McClaughry: Legislative pay grab at the Vermont Statehouse
The bill provides for huge increases in legislative pay. We are about to get the professional legislature Vermonters shouldn’t have to support.
McClaughry: Renewable Energy Vermont urging passage of bill requiring purchase of renewable energy
The future the group envisions is one where everything runs on electricity, and all of that electricity is generated by solar farms and wind farms, mainly the former. This may seem ridiculous, and it is, when you consider that in Vermont solar electricity can only be produced about 35% of the time.
McClaughry: Another blow to the administrative state
In plain English, if you believe you are unfairly or extralegally regulated by a federal agency, you now have a constitutional right to have that dispute settled by an independent third party judge — not a judge employed by and accountable to the regulators.
Short-term rentals play comparatively small part in Vermont’s housing crunch
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.
Vermont farms shouldn’t pay local stormwater fees, state says, but towns disagree — and are charging them anyway
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.
Municipal leaders, developers debate affordable housing bill
Vermont municipal leaders and developers have given their support to a legislation aimed at increasing the supply of affordable housing across the state through incentives. However, a decades-old law bubbled back up to the surface.
Testimony: State Department, CIA worked together to suppress Hunter Biden laptop story to help Biden win election
The investigation into Hunter Biden took a turn this week after a career intelligence official reportedly testified that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and the Biden campaign were behind a letter from 51 U.S. intelligence officials discrediting the Hunter Biden laptop prior to the 2020 election.
Clean heat standard advocates continue to trash high-cost estimates
Advocates for S.5, dubbed “The Unaffordable Heat Act” by critics, continue to lament and challenge Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore’s estimate that the program will add $0.70 to each gallon of heating oil, propane, natural gas and kerosene.
Eric Davis: H.230 would kill off Vermont gun shows, prevent self protection
H.230 has almost nothing to do with reducing suicides and everything to do with further restricting the rights of law-abiding Vermonters to obtain and keep a firearm for personal protection.
Waterbury’s newest dispensary is now open to the public
In the fall of 2021, Lynette Vallecillo and fiance Robert Owen purchased the former gas station known as Emery’s on Waterbury-Stowe Road. Now, they’ve opened GoodFire dispensary on the lot, adding another cannabis operation to the town’s offerings.
Not a single U.S. House Democrat votes to protect girls’ sports
“The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act” passed the U.S. House Thursday in a 219-203 vote. It would require that “school athletics comply with the Title IX recognition of a person’s reproductive biology at birth.” Not one Republican voted against the bill. Not one Democrat voted for it.
Experts warn increased rainfall and trail traffic can cause dangerous erosion
With mud season just beginning, experts warn that Vermonters should stay away from high-elevation trails for now to protect natural areas from erosion and further damage.