[S]tarting this week, VTDigger will for the first time have a reporter exclusively covering the Northeast Kingdom.
Justin Trombly, who will be based in St. Johnsbury, joined the nonprofit news organization on Monday. He got his start reporting for newspapers in upstate New York — The Post-Star, Buffalo News and Press Republican — and joins VTDigger fresh off a yearlong stint reporting for the Tampa Bay Times.
Executive Director Anne Galloway said Justin’s reporting will give VTDigger readers “a daily lens into regional stories of statewide importance.”
“We’re excited to have boots on the ground in Essex, Orleans and Caledonia counties, where we will dig into the unique challenges and opportunities facing Vermonters in the most rural area of the state.”
His stories for VTDigger will be shared with the Caledonian-Record.
Trombly covered Florida’s Pasco and Hernando counties for the Tampa Bay Times. His reporting included stories on a World War II plane restoration project that went sideways and a local mayor who authorities said was sending out runners to feed his crack cocaine habit.
“I was drawn to VTDigger by its commitment to writing that matters,” said Trombly. “It’s also in a region I know well, having grown up about 10 minutes from the New York-Vermont line, in a rural town south of the Canadian border facing many of the same issues.”
Trombly graduated in 2018 from the University of Rochester, where he was editor-in-chief of the Campus Times. He can be contacted at 802-595-0635 or jtrombly@vtdigger.org.
The Northeast Kingdom reporter position is partially funded by the Tillotson Fund at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.
