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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.
ALSO: Kinder Way Farm Sanctuary was decimated during the holiday storm, but they plan to rebuild; Brattleboro Memorial Hospital staff rescued a barred owl stuck in a car grill in what they called a 'Christmas miracle'; The Brattleboro Retreat will lease a recently closed assisted living facility, the Holton Home, to provide temporary housing for visiting doctors and nurses.
ALSO: Animal rescue organizations across Vermont say dog adoptions have slowed way down this year, while the number of dogs arriving at their shelters has been rising; Property crimes in Rutland have risen dramatically in 2022 compared to recent years; No injuries were reported from a shot fired inside a Burlington bar early Monday morning.
ALSO: Orange County Sheriff-elect George Contois attempted to take over the position early; The Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the Orange County state’s attorney have cleared a Ludlow police officer who fatally shot a man following a chase in August; In 2018, lawmakers required all school districts to use the same financial and human resources software. A new report says that law should be repealed.
ALSO: The Green Mountain Care Board trimmed OneCare Vermont's budget, with more cuts expected; A feasibility study found that a proposed Brattleboro Fire Department takeover of local EMS services may cost taxpayers more per year than they’ve paid Rescue Inc. annually; Gordon St. Hilaire has resigned from the Williston Selectboard after pleading not guilty earlier this month to stalking his ex-girlfriend and vandalizing her car.
ALSO: Ariel Quiros is asking a judge to reconsider his five-year sentence after serving a little less than five months for his role in the Jay Peak EB-5 fraud case; A former teacher at Green Mountain Union High School in Chester has pleaded guilty to possession of child sexual abuse materials; More than a year after a Maine toddler died when he accidentally shot himself with a gun he found at a Barre home, the child’s parents are suing the homeowner and her employer, claiming both neglected to make sure the weapon was stored safely.
ALSO: The state’s largest health insurer announced Tuesday that it will not contract with OneCare Vermont in 2023; Attorneys for Monsanto’s parent company, Bayer, filed a motion on Monday, seeking to temporarily halt the demolition of the closed-down Burlington High School building; Vermont Public is buying Northern Vermont University’s radio station.
ALSO: The Vermont Legislature may rule on sports betting this year; As Vermont’s new attorney general, secretary of state, and treasurer prepare to be sworn in come January, they have announced a slate of new deputies; Darn Tough Vermont, the Northfield sock manufacturer, is getting recognition for its commitment to hiring and retaining military veterans.
ALSO: In an effort to recruit and retain staff amid a national workforce shortage, the University of Vermont Health Network has broken ground on a second new apartment building for employees; Five City Council seats are up for grabs in Burlington in March, and Democrats picked their nominees during a virtual caucus on Thursday night; Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger intends to try again to make interim police chief Jon Murad the permanent head of the Burlington Police Department.
ALSO: A legislative panel has given Gov. Phil Scott’s administration the green light to wind down rental assistance and emergency housing services as federal dollars dry up; Brattleboro’s police department is testing a program in which civilians take over roles that had been occupied by police officers; St. Johnsbury police, responding to a report that an individual may have been shot, found a person dead at a Hastings Street home early Wednesday.
ALSO: Vermont entrepreneur and environmentalist Will Raap died Monday night; Federal prosecutors allege that Sam Bankman-Fried used stolen money to fund his political spending; A pickup truck collided with two cars and then hit the side of Babes Bar in Bethel on Saturday.