Unemployment Insurance Fraud Is the Latest Epidemic

By Anne Wallace Allen on April 26, 2021 at 8:03PM

“We just took in a billion dollars,” said Dean of the state’s share of the latest federal COVID-19 relief bill. “Surely $35 million can be spent on a new computer system so people don’t get scammed.”

Census 2020: Vermont's Population Increased 2.8 Percent

By Matthew Roy on April 26, 2021 at 7:51PM

Seven Days has previously reported that out-of-staters flocked to ski towns such as Stowe during the pandemic, and that Vermont's tight real estate market surged last year. The state's uncrowded rural character proved appealing to homebuyers during the pandemic.

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff Is Scheduled to Visit Vermont Wednesday

By Kevin McCallum on April 20, 2021 at 7:26PM

The Association of Africans Living in Vermont, a Burlington organization that works with New Americans, will participate in the visit. The group has helped ensure vaccination messages are translated for members of the New American community.

Leahy Reintroduces Bill to Clean Up EB-5 Foreign Investor Program

By Kevin McCallum on March 18, 2021 at 7:31PM

“Senator Leahy and Senator Grassley have been pushing for their bipartisan EB-5 reforms long before the situation in Vermont,” Carle wrote in an email. “Some of what they have been trying to do likely would have helped address the case in Vermont, but this reform push predates that, and is much bigger than that.”

Vermont Small Businesses Will Have to Wait Months for Relief Money, Lawmakers Warn

By Anne Wallace Allen on March 8, 2021 at 10:47PM

Once the federal COVID-19 relief bill becomes law, the U.S. Treasury has 30 days to get the money to the states. Next, Gov. Phil Scott would make recommendations to the legislature, according to Joan Goldstein, commissioner of the Department of Economic Development.

Leahy: Vermont Would Receive $1.3 Billion Under Proposed Relief Bill

By Colin Flanders on March 4, 2021 at 7:26PM

Other notable aspects of the bill include a funding for rural hospitals and broadband expansion; a $400 weekly bump for unemployment recipients; and another round of targeted stimulus checks, with latter phasing out for single filers at $80,000 and joint filers at $160,000 under a deal between Senate Democrats and President Joe Biden. Senators are expected to debate the proposal in the coming days and hope to pass it prior to a looming March 14 deadline, at which time unemployment benefits would otherwise expire for millions of Americans.

Officials Say Company Is Failing to Deliver Emergency Food for Vermonters

By Colin Flanders on February 12, 2021 at 8:15PM

have made the program nearly inoperable in Vermont, leaving hungry Vermonters without the food they need," the lawmakers wrote in a press release, describing the company's service as "disorganized, inadequate, and opaque." The Farmers to Families Food Box program was designed to address a pandemic-related spike in food insecurity by connecting needy families with American-grown products.

Impeachment Trial Begins With Leahy at the Helm — and in the Spotlight

By Colin Flanders on February 9, 2021 at 4:23PM

Leahy kicked off Tuesday's proceedings by leading his colleagues in the Pledge of Allegiance before holding a procedural rules vote. He then turned the floor over to the trial's participants, who planned to spend the afternoon debating the trial's constitutionality.

Vermont U.S. Attorney Christina Nolan to Resign

By Sasha Goldstein on February 9, 2021 at 3:39PM

Though Nolan had been recommended for the post by Republican Gov. Phil Scott and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), she’d ultimately been nominated by former president Donald Trump. Her resignation announcement on Tuesday came shortly after acting U.S. Attorney General Monty Wilkinson said he’d begin to clean house of Trump-appointed prosecutors.

Leahy Visits Hospital After Feeling Ill, Gets Released

By Colin Flanders on January 26, 2021 at 6:26PM