Peter Hirschfeld
ReporterHelp shape my reporting:
The Vermont Statehouse is often called the people’s house. I am your eyes and ears there. I keep a close eye on how legislation could affect your life; I also regularly speak to the people who write that legislation. The more I hear from you, the better I’ll be at my job. So, what issues do you want lawmakers to focus on? What info do you most urgently need?
I'm eager to hear from you. Get in touch using the form below:
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About Peter:
Peter Hirschfeld covers state government and the Vermont Legislature. He is based in Vermont Public’s Capital Bureau located across the street from Vermont’s Statehouse.
Hirschfeld is a Vermont journalist who has covered the Statehouse since 2009, most recently as bureau chief for the Rutland Herald and Times Argus. He began his career in 2003, working as a local sports reporter and copy editor at the Times Argus.
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The Scott administration on Wednesday said it will be able to partially extend a rental assistance program that was set to end for most households starting in December. That's after it found $20 million to put toward the program. -
The Vermont Agency of Education now says that schools may need to institute mask mandates in order protect students who are at high risk of getting seriously sick from COVID-19.
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Federal housing subsidies that have helped thousands of low-income Vermonters pay rent during the pandemic will come to an abrupt halt this fall, and some housing advocates are worried about a spike in homelessness as winter arrives.
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Forty-one Vermont lawmakers are asking Immigration and Customs Enforcement to drop federal deportation proceedings against 10 migrant farmworkers. The elected officials believe immigration authorities may have targeted the men because of their activism.
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Incumbent lawmakers are vacating close to a third of the 180 seats in the Vermont Legislature, and the candidates voters replace them with in November will help determine the legislative agenda over the next two years.
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Becca Balint, the first woman to serve as Vermont's Senate president pro tem, has won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives in her first statewide campaign.
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After a record number of Vermonters cast defective ballots in 2020, a new law provides a second chance to get it right.
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Charity Clark and Rory Thibault both say they'd use the attorney general's office to push for broader policy reforms in Vermont.
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Advocates are using a proposed constitutional amendment to teach Vermonters about the connection between slavery and modern-day racial disparities.
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Education policy experts hired by the state say Vermont needs to create a new, standalone department in state government to oversee child care and pre-K statewide.
