VTDigger regularly publishes stories about Vermont politics. We cover state elections, the Vermont Legislature, the governor's office, state agencies and major political parties. Lola Duffort and Sarah Mearhoff cover state politics for VTDigger. Lola can be reached at lduffort@vtdigger.org; Sarah can be reached at smearhoff@vtdigger.org.
“It’s disheartening that you could almost use the same quotes I had from 10 years ago about what’s going on right now,” one advocate said this month while reflecting back on a continuing lack of enough shelter space. “We collectively haven’t made much progress.”
More than a year after rejecting Murad for the role, the council voted 8-4 in favor of giving him the job. He will be the city’s first official police chief since December 2019.
Local officials and advocates want to convert a mostly-vacant state office building in downtown Burlington into a 50-person emergency shelter with a daytime drop-in center for up to 75 people.
“We will continue to focus on turning the tide of this housing crisis,” the governor said in a statement. “More important work lies ahead, but this bill is a great start.”
“Isn’t it nice to have a home” was painted in red letters on the garage door of Democrat Martin LaLonde’s house in South Burlington, according to Police Chief Shawn Burke.
Thursday marked the first of several waves of evictions planned for this spring and summer, as the state winds down pandemic-era programs that have sheltered an estimated 80% of Vermont’s unhoused population in motels.
A bill that would have restricted law enforcement’s use of certain interrogation tactics against children in custody was one of the latest to get a veto.
A deal struck between President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy raised the nation’s borrowing limit, allowing it to pay its bills and avoid an economically catastrophic default — but also includes a laundry list of GOP policy demands.
“(K)nowing that my constitutional concerns will be addressed through the legal process, I will allow H.230 to become law without my signature, and await the judicial branch to decide the fate of waiting periods,” the Republican governor said Thursday.
Depending on their eligibility criteria, about 2,800 are due to lose their shelter in several waves over the spring and summer — starting today.
