Democratic House Speaker Mitzi Johnson says the passage of a mandatory paid family leave bill will be a top priority in Vermont's 2020 legislative session, but Republican Gov. Phil Scott opposes the Democrats' approach to this issue.

"I've made mistakes / I know it's true / but you're so strong, so reach the sky."

You haven't these lyrics before, but one new baby will — maybe each and every night, right before bathtime or bedtime or at 2 a.m., when the world seems scariest. It will be their song.

It was written by a new parent with help from local musicians and groups for something called The Lullaby Project, from Carnegie Hall's Weill Institute of Music.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing on the USA Freedom Act, a bipartisan law passed in 2015 that will sunset at the end of this year if Congress does not renew it. Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat and the senior member of the committee, is a co-sponsor on the 2019 version of the act along with conservative Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee.

The Putney School's library has a special collection of hundreds of books by black writers and about race, thanks to an endowment started by alumnus Claude Winfield. Now that the school has joined a network of Vermont libraries, that collection is available beyond the school community.

When Vermont's last legislative session ended, Progressive Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman said he was disappointed Democrats didn't pass a paid family leave plan or increase the minimum wage, failing to deliver what he says "voters asked for in the 2018 election." The lieutenant governor joins Vermont Edition to discuss Progressive priorities at the Statehouse in 2020. 

At Lisa Carton's tiny house nestled in the hills of Bennington, there are a whole lot of rainbows. Wood panels painted purple, green, orange, yellow and blue frame Carton's front door. Inside, the main room is cushioned by a multi-hued, kaleidoscopic rug. Out the back door is a shed where, until a recent storm blew it down, a Pride flag flew.