By Lola Duffort/VTDigger Schools cannot ask students or parents about multihousehold gatherings, the Agency of Education announced just before Christmas, entirely reversing the state’s prior policy encouraging schools to do so. Gov. Phil Scott announced Tuesday, Dec. 22, he would slightly loosen prohibitions on multihousehold events over the holiday week, allowing Vermonters to gather with one trusted household…

Thanks to generous community support, the Vermont Foodbank is able to extend the Farmers to Families Food Box program into January and February, independent of the USDA. In partnership with the Abbey Group, Farmers to Families food boxes will continue to be available at multiple daily food distributions throughout the state through February. To keep…

By Amanda Gokee/VTDigger Demand for organic milk in Vermont has gone up during the pandemic, which is welcome news for organic farmers, particularly after a three-year period without growth in consumption. Cooperatives such as Organic Valley,  the largest farmer-owned organic cooperative in the United States, have responded by allowing some farmers to increase production. The cooperative…

By Emma Cotton/VTDigger Outdated internet services, exacerbated by the pandemic, have plagued residents in rural Rutland County towns. Now, a new feasibility study provides a path forward for them. Last spring, Meghan Hill, who teaches English at Fair Haven Grade School, taught classes remotely from her home in Benson, a community with no access to cable or…

In collaboration with the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Dept. of Public Service (PSD) conducts a regular survey of local heating fuel retailers in order to collect a sample of unit prices charged to Vermont customers. The Heating Fuel Price Survey (HFPS) is conducted weekly during the heating season, from October to March, and…

By Jim Harrison At this point, we generally have a good idea of what the major issues will be for the new legislative session. But this year is different in so many ways. At least the first two months will be conducted remotely (and potentially the entire session), which may make tackling complicated or contentious…

The U. S. Mint America the Beautiful (ATB) Quarters Program is a multi-year initiative to honor 56 national parks and other national sites in each state. Five new reverse designs have been released for the quarter coin each year beginning in 2010 and will continue through 2021. The America the Beautiful (ATB) Quarters are legal…

By Anne Wallace Allen and Erin Petenko/VTDigger Reforming the state’s short-term rental regulations will be a top priority of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce in the coming legislative session. The association aims to level the playing field for members that operate traditional lodging businesses. The chamber will ask lawmakers to establish a registration system for short-term rentals such…

By Ellie French/VTDigger The Vermont Foodbank has received its largest ever donation, from MacKenzie Scott, the philanthropist ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The $9 million donation is part of a $4.2 billion burst of donations Scott announced this week in a post on Medium called “384 ways to help,” referencing the 384 organizations she’s donating…

Attorney General T.J. Donovan and a bipartisan coalition of 47 other attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Facebook Inc. on Dec. 9, alleging that the company illegally stifles competition to protect its monopoly power. The lawsuit alleges that, over the last decade, the social networking giant illegally acquired competitors in a predatory manner and cut…

A new partnership to speed economic recovery in Vermont by strengthening public and community spaces Governor Phil Scott, the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) and the Vermont Community Foundation announced $90,000 in grant funding to launch Better Places on Dec. 9, a statewide initiative that aims to speed economic recovery by creating places…

On any given night during the cold month of January, over 568,000 people experience the fear and discomfort of homelessness. While homelessness rates fell between 2007 and 2019, the problem has started to increase again. According to the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in 2017, the U.S. began seeing a rise in…

To help Vermonters stay up to date on the latest Covid guidance and information, Governor Phil Scott encouraged Vermonters to register for Vermont Alert (VT-ALERT), the state’s emergency notification system. “As Covid-19 continues to be prevalent in the state, Vermonters need convenient access to the information that will help keep themselves and their neighbors safe,…

Governor Phil Scott and the Dept. of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has announced over $2.9 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) awards to 10 communities in seven counties and $243,853 in CDBG CARES Act funding (CDBG-CV) awards to eight communities throughout the state. DHCD awards approximately $7 million annually in competitive grants to…

$908 billion Covid relief bill stalls over protecting companies from lawsuits By Kit Norton/VTDigger Unless Congress acts, the government will shut down Friday, Dec. 11, and Covid relief funding will expire Dec. 31. Both of Vermont’s senators are up in arms about the lack of action by Senate Republicans. U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said Senate…