VPR News

VPR is airing live coverage of the public impeachment hearings on Capitol Hill this week. We want to know what you're seeing, and what you're thinking about this political moment.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the median hourly wage for child care workers in Vermont is just over $13 an hour. As heard in this month's Brave Little State , figuring out how to train, retain and pay child care workers is a complicated question in Vermont. B ut for many parents, simply finding a spot for their child in a high-quality early education program can be a big challenge — let alone paying for it. New programs at two Vermont businesses seek to make child care more

Ever since Marlboro College announced last week that it would likely be closing its campus in Windham County, both the college community and people who live in the small town have been coming to grips with the news.

Rep. Peter Welch blew up the Twittersphere when he invited President Trump to participate in his own impeachment hearings. Welch made the comments on Wednesday, the first day of public impeachment hearings being held by the House Intelligence Committee. Welch is a member of that committee.

From our continuing series ‘Vermont Edition Presents’, bringing you to live events in communities around Vermont, a performance that blends the old and the new as Burlington soul-singer Kat Wright teams up with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra in a sold-out show at Higher Ground .

There's a new scholarship fund at the University of Vermont honoring Sen. Patrick Leahy and his wife, Marcelle Leahy, but the corporations and foundations that have donated to the scholarship may have motives other than simply supporting higher education.

Up to a foot of snow could fall overnight, especially in northwestern Vermont, according to the National Weather Service. Winter storm warnings and advisories are in effect across the listening area, but the impact of the storm could vary a lot depending on where in the region you are.

Democratic House Speaker Mitzi Johnson says the passage of a mandatory paid family leave bill will be a top priority in Vermont's 2020 legislative session, but Republican Gov. Phil Scott opposes the Democrats' approach to this issue.

"I've made mistakes / I know it's true / but you're so strong, so reach the sky." You haven't heard these lyrics before, but one new baby will — maybe each and every night, right before bathtime or bedtime or at 2 a.m., when the world seems scariest. It will be their song. It was written by a new parent with help from local musicians and groups for something called The Lullaby Project, from Carnegie Hall's Weill Institute of Music.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing on the USA Freedom Act, a bipartisan law passed in 2015 that will sunset at the end of this year if Congress does not renew it. Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat and the senior member of the committee, is a co-sponsor on the 2019 version of the act along with conservative Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee.

The Putney School's library has a special collection of hundreds of books by black writers and about race, thanks to an endowment started by alumnus Claude Winfield. Now that the school has joined a network of Vermont libraries, that collection is available beyond the school community.

When Vermont's last legislative session ended, Progressive Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman said he was disappointed Democrats didn't pass a paid family leave plan or increase the minimum wage , failing to deliver what he says "voters asked for in the 2018 election." The lieutenant governor joins Vermont Edition to discuss Progressive priorities at the Statehouse in 2020.

At Lisa Carton's tiny house nestled in the hills of Bennington, there are a whole lot of rainbows. Wood panels painted purple, green, orange, yellow and blue frame Carton's front door. Inside, the main room is cushioned by a multi-hued, kaleidoscopic rug. Out the back door is a shed where, until a recent storm blew it down, a Pride flag flew.

A scandal rocked Middlebury's Porter Medical Center last month, leading to an investigation by the center's board of directors and the resignation of the hospital's president just months after he took on the job. But the scandal didn't involve money, mismanagement or other issues many might associate with such scandals — it was anonymous allegations about plagiarized emails that led to the resignation.

Those of us who call this state home are Vermonters — but we come to that identity in myriad ways, and with divergent and intertwining life stories. At a public event at Randolph's Chandler Center for the Arts on Oct. 29, five Vermonters shared stories illuminating the challenges and joys of living here.