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…

By Lola Duffort/VTDigger Education property taxes could rise an average of 9% next year, mostly as a result of the pandemic-induced recession, new pension obligations and, to a lesser extent, rising school spending, Vermont’s tax commissioner said earlier this month. This prediction was laid out in the so-called Dec. 1 Letter, a document the department is required…

By Lola Duffort/VTDigger Castleton University, Northern Vermont University and Vermont Technical College should all become one school, and the state should more than double its investment in the state college system, at least in the short term. Those are the key items in a long-awaited package of preliminary recommendations issued Friday, Dec. 4, by a special legislative panel.…

By Katie Jickling/VTDigger If all goes smoothly, doses of a Covid -19 vaccine could be distributed throughout Vermont this week, but likely won't be administered to anyone until next week. Doctors, state officials, and nursing home administrators are scrambling to get ready to offer the first doses, which will go to high-risk Vermonters.  Medical teams are…

Governor Phil Scott is encouraging families and businesses to help show that "Vermont Lights the Way," an effort to literally brighten communities and neighborhoods around the state by decorating homes, businesses, trees or other creative ideas to help celebrate the holidays during the pandemic. “I know how hard this pandemic has been, especially as we…

Opportunities, challenges identified for workforce development The Vermont Student Assistance Corp. released a study this week that examines postsecondary enrollment and completion patterns among Vermont students at two-year schools. This follow-up study of the Vermont high school class of 2012 examines such themes as preparedness for college, full-time versus part-time enrollment, and barriers to degree…

By Ellie French/VTDigger For 30 years, Susan Stoutes worked for Tuttle Printing and Engraving in Rutland. But in March, along with thousands of other Vermonters, she was laid off as the pandemic hammered businesses across the state. Armed with an art degree from the 1970s and 40 hours a week of newly found free time, Stoutes…

Governor Phil Scott announced on Nov. 19, the Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) has relaunched the state’s Plug-In Electric Vehicle (PEV) Incentive Program with a new round of $950,000 in incentive funding available to income-qualified applicants to purchase or lease new PEVs. The program was first proposed by Governor Phil Scott in his FY2020 budget,…

All road troopers expected to receive devices by early December The Vermont State Police has begun outfitting all uniformed troopers with body-worn cameras, culminating a multi-year process to secure the necessary funding and fulfilling a commitment to Vermonters to deploy the devices. The state police launched an effort in 2015 to add body-worn cameras for…

Apple found to deliberately slowing down certain iPhones Attorney General T.J. Donovan announced Nov. 18  that Apple, Inc. will pay $1.16 million to the State of Vermont as part of a $113 million settlement with a coalition of over 30 attorneys general. The settlement announced stems from Apple’s 2016 decision to throttle consumers’ iPhone speeds—artificially…

By Jim Harrison That is essentially the message from our governor and health commissioner following the alarming uptick in Covid cases here in Vermont and across the region. The state broke daily records at least three times last week. We have been through difficult times before and will get through it again, if we follow…

The deadline to apply is Dec. 15! Woodstock Area Relief Fund (WARF) wants to be sure those struggling financially during the pandemic know about all state and local resources. Last week, Vermont announced good news: the Vermont Covid-19 Arrearage Assistance Program (VCAAP) has been expanded. VCAAP helps any Vermonter (resident, business, or nonprofit) facing service…

Six Vermont organizations, affiliated in a regional effort to support people seeking asylum in the U.S., are partnering for a Giving Tuesday fundraiser, on Tuesday, Dec. 1. People who seek asylum in the United States have fled persecution and violence in their countries of birth, only to encounter the same in U.S. detention facilities. Under…