VPR News

Vermonters with certain high-risk conditions are becoming eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine, starting with those age 55 and older this week, and younger adults in that medically vulnerable group next week. School staff are also eligible starting this week, but that rollout is complex. In our weekly health update: more on that and other COVID-19 news.

For the past year, the state of Vermont has used federal COVID relief money to give everyone who was experiencing homelessness a private room, in motels and hotels across the state. So what will happen to those 2,000 or so people when the pandemic ends?

Women made up more than two-thirds of Vermont's unemployment insurance claims last year. Women left the workforce at higher rates than men all over the U.S., but Vermont's rate is the highest in the country. This hour, we talk about the economic toll of COVID-19 on women in Vermont's workforce, especially women of color.

After decades in development and hundreds of billions of dollars spent, the F-35 fighter jet has proven difficult to maintain, and its systems are plagued by inconsistencies, software deficiencies and cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Now some in the Air Force say it's time for the military to cut its losses and move on, possibly to a new aircraft. What does that mean for the Vermont Air Guard’s fleet of the jets?

Last month, a Middlesex landmark, built in 1906, was destroyed by fire. Early this week, fire investigators determined an electrical fire in the church’s basement furnace room caused the fire.

Racial bias — implicit, subconscious or out in the open — is a serious human problem. So serious that it's been detected in an unexpected place: the world of artificial intelligence, computers and facial recognition technology. A documentary that's screening free for Vermonters through March 8 delves into the problem.

Department of Corrections officials held a press conference Thursday morning about the COVID-19 outbreak at the Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport, which has infected 128 inmates and 10 staff.

A reporter at the University of Vermont student newspaper The Vermont Cynic was covering the coronavirus on campus for more than a year when she got what any reporter craves: access to the inside story. But for this UVM student journalist, the inside story came courtesy of her own COVID-19 diagnosis.

This could be a critical week for a huge COVID-19 stimulus package in Congress. The $1.9 trillion measure has already passed the House and is expected to be approved by the Senate within the next few days. This hour, we talk with U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy about the key provisions of the package and what it means for individuals, towns and the state of Vermont.

The Montpelier Senior Activity Center once bustled with people. But COVID-19 changed that. This hour, we hear how this center, like many across the state, has adapted to the crisis and what this has meant for Vermont seniors.

Vermont is now facing the largest COVID-19 outbreak within a correctional facility since the pandemic began. Despite the implementation of public safety measures inside Department of Corrections' facilities, advocates say the state's decision not to prioritize incarcerated people for vaccines puts them at risk.

Town Meeting Day voters showed overwhelming support Tuesday for school districts, which have faced unprecedented challenges over the last year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Vermont Department of Corrections reported 100 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday among incarcerated individuals at Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport, as well as eight new cases among staff. This segment, we hear from Vermont's Defender General to get his perspective on the outbreak.

The University of Vermont recently announced a new dean for its College of Nursing and Health Sciences. This segment, we talk with her about her research and work on racial disparities, educational inequity and access to care in the word of speech pathology, and hear about her goals as the new dean.

The town of Ripton is one of seven to be part of the Addison Central School District, which came together under Act 46. But the people of Ripton want to leave the district in order to keep their school open.