VPR News

In her eight years in office, State Treasurer Beth Pearce has pushed Vermont to tackle its critical financial issues head-on, like confronting the real costs of clean water programs and the state's multi-billion dollar retirement and pension obligations . We're talking with Treasurer Pearce about the state's fiscal outlook and why her office has gotten involved in some major environmental issues.

Leaders in St. Albans have been sparring with Vermont's state auditor about the city's implementation of a downtown revitalization program. Doug Hoffer says the city isn't playing by the rules, while local officials say Hoffer is trying to change the rules partway through the game.

In her yearlong series, "Hooked: Stories and Solutions from Vermont's Opioid Crisis ," Seven Days writer Kate O'Neill investigates the reality of opioid addiction in Vermont. O'Neill's June 5 article, "Between a 'Hub' and a Hard Place," shares three stories about the challenges of living with opioid addiction in rural areas.

After 29 years, the last video store in St. Johnsbury is closing shop. Video King once had seven locations around the state, and now its last location in Vermont is selling off its inventory and closing.

How do you focus your mind on the task at hand? For many, music is at least part of the answer. The right music can help you prepare for the day, concentrate on something you want to learn, or simply provide a pleasant background while at work. It can even be used as a form of therapy for kids and adults struggling to focus.

Major depression can have devastating effects on a sufferer's life – and can be deadly. There are many treatments – different kinds of drugs, therapies, and other interventions – but what happens when someone can't find one that works? We're talking about treatment-resistant depression and how it's dealt with by patients and care providers.

Roz Payne was fearless. And she made a difference. In fact, much of the culture we value in Vermont today was influenced by her passions. She contributed to the founding of the Onion River Co-op, now Burlington’s City Market and helped organize the People's Free Clinic, now the Community Health Center. And both, in turn, have inspired similar community-based assets throughout our region.

What does it take to run a business not only successfully, but across generations? Is it any easier when your work family is also your actual family? We're talking about Vermont's family-run businesses and the trade-offs and challenges that come from keeping a company within the family.

More people died from gunshots in Vermont in 2018 than any year since at least 2011, according to the most recent update to the Vermont Public Radio gunshot database.

Each spring, upper elementary students schools in the Mt. Abraham Unified School District travel to the middle and high school library for a Jeopardy! -style trivia competition about the books nominated for Vermont's Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award. But before the gathered students from the five different elementary schools got to play the game, there was an announcement to be made: the 2019 winner.

The failure of Democratic leaders at the Statehouse to pass legislation raising the state minimum wage and paid family leave is causing a serious split between Progressives and Democrats. This rift could mean that more Progressives and Democrats will run against each other in House races in 2020.

Former South Royalton Rep. David Ainsworth died Friday at age 64. He was one of the last few dairy farmers to serve in the Vermont Legislature.

Research by a UVM anthropologist suggests that a majority of migrant farmworkers in Vermont face serious barriers to accessing nutritious food – in addition to other enormous challenges. We're talking to Teresa Mares about her new book Life On the Other Border: Farmworkers and Food Justice in Vermont .

Time was that first year college students arrived on campus with their milk crates and graduated four years later. My parents were mortified that I took longer and bounced around between two institutions.

Former Vice President Joe Biden's entry in the Democratic presidential race has upended that contest, and it appears that the candidate most affected by Biden's decision could be Sen. Bernie Sanders.