Jan 7, 2026 | 2026, Climate, Core Issues, Democracy, Democracy Dispatch, Elections, General, Legislative Session
photo: Lauren Hierl (executive director, Vermont Natural Resources), Justin Marsh (political director, Vermont Conservation Voters), and U.S. Representative Becca Balint (D-VT-At Large) in the Vermont State House in February 2023. Photo by Ben Sarle. Happy new year! A...
Oct 31, 2025 | 2025, Core Issues, Democracy Dispatch, General, Legislative Session
Being Halloween, you might think I’d be writing about the scary reality our state faces with thousands of Vermonters eyeing the end of SNAP (food stamps) benefits, healthcare, and heating assistance thanks to the Trump administration and his party’s congressional...
Jun 12, 2025 | 2025, Core Issues, Democracy Dispatch, General, Legislative Session
The 2025 legislative session has concluded, and thus, so has this season of the Democracy Dispatch. Joining me on the podcast is our executive director, Dan Fingas. We discuss the outcomes of the 2025 legislative session in Vermont, focusing on climate, environmental,...
Apr 28, 2025 | 2025, Core Issues, Democracy Dispatch, General, Legislative Session
Photo: Sen. Alison Clarkson in the Cedar Creek Room at the State House in Montpelier, Friday, February 23, urging fellow legislators to BACK THE FRAP by supporting the Flood Recovery Assistance Program (FRAP) provisions in the Flood Omnibus Bill that is being proposed...
Apr 21, 2025 | 2025, Core Issues, Democracy Dispatch, General, Legislative Session
At the start of the 2023 legislative session, VCV launched the Democracy Dispatch podcast to accompany its weekly emails that recapped the state house updates to our members. Frankly, I was new in my role and not fully confident I could communicate about the work we...
Apr 14, 2025 | 2025, Core Issues, Democracy Dispatch, General, Legislative Session
Photo: Rep. Kate Logan being arrested for civil disobedience in Washington D.C., March 2025 As political scientist and historian, Howard Zinn, said, “Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.” When I heard...
