We got misogynistic chiefs coming to Burlington, inappropriate conduct by officers in Barre resulting in cases being dismissed, Shelburne cops hitting folks with their cruisers while watching anti-trans content on their department issued laptops while driving through rain storms, what else am I missing in the last year or so?

Tell me again who has been governor for the past ten years?

Taken a couple weeks ago

I’m trying to figure out Governor Scott’s vision for dealing with property taxes vis à vis school district consolidation, which, as I understand it, is no longer mandatory, but remains a priority for him. Please help me parse this out!

In my current understanding, the argument is that property taxes are high largely due to inefficiencies in how school districts in Vermont are set up. Basically, there are too many districts and the decreased student population can’t justify keeping these districts the way they have been, as it just costs too much. While I’ve heard Scott make a distinction between district consolidation and school consolidation (meaning he is advocating for the former, not necessarily the latter), I don’t really see how the latter is avoidable given the former. If I’m missing something here, please let me know. Scott has also explicitly tied high property taxes to a dearth of young families in Vermont. If taxes were lower, young families would be more attracted to moving here, seems to be the argument.

So, if I can assume that some towns will lose their schools, the argument seems to be that taxes will go down for those towns (and probably other towns within the district, right?), which will lower people’s taxes already, and then you’ll have a downstream effect of more young families moving in, which further lowers individual taxes by growing the tax base.

The problem I see with this is, why would a young family move to a town that doesn’t have a school? I’m not sure low property taxes would incentivize most young families to move somewhere that requires their kids to either be homeschooled or potentially ride a bus for two hours a day. If this is indeed the case, then closing a school would not grow the tax base. It may offer a temporary reprieve from high property taxes, but you’d likely suffer both an exodus of current residents with school-age children as well as a deterrent effect on potential new residents with kids moving in. You’d be left with a town that has no appeal to young families, and likely largely populated just with older folks left to pay all the taxes on fixed incomes, which seems unsustainable. Infrastructure and public services will suffer, and the town becomes even less attractive, dying a slow death.

Is the strategy behind Scott’s approach to provide immediate relief, and then, when, somehow, things “get better”, like maybe there are magically more families moving in because the low tax rates are irresistible and there are once again enough kids in a town to justify having a school, that the death spiral will be averted? Is there even a vision beyond making taxes go down at any cost?

Perhaps the idea is that the towns that retain schools will be more attractive to young families, as those towns should also enjoy lower property taxes. Are we just sacrificing the towns who close their schools and accepting that they will slowly die? Won’t that just cause consolidation of populations around towns that do have schools, resulting in the destruction of Vermont’s decentralized, “rural character” (of which Scott fashions himself a champion)?

I can’t figure out how making towns less attractive to the young families we all say we want to bring in somehow makes those towns more attractive to those families thanks to lower taxes.

Full disclosure: I generally disagree with the sentiment that sacrificing public services is worth the savings in taxes, so that’s already my bias, but I’m really trying to understand Scott’s approach here, and give him the benefit of the doubt that there’s more to the plan than “tax number go down”. We got out of the Great Depression by spending enormously on public works, not by tightening our belts and preventing anything from getting done. It seems to me that, historically, the solution is some form of generous but prudent fiscal policy, not austerity, which just worsens a death spiral and never seems to have produced any long term solution to economic problems. How does Scott’s plan avoid the death spiral?

Thanks for discussion in good faith. I am a dummy and only have a very surface level grasp of economics, so happy to be corrected on anything.

How beautiful Vermont is during Fall💚❤️ It was our first time in Vermont, and we totally loved it.

Ever wonder why VT politicians are only concerned about affordability when they are running for re-election.

Once in office they vote for more spending, higher budgets, fee increases and do nothing to reduce the cost of living in VT?

Before you vote, ask your candidate what they did to make VT more affordable last session. Did they vote for higher budgets year over year? Taxes on your heating oil? Increased car registration? Hold them accountable, let them know you’re watching their actions and their votes.

If their actions were a language they are telling us they don’t care about affordability.

Supporters raise offer continue to run from institutional rot for Rice Memorial High in hopes of spurring court approval of sale

This makes me so mad! https://vtdigger.org/2026/10/26/local-fairlee-developers-want-to-build-an-apartment-block-their-neighbors-are-standing-in-the-way/

Little chance of seeing the full moon tonight, but here’s the moon rising over the mountain taken from the courthouse in Bennington Sunday evening

Fine prints matter.

I saw a post on another sub today of a limo in some sort of demolition derby race and the limo kept spinning around and driving "backwards" which led to discussion that it probably was setup to have a driver and steering components both in the front AND the back.

This made me remember that VSP used to have an old police cruiser that was setup just like this: basically two cruiser "fronts" welded together, steering components and a driver both in the front and the back.

I went to find a picture or video of the thing and can't find anything...not sure if I'm not using the right search terms, if it was decommissioned before the internet really took off, or if this is something I am straight up making up.

Does anyone remember this? I feel like I used to see it in parades maybe and at the Champlain Valley Fair in the 90s.

I grew up in Vermont and lived there 40 years before moving to California. I’ve never heard this. Mud season, yes. But not stick season.

Edit: Interesting responses. Some people have never heard of it, others have all their lives, and some only recently. Might it be regional? I’m from southern Vermont and never heard it.

Second edit: thanks for the conversation. I miss home so bad it hurts. I’m at that point where I have too much here to be able to afford to move and not enough to be able to just say to hell with it and go home. Hoping for at least a visit soon.

Third and final edit: A rough count through the responses indicates that approximately half the replies are from people who have heard the phrase all their lives. Locations vary throughout the state, so I don't think it's strictly regional. It certainly isn't a flatlander thing, judging by how many people have heard it over generations.

About 2/3 of the remainder had never heard it, and the remainder had only heard of it after the song got popular.

Thanks again for responding. I miss Vermont and Vermonters. I know you all know how fortunate you are to be there. Of all the people I meet in California who are from somewhere else, it's the Vermonters consistently who continue to call Vermont home.

First pics from this morning, last 2 from Sunday morning

I keep seeing these hanging ferns all around Vermont. As a newcomer and a huge fern lover, this gives me hope of having ferns here!

What type of fern is it? I assume it comes indoors during the winter? Anyone have additional info or tips?

The more you know. Chill out, drive save VT

What are your opinions on the best burger in the state?

A maintenance person, who is also a firefighter, was doing some work where I live. He saw that I was not able to access my fuse box/circuit breaker and told me that was illegal because I am renting. It is not the first time I have heard this, but I can't find a law to match it.

If anyone knows about this please inform me either way.