Read the latest news from regional and global sources, presenting different voices and perspectives.

Ellen Kaye and Claire Whitehouse: Amid federal chaos, will Vermont employers retain good jobs or reward their executives?
Commentaries are opinion pieces contributed by readers and newsmakers. VTDigger strives to publish a variety of views from a broad range of Vermonters. Commentaries give voice to community members and do not represent VTDigger’s views. To submit a...

Merveilleux-scientifique
When Nicolas Vermont entered the greenhouse, he would make a gruesome discovery. It was the early 20th century in rural France, and Nicolas was visiting his uncle – a scientist and surgeon called Dr Frédéric Lerne – after 15 years apart. However,...

Science says plastic bag bans really do work
When you outlaw or discourage the sale of plastic bags, fewer of them end up as litter on beaches. That’s the intuitive finding of a paper published Thursday in the journal Science, which involved an analysis of policies to restrict plastic bag...

Vermont Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (S.69)
On June 12, 2025, Governor Phil Scott signed into law S.69, the Vermont Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (the “AADC” or “Vermont Kids Code”). Vermont’s AADC focuses on protecting children and ensuring that online products and services are designed...

Impacts of Vermont’s single-use plastic ban, 5 years later
BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Vermont’s single-use plastics ban is five years old. A new UVM study found that it has not only proved to be very effective, but also popular. “The plastic in the oceans, the plastic in the landfills, it’s a dreadful...

Vermont Enacts Age-Appropriate Design Code
On June 12, 2025, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed into law the Vermont Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (S.B. 69) (the “Code”). The Code takes effect on January 1, 2027. The Code requires “covered businesses” that develop or provide online...

Burlington Vermont Renames Church Street to Canada Street in Anti-Trump Snub
In a virtue-signaling display of institutional Trump Derangement Syndrome, the city of Burlington, Vermont, passed a resolution to spend $3,000 to rename its main shopping corridor from Church Street to Canada Street. The silly effort is premised...

Vermont Construction Academy hosts trade boot camp
The new Vermont Construction Academy has launched a five-week trade boot camp in Winooski to help students experience high-demand careers in construction, engineering and more. The academy planned an information session on Wednesday, with the...

Vermont’s local farms defy Big Food by building a resilient, community-based economy
A small-town network of farmers and food advocates in Vermont is proving that sustainable, profitable agriculture doesn’t have to mean industrial-scale operations or partisan division. Stephanie Hanes reports for The Christian Science Monitor. In...

Government says Harvard researcher accused of smuggling brought 'biological materials'
(WJAR) — Attorneys argued over whether a Harvard researcher accused of smuggling frog embryos brought “biological materials” into the U.S. in a court hearing Wednesday. Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born scientist conducting cancer research for...

Ryan Sheehan commits to Vermont State University Lyndon for baseball in 2025-2026!
On Thursday, June 19, Vermont State University Lyndon announced that Ryan Sheehan of BFA-Fairfax has committed to the baseball program for 2025-2026. He will study Exercise Science with a concentration in Pre-Professional Athletic Training....
Harvard scientist accused of smuggling frog embryos, ‘biological materials’ to US; trial begins
In a US court hearing on Wednesday, attorneys argued over whether a Harvard researcher accused of smuggling frog embryos brought “biological materials” in the US. Kseniia Petrova said that she did not know the items needed to be declared and was...

The Vermont Age-Appropriate Design Code Act: What You Need to Know
Vermont recently adopted the Vermont Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, which goes into effect on January 1, 2027. The law is enforceable by the Vermont Attorney General as an unfair or deceptive act or practice. The Attorney General’s Office may...

U.S. gov't says Harvard researcher accused of smuggling frog embryos brought 'biological materials'
Published: 19 Jun. 2025, 11:46 Harvard University researcher Kseniia Petrova, 30, departs the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse after being released on bail from federal custody in Boston on June 12. [AP/YONHAP] Attorneys argued over...

Government says Harvard researcher accused of smuggling frog embryos brought 'biological materials'
BOSTON – Attorneys argued over whether a Harvard researcher accused of smuggling frog embryos brought “biological materials” into the U.S. in a court hearing Wednesday. Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born scientist conducting cancer research for...

As leadership change looms, Vermont’s Progressive Party head reflects on tenure
Josh Wronski, Executive Director of the Vermont Progressive Party, listens as the Vermont Secretary of State’s office certifies the election results of statewide races in Montpelier on Nov. 12, 2024. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger As he...

‘Take a look at what’s happened in Vermont’: Challenges to state’s tribal recognition process loomed over Maine legislative debate this year
Clarissa Sabattis, chief of the Houlton Band of Maliseets, foreground, and other leaders of Maine’s tribes are welcomed by lawmakers into the House Chamber on March 16, 2023, at the State House in Augusta, Maine. Rena Newell, Chief of the...
Dealerships say they need more support to meet Vermont’s zero-emission goals
SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Vermont’s zero-emission vehicle sale requirements hit a red light after a yearslong push to move away from gas-powered vehicles. In 2022, the state adopted several rules based on California’s standards requiring car...

Summer Programs Provide 1 Million Free Meals to Vermont Kids
When Essex Westford schools let out for the summer, the work doesn't stop for child nutrition director Scott Fay and his team. Just days later, they begin converting the kitchen at Essex High School into a de facto packaging facility. A cadre of...

Is death reversible? Scientists uncover a third state of life.
Visualising life at the edge: Scientists explore cellular activity in a “third state” between life and death. Credit: PhonlamaiPhoto's Images via Canva.com For as long as humans have walked the Earth, death has been the endpoint. The body proceeds...