The Deeper Dig

A Congolese asylum seeker named Bienfait fled death threats in his home country. But his journey to Canada was cut off in Vermont due to a 9/11-era border security agreement. Now, some Canadian politicians are wondering whether that policy is sending refugees into a hostile U.S. immigration system, while Bienfait wonders whether he'll be sent back to Africa.

Gov. Scott's budget proposal released this week marks a major change in approach from his first two years in office. Will it make for a smoother session? VTDigger's political team — Anne Galloway, Xander Landen, and Colin Meyn — breaks it down.

Regional waste management giant Casella is taking one of the final steps towards state approval to expand Vermont's only open landfill by about 40%. A growing number of local opponents are working to stop the project. But the company says that without it, there soon won't be anywhere for Vermonters to put their trash.

Rep. Becca White says that if state government is focused on reversing Vermont’s demographic decline, it’s necessary to have young people at the table. The new House roster takes a step in that direction: White is one of four legislators under the age of 25 who were sworn in this week.

With medical hospitals around the state overwhelmed with mental health patients, officials see no obvious solutions in sight. This week: Phoebe Sparrow Wagner describes her experience being forcibly held in emergency rooms. Mourning Fox, the state's interim mental health commissioner, discusses the challenges ahead. And VTDigger's Mike Faher recaps his reporting on widespread failures in patient safety.

Vermont's sole member of the U.S. House of Representatives says the incoming Democratic majority has big decisions to make on leadership, legislation and oversight of the Trump administration.

Vermont's Catholic Diocese is taking a turn towards transparency following a wave of national stories about clergy misconduct. But survivors and officials still have different ideas of what justice looks like.

Next month’s elections give Democrats a shot at a veto-proof majority in the Vermont House. But candidates aren’t campaigning on a state-level “blue wave.”

While Vermont leaders tie themselves in knots trying to draw new people to the state, a group of Amish families has quietly left Pennsylvania and Ohio to settle in the Northeast Kingdom.