Breaking down Rutland’s mayoral race, which has recently generated some controversy for the well-known candidates. Plus, Democratic legislative leaders decry the Scott administration’s efforts to roll back climate policy, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital support staff have unionized, University of Vermont officials generally expect research to continue like normal despite Trump administration efforts to cut federal funding, and a Barre granite quarry is no longer offering public tours.
Feb 20, 2025•10 min
A Brave Little State excerpt explores how Bristol’s town forest has shifted over time to meet changing community needs. Plus, Vermont’s treasurer wants lawmakers to hold off on joining a California initiative that could raise the price of gas here, Sen. Peter Welch raises alarms at Ukraine not being included in talks to end the country’s war with Russia, Johnson’s former grocery store building could be headed for a FEMA buyout, and Shelburne Museum has acquired Norman Rockwell paintings tied to ...
Feb 19, 2025•11 min
Assessing the damage from a weekend storm that brought more snowfall to parts of Vermont than has been seen in at least a couple of years. Plus, Winooski voters will decide an eviction notice ballot measure on Town Meeting Day, Vermont’s Supreme Court dismisses a lawsuit opposing the governor’s appointment of an interim education secretary, UVM receives top tier status for schools engaged in scientific research, and the incoming interim police chief in Burlington will serve for two years and sta...
Feb 18, 2025•8 min
In this week’s Capitol Recap, reporters Lola Duffort and Peter Hirschfeld talk over what’s behind the lack of action in Montpelier on legislation regarding big issues like education and housing.
Feb 15, 2025•7 min
We meet the Vermonters of the Green Mountain Chorus, who raise their voices to provide singing valentines on the 14th of February. Plus, a lawsuit filed in federal court accuses a Burlington police officer of using excessive force in an incident last summer, Sen. Sanders introduces legislation aimed at lowering Americans’ credit card debt, the EPA plans to inspect cleanup efforts at a Bennington Superfund site, why New Hampshire farmers can get paid to pause mowing on their hayfields in early su...
Feb 14, 2025•15 min
Students from Kenya and Jordan arrived in Brattleboro for a Biden-era college program, just before the Trump administration suspended new refugee applications. Plus, Democrats in Montpelier push back against Gov. Scott’s school choice lottery plan, lawmakers consider another delay to a bill that would process 19-year-olds charged with crimes as juveniles, public health officials try to get a jump on monitoring bird flu to keep it from spreading to cows and people, Burlington has a new interim po...
Feb 13, 2025•12 min
Reporter Erica Heilman shares a success story from HomeShare Vermont, a program that matches folks who have extra housing with people who need it. Plus, House lawmakers pass a bill making it easier for prosecutors to charge Vermonters with hate crimes, Vermont’s attorney general joins a multistate effort to block the National Institutes of Health from slashing billions of dollars in medical research, nursing staff at Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans vote to unionize, the head of Vermont...
Feb 12, 2025•12 min
We hear from Champlain College students studying video game development in a program that includes time in Montreal getting hands-on experience with gaming studios. Plus, Vermont joins a multistate lawsuit aimed at stopping the Treasury Department from transferring sensitive personal data to an agency controlled by Elon Musk, plans for a statewide electric vehicle charging program are on hold following a Trump administration freeze on federal money, McGill University in Montreal plans to cut $45...
Feb 11, 2025•11 min
In an excerpt from a recent episode of Brave Little State, we explore why Vermont relies on just one landfill for its trash disposal while neighboring New Hampshire has half a dozen. Plus, Vermont’s Department of Public Service says some $400 million in federal grant money is at risk due to a federal funding freeze, Congresswoman Becca Balint urges Vermont lawmakers to prepare for more potential federal budget cuts, Burlington’s Festival of Fools is canceled this year due to funding difficulties...
Feb 10, 2025•12 min
Vermont Education Secretary Zoie Saunders revealed some new details this week about how school choice could change under the Scott administration’s proposal to overhaul the state’s education system. Vermont Public education reporter Lola Duffort has the details for this week’s edition of the Capitol Recap.
