Discover More from This Category: State News
Sanders to hold rally in Vermont on Super Tuesday
February 28, 2020
By Kit Norton/VTDigger Sen. Bernie Sanders will be in Vermont on Super Tuesday. As the results from primary contests in 14 states across the country roll in, Sanders will hold a rally at the Champlain Valley Exposition location in Essex Junction on the evening of March 3, his campaign announced Tuesday. Seven Days first reported on the Vermont…
Abenaki tribe supports Statehouse eugenics apology
February 26, 2020
By John Walters/VTDigger Members of the Abenaki Nation delivered moving testimony Wednesday morning, Feb. 19, on the lasting impact of forced sterilizations carried out as a result of Vermont’s Eugenics Survey. The House Committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs is considering J.R.H.7, which would deliver an official apology to those affected by Vermont’s sterilization program,…
The electoral college and other quirks of U.S. voting
February 26, 2020
By Christopher Ross, Addison Independent To get a sense of why the Electoral College is criticized so heavily these days, one need only consider that Republican Donald Trump was elected president in 2016 despite losing the popular vote by 2,868,686 ballots. In other words, the Electoral College system had the equivalent effect of erasing every…
Poll shows Vermonters support legal, regulated cannabis sales
February 26, 2020
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…
79% of Vermont schools’ taps found to have lead
February 26, 2020
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%…
Vermont’s school construction needs exceed $565 million
February 26, 2020
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…
House overrides Scott’s veto of minimum wage increase
February 26, 2020
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…
Census change could inaccurately report small Vermont community counts
February 26, 2020
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…
Shrinking smart?
February 19, 2020
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…
‘Arm twisting’ ensues after minimum wage veto override fails
February 19, 2020
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…
Help wanted: state is 1,000 Census workers short
February 19, 2020
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…
Vt. Senate proposes criminal penalties for robocallers
February 19, 2020
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…
Vote to overcome paid-leave veto fails
February 19, 2020
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…
Key House committee advances marijuana sales bill with 20% tax
February 19, 2020
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…
Coronavirus risk in Vermont continues to be low
February 19, 2020
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…