Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin recently announced his bid for a third term in office. As the Democratic nominee, Shumlin will be running against Republican Scott Milne and Libertarian Dan Feliciano. Shumlin’s platform emphasizes economic matters, including job creation, income inequality, healthcare ...
This past Wednesday, a wide variety of voices came together at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Middlebury to speak on climate change in light of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report, which will be completed by the end of this year, for an update from the global ...
Insurance rates will increase in 2015 for Vermonters insured by the state’s health insurance exchange, Vermont Health Connect. On September 2, the Green Mountain Care Board approved new rates for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) and the MVP Health Plan, although both approved rates ...
The White House recently asked Governor Peter Shumlin if Vermont can harbor immigrants fleeing their homelands in Central America. Vermont is one of several states being considered to host the immigrants – predominantly children from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Governor Shumlin’s ...
Vermont guns are being used to purchase hard drugs from surrounding states, exacerbating both the drug epidemic in Vermont and gun violence in the broader New England area. Despite an historically democratic electorate, Vermont’s history and tradition of hunting and shooting sports has led the state ...
In 2014, both child abuse and neglect are on the rise in Vermont. Calls to Vermont’s child protection hotline, a part of the Department for Children and Families (DCF), have overwhelmed DCF social workers and staff. The death of Dezirae Sheldon in February and the death of a 15-month-old boy in April, ...
On May 5, the Vermont Senate passed a four-year, multi-tier plan to raise the minimum wage in Vermont to $10.50 per hour by 2018. In 2019, annual cost-of-living wage adjustments will resume. The bill is just one example of the flurry of legislative activity due to the Senate’s self-imposed May 10 ...
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has indicated in recent interviews that he is considering a presidential bid in 2016. “We need candidates who are prepared to represent the working families of this country, who are prepared to stand up to the big money interests, who are prepared to support an aggressive ...
On April 23, the Vermont House approved GMO labeling bill H112 by a margin of 114-30 and Governor Shumlin promised to sign the bill into law. The bill will require genetically modified food products (GMOs) sold in Vermont to be labeled. “I am proud of Vermont for being the first state in the nation ...
One chilly September morning in 2011, Kristin Lundy heard someone ascend her front steps and knock on her door. When she opened it, police Sgt. Mike Fish asked her to gather everyone living in the house. "Your son is dead," he said. "I ran up the stairs," Lundy later recalled in an interview with ...
The Vermont Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill that would protect medical professionals from prosecution by state regulators for prescribing long-term treatment for Lyme disease on Thursday, April 10. The vote, 27-0 in favor of the legislation, followed a unanimous precursory vote by a Senate ...
On Wednesday, April 9, Vermont Senate Government Operations Committee considered new legislation that would regulate taser use across Vermont. Bill H.225, already passed by the house, would implement statewide training standards for all law enforcement officials armed with electronic control devices ...
On Friday, April 4th, Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA) buses resumed their regularly scheduled routes. This decision came after a tense, 18-day standoff between CCTA management leaders and drivers came to an end. The CCTA board of commissioners and representatives of the bus drivers ...
Vermont’s education may be in for an historical overhaul if legislation passed in Vermont’s house of representatives last month passes at the end of this legislative cycle. The proposed bill, H.883, would radically consolidate public education in Vermont by reducing the number of school districts ...
Roughly 140 employees at IBM's Essex Junction plant lost their jobs this month, the most recent bout of layoffs in the company's billion-dollar restructuring. The company currently employs over 430,000 people worldwide, but some analysts expect that number to shrink by roughly 13,000. Many of these ...
Alexander Twilight Hall — the austere brick building separating the town from Middlebury College — is named for Alexander Twilight, the 1823 Middlebury College graduate who is known today as the first American black college graduate. Today, Twilight is widely touted as an example of Middlebury’s ...
Upon opening her inbox, Reverend Stephanie Allen noticed one unread email from an interesting source: Middlebury’s Memorial Baptist Church. The email turned out to contain a job offer, which Allen decided to take, and thereby become the town’s first female pastor. Allen’s role at the church ...
Last week, the towns of Cornwall, Shoreham and Monkton voted against a plan to extend a Vermont Gas pipeline from Middlebury to Rutland. The pipeline would pass through their town land. The non-binding votes, held in town meetings, showed strong opposition to the project. Cornwall’s vote was 126-16, ...
Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA), and the Teamsters Local No. 597 reached a settlement last Sunday, narrowly avoiding a strike that would have shut down Vermont’s largest bus service. The nineteen-hour-long negotiation session occurred in the CCTA headquarters and was mediated by ...
This Sunday, the streets of downtown Middlebury overflowed with hungry patrons at Middlebury’s sixth annual Chilifest. The booths, run by professional chefs and amateurs alike, dished out over 50 kinds of chili for the annual event. For just five dollars, attendees enjoyed a variety of chilis, which ...