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Burlington attorney Walter Judge was one of the approximately 4,000 people in the US who received a heart transplant this year.

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Lawmakers and Gov. Scott agreed last year to major education reform in hopes of  reducing chronic property tax increases. However, a committee charged with drawing up new school districts presented this summer a different approach. How will the governor and legislature respond when lawmakers return to Montpelier next month? We spoke with 7Days education reporter Alison Novak about Act 73.  

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Jessie Krebs is an outdoor survival skills expert. She discusses how to prepare for an adventure and what to do when things go wrong. Krebs runs O.W.L.S. Skills and teaches courses throughout the country, including here in Vermont. She graduated from Air Force survival training and lasted 46 days on the TV show "Alone."

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President Donald Trump is "an autocrat" who poses an unprecedented threat to American democracy. So says former Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeffrey Amestoy. With Trump loyalists running the Justice Dept., the FBI and the military, Amestoy worries the president will disregard court orders and election results with impunity. As Trump amasses power, Amestoy warns: "Don't look to an easy fix either from a decision of the United States Supreme Court or an election result. I don't think we're in a world where those are the answers to what we're in right now." 

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Mitra Mahtab (Naeimi), a 29-year-old Afghan woman, fled her country in 2021 after the United States completed its troop withdrawal and the Taliban regained control. The U.S. invaded Afghanistan after the 2001 9/11 attacks seeking to root out members of Al Quaeda. The Taliban greatly restricts the rights of Afghan women. Mitra had a long journey to reach the U.S. in 2023 and plans to help Afghan women after she graduates from the University of Vermont. She is among approximately 650 Afghans who have resettled in Vermont. 

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Interim Police Chief Shawn Burke says a lack of accountability is a major factor behind the increase in drug use, theft, violent crime and other illegal activity in Vermont's largest city.  Burke was police chief in South Burlington but agreed in March to return as the interim chief in Burlington, where he previously worked for 21 years. In an interview at City Hall Park, a problem hotspot, Burke, 53, said he is hopeful and looks forward to working with state and local leaders to reduce concerns about safety and crime.

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Heather Darby is a seventh generation farmer in Alburgh. She is an expert in sustainable agriculture at the UVM Extension Service. She has a Masters in Agronomy and a PhD in crop and soil management. We talked about this year's severe drought and her concerns about the future viability of farming here in Vermont. 

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Former Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeff Amestoy writes about why famed lawyer Clarence Darrow became involved in a grisly murder case in the Green Mountain State in the 1920's. 

The book, Winters' Time: A Secret Pledge, a Severed Head, and the Murder that Brought America's Most Famous Lawyer to Vermont, can be purchased from the Vermont Historical Society.

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Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas says the Trump administration is attempting to tamp down voter participation with false claims about the accuracy of elections, "witch hunt" requests she'll oppose to turn over sensitive voter information and calls to scrap mail-in voting. Those efforts, along with sending National Guard troops to patrol major cities in largely blue states, are creating "tremendous headwinds coming at our Democracy." The Bradford Democrat plans to run for re-election in 2026. 

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A grassroots group, Building Burlington's Future, recently formed to confront some of the issues facing the Queen City and advocate for policies to make the city "affordable, safe and vibrant."