Search Results

By Line search: By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

The Vermont Republican Party has dismantled Democrats’ supermajority in the Vermont Senate, unseating four incumbents and dominating races for open seats. Republicans toppled Democratic incumbents in the Addison, Orange, Chittenden-North and Grand...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

Lawmakers gathered Wednesday for an annual legislative briefing, a refresher on the state’s revenues and budget with a focus on two of the most pressing topics of the day: education finance and housing.“What I would ask you is this: What is your prize...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

Vermonters can expect a 5.9% average increase in education property taxes next year absent major changes, according to a forecast from the Vermont Department of Taxes.The news arrived Monday in the form of the “Dec. 1 letter,” an annual projection...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

Zoie Saunders, Vermont’s interim secretary of education, has hailed the importance of data in revitalizing the state’s education system since she took office this spring.Stakeholders say they desperately need data. School districts are building...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

Vermonters cited affordability as a top priority in the 2024 election, and last week, they voted to send more Republicans to Montpelier than in recent decades. Driving affordability concerns is the cost of education, which fueled this year’s average...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

The company that provides health services in Vermont’s prisons, Wellpath, is preparing to file for bankruptcy, according to reporting from Bloomberg.One of the country’s largest prison health care providers, Wellpath is owned by the private equity...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

On the campaign trail, state legislative candidates say affordability dominates conversations with constituents. Property taxes — and with them, the cost of education — are fueling some of the most fiery rhetoric.This year, education property taxes...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

Educators nationwide face a tricky question in an election year: In an increasingly polarized political age, how should schools teach about politics, and with it, democracy? In Vermont, teachers are collectively grappling with the challenge.Hundreds...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

After a lower court judge dismissed two senators’ lawsuit over the appointment of Interim Education Secretary Zoie Saunders, the lawmakers on Thursday appealed their case to the Vermont Supreme Court. Sens. Tanya Vyhovsky, P/D-Chittenden Central, and...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

A judge ordered last week that a Lamoille County murder trial will be delayed following a mix-up over evidence disclosure.Seth Brunell was scheduled to stand trial next week on a charge of second-degree murder. He is accused of killing Fern Feather, a...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

After surprise PCB test results this summer forced North Country Union High School students to take some classes in tents, all classes will move back inside next week.The news came after the latest round of test results, according to Chris Young, the...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

A judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit brought by two Vermont state senators over Gov. Phil Scott’s appointment of Zoie Saunders as interim education secretary.The ruling came a day after Judge Robert Mello heard from both sides in Washington County...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

SOUTH BURLINGTON— The political debate about plans to replace Vermont’s only women’s prison, Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility, is marked by calls for reform, fiscal responsibility and abolitionism.But for those who are incarcerated at or work...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department no longer guards the doors of the Orange County Courthouse in Chelsea. That responsibility now belongs to the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department.And while state judicial officials have been mum on why, emails...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

A teacher at Twinfield Union School is facing a charge of aggravated disorderly conduct for allegedly using a permanent marker to draw around a student’s throat, according to Vermont State Police.Kathleen Wheelock, 48, of Montpelier, allegedly drew on...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

New details of a 2022 murder in Springfield, Vt., illustrate an extensive police investigation that tied together the alleged major players in a particularly violent period for the town.Vermont State Police last week announced the arrest of Paul...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

Vermont State Police said Wednesday that Paul Lachapelle Jr., of Littleton, New Hampshire, was arrested in that state, and charged with the 2022 murder of Justin Gilliam in Springfield, Vermont.“VSP’s investigation determined the homicide was related...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

North Country Union High School students will start the school year learning in tents after testing registered high levels of PCBs in the school’s primary academic wing.The polychlorinated biphenyls have also pushed back the start of school until...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

Vermont is pursuing two potential locations for a new women’s prison in Essex, Vt.For years, state Department of Corrections officials have stressed the need to replace Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington, calling conditions...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

If anyone could navigate Vermont’s special education system, it was Chris and Pallas Ziporyn — or so they believed.Chris, once a teacher, received a master’s degree with a focus on special education. As a teenager, Pallas served on her local school...

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

In a motion filed Wednesday, Gov. Phil Scott’s administration fired back at the two Vermont senators suing the governor and Interim Education Secretary Zoie Saunders, asking the court to dismiss the case. The motion, penned by two lawyers in the...