Vermont Viewpoint

Now that Congress has approved a stimulus bill and an omnibus spending bill, Representative Peter Welch joins us to help dissect what their passage will mean as we continue to the spread of the coronavirus. Then we hear from two Stowe women who have created a website that provides an online marketplace for women to find work and helps businesses find experts who can help them.  During the second hour, Zac Cota of the North Branch Nature Center lets us know what the birds are up to this winter in Vermont. And where to spot them.

We start by learning the conservation efforts of a piece of land in southern Vermont that includes representatives of nearly every important species of flora and fauna in the state. We hear about a couple of Vermonters who created the Quarantine Chef Cookbook to raise money for Feeding America. And then we talk snow with Radio Vermont forecaster Roger Hill. He finishes the show by explaining how the different types of snow we get are formed.

CLiF, the Children’s Literacy Foundation has been working to inspire a love of reading and writing among children in Vermont and New Hampshire since 1998. We’ll hear about their work from founder and executive director Duncan McDougall about their work. We then talk to Father Matthew Rensch, who has responsibility for the Catholic parishes in Waterbury, Moretown and Waitsfield. In the second hour, Vermont Foodbank CEO John Sayles discusses the rising incidence of food insecurity in the state and the $9 million donation that was recently awarded to the Foodbank. 

From revelations about what the Mayor knew and when, to moves by the city council regarding policing, to the pit that still sits downtown, Burlington keeps making news. We’ll get the latest from VTDigger’s Grace Elletson. National correspondent Bob Ney brings us up to date on what’s happening around the country. Dr. Jane Kim provides COVID-19 vaccination strategies for high-risk military veterans. And Cathy Resmer of Seven Days gives us many reasons to be happy about things that happened in 2020.

When a Vermont business isn’t able to secure a bank loan, where do they go? We’ll start the show by learning about how the Vermont Community Loan Fund fills that gap, and the other programs it has created to help Vermont businesses. Then Diana Moore and Emily McKenna from Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice discuss the organization’s work and how they’ve moved bereavement services online during the pandemic. We finish the show with Lindsey Leininger, Nerdy Girl in Chief for Dear Pandemic (and a prof at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business). She will help us make the right decisions about COVID-19 and the coronavirus vaccine.

As the demand for local meat has risen in Vermont, the need for more slaughterhouse and meat processing facilities has risen. We’ll talk to two representatives from the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets on what’s happening in that area. In the second hour, we’ll meet Interim Corrections Commissioner James Baker and discuss the death this week of a Vermont inmate, staffing and turnover issues within the department and other corrections issues. 

We start by learning how Norwich University students are testing wastewater to detect the presence of COVID and why this works. We’ll meet the woman who raffled off the right to give her a middle name to raise money for the Upper Valley Trails Alliance. Tourism and Marketing Commissioner Heather Pelham tells us how and why it’s great to shop Vermont-made products.  And we hear from Jas Smith finally followed his heart late in life to begin a career in forestry with the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps. 

VTDigger’s Katja Schwenk provides insight into the recent announcement by UVM that they are considering dropping 12 majors, 11 minors and four graduate programs in the College of Arts and Sciences to close a budget gap. We then hear about National Life’s robust community involvement programs. And in the 10 o’clock hour, we get to know the Montpelier organization CERF+ The Artists Safety Net, and a NEK Blacksmith that got assistance from the non-profit after a fire. We’ll hear about what kinds of crises artists face — and how the art economy is coping with COVID-19.

Lisa Scagliotti of the Waterbury Roundabout hosts the show while Ric takes some time off. Lisa talks with Monica Talbot Ogelby, contact tracing leader for the Vermont Department of Health, about how contact tracers aim to outpace the coronavirus and get close contacts of the infected tested and quarantined. Will Senning, Director of Elections and Campaign Finance for the Vermont Secretary of State's Office, talks about how Vermont towns can best handle Town Meeting Day on March 2, 2021. Stephen Kiernan, former journalist and current author, gives recommendations on books to read this winter.

Lee Kittel host the show today as Ric takes some time off. Andrea Grayson of the University of Vermont's Larner College of Medicine talks about sugar consumption and why it's important to reduce one's intake of sugar. Patrick Lancour joins us to talk about rare collectibles, particularly in the sports realm. Amanda Ahmadi with the Children's Trust Fund talks about the Polar Express event in Burlington.