By Grace Benninghoff/VTDigger Vermont lawmakers who support abortion rights say it’s more important than ever to enshrine such rights into the Vermont Constitution following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this week that upheld new restrictions in Texas. Proposal 5, also known as the Reproductive Liberty Amendment, would solidify abortion rights in Vermont’s state constitution. The…

By Lola Duffort/VTDigger A group of 91 rank-and-file Vermont health department employees have penned a letter to the department’s leaders, begging them to take a firmer stand as the state sees a surge of Covid-19 cases. The letter, delivered to Health Commissioner Mark Levine, State Epidemiologist Patsy Kelso and Deputy Commissioner Kelly Dougherty Thursday morning,…

By Erin Petenko and Lola Duffort/VTDigger It isn’t Labor Day yet, but some back-to-school districts are already reporting back-to-school Covid-19 cases.  Four schools — Crossett Brook Middle School in Duxbury, Summit Street School in Essex Junction, Shoreham Elementary School and St. Albans Town Education Center — have announced Covid-19 cases among students or staff. A…

By Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger Business and government leader Neale Lunderville was just another Vermonter enjoying an end-of-summer weekend when, strolling his South Burlington neighborhood Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011, he felt a wet blanket of foreboding slap him in the face. “This is more than a little storm,” Lunderville recalls thinking as pelting rain and 60-mph winds whipped…

By Fred Thys/VTDigger Federal benefits run out on Sept. 4, which means that people collecting unemployment (UI) benefits will no longer receive the extra $300 a week they have been getting. Vermont Labor Commissioner Michael Harrington said in a video interview Friday that about 14,000 Vermonters are collecting UI benefits. Vermonters who have exceeded the…

Delta cases in children are making it worse By Liora Engel-Smith/VTDigger Laura Derrendinger cared for patients with measles and cholera in war-torn countries, but the scenario that scares her the most is much closer to home. She’s lived the nightmare several times in recent years. Her 5-year-old, Pascal, gets hypoxic (faces inadequate levels of oxygen)…

By Ashley DeLeon/VTDigger Almost 50,000 Vermonters are expected to receive new driver’s licenses after several newly printed cards were rejected by federal transportation scanning machines, according to the Vermont Dept. of Motor Vehicles. The error did not impact people’s ability to travel, a DMV official said, but it slowed down the process of passing through Transportation…

RUTLAND — Removal of the Dunklee Pond Dam on Tenney Brook in the City of Rutland is now underway following a three-year design and permitting process, according to a news release from the Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC), Aug. 6. The dam is classified as a “Significant Hazard Potential Dam,” meaning there is potential for…

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…