The Frequency

We hear the story of a Morristown man who passed away last April after struggling with substance abuse, in the first of a three-part collaboration with Seven Days analyzing the number of unhoused Vermonters who have died over the last several years.. Plus, lawmakers want to examine COVID-era appropriations that may not be yielding adequate returns for taxpayers, a Brattleboro nonprofit secured grant funding to support refugees before a federal funding freeze,tariffs on Canadian goods could raise Vermonters’ energy bills, officials ponder options for the future of Vermont’s waste disposal, and Vermont’s senators register their opposition to Robert F. Kennedy’s Jr.'s nomination for health secretary.

Why a general store in New Hampshire that’s been serving the community for two centuries may not be around much longer. Plus, a Waterbury House Democrat wants to advance legislation to reform the state’s emergency shelter program before a new wave of evictions, a new development will bring more than 250 homes to Middlebury, several state medical associations voice opposition to President Trump’s executive order restricting youth access to gender-affirming care, Burlington voters won’t be asked to weigh in on a tax increase on Town Meeting Day despite the city’s budget deficit, and a Vermont solar manufacturer gets nearly $400 million in financing from a Canadian investment company to build out four solar projects.

Treasurer Mike Pieciak has convened a task force to help guide Vermont through a flurry of action in the early days of the second Trump administration. Plus, Vermont’s teachers’ union says Gov. Scott’s education reform plan would require mass educator layoffs, the governor seeks to roll back almost every major climate law enacted by Democrats in recent years, land in the Northeast Kingdom has been conserved for wild fish habitat and flood resilience, and Democratic lawmakers fear future federal funding for Vermont is in serious jeopardy under the Trump administration.

Environmental advocates have enjoyed a lot of influence in Montpelier. But with Gov. Phil Scott looking to roll back most of the major climate policies of the last several years, they have to take a new approach this session.

To increase the pace of home building, some housing experts say Vermont needs to turn to the assembly line. Plus, Gov. Scott wants to place new fees on electric vehicles in lieu of gas tax revenues, Vermont’s attorney general says she won’t back down on challenging Trump administration efforts she doesn’t believe pass legal muster, national testing results show declines in math and reading for Vermont fourth and eighth graders, a Middlebury philosophy professor discusses how to live a full life by mastering what she calls the ‘art of the interesting’, and we take stock of what sports fans are waiting for–from the pending Super Bowl to the start of the new baseball season–in our weekly sports report.

Recent moves by the Trump administration are significantly disrupting organizations that help refugees resettle in Vermont. Plus, federal bureaucracy is delaying plans to permanently repair flood-damaged state buildings in Montpelier, Education Secretary Zoie Saunders addresses concerns about dropping a universal school meals program to help fund a new education plan, Lt. Gov. John Rodgers plans to take a lead role in reforming Vermont’s retail cannabis law, a Chittenden County bikeshare program will end this spring, and a Vermont gun rights group says it will oppose any legislation to impose a statewide ban on firearms inside town-owned municipal buildings.

We visit an East Putney resident who helps maintain a nearby cemetery, in an excerpt from a recent Brave Little State episode about “adopting” small, local graveyards. Plus, Gov. Scott lays out budget priorities he says are aimed at making the state more affordable, Vermont’s congressional delegation slams President Trump’s decision to freeze federal grant and loan funding, state officials are waiting to see if the freeze will impact disaster relief, advocates for LGBTQ+ people emphasized that an executive order discounting gender identity doesn’t apply to the state government, and Vermont saw a record amount of tourism dollars in 2023.

Speaking with people worried about the looming closure of Central Vermont Medical Center’s psychiatric unit. Plus, Gov. Phil Scott delivers his annual budget address today, why some Vermont lawmakers want consumers to have stronger data privacy protection, Sen. Peter Welch says he’ll work with the Trump administration to reform FEMA but will fight any effort to eliminate it, Quebec’s two largest police forces report losing several guns since 2020, and a Vermont nonprofit calls an executive order by President Trump to suspend the US refugee program an act of betrayal.

Gov. Phil Scott unveiled a plan this week that would significantly shift how schools are funded and governed in Vermont, opening up a thicket of thorny issues for his administration and lawmakers to navigate.