Liam Elder-Connors

Scott Garvey moved to Vermont to be closer to his family and get better mental health treatment. A week after he arrived he was shot and killed by state police while in the midst of a mental health crisis.

Nick Deml came to Vermont after seven years working at the CIA. He’d never worked in corrections before and was tasked with navigating the pandemic, reforming a toxic workplace culture, and addressing an acute staffing shortage.

The Vermont Agency of Education said it was unaware that a recent hire, whose job included shooting video in schools, had previously been investigated and faced a civil lawsuit for secretly filming two teenage girls in a changing room.

Nick Deml, the commissioner of the Vermont Department of Corrections, will step down from the post on Aug. 15. In a press release on Monday, Gov. Phil Scott said former Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad will take over as interim commissioner.

The sale of the Vermont Lake Monsters in 2021 brought lots of changes. In some ways, it’s a story of renewal. But the more things change, the more they stay the same.

We visit the Blank Page Cafe which has been serving breakfast tacos, gluten-free treats and coffee in Shelburne for nearly a decade. Plus, Essex town officials deny local approval for an Amazon distribution facility, Montpelier town officials order the removal of a homeless encampment near the downtown bus station, the Winooski-Burlington bridge projects gets federal money, and two local organizations that help people with disabilities enjoy year-round sports and outdoor recreation will merge.

Vermont’s prison population has risen back near pre-pandemic levels, largely driven by an increase in people held pre-trial, according to the Department of Corrections.

Why disaster recovery officials in Vermont are worried about the federal government's future plans for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Plus, Vermont state officials say they support the closing of Copley Hospital’s birthing center as a cost-saving measure, Sen. Bernie Sanders decries the changes to Medicaid in the recently passed federal budget bill, Gov. Scott makes three new leadership appointments, the Deerfield Valley News has a new owner, and we ponder whether the Boston Red Sox should trade one of their hot-hitting outfielders for pitching help in our weekly sports report.

The difficulty in finding ways to protect state public buildings from the next big flood event. Plus, despite passage of a new state education reform law there’s confusion over which private schools can still access public funds, a state trooper is on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into the shooting death of a man in Putney, the Howard Center announces cuts to programs in Burlington and St. Albans due to several years of financial losses, and the Vermont Green FC soccer club remains undefeated after a win over Albany.

Authorities say the trooper saw what he believed was a firearm in the man's hand and the man didn’t respond to commands, according to a press release from Vermont State Police.