The Frequency

Lawmakers have taken a two-week pause to hammer out an education reform bill they couldn’t get over the finish line by the scheduled end of the legislative session, and we’ll examine whether they’re any closer to reaching a deal.  

Vermont lawmakers are trying to control healthcare costs by capping how much hospitals can charge for specialty drugs and we hear from Woodstock resident and comedian Vicki Ferentinos. Plus, lawmakers sign off on a bill that requires tech companies to adjust product safety features for youth, West Windsor will now fine drivers who damage the town’s covered bridges, a federal judge blocks the U.S Labor Department from shutting down a nationwide workforce development program, and it’s been a decade since two men broke out of an infamous prison in upstate New York. 

We speak with FIFA World Cup champ Sam Mewis as she prepares to coach two women’s exhibition games for the Burlington-based Vermont Green FC soccer club. Plus, cuts to federal food benefits could affect thousands of low-income Vermonters, computer chip manufacturer Global Foundries announces a 16 billion dollar investment in its New York and Vermont plants, a federal pause on the nationwide Job Corps program leads to the expected closure next month of a workforce development center in Addison County, and the search is on in New Hampshire for a missing three foot long fiberglass banana. 

Considering the fate of Vermont’s electric vehicle sales mandate now that the Governor has paused its implementation. Plus, Gov. Scott says he will sign a bill delivering 14 million dollars in tax cuts to young families, older Vermonters, and people with military pensions, House lawmakers reject a bill that would have allowed cannabis growers to sell directly to consumers, Green Mountain Power offers free energy storage batteries for homes in remote areas of Windham County, the Vermont Food Bank in Rutland reopens after a year-long renovation, and state wildlife officials ask anglers not to disturb sea lamprey as they migrate up the Connecticut River to spawn. 

A reporter roundtable discussion about the extra work needed this legislative session to pass an education reform bill. Plus, it’s unclear whether Gov. Scott will sign a bill that would shift the workings of Vermont’s homelessness response system from state government to private nonprofit organizations, Vermont receives a top grade for senior health and well being, the state has seen an unusually long string of soggy Saturdays since mid-March, nearly 2 million dollars in grant funding will help expand access to organic dairy products in northeastern states including Vermont, and officials in New Hampshire issue a consumer alert regarding real estate fraud.

The threat to a program that’s helped millions of low-income people in the northeast pay their heating bills. Plus, federal officials detain migrant workers employed at an affordable housing project in Newport, the Development Review Board in Essex postpones a vote on whether to approve an Amazon distribution center, a new COVID variant is found in Quebec’s wastewater system, a global ski company that runs three resorts in Vermont rehires a former CEO, and the Vermont Law and graduate school receives the largest donation in its history.

Lawmakers in Montpelier scramble to complete legislation on key issues including education reform and housing, but it’s unknown exactly when they’ll reach the finish line..

The joys of spring cleaning with two Vermont professional home organizers. Plus, many construction projects along the state’s shores are paused for spring fish spawning season, a new study shows wildlife underpass tunnels are helping amphibians survive as they migrate across roads each spring, a teachers’ union contract is ratified after a unanimous vote by the Rutland City School Board, access to COVID shots could be compromised now that federal health officials aren’t recommending them for children and pregnant women, the first president of Vermont State University announces his retirement, and we reluctantly parse over what’s been a disappointing showing to this point in the Major League Baseball season by the Boston Red Sox in our weekly sports report. 

Visiting the White River Valley to find out how a popular pick-up soccer league helps bring folks from all walks of life together to get some kicks. Plus, a Senate-approved bill would change how Vermonters can buy cannabis, there are new health guides available designed by and for Vermonters with developmental and intellectual disabilities, the state pauses funding for widespread P-C-B testing in schools, and new grant funding may help Rutland repurpose a downtown building being vacated by Walmart. 

 Democratic lawmakers have spent the last five years laying the groundwork for the most aggressive emissions-reduction policies Vermont has ever seen. But a political seachange after the November election has brought that work to a standstill.