Once billed as the future of Town Meeting, the ‘Brattleboro Experiment’ is ending
The state’s only municipality to elect members to the equivalent of a local legislature is retiring the tradition after 65 years. What comes next is sparking its own debate.
Vermont bill would create standard policy for school districts should ICE come knocking
Also in Final Reading: Regulating massages and campaign announcements.
Federal anti-poverty grant delay draws rebuke from Vermont’s congressional delegation
The unusual, monthslong wait for this year’s federal Community Service Block Grant funds comes amid a push from the Trump administration to eliminate the program from the federal budget.
Vermont won permission to use Medicaid funds for homelessness. It’s sitting unused.
“The idea of letting this opportunity go to waste when it is there right now is unconscionable, in my opinion,” said Jessica Radbord, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont.
John Grismore, embattled sheriff of Franklin County, won’t seek reelection
Grismore cited “moments of significant challenge, many of them highly public and deeply stressful” as a reason he was not seeking a second four-year term.
Editors’ Picks
Vermont labor board orders state to end return-to-office requirement for employees
State officials filed a notice of appeal with the state Supreme Court Wednesday, as Gov. Phil Scott called the decision “disappointing, but not surprising.”
Former tow truck driver, who needs an oxygen concentrator to breathe, faces eviction from state motel program
As the state’s expanded program for winter emergency housing ends Wednesday, Fred and Lisa Allard confront the challenge of living in their Jeep.
Some kids with autism are losing therapy services after a Medicaid change reduces clinics’ revenue
The state says the changes are essential to keep its health coverage program compliant with federal rules. Clinics say it’s a fundamental threat to their ability to operate.
ICE took the wrong people — and got called on it. A reckoning may be coming.
Vermont may now be at the forefront of addressing the question of whether ICE’s tactics violate the U.S. Constitution.
Brattleboro hospital and its nurses reach tentative agreement to avert strike
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital still faces threats of a walkout by support staffers as it tries to balance a $14.5 million budget deficit.
Aly Richards, former head of Let’s Grow Kids, launches bid for Vermont governor
“You’ve got to ask yourself: Are you better off now than you were 10 years ago?” the Democrat said, pointing to when Gov. Phil Scott was first elected. “It’s time for a new approach.”
Opinion
When Democrats forget democracy
Vermont’s Democratic Party claims to champion inclusion — but a four-person committee, all of whom live in the same ward and two under the same roof, just decided who gets…
Vermont wants to fix child care. This bill will make it worse.
Vermont already has the most restrictive child care regulations in the country. S.206 would add even more.
A chemical linked to Parkinson’s is still legal. That must change.
Decades of evidence link paraquat to Parkinson’s disease. Vermont could be the first state to ban it.
Act 181 solves for cities. It doesn’t solve for rural Vermont.
A conservation law that ignores working farms and managed landscapes isn’t protecting Vermont’s biodiversity — it’s missing half the picture.
Blocked from police work in Vermont, ex-Addison County sheriff faces possible new black mark
A state panel has set a hearing for Peter Newton that could result in his placement on a national database that employers use when hiring officers.
Jackson Dam removal advanced in Hardwick
The dam is classified as a Significant Hazard due to the property losses and damage to downstream infrastructure that would result from its failure.
Young Writers Project: ‘Crossing Familiar Waters’
This week’s Young Writers Project entry is “Crossing Familiar Waters,” a painting and accompanying narrative by Abigail Balon, 15, of Panton. Abigail’s piece was the March winner of YWP’s Tomorrow Project monthly contests.
Champlain Valley School District weighs merger study
Although a draft report to the board isn’t expected for just over a month, an administrative committee has been studying the feasibility and impact of linking the schools in some capacity since the summer.
Obituaries
A Vermont Democrat and West Virginia Republican Want to Help Americans in Rural Areas Buy Houses
Sens. Peter Welch and Jim Justice introduced a bill that aims to expand access to credit through farm credit institutions.