By John Young, VTDigger As temperatures climbed into the 90s again Monday, the Vermont Department of Health is again warning Vermonters to take precautions to fight the effects of record-high heat. Spokesman Ben Truman said that residents should pay special attention to older adults, children and those with chronic illnesses to make sure they have access…

By Katy Savage and Polly Mikula On Sunday, July 1, recreational use and possession of pot will be legal. H.511 (Act 86) legalizes the possession and gifting of small amounts of cannabis by Vermont residents over 21, and it permits Vermonters to grow their own. The bill allows for the possession of 1 ounce of…

By Xander Landen, VTDigger Gov. Phil Scott will let the Legislature’s third attempt at a budget bill become law, he announced Monday night, June 25, ending a weeks-long impasse over state spending and the looming threat of a government shutdown. Scott’s decision to break the budget stalemate assures that Vermont will have a spending package in…

By Rep. Jim Harrison, R-Bridgewater, Chittenden, Killington & Mendon I have believed from the beginning that the Legislature and governor needed to come to some sort of agreement on the budget and tax impasse, one branch should not mandate its will over the other just because it could. Last Friday was one of those roller…

By Michelle Monroe, St. Albans Messenger “Appalling” and “un-American,” those are the words Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., used to describe conditions in a processing center in southern Texas where children have been separated from their parents. Welch spoke with the Messenger by phone Sunday, June 17 after visiting a processing center known as “The Icebox,”…

Attorney General T.J. Donovan has announced the launch of a permanent unit within his office known as the Elder Protection Initiative. This unit will focus on supporting and protecting Vermont’s aging population. The unit is the result of a listening tour that solicited ideas from stakeholders on how best to assist older Vermonters. The announcement…

By Rep. Jim Harrison, R-Bridgewater, Chittenden, Killington & Mendon All was quiet last week at the State House with the full House and Senate off (except for some committee meetings on Friday, June 15), waiting on what Gov. Phil Scott would do with the new budget, H.13. As expected, Scott vetoed it last Thursday June…

By Katy Savage QUECHEE — Joel Parker and his family lived near Boston but they drove two hours to Vermont every weekend. They skied in the winter and cycled in the summer. “Then we got the idea of why don’t we just live here,” Parker, 39 said. Parker, his wife and children, ages 11 and…

By Rep. Jim Harrison, Chittenden, Bridgewater, Killington and Mendon Following vetoes on the $15 minimum wage, paid family leave, increased liability on outdoor recreational operators and medical monitoring, Governor Scott vetoed the education funding and the state budget last Friday, May 25. While the initial bills may have been political statements by the Legislature, it…

By Xander Landen, VTDigger As a budget impasse in Montpelier drags on into another week of negotiations, an uncommon threat looms over the Statehouse: the possibility of a government shutdown. Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Phil Scott, who fundamentally disagree over the use of a budget surplus and a property tax rate hike, would have to iron…

PAWLET—Edgar Cleveland, a lifelong resident of Pawlet, has declared his candidacy for the House of Representatives for the Rutland-Bennington District. Cleveland, 67, is campaigning to represent the towns of Middletown Springs, Pawlet, Rupert, Tinmouth and Wells. “There is a need for change in Montpelier,” said Cleveland, “and I know that I can help drive that…

Tobacco use is the No. 1 preventable cause of death. Vermont’s Department of Health estimates that each year smoking results in about 1,000 smoking-related deaths in Vermont. It also costs $348 million in medical expenses. Second hand smoke affects countless other lives – children, friends and family are all impacted. Tobacco, physical inactivity and poor…

By Rep. Jim Harrison, R-Bridgewater, Chittenden, Killington & Mendon A scant couple days passed after the Legislature adjourned before Governor Scott issued his highly anticipated call for a special session to redo the education funding and budget bills. Scott has suggested that with advance leadership meetings the return to Montpelier could wrap up in just…

Rep. Jim Harrison, R-Chittenden, and Sen. Dave Soucy, R-Rutland County, teamed up to get an amendment passed in both chambers of the Legislature to give the Wooden Barrel, a country store in Chittenden a potential option to keep selling gas. The narrowly crafted amendment applies to only two stores in the state and would allow…

By Xander Landen/ VTDigger Vermont Life, the state’s signature regional magazine which in recent years has faced financial woes and racked up millions in debt, will shutter its doors in June. The Scott administration announced Thursday that it will cease production of the 72-year-old state-owned publication after it reviewed the latest financial reports and learned…