Vermont Edition

The prospects for legalization of marijuana face a big moment this week: the Vermont House will take up a floor debate over whether to legalize possession of some amounts of pot in Vermont.

We've been discussing the many challenges that the state mental health system and those experiencing mental illness are facing. Now we hear about some of the ideas that the Legislature has for fixing the problems.

The effects of a mental illness almost always stretch beyond just one person. Being the family member of someone with a mental health condition comes with unique challenges, and providing support to a struggling loved one can be both draining and heartbreaking.

It's not easy to watch anyone struggle with mental health issues, but it might be even more difficult to see children battle mental illness. According the National Institute of Mental Health, half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14.

Why is mental health so hard to talk about? If conditions like depression, anxiety, or even schizophrenia can have such massive impacts on people's lives, why can it feel like weakness to get help? We're continuing our week of mental health coverage by focusing in on the stigma around mental health, and how to move past it.

People who are suffering psychiatric episodes can end up in the emergency rooms of community hospitals, where doctors and nurses say they are not equipped to provide the treatment these patients need. As Vermont Edition begins a week-long exploration of mental health care in Vermont, we look at the problem of emergency psychiatric care.

Vermont has had some well-documented challenges with big IT projects over the years. But these digital infrastructure projects are important to a functioning and efficient state government, and Governor Phil Scott has formed a team to tackle the issue.

Sen. Bernie Sanders has a packed two-day schedule Thursday and Friday as he travels around his home state to meet-and-greet with Vermonters and hold two town hall sessions. This kind of face-time with citizens in Vermont has become rarer in the last two years since Sanders ramped up a run for president and rose to prominence in national politics.

When it comes to bodies of water, your big boys in Vermont are Lake Champlain, Lake Memphremagog, and the Connecticut River. The rest of the state is pretty much in the watershed of these three. So when it comes to clean water, all of our waterways are interconnected.

Across the state on Town Meeting Day last week, voters signed off on - or rejected - their local school budgets. We're looking at the level of education spending in Vermont, and where that money goes.

Four states – California, Rhode Island, New Jersey and New York – have approved state-run paid family and medical leave programs. Vermont currently has bills in both the House and Senate that would legislate it here.

Racial discrimination in Vermont can be an isolating experience — partly because the state has such a small percentage of people of color, and also because the problem often goes unnoticed by Vermont's overwhelmingly white majority.

Conservative author Charles Murray has faced heavy criticism for his controversial theories about race, economics, and intelligence. Last week, Murray was shouted down by protesters as he attempted to give a guest lecture at Middlebury College.

In Vermont's 251 towns, citizens are casting votes in an annual exercise of truly local self-government: Town Meeting Day. By Wednesday, Vermont Edition will have a statewide picture of how towns across Vermont weighed in on critical issues.

A panel of reporters joins Vermont Edition on this year's Town Meeting Day for an overview of issues being considered around the state.