A new poll conducted by Public Policy Polling and commissioned by the Marijuana Policy Project found that an overwhelming 76% of Vermont residents support allowing adults 21 and over to purchase cannabis from regulated, tax-paying small businesses. These results come just before the Vermont House is expected to vote on S. 54, a bill that…

Eight months after a law went into effect requiring Vermont schools to test their drinking water taps for lead, most are finding at least one tap with elevated lead levels – results that health officials say are in line with expectations. Of the 168 schools that have received their water test results to date, 79%…

By Lola Duffort/VTDigger Since the state put a moratorium on school construction aid a decade ago, Vermont’s preK-12 districts have bonded on their own for local projects to the tune of about $350 million. But that number could more than double in the next couple years as schools begin addressing long-deferred capital needs. An ad-hoc group…

By Xander Landen/VTDigger The Vermont House on Tuesday, Feb. 25, voted to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of a bill that would raise the minimum wage from $10.96 to $12.55 by 2022. In a 100-49 vote, Democrats were able to just meet the two-thirds majority needed to counteract Scott’s veto pen. The Senate successfully voted to…

By Erin Petenko/VTDigger A little-known proposed change to how the Census reports data could have a major impact on Vermont’s small communities, changing population totals in some towns by 10% or more. Michael Moser, who heads the Vermont State Data Center, is among a group pushing back against a proposal that would alter Census data…

By Sen. Dick McCormack “Half-baked idea” usually refers, insultingly, to an idea that hasn’t been thought through. But I offer an idea that I admit is half baked. Because no one in Vermont is talking about it, because the idea contradicts the largely unchallenged assumption that folks, regardless of ideology, party or cultural background, consider…

By Rep. Jim Harrison Last Monday, Feb. 10, Gov. Phil Scott vetoed a bill to raise the minimum wage in Vermont to $12.55. In his veto message, Scott said, “Despite S.23’s good intentions, the reality is there are too many unintended consequences and we cannot grow the economy or make Vermont more affordable by arbitrarily…

By Colin Meyn and Grace Elletson/VTDigger Gov. Phil Scott was once again talking about Vermont’s workforce woes during his weekly press conference, but the circumstances were less predictable than usual. The federal government is having a tough time finding people to conduct the census in Vermont. Scott said he got a call from federal officials informing him that…

By Xander Landen/VTDigger A Senate committee is poised to advance legislation that would criminalize robocalls in the state, penalizing illegal callers with up to 90 days in jail or fines up to $10,000. Sen. Randy Brock, R-Franklin, the lead sponsor of S.324, said he decided to propose the legislation after a day when he received 11 robocalls…

By Xander Landen/VTDigger Democrats in the Vermont House fell one vote short in their attempt to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of a paid family leave program on Wednesday, Feb. 12. In a major loss for the majority party, which has made passing a mandatory paid family leave program a priority in recent years, the…

By Xander Landen/VTDigger The House Ways and Means Committee advanced legislation Wednesday, Feb. 5, that would legalize a marketplace for marijuana and set a 20% combined tax rate on sales of the substance. The action means the bill, S.54, will likely see a full vote on the House floor in the coming weeks, and represents major movement…

The Vermont Department of Health is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to monitor people who have returned from travel in China for symptoms of a novel coronavirus, now called COVID-19. The monitoring effort is for people who have returned from China in the past 14 days and had no symptoms of…

Staff report BOSTON — Addison Press made a very good showing in the Better Newspaper Contest at the New England Newspaper and Press Association annual convention in Boston this past weekend. The Middlebury newspaper and magazine group (sister publications to the Mountain Times) boasted 30 awards — including nine first-place honors — in a contest…

On Monday, Feb. 10, Gov. Phil Scott vetoed S.23, a bill that would have mandated an increase in Vermont’s minimum wage. This mandate would have been on top of increases that already occur annually under current Vermont law. In his veto message, the governor outlined his primary concerns with a mandated increase: Fiscal analysis projects…

On Thursday, Feb. 6, Representative Peter Welch introduced bipartisan legislation that will more than double funding for the federal Recreational Trails Program (RTP). Since 1991, RTP has provided funding to states to develop and maintain outdoor recreational trails, allowing millions of Americans and their families to enjoy activities such as hiking, bicycling, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling…