Politics

Chittenden County candidates gear up for crowded race ahead of August primary.

Legislators are debating how to reformat a law that would exempt farmers from municipal regulation

S.183 aims to hold fraudulent contractors accountable, while some urge caution

A new bill aims to protect children from overexposure to heavy metals in foods, but debate over the inclusion of infant formula has taken the reins. 

The former Rutland City alderman replaces Mike Doenges, who resigned midway through his two-year term.

The Castleton communications professor earned the most votes of all Board of Aldermen candidates.

Campaign manager Joanna Grossman is going after a Vermont Senate seat, focusing on small businesses, education reform and housing affordability

Latest anti-Trump rally in Rutland uses “Emperor’s New Clothes” fable as the theme.

The ICE resolution came after the agency detained nine Hardwick residents in an immigration raid.

In Huntington, Town Meeting Day included cinnamon rolls, private ballots and basketball hoops. Here’s what some voters had to say about the civic tradition. 

Community News Service reporters fanned out across the Queen City to talk to voters about the issues.

S.205 would ban centers over 100 megawatts while their energy use and water consumption is studied

Christina Erickson advocates for walkers, bikers and rollers across Vermont.

Q&A with Thomas Renner, interim mayor of Winooski

H.532 would align state law with federal ban on professor retirement

H.713 would increase the minimum wage for fast food workers in Vermont, but some question whether it would hurt local businesses

Rutland High School graduate Joe Ferris was always into government and always overachieving – and now he’s the leader of a city.

Student Government Association approves club after initial denial and pressure from a club member’s parent.

It’s part of a new civic education program led by the Office of the Vermont Secretary of State.

Impassioned locals joined communities across the country in a national day of action.

The second “No Kings” rally in Burlington forgoes speakers to focus on the protestors themselves

State legislators and community members attended awards night featuring national guest speaker Erick Erickson

“This is a moment for the labor movement to begin to flex its muscles,” said Ashley Smith, one of the event’s organizers.

“Most of our students have immigration backgrounds … and it has not been easy,” said Stevya Mukuzo, an outreach counselor and educator at Winooski High School.

The Canadian students say they are frustrated by how tariffs affect their daily lives.

Rutland area residents took to the streets Thursday as part of nationwide protests of the Trump administration.

Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship When one of Vermont’s oldest lumber mills, run by the A. Johnson Company in Bristol, shut down its saws in 2023 after 117 years in business, it seemed like another sign of a waning timber industry.  Now, a sweeping executive order from President Donald Trump […]

Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student and Vermont resident, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Colchester this month.

Most witnessed have supported the bill, but a few concerns have come up about free speech and news media’s liabilities.

Thousands gather in Montpelier as part of nationwide action.

Poultney officials have taken action against two dogs in town accused of killing neighbors’ chickens.

Bowers secured her victory on Town Meeting Day with just over 50% of the vote.

Residents voted 130-30 to pass Article 13, which proposed a reserve fund dedicated to expanding the community.

Protesters described the event as anti-trans and the speakers as unqualified.

Voters in West Rutland on Town Meeting Day will decide whether to fund a $2.3 million upgrade to the wastewater treatment plant.

Munger Road in Fair Haven will once again be maintained as a class-four town road after town officials recently cracked a six-decade mystery.

Majority is 40 or under, with more young adults running

Voters in Charlotte are deciding whether to abandon the 236-year-old tradition of direct democracy for the access and convenience of the secret ballot.

Vermont State University’s DEI leader answers a variety of questions regarding new DEI challenges and personal questions about his life in Vermont.

As safeguards to ensure a degree of local input, Scott is calling for the creation of local school advisory councils, which his proposal states will “promote high levels of community engagement.”

Usually up to 20 detainees from Immigration and Customs Enforcement are held in state prisons on a given day.

The lieutenant governor-elect sits down with the Winooski News to talk about his upset victory, path in politics and what he wants to prioritize come January.

Area high schools see high-stakes election as an important learning opportunity.

Scenes on the ground in Barre and Montpelier for Election Day 2024

Check out vignettes from polling places around Chittenden County.

“I don’t want to be a single-issue person in the Statehouse because of my background, so I always want to prioritize what’s important to Winooski.”

Both neighbors agree their aim is to call attention to the election, and they hope passersby will be reminded to vote. 

Harwood high schoolers are focused on tight presidential race.

Harwood students posed questions on taxes, school funding, flood mitigation and housing.

From the president of the United States to all 180 seats in the Vermont Legislature, here is what’s on the ballot.

Tomlinson is running for one of two seats to represent Winooski in the House as a member of the Vermont Progressive and Democratic parties.

CNS journalists plan to delve into the data to tease out trends and provide Vermonters with a deeper understanding of the state’s vote-by-mail system.

Your guide to Election Day 2024.

Frequently asked questions and answers ahead of Election Day in Hinesburg.

Frequently asked questions and answers ahead of Election Day in Shelburne.

Frequently asked questions and answers ahead of Election Day in Charlotte.

Frequently asked questions and answers ahead of Election Day in South Burlington.

A voting resource from the Winooski News.

The PSA, “Not Losing You,” will be filmed on Sept. 21 and 22, then released by Oct. 1 to local television stations in Pennsylvania, Lantz said.

The Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network has enlisted more than 300 individuals since its founding.

Staffing shortages in Waterbury are among post office problems across Vermont that have disrupted deliveries and inconvenienced residents.

While these big wins sound alluring, very few sports bettors leave with any profit. The average sports bettor has lost around 8 cents for every dollar they spent since 2018, according to a review of sportsbooks’ earnings last year.

The bill seeks to ensure better legal protections for donors.

Part of the bill aimed to ban hunters from using dogs and bait — without a trappers’ license — to hunt coyotes in the state.

In recent years, libraries across the country have come under fire for housing books that focus on gender, sexual and racial identity, especially those for children.

Though psychedelics are illegal in the state, that isn’t stopping Vermonters from using them. 

Vermont’s only women’s prison, Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington, is half a century old and in terrible shape. The state has set aside millions for a new facility, but construction is years away.

The bill would bar people from having guns, frames or receivers that lack serial numbers or transferring them to someone else.

Under S.310, all state emergency communications would by default be accompanied by language assistance services.

Vermont only has five medical cannabis dispensaries as opposed to at least 51 recreational businesses opening within the last two years.

Legislators added the original bill’s language to H.878, which deals with “miscellaneous judiciary procedures.”

The bill says companies that distribute PCBs must pay for the testing and removal of the chemicals in Vermont’s schools.

Under the bill, companies would be barred from the sale, lease, or disclosure of people’s biometric identification unless it is necessary for the service or the person gives consent. 

The city is responsible for paying 5%, or $3.09 million (whichever is less) for project expenses.

Lawmakers made the changes after hearing testimony from state officials that called the bill’s language vague and lacking in precedent.

The bill would fill what supporters say is a gap in the law. 

The bill says if people agree to use protection before or during sex, neither party can remove or tamper with the condom without the other’s consent. The bill would allow survivors to seek damages in court.

Reapportionment occurs every 10 years and is based on census data.

Right now, putting on sunscreen in Vermont schools is a tall order. 

The bill would hold drug sellers responsible for deaths caused by their distribution of laced drugs, even if doing so was down to mere carelessness.

Many Vermont schools faced dramatic increases in their proposed school budgets this year, partly due to state requirements for higher spending in areas such as special education and educator insurance.

The bill would limit Vermont police interrogators from lying to detainees. But lawmakers doubled down on details that got last year’s version of the plan shot down.

In a survey by the state after last summer’s flooding, 70% of farmers said they didn’t have crop or livestock insurance. Another 10% said the insurance didn’t apply to their industry — meaning only around one in five had coverage for those losses.

The bill would codify the practice of pre-charge referrals so the process is the same regardless of county.

Expungement entirely wipes someone’s conviction from the official record — the goal being to see them treated as if they had never been convicted.

By meeting a slew of conditions, producers wouldn’t need inspections to sell raw chicken products from the farm, at farmers markets or to restaurants in Vermont.

International Transgender Day of Visibility is an annual dedication that falls on the final day of March in many cities across the world.

‘It was a constant battle’ to keep JetBlue in the Green Mountain State — a conflict that started long before the airline pulled out in 2023.

Students from Windham Elementary School and Compass Middle School were tasked with the mushroom selection.

Washington district constituents approached their senator after they were turned away from a business because they only carried cash.

The bill would rebrand the board that sets rules for implementing Act 250.

Money-related issues were the most notable ballot items for South Burlington voters.

Residents cited patrol issues in town and approved a bumping up of the budget for public safety in support of a new contract with the sheriff’s department.

The town hall didn’t have enough seats for the roughly 100 residents who showed up to vote.

Residents showed out to advocate for Lakeview Elementary, which may no longer be a school for much longer.

The town meeting moderator said this year’s meeting was cordial and those who held opposing views agreed to disagree.

Residents decided whether to give the town manager position more power and balked at a steep school budget proposal.

So far the bill has been well received and the University of Vermont is expected to present a new draft for legislators to chew on next week. 

Of the issues voted on, residents voted in a slate of LGBTQ+ city councilors and approved a project to upgrade and potentially relocate the Winooski bridge.

However, some voters were advocating for the change.

The changes address problems prompted by education officials.

One drone operator understands the lawmakers’ concern, but said he thinks details in the bill are too arbitrary.

But companies like Meta and TikTok would be responsible for assessing their data protection policies under the bill — and for determining whether they are in compliance with the law.

For the first time, residents will vote by Australian ballot.

Members from selectboards across valley towns including Waitsfield, Warren and Moretown say they aren’t considering the idea right now. 

Voters approved the change on last year’s ballot. Soon they’ll see its effects.

Homelessness rates in Vermont have shot up by 18.5% since last year, as of this past January.

Neonicotinoids are insecticides that coat plants’ seeds, so the toxins are taken up into a plant’s tissue as it grows.

The lead sponsor of the bill says the legislation is important for residents in areas likely to suffer flooding in the future.

One selectboard member said he thinks the rise in the tax rate will come as a real shock to Charlotters. 

That money would make up what lawmakers are calling a climate superfund to help pay for natural disaster recovery in Vermont. 

The bill aims to prevent Vermont from becoming a place for puppy farms or mills — commercial dog breeding operations that raise animals in poor conditions.

The bill would dramatically limit the use of electronic devices, digital platforms and more in all Vermont schools.

Ghost guns are firearms built at home using kits that come with all the parts needed for a gun. The unassembled parts aren’t considered guns by federal law and have no serial number.

Eleven judges reported supplemental rental income over the past four years, totaling $341,953 from 2019 to 2022. While some judges only reported a couple thousand in rental income annually, other judges reported over $20,000 in some years.

The bill seeks to update the state endangered species list more frequently, establish critical habitat spaces, prohibit the sale of species and curtail rules that allow endangered animals to be taken from the land. 

If a business is culpable, H.614 allows police to seize any equipment it used for illegal activity. Furthermore, the bill increases fines and limits the logging activities of businesses with two or more outstanding fines or judgements.

‘It’s not necessarily doing anything to reinvent restorative justice or restorative approaches; it is making it so it is more streamlined access across the state,’ Dolan said. ‘This is trying to get some consistency and also respect the uniqueness of each county.’

The bill aims to expand the legal definition of mobile home parks to include communities of mobile home owners who own their own lots. Currently, state law defines mobile home parks as land with at least two mobile homes or mobile home lots, or adjacent land owned by the same person.

“What does it hurt to do this? What if you’re a student who, for the first time, is getting a period, and you forgot something?” said the bill sponsor.

Agricultural, food and nutrition advocates in the state want to see increased focus on climate, protection for nutrition initiatives and stronger support for small-scale growers and dairy farmers, among other things, in the next bill.

Rebecca Wasserman was appointed executive director of VT Saves on Oct. 16.

Fewer than one-fifth of agricultural business applicants had received payments. Those that did, on average, received tens of thousands of dollars less than needed.

Our journalists interviewed 16 lawmakers about their environmental priorities ahead of the session.

The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost. Reducing personal use of gasoline powered vehicles is a top priority of state Rep. Mollie Burke, D-Brattleboro, heading into the next legislative session.  “The priorities have been so […]

Federal officials are set to disclose next month the environmental effects of a proposal to cut down trees on about 11,800 acres of the Green Mountain National Forest — and activist groups are hoping to see some changes to the plan amid campaigning to let trees stay up.

Here’s how the heating Charlotte selectboard meeting played out.

New Hampshire homeowners struggling with financial pressures related to COVID-19 still have a chance to seek relief from money provided through the state’s Homeowner Assistance Fund. 

When it was introduced in the Legislature last year, a bill called S.201 proposed prohibiting the use of leg-hold traps in Vermont — rigs with metal pressure plates that, when stepped on, trigger spring-loaded claws to ensnare an animal’s leg.

With the passage of Act 11 this past Statehouse session, legislators have cleared the way for survivors of sexual and domestic violence to take matters to a nearby community justice center. 

Earlier this month, In a backyard overlooking Spear Street, dozens of Vermont Republicans watched a four-part performed history of patriotic songs and munched on barbecue beneath an American flag the width of a two-car garage in the leadup to Independence Day. 

Come next election, if you’re 16 and live in Brattleboro, you’ll get a say in your town elections.

Lawmakers and advocates say photo-generative software represents a serious escalation of “image-based sexual abuse”

Moved inside from the rain, state and federal leaders joined together at SunCommon in Waterbury on Wednesday to announce new funding through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar for All program.

Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke that night as part of the Gen. John Stark lecture series hosted by the Ethan Allen Institute, the small-government conservative think tank named for one of Vermont’s founding fathers. 

A small group of folks made a series of weekly trips around the New North End this past winter to remove the stickers — often found on signs or poles — and the effort is set to pick back up this summer.

On Friday, April 28, the Community College of Vermont held a town meeting on its Winooski campus with Senator Bernie Sanders.

Rees, 48, has dedicated most of her life to serving the South Burlington community.

As the state pushes toward its solar goals, what environmental questions must be examined?

The Vermont Agency of Digital Services banned use of the popular app TikTok on all state-owned devices, joining more than half the states and the federal government as concerns about the app’s Chinese ownership continue to swirl.

The Harwood Unified School District’s $45.4 million proposed budget for the 2024 fiscal year represents 6.5% increase in spending for the coming year, although programs and services remain level with the current year. Voters in the district approved the request by a vote of 1,192 to 599, according to results released Wednesday.

Vermont lawmakers are seeking to give workers increased protections when it comes to collective bargaining and union organizing through a bill that has passed in the Senate with a number of changes since it was introduced. 

H.45 proposes a specific protection many might not be familiar with: protection from abusive litigation.

Officials are cutting back how many lake trout are released annually into Lake Champlain after finding, for the first time in decades, sustained successful reproduction in the species — exciting news for biologists and anglers alike.

Vermont is the only state in the country where farmers cannot readily access a program meant to pay them back for restoring habitats around their farms.

Vermont’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, formed by legislators last year to document and examine state-sanctioned discrimination against historically oppressed groups, is in the process of hiring an executive director, legal counsel, an administrative assistant and research staff.

The bill, H.483, looks to implement a nondiscriminatory admissions process for prospective students on public tuition.

The Department for Children and Families has been in and out of the Statehouse in recent weeks to initiate the process of building a new rehab and detention facility for juveniles in Vermont, the latest steps in a plan drafted back in December. 

A proposed solar farm in Charlotte would see about 12,500 panels lined in rows across 21 acres on Lake Road.

Vermont students may have more protections when it comes to discrimination and harassment in schools as advocates are urging lawmakers to include them in a bill that right now only focuses on workplaces and places of public accommodations. 

This legislative session’s major housing bill drew a lot of attention last month for its impacts on Act 250 reform and single-family zoning.

A bill that would remove the residency requirement in Vermont’s law allowing terminally ill patients to receive medication with which to end their own life has passed the Legislature and awaits the governor’s approval. 

Vermont continues to see spikes in housing prices with the median home price rising 15% in 2022, according to the Vermont Housing Finance Agency. Communities and state officials alike have spent a lot of time discussing how the growth of short-term rentals in Vermont has contributed to the state’s housing crisis.

Whether towns and cities can charge farms for stormwater utility fees is at the center of a bubbling debate between state agriculture officials and municipal leaders around Vermont. 

A bill to help small farmers diversify their products with a new grant program crossed over from the House to the Senate, but not without a significant cut in the money behind it. 

Vermonters are one step closer to receiving job-protected leave to deal with the fallout of sexual and domestic violence as part of Democrats’ major paid leave bill, which passed through the House and into the Senate last month.

South Burlington officials want to eliminate 60% of the city’s carbon footprint by 2030, and with transportation accounting for two-thirds of that figure, the city’s climate action plan finalized last October is pushing for more electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. 

Vermont lawmakers launched the cross-party Future Caucus with the Millennial Action Project, a group focused on encouraging younger people to pursue politics, in 2015 to unify lawmakers under 45 years old and encourage younger individuals to run for office. But in June of last year, only 24 of the 150 state legislators were under 45. 

Senate legislators are considering a bill that would end a policy that suspends driver’s licenses as a result of not paying civil traffic violations within 30 days.

House lawmakers passed a sweeping land and water conservation bill March 24, in what is effectively a do-over of legislation vetoed last year by Gov. Phil Scott. 

House legislators passed a bill that would legalize mobile sports betting last week, putting Vermont on the road to joining other states in legalizing the practice.

