Vermont Fish & Wildlife announced Monday, Feb. 5, that a Longnose Gar taken by a bowfishing angler in 2023 has been certified as a new state record. In May of 2023, Pennsylvania angler Jeremy Bicking was out bowfishing in the evening on Lake Champlain and took a gar that weighed 18.6 pounds. This big fish measured…

It’s no secret that school property taxes are heading higher. In the Dec. 1 letter from the Tax Commissioner, they were estimated to go up by 18.5%, based on a 12% increase in school district spending. That number is now over 20% statewide as proposed spending is now up 14.8% on average. Some of the…

As we say goodbye to our first month of our Legislative Session 2024, bills are beginning to pass and Vermont’s current challenges are being further articulated. Many are flood related. Our first Flood 2023 Recovery bill to pass both chambers is S.160, a tax abatement (relief for taxpayers) bill. The bill covers an abatement in…

Submitted Attorney General Charity Clark today announced Feb. 1 that Vermont will receive $1,079,000 as its share of a $350 million national settlement with Publicis Health to resolve investigations into the global marketing and communications firm’s role in the prescription opioid crisis. In agreeing to the terms of the settlement, Publicis recognized the harm its…

By Ethan Weinstein/VTDigger More than two years since the Legislature created the PCB testing program, the state has sampled almost a third of Vermont schools built before 1980, when building materials were most likely to contain the toxins. In 35 of those 96 schools, testing has discovered PCBs at a level that mandates action. Testing is scheduled to…

A Vermont House bill could change the definition By Brooke Burns, Community News Service Editor’s note: The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost. Only a third of Vermont’s 20,000 occupied mobile homes qualify for the…

When the online news outlet VTDigger featured a photo of me welcoming the governor entering the House Chamber for his annual budget address (seen above), I couldn’t help using it to my advantage in a “fun” way. With some technical help, we printed out a copy, which I autographed and presented it to the governor…

Late last Friday, Jan. 19, members of the House Appropriations Committee unanimously agreed to proceed with this year’s budget adjustment bill. Called the BAA (Budget Adjustment Act) at the State House, it is an annual mid-year amendment to the current year budget approved the prior session. Any individual member of the committee can find provisions…

Addressing Vermont’s housing crisis is one of the Legislature’s top agenda items this year — as it has been for the last four years. There are many factors creating the challenge we face. Vermont been underbuilding new housing units since the 1980s, and add to that the Covid pandemic, the loss of housing because of…

An innovative initiative is underway in Vermont: The Grow America Farm Corps initiative addresses Vermont’s farm labor shortages by fostering dynamic collaboration among local farmers, new Americans, and supporting partners. Farmers with employment opportunities can sign up to match with new Americans seeking agricultural training and mentorship. Grow America Farm Corps partners assist in placing…

By Peter D’Auria/VTDigger In 2022, Erin Kellar was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Kellar had enrolled in Vermont’s Medicaid health insurance program as a graduate student, and was able to stay in the program while she began her career as a therapist.  Medicaid helped pay for treatment for her diabetes, which requires rapid-acting insulin, long-acting insulin…

Last week marked the start of the 2024 Vermont legislative session. It also included the governor’s State of the State address to a joint assembly of House and Senate members. (Editor’s note: see page 1 for related story). Scott opened with a quote from Governor Weeks’ second inaugural address following the 1927 floods. Weeks noted…

On Jan. 3 at 10 a.m., the Vermont Legislature opened its 2024 legislative session. As it is the second half of a two-year biennium, we spent far less time on the formalities, pomp, and circumstance of a new biennium. And, with committees and leadership in place, we got right to work. Which is good as…

By Rep. Jim Harrison Quite a few years ago, I remember visiting the House Appropriations Committee at the State House, where there was a prominent sign on the wall, “NO, is it the N or the O that you do not understand?” The committee chair then was Michael Obuchowski, who later served as House Speaker…

Submitted     Opening date for applications is Jan. 15 The University of Vermont’s Vermont Pitch Challenge is a new entrepreneurial-focused competition that gives high school students from across the world in grades 10-12 a chance to pitch innovative and impactful business plans — all while competing for individual cash prizes and full tuition scholarships to…