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Ninny Goat and Co. dispensary in Fairlee on Thursday, August 15. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger FAIRLEE — As Airon Shaw glanced around Fairlee’s newest small business — catching light reflect off shiny vinyl records, glossy ’70s magazine clippings and a bright teal Volkswagen bus — she said she’s embracing the future just as much as…

This commentary is by Dan Jones of Montpelier. He has been working for years on helping develop models and services for a sustainable Montpelier future and was a candidate for mayor in 2024. Some of us of a certain age will remember when President Jimmy Carter was publicly mocked for asking us to turn down…

The Champlain Valley School District will be discussing policies around student cellphone use at an upcoming September school board meeting. Williston Central School currently has an “away-for-the-day” policy. File Photo courtesy of the Williston Observer This story by Jason Starr was first published in the Williston Observer on August 15. Do phones and schools mix?…

Lewis Hine’s photograph of Addie Card, taken in August 1910, has become an iconic image of child labor. Hine learned that Addie started working at the North Pownal, Vermont, cotton mill when she was 8 and left school at the age of 12 to work there full-time. Photo via the Library of Congress Lewis Hine…

“Clustered” by Isla Segal of Woodstock. Young Writers Project is a creative online community of teen writers, photographers and artists, which has been based in Vermont since 2006. Each week, VTDigger features the writing and art of young Vermonters who publish their work on youngwritersproject.org, a free, interactive website for 12- to 18-year-olds. To find out…

A new battery storage project in North Troy seen on Friday, August 16. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger NORTH TROY — Operators cut the ribbon on Friday for a new utility-scale battery, which is expected to keep renewable energy projects in the area running more consistently while reducing strain on the electrical grid during peak usage…

The DraftKings Sportsbook & Casino app. Photo by Shaun Robinson/VTDigger Vermont collected $3.5 million in revenue from online sports betting operators over the first six months the market was legal statewide, according to data from the Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery — slightly more than state fiscal analysts initially projected.  That represents the state’s…

Employees fill cases with cans at Stowe Cider on Thursday, July 15, 2021. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger This story by Aaron Calvin was first published in the Stowe Reporter on August 15. Funds from the American Rescue Plan Act will cover improvements to Stowe Cider’s wastewater system and alleviate some of the pressure the alcohol…

This commentary is by Graham Gordon, a rising junior at Middlebury College and an intern with Standing Trees, a Vermont-based nonprofit that works to protect and restore New England’s public lands. What was at first a peaceful and unassuming summer has now jolted Vermonters with another wave of midyear inundations. Many communities just beginning to…

Born December 29, 1930 Providence, Rhode Island Died July 31, 2024 Essex, Vermont Details of services Earline Viola Marsh, 93, of Waitsfield, Moretown and Montpelier died July 31, 2024 at her home at Mansfield Place in Essex, Vermont. Born in Attleboro, Massachusetts on December 29, 1930, Earline was the daughter of Earl Marsh and Viola (Cheltra) Marsh. She…

State Refugee Coordinator Tracy Dolan speaks at a press conference focusing on the plight of Afghan refugees in Burlington on Monday, August 12. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Kabul fell to the Taliban on August 15, 2021. Three years later, two Afghan advocacy groups in Vermont gathered to reflect on the anniversary, spotlighting the still-urgent plight…

This commentary is by Leslie J. Matthews, co-chair of the Vermont Workers’ Center campaign team. On August 12, the Green Mountain Care Board approved a 19.8% increase for BlueCross BlueShield premiums on Vermont Health Connect individual plans, along with a 22.8% increase for small group plans. This is the third year in a row with…

Vermont State Police said Wednesday that search crews had recovered a body believed to be a New Jersey man who went missing Saturday while swimming in Warren Falls. Authorities were notified Saturday afternoon that Tuan Baldino, 35, of Paramus, New Jersey, had gone missing while swimming in the Mad River in Warren, according to a…

Election worker Martin Hughes guides a voter at the polling station in Essex Junction on Primary Day, Tuesday, August 13. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Just hours before the polls closed Tuesday, the Vermont Democratic Party fired off an “alert” to voters in the Windham-1 House district, which includes the towns of Guilford and Vernon, about…

Owen Foster, chair of the Green Mountain Care board, speaks during a roundtable on health care costs in Burlington on Friday, May 31, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger For the third year in a row, the Green Mountain Care Board has approved double-digit increases in the cost of annual premiums for individual Vermonters and small…

This commentary is by Karen Horn of Moretown, where she serves on the planning commission. She retired as director of advocacy for the Vermont League of Cities and Towns in 2023. As for so many others, our property taxes went up by 26% this year, an appalling and unsustainable amount. Of our total tax bill,…

Dear Editor, I would first like to congratulate UVM President Dr. Suresh Garimella on his exciting new opportunity in Arizona. But I also think the question needs to be asked about how our major public institutions are being led: are they focusing on improving the lives of those they serve, or on improving their administrators’…

Guests gather to watch a performance at the Queer Arts Festival in Plainfield on Aug. 26, 2023. Photo courtesy of VT Queer Crafts Plainfield resident Sequana Skye once saw the Great Brook in Plainfield as inspiration for storytelling.  Whether writing poetry, taking photos or dreaming up stage plays, Skye said the babbling brook, which ran…

This commentary is by Jennifer Olson of Hinesburg. She is an early childhood educator at Wren’s Nest Forest Preschool in Bristol, and a member of the early-childhood-educator-led task force working to advance early childhood education as a profession in Vermont.  Chances are you or someone you know has a connection to a young child. Perhaps…

Vermonters are set to cast primary ballots on Tuesday. Photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger Vermonters are heading to the polls on Tuesday to vote in a primary that features far fewer competitive statewide races than last cycle but many high-interest races lower down on the ballot. You have questions, and we have the answers in VTDigger’s…

An excavator sits on a lot slated for new housing on Long Drive in South Burlington. File photo by Auditi Guha/VTDigger This story by Liberty Darr was first published by The Other Paper on Aug. 8. From jackhammering and construction to pickleball and hedge trimmers, some councilors in South Burlington are looking to strike a…

A worker helps assemble a structure at the Elmwood Emergency Shelter Community, a group of pods meant to temporarily house people who otherwise have no shelter, in Burlington on October 12, 2022. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger The numbers paint a stark picture. In Chittenden County, more than 800 individuals were counted as unhoused in a…