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In December 1999, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled the state's prohibition on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. In the Baker decision, the justices ordered the Legislature to either allow gay marriage or establish an alternative system to afford those rights. The Legislature created civil unions. In part 1, plaintiffs Stan Baker and Peter Harrigan discuss the ruling and the vitriol surrounding the passage of the civil union bill. Here in part 2, then-House Judiciary Chair Tom Little discusses how the civil union legislation came about and the political backlash that resulted. 

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An internal survey found widespread dissatisfaction among Burlington Police officers. Officers feel overwhelmed -- still -- after the city council voted to reduce the force in 2020 soon after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd. Burlington detectives Eric Dalla Mura and Padric Hartnett discuss the rank and file concerns, including public support for more police oversight, and the challenges they see finding a replacement for outgoing Chief Jon Murad, who requested city leaders apologize for cutting the force and raise the cap on the number of officers.

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Lawmakers responded to the property tax revolt and budget defeats earlier this year by forming the Commission on the Future of Public Education in Vermont. Chair Meagan Roy discusses some of the findings and funding ideas in the draft report the commission will share with the Legislature next week. 

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Vermont is the 11th state to allow legalized sales of cannabis. James Pepper is the chair of the Cannabis Control Board which oversees regulation of the industry from seed to sale.

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Ginny Sweetser died by suicide after battling PTSD from her military service in Iraq. Her mother, Susan, is part of an effort to have wreaths placed at the gravesites of all Vermont veterans this holiday season. Click here to sponsor a wreath as part of the Wreaths Across America project.

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Singer-songwriter Jon Gailmor's musical impact on Vermonters has stretched across 45 years and been particularly profound on children through his long-running radio program "Just Kidding." Now 76 and facing health challenges, Jon is moving to New Orleans to be closer to family.  He promises to come back and visit the Green Mountains as often as possible.

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Owen Foster, the chair of the Green Mountain Care Board, discusses an analysis by Dr. Bruce Harmory that paints a bleak financial picture for many of the state's 14 hospitals and why health care reform is urgently needed.

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Progressive Emma Mulvaney-Stanak took over as mayor of Burlington in April with a focus on community safety. 

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University of Vermont Medical Center officials say the state's largest hospital costs more than $2 billlion to operate. UVMMC President Stephen Leffler points to Vermont’s older population as one major reason. The Green Mountain Care Board, which recently approved "painfully high" double-digit health insurance premiums for the third year in a row, wants to hold down hospital costs, including cutting UVMMC's requested increase in patient revenues. Observers and consultants say Vermont's entire health care system is "broken," and without major reforms will be financially unsustainable by 2030. Dr. Leffler agrees: "Without change, yes, we have a giant problem."  

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Ellen Kahler, executive director of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, was recently inducted into the Vermont Agricultural Hall of Fame as an innovator for her work on the state's Farm to Plate program, which has benefited farmers and people by increasing the amount of local food consumed by Vermonters.