance regarding…

Crowds gather in Rutland and Castleton to celebrate reopening By Polly Mikula At 7:30 a.m. on Monday, July 19, the James M. Jeffords Station in downtown Rutland was packed with passengers eager to board the Ethan Allen Express for the first time in 16 months. Many local officials and residents were there for the celebration. After…

Vermont Everyone Eats (VEE), the innovative Covid-19 response program that provides meal assistance to Vermonters in need while supporting local restaurants, farmers and food producers, has received an extension to continue programming. Program managers had previously anticipated that the program would end on June 30, but the state has extended the program contract recognizing that…

By Ethan Weinstein RUTLAND—Congressman Peter Welch visited the Vermont Farmers Food Center (VFFC) Friday, July 16, after earmarking $1.6 million for the nonprofit. The House Appropriations subcommittee approved Rep. Welch’s funding request and it will likely pass by vote in the House next week. Then, it will be off to the Senate for further consideration.…

The Vermont Republican Party has unanimously approved a resolution at its state committee meeting on July 10 to oppose "vaccine passports" in Vermont. The resolution comes in response to concerns over medical privacy and individual rights as described in the 4th amendment to the U.S. constitution. Nationally, liberal thought leaders, such as author Naomi Wolf, have…