The Deeper Dig

There’s no single reason for the $150 million the state has to pay each year, on average, until 2038. But the decision to ignore financial advice in the 1990s plays a major part.

Guests: Sen. Jane Kitchel (Appropriations Committee), Beth Pearce (State Treasurer), Gov. Howard Dean, Gov. Jim Douglas, Colin Meyn (VTDigger)

Vermont lawmakers want to limit the involvement of large, out-of-state companies in a proposed retail marijuana market. But recent reporting by the Boston Globe shows that similar efforts in Massachusetts are falling short.

Guests: Beth Healy, Boston Globe Spotlight team

As mayor of Denver and as a two-term governor, John Hickenlooper oversaw and managed a major period of sustained growth in Colorado. This month he announced he's running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. On Saturday he sat down at the Flynn Center in Burlington for a conversation with Jen Kimmich, the co-founder of The Alchemist brewery, about economic development, retail marijuana, the presidential race, and lots more.

State officials say mismanagement played a major role in Springfield Hospital's financial collapse. But broader trends are putting pressure on hospital finances across the state.

Guests: Kevin Mullin (Green Mountain Care Board), Al Gobeille (Agency of Human Services), Mike Faher and Katy Savage (VTDigger)

Senate leader Tim Ashe, House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, and Gov. Phil Scott have all predicted that there will be friction over the details of some policy and budget proposals before the end of the legislative session. But they’re in agreement that the dynamic has changed this year.

Guests: VTDigger political reporter Xander Landen, Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe, and House Speaker Mitzi Johnson.

Southern Vermont College is only the most recent in a wave of troubled New England Colleges planning to close. Some observers say it won’t be the last.

Guests:

Tom Greene, president of the Vermont College of Fine Arts

Lola Duffort, VTDigger education reporter

State officials broadly recognize that buprenorphine is a critical tool for reducing opioid-related deaths. But they're split on how far to expand access of a treatment drug that is itself an opiate.

Vermont's proposed abortion protections would solidify the role of the state's medical establishment in deciding where to draw ethical lines on terminating pregnancies. The head OB-GYN at Vermont's largest hospital says that's how it should be.

Mohamed Jafar is facing calls to drop out of his city council race over misogynistic tweets revealed this week. But the candidate's defenders say his past indiscretions shouldn't disqualify him.