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This commentary is by James Douglas, who served as the 80th Vermont governor from 2003-2011. Constitution Day reminds us of our obligation as citizens to protect and defend our democracy and the rule of law. This has been our sacred trust as Americans since that document was signed in Philadelphia on Sept. 17, 1787.  I…

Chart by Erin Petenko/VTDigger A key Vermont health care regulator reduced hospital budgets by millions of dollars for the 2025 fiscal year, setting out financial guardrails for how the facilities can operate over the next 12 months.   The decisions, announced Friday by the Green Mountain Care Board, place caps on how much Vermont hospitals can…

U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, at a press conference to discuss prescription medicine cost caps in Rutland on January 9, 2023. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Primary care practices across the country are being squeezed by a 35-year old provision in Medicare that has resulted in declining payments for services. In Vermont, where much of…

The ‘Heart of the Greens’ loop opened this summer in Central Vermont. Courtesy of the Vermont Huts Association, photo by Daniel Jordan A new multiday mountain bike trail opened this summer in central Vermont — the culmination of almost a decade of work by myriad organizations and volunteers. The ‘Heart of the Greens’ loop runs…

Under Friday’s bluebird skies, Noah Dines takes a brief break from his daily laps on Mount Mansfield. Not too long, though. Sunny days like that are made for racking up the mileage. Photo courtesy of Gordon Miller/Stowe Reporter This story by Tommy Gardner was first published by The Stowe Reporter on Sept. 12. For Noah Dines, Labor Day…

Vermont’s general election is Tuesday, November 5. There are two ways to vote: Early voting by mail or in person, from Oct. 1 to Nov. 4. In person at your polling place on Nov. 5. All U.S. citizens who are residents of Vermont and will be 18 or older for the general election on Nov.…

Dear reader, My name is Erin Petenko and I am the data reporter here at VTDigger. There is less than one week left in our Fall Member Drive and our goal has special significance this year. Recently the Center for Community News at UVM released a study showing that Vermont has lost 75% of its…

Elize Sikujuwa adds to the conversation during a meeting of a knitting group for New Americans in Winooski on Thursday, September 12. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger BURLINGTON— Fatuma Hussein, 61, had never knitted before she started coming to the third- floor classroom of an Old North End community center. But there she was on a…

An investment in snowmaking by Mansfield Winter Academy and Stowe Mountain Resort should get racers on the hill earlier in the season to train and race. Photo courtesy of Gordon Miller/Stowe Reporter This story by Tommy Gardner was first published by The Stowe Reporter on Sept. 12. Mount Mansfield Academy could add an extra month and a…

U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, speaks with Greg Durso in his adaptive mountain bike during a tour of Richmond Mountain Trails’ The Driving Range, the state’s first accessible adaptive-ready trail system, in Bolton on Friday, Sept. 13. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Mountain biking in Vermont should be more accessible to riders this fall, thanks to…

The VT PoCket Guide website on Friday, Sept. 13. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Looking to try a farm-to-table restaurant, find a nature activity or volunteer at a soup kitchen in your community? Such information is often inaccessible to communities of color. The VT PoCket Guide aims to help their members find and navigate options. Released…

The Federal Building in Burlington houses the U.S. District Courthouse and the U.S. Postal Service. File photo by Bob LoCicero/VTDigger A former Stowe man termed by prosecutors as a “person of interest” in the killing of two Massachusetts men last October has been indicted on new federal charges, including one alleging he discharged a firearm…

This commentary is by Jayna Ahsaf of Colchester. She is FreeHer Vermont campaign director for the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, a steering committee member for the Vermont Freedom Fund and on the board for the Will Miller Social Justice Lecture Series. We stand at a pivotal moment where the…

Sharon Segel, a nurse volunteer at the People’s Health and Wellness Clinic in Barre, stands in front of a newly painted rainbow wall in the waiting room that celebrates the launch of free gender-affirming health care to all residents aged 18 and above in Central Vermont. Photo courtesy of Daniel Barlow The People’s Health &…

Clayton Clark, general manager of Green Mountain Transit, outlines proposed reductions in local bus service at a public hearing in Burlington on Wednesday, Sept. 11. Photo by Shaun Robinson/VTDigger BURLINGTON — Carly Sehr said she bought her condo in South Burlington because it sits right on Green Mountain Transit’s No. 11 bus line. She doesn’t…

Sunil “Sunny” Eappen, president and CEO of the University of Vermont Health Network, speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony on Dec. 15, 2022. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Between 2022 and 2023, the University of Vermont Medical Center made more money than it was supposed to.  The Burlington hospital was among four Vermont hospitals that brought…

Mary Kay Lanthier speaks during a nomination hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Thursday, June 20, 2024. Screenshot The U.S. Senate has approved the nomination of Mary Kay Lanthier to serve as a federal judge in Vermont.  The Senate voted 55 to 42 late Wednesday afternoon to confirm Lanthier to the…

Flooding prompted road closures in the village of Jeffersonville on July 11, 2023. Photo by Shaun Robinson/VTDigger Vermont’s congressional delegation on Wednesday welcomed the release of $51 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation to reimburse the state for repair costs from damages caused by flooding in 2023.  Authorized through the annual appropriations…

Changing leaves frame the steeple of St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Brattleboro. Photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger Vermont’s Roman Catholic Diocese, having spent more than $30 million to settle some 40 priest misconduct lawsuits dating as far back as 1950, faces another wave of court cases alleging more past child sexual abuse.  The state’s largest religious…

This commentary is by Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun, a democrat representing the Windham-3 district in the Vermont House. I read Carly Berlin’s report on the perception by some that many who are unhoused in Vermont came here recently from out of state. That has not been my observation. I have worked as a case manager with…

The Basin Harbor airstrip in Ferrisburgh on Monday, September 9. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger VERGENNES — Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board provided more details into the private plane crash that killed four Connecticut residents near Basin Harbor airstrip on Sunday. Kurt Gibson, an aviation accident investigator for the board, said he arrived on…

VTDigger reporting intern Graham Krewinghaus interviews U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, in Burlington on Primary Day, Tuesday, August 13, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger A recent study from UVM showed that Vermont has lost 75% of its journalism jobs over the past quarter century.1 Newspapers have closed, and many that remain are woefully understaffed. We’re…