Feb 08, 2025•6 min
In the final installment of a collaborative series on homeless deaths in Vermont, we hear from a former girlfriend and from the daughter of a man named Sean Kelleher, who died in a violent accident. Plus, school boards eye personnel job cuts amid financial pressures, an initial estimate puts repairs for the damaged Bennington Battle Monument at $40 million, Burlington International Airport is set to debut a new seasonal non-stop route to South Carolina, the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival is ...
Feb 07, 2025•14 min
In the second part of a collaborative series on homeless deaths in Vermont, reporter Liam Elder-Connors tells us about the struggles of a man he got to know before he died from a drug overdose. Plus, Vermont officials try to gauge the effects of potential tariffs on energy imported from Canada, Bennington residents get an update on new PFAS water well contamination, state health officials report an uptick in people with flu-like illnesses over the past month, and a Lamoille County nonprofit is g...
Feb 06, 2025•8 min
We hear the story of a Morristown man who passed away last April after struggling with substance abuse, in the first of a three-part collaboration with Seven Days analyzing the number of unhoused Vermonters who have died over the last several years.. Plus, lawmakers want to examine COVID-era appropriations that may not be yielding adequate returns for taxpayers, a Brattleboro nonprofit secured grant funding to support refugees before a federal funding freeze,tariffs on Canadian goods could raise...
Feb 05, 2025•9 min
Why a general store in New Hampshire that’s been serving the community for two centuries may not be around much longer. Plus, a Waterbury House Democrat wants to advance legislation to reform the state’s emergency shelter program before a new wave of evictions, a new development will bring more than 250 homes to Middlebury, several state medical associations voice opposition to President Trump’s executive order restricting youth access to gender-affirming care, Burlington voters won’t be asked t...
Feb 04, 2025•8 min
Treasurer Mike Pieciak has convened a task force to help guide Vermont through a flurry of action in the early days of the second Trump administration. Plus, Vermont’s teachers’ union says Gov. Scott’s education reform plan would require mass educator layoffs, the governor seeks to roll back almost every major climate law enacted by Democrats in recent years, land in the Northeast Kingdom has been conserved for wild fish habitat and flood resilience, and Democratic lawmakers fear future federal ...
Feb 03, 2025•12 min
Environmental advocates have enjoyed a lot of influence in Montpelier. But with Gov. Phil Scott looking to roll back most of the major climate policies of the last several years, they have to take a new approach this session.
Feb 01, 2025•6 min
To increase the pace of home building, some housing experts say Vermont needs to turn to the assembly line. Plus, Gov. Scott wants to place new fees on electric vehicles in lieu of gas tax revenues, Vermont’s attorney general says she won’t back down on challenging Trump administration efforts she doesn’t believe pass legal muster, national testing results show declines in math and reading for Vermont fourth and eighth graders, a Middlebury philosophy professor discusses how to live a full life ...
Jan 31, 2025•15 min
Recent moves by the Trump administration are significantly disrupting organizations that help refugees resettle in Vermont. Plus, federal bureaucracy is delaying plans to permanently repair flood-damaged state buildings in Montpelier, Education Secretary Zoie Saunders addresses concerns about dropping a universal school meals program to help fund a new education plan, Lt. Gov. John Rodgers plans to take a lead role in reforming Vermont’s retail cannabis law, a Chittenden County bikeshare program...
Jan 30, 2025•10 min
We visit an East Putney resident who helps maintain a nearby cemetery, in an excerpt from a recent Brave Little State episode about “adopting” small, local graveyards. Plus, Gov. Scott lays out budget priorities he says are aimed at making the state more affordable, Vermont’s congressional delegation slams President Trump’s decision to freeze federal grant and loan funding, state officials are waiting to see if the freeze will impact disaster relief, advocates for LGBTQ+ people emphasized that a...
Jan 29, 2025•10 min
Speaking with people worried about the looming closure of Central Vermont Medical Center’s psychiatric unit. Plus, Gov. Phil Scott delivers his annual budget address today, why some Vermont lawmakers want consumers to have stronger data privacy protection, Sen. Peter Welch says he’ll work with the Trump administration to reform FEMA but will fight any effort to eliminate it, Quebec’s two largest police forces report losing several guns since 2020, and a Vermont nonprofit calls an executive order...
Jan 28, 2025•12 min
