Magic Number: How Weinberger Won the Mayor's Race by 129 Votes

By Courtney Lamdin Posted on March 4, 2021 at 2:10PM

Interestingly, Democrats twice stymied earlier efforts to get the system on the ballot. In December 2019, a council subcommittee adjourned a meeting before the item could be moved to the full council, which could have put it on the Town Meeting Day 2020 ballot.

Cannabis Organization Heady Vermont Is on Hiatus

By Anne Wallace Allen Posted on March 4, 2021 at 11:00AM

Advocates for legalizing marijuana, and some lawmakers, had been pursuing a legal sales bill for years before it became law last fall. The bill enables legal marijuana sales in Vermont to start in 2022 in towns that vote to host stores.

Candidates of Color Win, Lose and Even Tie on Town Meeting Day

By Sasha Goldstein Posted on March 3, 2021 at 8:29PM

Erickson was spurred to enter the Maple Run school board race after getting into a debate on Facebook about the role school resource officers have in the school district. He believes the officers do not belong in schools and can make students of color feel unsafe.

Roughly Two Dozen Vermont Towns Just Say Yes to Marijuana Sales

By Anne Wallace Allen Posted on March 3, 2021 at 3:19PM

Before stores can sell cannabis, the governor has to appoint a Cannabis Control Board, whose members would be full-time state employees. That process is already behind schedule.

Burlington High School Opens Downtown Campus in Former Macy's

By Alison Novak Posted on March 3, 2021 at 1:36PM

nine through 12 — is going to feel lost for a while, which actually gives you kind of a fresh vibe,” Carney said. Interim principal Lauren McBride said that it will take teachers several weeks to settle into their classrooms and reestablish routines, but many are already thinking about how to get out into the community when the weather gets warmer, whether it be attending pop-up concerts on Church Street or taking students down to the lake.

COVID-19 Is Racing Through Vermont's Largest Prison

By Kevin McCallum Posted on March 2, 2021 at 11:58PM

Burlington Voters Back Ballot Measures on Weed, Evictions By Big Margins

By Derek Brouwer Posted on March 2, 2021 at 8:22PM

Tom Proctor, campaign director for the Just Cause Coalition and partner of Progressive Councilor Zoraya Hightower (P-Ward 1), said the election showed that residents, nearly two-thirds of whom are renters, “massively favor” more tenant protections. He added that aggressive campaign tactics used by landlords, including printing signs suggesting just-cause evictions would hurt people of color, may have backfired.

Weinberger Fends Off Tracy, Wins Fourth Term as Burlington Mayor

By Courtney Lamdin Posted on March 2, 2021 at 8:17PM

In the South District, Democratic Councilor Joan Shannon defended her seat from newcomer Grace Ahmed, an independent with Progressive support. Shannon earned 2,529 votes (67 percent) to Ahmed’s 1,272 (33 percent).

As Vaccination Pace Quickens, State Shifts Teachers, High-Risk People to Front of Queue

By Anne Wallace Allen Posted on March 2, 2021 at 4:05PM

, so the next sets of age bands will go much more briskly, just as these most recent ones are going,” Levine said. The state’s decision to accelerate the schedule for school workers was prompted by evidence that students are suffering under the remote and hybrid learning systems, said Smith.

New Maple Cooperative Aims to Unite Small Syrup Producers

By Anne Wallace Allen Posted on March 2, 2021 at 2:34PM

Krieg and others compare the rapidly consolidating maple industry with the state’s dairy industry, which has seen its farm count drop precipitously in recent years, from about 1,000 in 2010 to just 664 this year, according to the Vermont Agriculture and Food System Strategic Plan. There are a number of forces pressing on Vermont dairy farms, but a chief concern is a prolonged drop in milk prices.