Vermont News

You might’ve noticed that Vermont News is taking a hiatus. In the meantime, visit VTDigger.org (http://VTDigger.org) for the latest headlines, and listen to our other podcasts The Deeper Dig and The Vermont Conversation. Thank you!

ALSO: As part of a widespread plan to curb crime in Vermont, the state Department of Public Safety is poised to launch a public dashboard identifying communities with the highest volume of police calls; Signs promoting community control of police were included as part of a press conference last week held by Burlington City Council Progressives; Thirteen Middlebury College students are spending their January term learning about entrepreneurship.

ALSO: A new bill would require the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive program to report on what’s been called “proprietary” data; The Vermont Legislature is considering whether to allow continued pandemic-era flexibility in how and when the state’s 247 cities and towns decide local leaders, spending and special articles; Arguments about what documents have been shared and scanned stalled a hearing Monday on Monsanto’s motion to temporarily halt demolition of the former Burlington High School to preserve evidence in a high-profile contamination case.

ALSO: Colchester has pulled out of an effort to regionalize emergency dispatch services in Chittenden County; Democratic U.S. Rep. Becca Balint was sworn into office in the wee hours of Saturday morning, more than three days after she was expected to take her seat; Green Mountain Transit plans to start charging fares this summer on its bus routes in Chittenden County for the first time since the pandemic started.

ALSO: Republican Gov. Phil Scott delivered his fourth inaugural address on Thursday; Three of the Vermont Senate’s standing committees have new chairs this year; Two proposals to amend South Hero’s development regulations have renewed debate in this small island community about the density and possible locations of future building projects.

ALSO: The Vermont Department of Health reported Wednesday that Covid-19 community levels rose to “medium” this week; After approving two contradictory ballot questions in November, Plymouth residents will revote later this month on the future of their town offices; Brattleboro leaders plan to ask taxpayers to fund a “to be determined” budget line item for ambulance service.

ALSO: The state Department of Health plans to end walk-in Covid and flu vaccine clinics by the end of the month; The opening of the adult recreational cannabis market in Vermont in October is prompting proposals of reforming the medical cannabis program; Officials estimate the second phase of an upgrade to Montpelier’s wastewater treatment plant will reduce the plant’s greenhouse gas emissions by around 2,000 metric tons per year by using methane from the solid waste to power the plant’s operations.

ALSO: Some Vermont sugarers are watching sap production begin; It’ll be a historic week in both Montpelier and Washington, D.C.; Across the U.S., biased zoning has sited many manufactured housing communities in precarious “fringe environments."

ALSO: Winooski joins in the national art project called Welcome Blanket, which provides quilts for new immigrants; Burlington’s Cannabis Control Commission say they don’t have enough information to make decisions; Dr. Sunil “Sunny” Eappen (EE-pen) spent his first weeks on the job as the UVM Health Network’s new leader criss-crossing Lake Champlain from Vermont to New York and back.

ALSO: Democracy For America will soon close its doors for good; As the avian flu continues to impact wildlife in Vermont, state officials are warning Vermonters to continue taking precautions around birds; As the upcoming legislative session approaches, lawmakers and advocates are gearing up for a pitched debate over how best to respond to a Supreme Court ruling on religious schools.