Governor Phil Scott has appointed Delaney Courcelle of Rutland to serve on the Vermont Commission on Women (VCW), the state’s non-partisan commission working to advance rights and opportunities for women and girls. Courcelle is a senior majoring in Business Administration at the University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business. Excelling at coursework concentrations in entrepreneurship and…

Governor lifts all Covid restrictions, recommendations remain in place for the unvaccinated  By Hannah Laga Abram Gov. Phil Scott Monday morning lifted all state-mandated Covid-19 restrictions.  The state of emergency, in place since March 13, 2020, will expire at midnight June 15.  The order came after the announcement that Vermont became the first state to…

Vermont pediatricians are offering guidance to families with children on how to navigate the summer and stay healthy and active. Vaccines are the most effective tool we have to end the Covid-19 pandemic. But as Vermont moves forward with its reopening plan, it is important to remember that young children are not yet eligible for the…

The 2021 Vermont maple syrup production totaled 1.54 million gallons, down 21% from the previous year, according to Pam Hird, New England state statistician of the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, New England Field Office (NASS).  Vermont maple syrup producers set out 5.90 million maple taps in 2021, an increase of 4% from the 2020…

By Emma Cotton/VTDigger It’s hard to connect with social services in Rutland and Bennington counties.  That’s the gist of two surveys recently conducted by a group called Families at the Center in Southwestern Vermont, which, through a localized pilot project, aims to expand Vermonters’ access to services such as housing, child care, recovery support and…

By Emma Cotton/VTDigger On the heels of abnormally dry conditions, softened but not eliminated by last week’s rain, early June has brought several days of increasingly common record-breaking heat to Vermont.  Swimmers flocked to lakefronts and rivers over the weekend and early this week, and at least one school district closed early on Monday, lacking air…

At 79.4%, officials are hopeful that threshold could be reached this week By Polly Mikula As of Tuesday, June 8, 79.4% of the eligible population in Vermont has received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, leaving just 3,139 to go before the state hits its goal of 80%. At that point all remaining…

The Vermont Student Anti-racism Network (VSARN) is a youth-led group founded last summer to bring a diverse group of students together from around the state to advocate for anti-racist education. The organization endeavors to make an impact by undertaking projects in schools, such as encouraging curriculum changes, statewide school policy reform, and promoting anti-racism in…

By Lola Duffort/VTDigger A new federal appeals court ruling has once again chipped away at Vermont’s long-standing prohibition against sending public tuition dollars to religious schools. The Alliance Defending Freedom, the powerful Christian legal group litigating the case on behalf of four Vermont high school students and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, has declared victory, saying that…

By Rep. Jim Harrison  The recently adjourned Vermont Legislature will be heading back to a virtual session on June 23 to take up a couple of bills vetoed by Governor Scott. These bills would allow non-citizens to vote in Montpelier and Winooski. House and Senate leaders have indicated they planned to move forward to override…

Advocacy groups, civic organizations, and businesses hailed a brand-new law requiring ballots to be mailed to all active Vermont voters in general elections moving forward. The policy that was put in place as a one-time emergency measure in 2020 during the early days of the pandemic.  Governor Scott issued the following statement when signing S.15,…

Aimed at those who have not yet received aid or continue to see losses despite aid Governor Phil Scott, the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) and the Dept. of Economic Development (DED) announced Thursday, June 3, the launch of the latest economic recovery funding for Vermont businesses. On Monday, June 7, the application…

By Polly Mikula Vermont is just days away from hitting its threshold to remove all Covid-related health restrictions, state officials said Tuesday, June 1. When 80% of the state’s eligible population is vaccinated (one dose administered to residents 12 years old or older) then the remaining mandated protocols for masking and distancing will be removed. …

Governor Phil Scott and Sen. Bernie Sanders help 100 programs receive grants to expand offerings for state’s Summer Matters initiative Governor Phil Scott, Senator Bernie Sanders and Vermont Afterschool announced Friday, May 28, the recipients of the Summer Matters for All grant program. A total of $3.85 million was awarded to about 100 programs in…

By Kit Norton/VTDigger When the Covid-19 pandemic closed down restaurants and bars, Vermonters developed a taste for buying takeout booze. Now legislation on its way to Gov. Phil Scott’s desk would allow to-go alcohol sales for two more years. Scott indicated at the press conference Tuesday, June 1, that he supports the bill, "It was my…