By Kirk Carapezza Gov. Peter Shumlin is restating his prediction that the Legislature will pass a bill to let terminally ill patients with less than six months to live request drugs from their physicians to end their lives if they choose. Tomorrow, the full Senate will take up the bill supporters call “death with dignity” [...]
VPR News Blog
From Vermont Public Radio
February
8 2013
Judiciary Committee Votes Down End-of-Life Bill, 3-1
By John Dillon A key Senate committee has voted against a bill that would give patients with less than six months to live the ability to end their lives with prescription drugs. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted down the measure Friday morning, 3-1, with one senator absent. Judiciary Chairman Dick Sears, D-Bennington, who opposes the [...]
February
7 2013
Montpelier Heating District Has Early Cost Overruns
By Kirk Carapezza A proposed heating district that’s jointly run between the state and the city of Montpelier is already more than 10 percent over budget. The city and the state plan to run pipes under State Street to carry heat and water to public and private buildings. In September, the City Council announced its [...]
February
7 2013
Winooski Rep. Proposes Measure to Stall F-35 Basing
By Kirk Carapezza A state lawmaker from Winooski has introduced a resolution that asks the Air Force to remove Vermont from a short list of potential locations where it would base the F-35 stealth fighter jet. Rep. George Cross, D-Winooski, the lead sponsor of the non-binding question, which has more than 30 co-sponsors, is introducing [...]
February
6 2013
Bishop Voices Opposition to End-of-Life Bill in Senate
By Kirk Carapezza A bill in the Vermont Senate is known around the Statehouse as S.77, which is the mundane-sounding number assigned to it in the legislative process. And yet the bill is anything but mundane. It would give terminally ill patients with less than six months to live the ability to end their lives, [...]
February
5 2013
House Bill Would Require Towns to Plan for Flooding
By Kirk Carapezza As cities and towns debate whether to rebuild in a smarter, safer way or buyback properties and leave them undeveloped in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene, a bill moving through the Vermont House would require that local governments plan for future flood resiliency. Rep. David Deen, D-Westminster, is the lead sponsor [...]
February
4 2013
End Of Life Initiative Will Get Legislative Attention Again This Week
The debate over whether terminally ill patients should be able to end their lives with prescription drugs will get attention in the state Senate again this week. The bill passed Senate Health and Welfare Committee last week. But it faces a much more skeptical review in the Judiciary Committee, which is scheduled to take testimony [...]
February
1 2013
Senate Advances Public Union Agency Fees
By John Dillon The Vermont Senate has advanced legislation that requires workers represented by a union to pay mandated fees. Chittenden Democratic Senator Philip Baruth was a lead sponsor of the legislation. He said the fees should be paid whether or not the person chooses to join the union. “What this bill seeks to say [...]
January
31 2013
Welch Pushes Online Sales Tax
By Kirk Carapezza Jeff Wheel, the owner of Advance Music Center in Burlington, says December marked the first holiday season where customers would come in and take pictures of the electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards and pianos that he sells. The would-be customers then walked out to compare prices on websites, where they could avoid [...]
January
31 2013
Republicans Resist Move Toward Single Payer Health Plan
By Kirk Carapezza House Republican leaders continue to resist the state’s slow move toward a single payer health care system. The Republican caucus on Thursday charged the Shumlin administration with failing to comply with the state’s health care reform law. House minority leader Don Turner, R-Milton, said a report commissioned by the Shumlin administration and [...]
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Kirk Carapezza, Vermont Legislature
Kirk blogs from the statehouse as part of VPR's news team in the capital. Follow Kirk on Twitter @kirkcarapezza and on VPR.net.
Vermont Legislature
Steve Zind, The Vermont Economy
Senior Reporter Steve Zind reports on the impact of jobs and the economy on Vermont. Follow Steve on Twitter and his reporting on The Vermont Economy at VPR.net.
The Vermont Economy
Amy Noyes, Public Post
Amy Kolb Noyes is VPR's Public Post reporter, using Vermont city and town government documents to source and research news stories and trends. Follow Amy on Twitter and at Public Post.