Communities near proposed telecommunications facilities may get to have more involvement in the siting process through a bill in the House Committee on Energy and Environment.

Mandating and strengthening Holocaust education in schools has been brought up by lawmakers for the past few years, but the proposed bills are typically left untouched. This year, many representatives and senators are hoping that will change. 

A new Senate bill would prohibit the manufacture and sale of cosmetic and menstrual products and textiles containing PFAS and dozens of other materials dangerous for people and the environment.

Legislators may be looking at a bill to provide two hours paid leave for employees to vote in primary, general and Town Meeting Day elections. 

Lawmakers are looking to create a new grant program to help small farmers diversify their products or transition from one type of farm to another.

House legislators passed a bill last Friday that would allow victims of “stealthing” — when someone secretly removes or tampers with a condom during sex — to bring a civil case against their assailant. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee heard from familiar faces on a familiar policy last week: THC potency limits for cannabis concentrate products.

Residents in Bethel will tackle articles to authorize $2.5 million in bonds to improve the town’s water system, fill two openings on the selectboard, and decide if the town will move to Australian ballot voting in the following year.

A year into its creation as a standalone school district, the Central Vermont Career Center is asking voters in the 18 towns it serves to approve a 17.8% increase in its annual budget to expand its offerings.

City councilors want to drop funding for an equity director in the upcoming fiscal year’s budget, putting a “pause” on a role meant to address racial disparities in Vermont’s most racially diverse city.

Barnard residents will vote Town Meeting Day on whether the town should use $400,000 from budget surpluses to reduce property taxes and fund road repairs, along with deciding several open spots in the town government.

Guidelines for Vermont school districts’ curricula and reading materials may be changing for the first time in 10 years as a working group looks to push the state education board to put greater focus on racial and ethnic diversity and historically persecuted groups. 

A new bill would require Vermont public school students to take a personal finance course to graduate high school. 

More than a dozen House Republicans are looking to repeal the Global Warming Solutions Act and scrap the Vermont Climate Council — but even Gov. Phil Scott doesn’t think their bill will go anywhere.  The bill, H.74, would move away from the expansive 2020 law and toward the state’s Comprehensive Energy Plan, which is renewed […]

When Randolph voters hit the ballot box on Town Meeting Day, they will be deciding how to fill four spots on the selectboard and whether to boost the police budget to over $770,000 for the following fiscal year, up 121%.

U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vermont — the first woman and first openly LGBTQ individual to represent Vermont in Congress — attended her first State of the Union address that night. 

House Democrats’ latest push for a paid leave bill comes with a new addition: It would provide paid time off for people experiencing sexual or domestic violence. 

The group, created by the Waterbury Select Board last June, had its first-ever meeting this week in person at the Waterbury municipal center and carried online via Zoom as it begins to address the scarcity of affordable housing in Waterbury.

Environmental advocates across the state head into this year’s legislative session with the goal of updating Act 250 — Vermont’s land use and development law — to protect one of the state’s biggest natural resources: working forests. 

Winooski River’s Salmon Hole is part of Vermont’s list of impaired and threatened waters.

With a veto-proof majority, Democrats aim to take another crack at a clean heat bill and make climate issues their first priority next year in the State House.

Town leaders can get more tools to welcome newer Vermonters through a statewide program launched last month by Gov. Phil Scott and the state Office of Racial Equity.

Exit polling across central Vermont on Tuesday would suggest the statewide ballot item on reproductive rights, Article 22, was a leading driver for getting voters out to the polls.

Almost 70% of registered voters in Winooski cast ballots this election.

Voters went to the Orchard School Tuesday morning to cast their ballots.

Grafton County Commissioner Linda D. Lauer’s decision not to seek reelection this year has given two longtime public servants the chance to win the District 2 commission seat. 

Town officials across Washington County are anticipating higher voter turnout than previous elections this year — a trend attributed to wider use of mail-in absentee ballots.

An informational meeting to address lingering questions and concerns regarding the upcoming vote on whether to sell the property at 51 South Main Street attracted approximately 100 village residents on Tuesday. 

Two candidates who emphasize environmental concerns but differ on abortion rights will square off in the midterm election for an open New Hampshire Senate seat.

Voters may be familiar with the two candidates squaring off to represent the Orange-Caledonia District at the Statehouse.

The race for the Orange 2 House seat features two fresh faces for the Statehouse.

Anti-fossil fuel activists say officials have done too little to let people know about what’s going on.

U.S. Rep. Peter Welch on Friday praised President Joe Biden’s recent moves to boost solar energy