VPR News

It’s been a tough year for thousands of Vermont tenants. Many renters lost income due to the pandemic. Unpaid bills and missing rent payments have piled up and when the state and federal eviction moratoriums end, thousands could be at risk of losing their apartment. That’s why Congress allocated billions of dollars to programs to help tenants pay back-rent. In Vermont, a new rental assistance program launched in early April could be a lifeline for struggling residents.

In a year that’s taken us for an uncertain ride, public transportation services in Vermont have remained accessible, reliable, and most of all, safe.

Young-adult author Jo Knowles works closely with students at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction. That may be surprising, given that Knowles is not a visual artist and has no experience in cartooning. But she draws on her experience as a writer to help others tell good stories, whether through prose or a good cartoon.

Lawmakers are coming down the homestretch of the 2021 session and there seem to be some significant budget issues dividing legislative leaders and Gov. Phil Scott. This hour, we talk with Vermont's legislative leaders about this and other issues.

Hey, c'mere a second. Have you heard about this new research out of Dartmouth that shows gossip may actually be beneficial? Word is, a postdoctoral researcher worked with a psychology and brain science professor to find out if gossip gets an undeserved bad rap.

New reporting from VPR's Abagael Giles examines the critical role community organizers have played in helping shrink the vaccination gap between BIPOC and white Vermonters. In our weekly health update, we talk with Giles. We also hear from two of the visionaries behind Burlington's BIPOC clinics and consider how their recent efforts might serve as a model for building health equity in Vermont.

Vermont has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country. But in early April, the vaccination rate for BIPOC – people who identify as Black, Indigenous or people of color – lagged 13% behind white Vermonters. Now, that gap has closed by half . And it appears to be shrinking even further, thanks to clinics across the state, led and designed by leaders who are people of color, with funding and support from the Vermont Department of Health.

This spring, we're reporting a series of stories about business owners who've started something new or substantially changed their operation over the course of the pandemic. Up next: Starting a business after a job loss.

A nearly two-year investigation into the Bennington Police Department has found that officers failed to adequately investigate alleged threats against former state legislator Kiah Morris because of its racism and prejudice.

After 20 years at Vermont Public Radio and 40-some years of working in news, VPR senior reporter John Dillon is retiring. When he started, he was VPR’s first full-time reporter. Over the years, he’s served as news director and worked for the New England News Collaborative, and covered agriculture, energy and the environment – as well as the Legislature.

Thomas Melone’s solar projects planned for the Apple Hill neighborhood in Bennington have so far generated more litigation than electrons.

Madeleine Kunin served as Vermont's 77th governor — the first and only woman to hold that position. The former politician is also a writer who has written four books, touching on subjects such as politics, feminism and aging. Now Kunin is the author of a collection of poems, titled Red Kite, Blue Sky .

For two decades, Ed Paquin has worked to protect Vermonters with disabilities against abuse, neglect and violation of their rights. A former state House representative and past president of the Vermont Coalition for Disability Rights, he's retiring as the executive director of Disability Rights Vermont on Friday, May 7.

Think back to just over a year ago: empty streets, shuttered businesses, layoffs, furloughs and widespread fear of a virus we knew little about — so many struggles at that moment. One group that faced some unique challenges were small business owners.

State health officials are concerned that many young people are choosing not to get a COVID-19 vaccination because of what they've read on the internet. In our weekly health update, we take a look at the state's efforts to reach out to younger Vermonters, plus other COVID-19 news.