Blog

Police say a wrong-way driver on Interstate 89 had to be stopped with spike strips early Tuesday morning. Vermont troopers say they got multiple reports of a driver going south in the northbound lane on I-89 in Montpelier just after 1 a.m. Tuesday. They say the car passed multiple cruisers with their lights on and eventually stopped after driving over spike strips. Police identified the driver as Carole Brown, 57, of Montpelier. Brown pleaded not guilty Tuesday afternoon to multiple charges, including driving under the influence and attempting to elude.

While the Trump administration is calling federal workers back to the office, Vermont officials say they have no plans for state workers to return to pre-pandemic schedules. Billionaire Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, this week said federal workers who didn’t return to the office will be placed on leave, the latest step in his effort to gut the federal workforce. The pandemic sparked a remote work culture and Vermont state government appears to be embracing the trend. Remote work schedules vary but a recent survey showed 57 percent of state employees still have some kind of hybrid arrangement. Each department, agency or even supervisor still needs to look at their employees’ work product, still needs to look at how productive they are.

A woman was sent to the hospital after she was run over at a car wash by her husband at a Plattsburgh car wash on Wednesday. Plattsburgh police say the older couple arrived at the gate of the Splash Car Wash. The woman got out near the kiosk and her husband accidentally hit the gas, running her over. Police say she was in stable condition.

Those in Vermont’s maple sugaring industry say they could be seriously impacted by new tariffs on Canada. While Vermont supplies a lot of the country with maple syrup, the U.S. also imports a lot from Canada. Tariffs could drive up that price and the price of materials for maple sugar producers who want to expand. Experts say the tariffs could also turn people away from pure maple products. 

More than two dozen Canadian nationals have been indicted in a scam that aimed to defraud seniors in Vermont and other states. Federal authorities say between the summer of 2021 and last summer, the Canadian residents — all but one from Quebec — made calls from centers in and around Montreal claiming to be an elderly victim’s relative who needed money for bail after a car crash. The so-called “grandparent scam” defrauded older folks across the country out of more than $21 million. Nine others connected to the scam have already been arrested and were charged in federal court.

A former Vermont state trooper who pleaded guilty to stealing $40,000 worth of personal property seized by police is set to go to trial this month in another theft case. Giancarlo DiGenova is accused of stealing cash and cellphones from the Berlin barracks in 2022. Prosecutors say he stole the items to purchase Adderall. DiGenova pleaded guilty last year to felony charges for stealing several items

Town officials on Monday evening encouraged attendance for an upcoming meeting called by a group interested in buying Burke Mountain.