Vermont Digger

Jesup’s milk-vetch. Photo by Levi Smith/Wikimedia Commons Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship President Donald Trump’s administration finalized a rule change last month that alters the definition of “harm” in the Endangered Species Act, loosening protections for endangered species and making them more vulnerable to habitat loss and extinction.  Passed in 1973, the act previously defined “harm” broadly to include any actions that injure or kill

On a sunny July Fourth weekend at Lake Dunmore, with his family running around “pretending to be sharks,” David Miles noticed an odd sensation — his wedding ring was no longer on his finger.  Miles, a Montpelier resident, was about to celebrate his 46th wedding anniversary, and he rarely, if ever, removed his ring. He didn’t think it had been very long since it had slipped off his finger. Yet the prospect of finding it in the lake, which was full of swimmers, was daunting.  

A pair of hikers head up the Monroe Trail in Camel’s Hump State Park in Duxbury on Thursday, August 6, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger After three decades, Vermont is looking to change its primitive camping rules to help take more preventive measures against wildfires and land pollution, according to the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. Vermonters who participate in primitive camping typically stay in a remote area without any modern amenities, such as running water

Sam Demers, a nurse in the Emergency Department at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, on Wednesday, August 5, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger On the afternoon of Aug. 29, 2025, 24-year-old Destiny Hubbell was in a Morrisville emergency room for a mental health emergency examination, when she grew angry and agitated. She started spitting at healthcare workers, on their faces and in their eyes, court documents show.  “Now you’re infected!” she repeated as she

This commentary is by Abby Long, the executive director of the Northeast Kingdom Collaborative. I love the Northeast Kingdom. Not just because we’re surrounded by stunning working landscapes, world-class outdoor recreation, vibrant arts and some of the best local food and drink. I love it because it’s home. It’s the community my family chose, and like so many, I want it to thrive. The very qualities that make the Northeast Kingdom, the NEK, such a remarkable place are

Nicholas Jacobson, left, associate professor of biomedical data science, psychiatry and computer science, Dr. Michael Heinz, assistant professor of psychiatry, at Dartmouth’s Center for Technology and Behavioral Health in Lebanon, N.H., on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. Heinz and Jacobson have worked together to develop Therabot, an AI mental health chatbot. Photo by Alex Driehaus/Valley News This story by Molly Hughes was first published in the Valley News on Aug. 13, 2026.In the summer of 1

A federal agent wears a badge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement while standing outside an immigration courtroom in New York in June 2025. File photo by Yuki Iwamura/AP U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested at least nine people across Vermont last weekend in three separate operations — including arrests of workers heading to or from job sites — a pattern that advocates say points to more federal agents than usual operating in the state. “The Trump Administration is utilizin

River Arts executive director Jonah Rabinowitz takes in an exhibit that was relocated from the Morrisville Post Office gallery, where some of the photographs were deemed to contain “political content.” Photo by Gordon Miller/News&Citizen This story by Patrick Bilow was first published in the News & Citizen on Aug. 13, 2026.Morrisville arts organization River Arts removed an exhibit from the town post office’s walls after complaints that the artwork was too political. River Arts ha

The Vermont Supreme Court in Montpelier on Tuesday, June 30, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger The Vermont Supreme Court has dealt a legal setback to the defense team of the driver charged with murder in a police chase that killed a Rutland City officer more than three years ago. The state’s highest court in a ruling this week denied a bid by attorneys for 23-year-old Tate Rheaume to challenge a Rutland judge’s decision blocking the introduction at trial of a damning internal affairs r

A crowd of about 100 people rally July 14 in support of the birthing center at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger State regulators expressed both concern and support as acting administrators at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital outlined plans at a Friday online hearing to curb deficit spending caused by past administrative and accounting problems. “I do think the Brattleboro community is suffering the consequences of mismanagement at this hospital,” Sara Teachout,

