News

WASHINGTON (AP) — Unemployed Americans who have turned down job offers because they feared their prospective employers weren't providing sufficient protection from the coronavirus would qualify for jobless aid under a directive the Labor Department issued Thursday.

BURLINGTON, VT – Starting today, Vermonters age 65 and older can make an appointment at Walgreens to get their COVID-19 vaccination. This is in advance of the statewide clinics for this age group that begin on March 1.

Walgreens Offers Vaccine to Vermonters 65 and Older Starting Today

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermonters aged 65 and older can now make appointments to get their COVID-19 vaccinations at Walgreens pharmacies, the Vermont Department of Health said Thursday.

New travel and gatherings guidance for fully vaccinated people

WASHINGTON (AP) — Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine offers strong protection against severe COVID-19, according to an analysis released Wednesday by U.S. regulators that sets the stage for a final decision on a new and easier-to-use shot to help tame the pandemic.

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The board of the financially challenged Vermont State College System has voted to proceed with a plan to consolidate the three residential colleges and make the Community College of Vermont a separate institution.

BURLINGTON, Vt., Feb. 23 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Tuesday announced the winners of his eleventh annual State of the Union essay contest, which gives Vermont high school students an opportunity to describe pressing issues they would prioritize as president of the United States. O…

Waterbury, Vt., February 23, 2021 – Vermont Department of Corrections (Vermont DOC) is reporting one new staff case of Covid-19 and nine new incarcerated cases at Northwest State Correctional Facility (NWSCF) in St. Albans. The ten cases were detected in testing conducted February 17, 2021.

Gov. Scott announces new gathering guidance for people who are fully vaccinated

MONTPELIER – The Vermont Department of Labor (VDOL) is finalizing validation efforts this week and working with the Department of Buildings and General Services to print and mail new 1099-G tax forms by the beginning of next week to all 2020 unemployment insurance claimants.

NEWPORT – Orleans Superior Court, Judge Mary Miles Teachout presiding, today granted the State’s motion for a temporary restraining order, ordering HNR Desautels LLC, currently believed to be doing business as Derby Port Press, and its owner, Andre “Michael” Desautels, to stop violating Gove…

Montpelier, Vt. - Governor Phil Scott today announced that 11 new plug-in electric vehicle (EV) fast-charge stations are scheduled to be installed across Vermont over the next two years. The charge stations will be located in Newport, Enosburgh, St. Johnsbury, Johnson, South Hero, Springfiel…

The Small Business Administration is accepting applications for the 2021 Vermont Emerging Leaders Program which will be held virtually and is slated to begin in the April.  

Southern Vermont: Drivers should expect to see snow covered roads and slow travel throughout the afternoon as widespread snow showers make their way through the area During periods of snowfall expect poor visibility especially after nightfall. Accumulations of over 6”possible in the upper el…

The COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. topped 500,000 Monday, all but matching the number of Americans killed in World War II, Korea and Vietnam combined.

Montpelier, Vt. - Governor Phil Scott has issued an executive order creating the Governor’s Commission on the Future of Vermont Agriculture to study and strategize how best to grow agriculture in the Green Mountain State.

Lawsuit Is Second Enforcement Action Brought By The AG Since Start of Pandemic

“We are thrilled that the Vermont State Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the historic gun safety law banning high-capacity magazines. This historic 2018, gun safety law was passed after a mass school shooting plot was uncovered in Fair Haven. This plot was a stark reminder t…

Officials announce change in travel rules for vaccinated people, guidance for long-term care facilities

Governor Phil Scott today announced a welcomed update to the state’s travel quarantine policy. Effective Tuesday, February 23rd people who are fully vaccinated and at least 14 days out from their final vaccine dose, can travel to and from Vermont without quarantine restrictions. This change …

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is inviting public comments on a proposal to construct eight surveillance towers in northern Vermont, at sites across the towns of Derby, Franklin, Highgate, Richford and Troy, along with two sites in Champlain, New York.  Similar surveillance towers …

Montpelier, Vt. - Governor Phil Scott today joined a bipartisan group governors in the U.S. Climate Alliance to applaud the decision to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement, while highlighting the work Vermont is doing to combat climate change.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A NASA rover streaked through the orange Martian sky and landed on the planet Thursday, accomplishing the riskiest step yet in an epic quest to bring back rocks that could answer whether life ever existed on Mars.

Here's what's happening Wednesday with the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.:

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Advocates and some lawmakers in Vermont want to create safe drug consumption sites, make the opioid-overdose antidote naloxone more available and provide fentanyl testing strips to decrease the number of opioid-related deaths in the state.

MONTPELIER, VT--- The Coalition for Tobacco Free Vermont, along with health experts, members of the House and Senate Social Equity Caucuses, the Center for Black Health and Equity, and Vermont youth urged the Vermont Legislature to pass S.24, legislation to eliminate the sale of all flavored…

Have a Loved One Age 70 and Older? Remind Them to Sign Up for COVID-19 Vaccine.

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Christopher Parker, 63, of Guilford, Vermont, was sentenced today in the United States District Court in Burlington following his conviction for tax evasion. U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss sentenced Park…

As of 3:00 p.m. Thursday, February 18, 2021

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2021 — After more than a year since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was declared a global health emergency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continue to unde…

COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments Open for Vermonters 70 and Older

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - All 158th Fighter Wing members who deployed for training last month to Florida have tested negative for COVID-19.

Montpelier, Vt. - Governor Phil Scott announced today that he is seeking applications for two openings on the State Board of Education.

As of 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 17, 2021

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17, 2021 — In January 2021, President Biden released the National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness. The plan is driven by science, data, and public health to improve the effectiveness of our nation’s fight against COVID-19 and to restore trust, ac…

Vaccinations in the NEK

CHICAGO (AP) — Executioners who put 13 inmates to death in the last months of the Trump administration likened the process of dying by lethal injection to falling asleep and called gurneys "beds" and final breaths "snores."

Health officials around the world are racing to vaccinate enough people to stop the spread of COVID-19, but what qualifies as "enough" is still an open question.

The Honorable Christina E. Nolan, U.S. Attorney for Vermont, announced she will tender her resignation, effective February 28, 2021. U.S. Attorney Nolan assumed the position on November 27, 2017, following the bipartisan recommendation of Senator Patrick Leahy and Governor Phil Scott; the Pr…

Vermonters Age 70 and Older Can Now Make COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments

Waterbury, Vt., February 16, 2021 – The Vermont Department of Corrections is conducting an internal review following the death of a Vermont inmate at Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler, Mississippi, on Saturday.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced an extension of eviction and foreclosure moratoriums on USDA Single Family Housing Direct and Guaranteed loans through June 30, 2021. The actions announced today will bring relief to residents in rural America who have housing loans t…

Montpelier, Vt. – The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) today announced that it has launched the use of new devices that will enable people who are deaf or hard of hearing to communicate easily and effectively with staff at all DMV locations.

Northern Vermont: Afternoon commuters will continue to see some slushy roads as scattered rain and drizzle and small-scale snow showers continue minor accumulations of up to 1 ½” possible. This system of precipitation is forecast to be out of the region by 9-10PM leaving late night travelers…