VPR News

Burlington High School Girls Soccer Team Wears Their Support For #EqualPay

By & • 12 hours ago
Four girls wear white jerseys with equal pay written on them.
Elodie Reed / VPR

The Burlington High School girls soccer team is advocating for equal pay for women with special-made jerseys. The team is hoping people will buy and wear them when Burlington takes on rival South Burlington this Friday night.

5 Ways To Make The Office More Welcoming For People Of All Gender Identities

By • 14 hours ago

A common vocabulary can be an essential ingredient to creating the kind of respect, diversity and inclusiveness that many employers say they aspire to create. Here are some steps that advocates, therapists and human resources experts say can help you be a good colleague.

6 Takeaways From The 4th Democratic Presidential Primary Debate

By • 17 hours ago

The fourth Democratic debate was a long one, about three hours, and ended after 11 p.m. ET.

You might not have made it through the whole thing, but there were some potentially consequential moments.

Here are six takeaways:

1. The scrutiny came for Warren, and her vulnerabilities were exposed some

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was under fire Tuesday night from several opponents, and when that happens to a candidate, you know they're a front-runner.

For NASA's New Suits, 'Mobility' Is The Watchword

By • 17 hours ago

NASA has unveiled prototypes of its next-generation spacesuits to be worn inside the Orion spacecraft and on the surface of the moon when American astronauts return there as soon as 2024.

Death Certificates Released For Man Killed In Rutland Shooting, His Cousin

By • Oct 15, 2019
A sign on a door.
Liam Elder-Connors / VPR File

The Vermont Department of Health released death certificates on Tuesday for the Rutland man killed by police in a shootout last week, and a second man killed in a related homicide.

Campaign 2020: Dissecting Tuesday Night's Democratic Debate

By & • Oct 15, 2019
An empty debate stage ahead of the Oct. 15, 2019 Democratic presidential primary debate.
John Minchillo / Associated Press

Tuesday night, 12 Democratic candidates for president took the stage in Ohio for a fourth primary debate. Many eyes were on Bernie Sanders, who suffered a heart attack just two weeks ago. We're analyzing Tuesday's debate with a roundtable of Vermont political scientists and discussing what Sanders' performance means for his campaign.

Green Mountain Care Board Pushes Sustainability As Rural Hospitals Struggle

By , , & • Oct 15, 2019
The exterior of Springfield Hospital, with a person walking toward the entrance carrying bags
Howard Weiss-Tisman / VPR

Vermont is the only state in the country that regulates hospital budgets. And as rural hospitals struggle,  the panel that oversees them is requesting more paperwork.

Fact Checking The Democratic Presidential Debate

By VPR News • Oct 15, 2019
A stage with podiums on it.
John Minchillo / Associated Press

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was among the 12 candidates to take the stage during Tuesday's Democratic presidential primary debate. It was hosted by CNN and the New York Times and was carried live by both NPR and VPR.

Your Guide To The Massive (And Massively Complex) Opioid Litigation

By • Oct 15, 2019

Updated at 5:45 p.m. ET

In less than a week, a landmark battle over who bears responsibility for the U.S. opioid crisis will begin in federal court.

The case involves thousands of plaintiffs at virtually every level of government and defendants from every link in the chain of opioid drug production — from major multinational corporations such as Johnson & Johnson and CVS, right down to individual doctors. And on Oct. 21, the first trial is set to kick off before a judge in the Northern District of Ohio.

Exclusive: Turf War Blocked CFPB From Helping Fix Student Loan Forgiveness Program

By • Oct 15, 2019

Starting early last year, the nation's most powerful consumer protection agency sent examiners into companies that run student loan call centers to try to fix a troubled loan forgiveness program. But the Department of Education blocked the bureau from getting the information it needed, NPR has learned.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is designed to help firefighters, military service members, nonprofit workers and others. But thousands of people say they were treated unfairly and rejected.

Democratic Debate: Everything You Need To Know About Tuesday's Face-Off

By • Oct 15, 2019

Can't see the video? Click here.

There's a lot to watch for in Tuesday's Democratic presidential debate in Ohio.

Emergency? Disaster? Send In The Drones!

By & • Oct 14, 2019
A drone hovers over a lake with a forest in the background.
Aaron Burden / Unsplash

Unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, are already in Vermont's skies. They collect data, snap photos and can provide helpful views of buildings and other structures. They're also increasingly being used to respond to disasters and other emergencies. We're talking about drones with the director of UVM's Spatial Analysis Lab, and how the lab is helping federal aviation officials craft rules for using drones during emergencies.

'Where I Want To Be': Reflecting On 45 Years At The Sawmill

By • Oct 14, 2019
A woman stands next to a carved lumberjack.
Erica Heilman / VPR

Goodridge Lumber is a family-run sawmill located in Albany, Vermont, in the heart of the Northeast Kingdom. In the last 25 years, nearly 150 of the state's sawmills have gone out of business according to the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation.

But Goodridge Lumber, which specializes in locally harvested white cedar, is still going strong. Erica Heilman stopped by to talk with owner Colleen Goodridge. 

Goddard Alums Pitch In For Struggling Alma Matter

By • Oct 14, 2019
Students sit outside on a grassy quad.
Tony Talbot / Associated Press File

For the past year, Goddard College, in Plainfield, has been operating under accreditation probation for not meeting financial standards and other problems. In that time, Goddard has brought on a new president, cut staff and focused on fundraising.

'There's A Bigger Story': Recently Rediscovered Petroglyphs Bring Indigenous Narrative To Surface

By • Oct 14, 2019
A black and white image of petroglyphs carved into rock.
Vermont Historical Society, Courtesy

This year brings the first official observation of Indigenous People’s Day in Vermont. It's also a time to reflect on what this part of the world was like before any Europeans set foot here, and on a submerged river bank in Brattleboro, ancient petroglyphs offer a clue.

This View Brought To You By A Local Farmer

By • Oct 14, 2019
Lamoille County Conservation District fall foliage sign
Amy Kolb Noyes / VPR

Vermont has a lot of visitors this time of year, and it's not uncommon to see cars pulled off the road, flanked by people taking pictures of mountain vistas and tree-lined fields. That prompted Silene DeCiuces to leave subtle reminders in some hay fields of who made that perfect photo possible.

Simone Biles Becomes The Most Decorated Gymnast In World Championship History

By • Oct 14, 2019

Simone Biles is the greatest gymnast of our time – or any time in history. She proved that Sunday at the World Championships, where she raked in her 24th and 25th world medals, both gold.

Biles, 22, took home five of the six golds to be won in Stuttgart, Germany, winning the top of the podium in team competition, all-around, and vault in addition to floor and beam. (On the uneven bars, she took fifth.)

Columbus Day Or Indigenous Peoples' Day?

By • Oct 14, 2019

On Monday in the nation's capital, there is no Columbus Day. The D.C. Council voted to replace it with Indigenous Peoples' Day in a temporary move that it hopes to make permanent. Several other places across the United States have also made the switch in a growing movement to end the celebration of the Italian explorer in favor of honoring Indigenous communities and their resiliency in the face of violence by European explorers like Christopher Columbus.

Going Coverless: Library Fundraises With 'Tastefully' Nude Local Authors

By • Oct 11, 2019
A woman stands by a sandwich board.
Elodie Reed / VPR

As financial need, demographics and the climate all change, Vermont libraries have to get creative to remain viable. Among these efforts: a fundraising calendar featuring local authors photographed "in various states of tasteful and artistically rendered implied nudity."

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