Born: 09/15/1950 The Bronx, New York Died: 08/10/2026 Burlington, Vermont Details of service: Friends are invited to gather for a celebration on her birthday in September to share stories and remember the good times. Terry M. Agnelli, 75, of Vermont, passed away on August 10, 2026. Born in September of 1950 in the Bronx and raised in Connecticut, Terry earned her master’s degree from the University of Vermont and devoted her entire life to nursing. She cared for patients

This commentary is by Jonathan Leibowitz, the president and CEO of Montpelier-based Northeast Wilderness Trust, and Robert T. Perschel, author of “Numinosity: A New England Forester’s Search for the Ineffable” and former executive director of the New England Forestry Foundation. The closure of Finch Paper’s pulp mill in Glens Falls, New York, is a blow that will echo across the Northeast for years. For loggers, truckers, foresters and woodlot landowners, this is not some distant threat to wor

A U.S. Border Patrol vehicle patrolling the area near Richford, Vermont in August 2025. CBP file photo by Jerry Glaser/Wikimedia Commons Moments after a Chittenden County sheriff’s deputy pulled over a Chevrolet Spark on a back road in Berkshire last month, the officer picked up his personal cellphone and texted a group of Border Patrol agents.  “Need one of you,” the text said. Within the hour, a farmworker was in federal custody. He was later deported. The ac

Brattleboro locals participated in a community stitch event, adding stitches and messages for the incarcerated people at Springfield prison. Courtesy photo by Katie Kohnfelder/Community News Service. This story by Emily Rodin was first published in the Community News Service on Aug. 6, 2026. Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, and Report for America A quilt stitched by incarcerated Vermonters and Brattleboro community members will go on display in

An undeveloped vacant lot in downtown Newport in March 2024. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger On a recent summer afternoon in downtown Newport, portions of Main Street were bustling: Vendors were setting up for the Wednesdays on the Waterfront concert series, neighbors chatted at a cafe, and visitors were enjoying the town’s flower displays and sweeping views of Lake Memphremagog. However, one part of downtown — “the pit” — sat quiet and empty, as it has for over a decade. The razed ci

Dear Editor, We needed Act 250 in 1970 because most small towns did not have sufficient regulations or the capacity to effectively administer the sudden flood of applications for large development projects.  But, as with all bureaucracies, the administrators of Act 250 became seduced by their power and came to believe they knew best what was best for Vermont.  The process of Act 250 requires an applicant to work through a district coordinator. Not a bad idea in theory, but onc

Dear Editor,  Vermont Friends of Israel is deeply concerned about the state of education in Vermont schools that allowed 14-year-old Zoya Bianchi to become so certain of her moral clarity regarding the world’s most complex conflict and so convinced of the evils of America’s closest ally. This is a failure by the adults and institutions that have shaped her understanding. However, it comes as no surprise. Vermont is one of only eight states nationwide and the only one in Ne

Killington’s welcome sign pictured in 2022. File photo by Natalie Williams/VTDigger Local issues drove high voter turnout in Killington for the August primary Tuesday as residents weighed in on a special revote on the town budget.  Over 40% of the town’s voters cast ballots on the $7.6 million budget, with 59% of those who voted supporting the measure. Voters previously shot down a budget that was $600,000 more on Town Meeting Day in March. The budget vote comes against a bac

Candidate for governor Amanda Janoo speaks during a Democratic Party unity rally in Burlington on Wednesday, August 12, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Amanda Janoo seemed to have none of the typical advantages on her side going into Tuesday’s Democratic primary for governor of Vermont. She had both raised and spent less campaign money than her opponent, Aly Richards. She had fewer endorsements from current and former lawmakers. And compared with Richards — the former head of a promi

Theo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger. Deputy State Auditor Tim Ashe held off newcomer Nick Graeter. Ashe is pictured here in August 2020. File photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger As Vermont voters went to the polls for Tuesday’s primary election, they sought change, citing concerns such as tax policy, education reform and wealth inequality. But while Democrats selected a progressive political newcomer and self-described “long shot” candidate as