The Frequency

Democratic lawmakers have mixed interest in advancing Republican Gov. Phil Scott’s wide-ranging housing plan, and haven’t offered many of their own proposals to address Vermont’s long-standing unit shortage.

Neurodivergent Vermonters are organizing a mutual aid effort to provide each other with medicine, groceries and other support amid potential cuts to Medicaid and other federal funding. Plus, the state is finalizing plans to open its own cannabis testing lab, Vermont officials are closely monitoring for bird flu, Vermont Fish and Wildlife is proposing allowing hunters to take antlerless deer during the regular fall hunting season for the first time in years, and several blighted South Burlington buildings are being razed to make way for commercial space and housing.

Vermont poultry farmers take steps to guard their animals against bird flu, which has been spreading around the country. Plus, rank-and-file lawmakers are pushing Democratic leadership to exempt military pensions for state income tax, U.S. Rep. Balint denounces a budget plan that passed the House this week, several towns will mull whether to allow ATVs on town roads, and the Stowe Foliage Arts Festival won’t return this fall.

The mountain town of Ripton has been trying to keep its small elementary school open for years, and now risks losing one of its classes unless the community can recruit a handful of extra students for the coming school year. Plus, Gov. Scott and Democratic lawmakers are at odds over budgeting for Vermont’s motel housing program, Green Mountain Transit is seeing better-than-expected ridership numbers after reinstating fares, Vermont has a shortage of child psychiatrists, and some overlooks and cliff tops are now closed to protect nesting raptors.

A new study out of Dartmouth College examines how current research practices can improve the governance of Indigenous data. Plus, the University of Vermont Health Network will continue to run three dialysis clinics around the state, a Shelburne cop who hit and killed a cyclist is now facing criminal charges related to the incident, a new poll finds the majority of Vermonters don’t approve of President Donald Trump’s job performance, why Abenaki leaders from Odanak First Nation were at the Statehouse last week and how you can help prevent avalanches.

In this week’s Capitol Recap, reporters Lola Duffort and Peter Hirschfeld dive into the debate over the future of energy policy in Vermont, and if Democrats are prepared to roll back or revise some of the signature climate laws they’ve enacted over the last four years. 

We meet an Iraqi refugee who came to Vermont as a teenager and now works as a police liaison officer in Winooski schools. Plus, a state organization that provides legal assistance to immigrants has half its staff laid off due to funding cuts by the Trump administration, how the U-V-M Medical Center is trying to help people of color adjust to work and life in Vermont, New York’s Department of Corrections temporarily shuts down prison visitations following days of unrest and unsanctioned strikes by some prison staff, and an oversupply of cannabis is prompting concerns that the state’s smaller growers may be forced out of business. 

Breaking down Rutland’s mayoral race, which has recently generated some controversy for the well-known candidates. Plus, Democratic legislative leaders decry the Scott administration’s efforts to roll back climate policy, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital support staff have unionized, University of Vermont officials generally expect research to continue like normal despite Trump administration efforts to cut federal funding, and a Barre granite quarry is no longer offering public tours.

A Brave Little State excerpt explores how Bristol’s town forest has shifted over time to meet changing community needs. Plus, Vermont’s treasurer wants lawmakers to hold off on joining a California initiative that could raise the price of gas here, Sen. Peter Welch raises alarms at Ukraine not being included in talks to end the country’s war with Russia, Johnson’s former grocery store building could be headed for a FEMA buyout, and Shelburne Museum has acquired Norman Rockwell paintings tied to Vermont’s granite industry.