
Stephanie Colombini
News EditorStephanie Colombini joined Vermont Public in 2025 as News Editor after more than a decade working in public radio. She previously worked at WUSF in Tampa, Florida, where she won dozens of state and national awards reporting on health care, hurricanes and other issues. She also contributed stories for NPR and KFF Health News as part of a national reporting collaborative. Colombini has also worked as an editor, producer and host. She hails from New York and spent her early journalism years working at WCBS Newsradio 880 in New York City and WFUV, based at her alma mater Fordham University.
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Meet one woman documenting the dozens of creemees she eats every year, one cone at a time. Plus, The Trump Administration is threatening to pull Vermont’s funding for a federal sex education program if it doesn't remove language that references gender identity, Governor Phil Scott says he thinks the state’s voluntary paid family and medical leave program is off to a good start, boaters and swimmers will notice low water levels across our region ahead of this holiday weekend and for the first time in Vermont, anglers without a license can fish for free this long weekend.
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In an effort to streamline Vermont’s K-12 school system, a task force of state lawmakers and retired school administrators are working to create new district maps. Plus, Governor Phil Scott says he's pleased to see many of Vermont's larger school districts restrict student cell phone use, Vermont Public announced layoffs, U-S Senators from New York Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are attempting to secure funding for airports in our region, and a portion of Montreal's Sainte Catherine Street will become a year-round pedestrian zone.
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Three hydroelectric dams along the Connecticut River are being relicensed, and there are proposals to make big changes to how they operate. Plus, health insurance plans on the state marketplace are raising rates, though not as much as in recent years; Burlington City Council looks to improve safety in a major downtown park; contract disputes keep school bus drivers in southern Vermont from returning to work as classes resume; and what to expect for Labor Day travel.
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A play about how Muslim families relied on a library that straddling the U.S. and Canada border during the Trump Administration's first term has taken on new meaning in the President's second term. Plus, the Scott Administration seeks federal disaster relief money to Northeast Kingdom towns recovering from flooding last month, remembering late Abenaki elder Jeanne Brink, debate continues over how to replace a statue in Burlington, state officials remind hunters about a ban on selling bear paws and Vermont musicians seek to break the record for “World’s Largest Square Dance.”
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Examining the causes behind recent increases in wildfire smoke in Vermont. Plus, school choice advocates argue stricter rules in the new education reform law regarding where families can use publicly-funded school vouchers violate a clause in the state constitution, the head of Vermont’s cannabis control board reacts to news that the Trump administration is considering a plan to reclassify cannabis as a less harmful drug, passengers who paid for expensive last-minute airfare following the Air Canada flight attendants' strike can now apply for a refund, why the town of Pomfret is implementing traffic restrictions again this year during peak foliage season, and we consider the abrupt changes of fortune over the last week for the Red Sox and Yankees in our weekly sports report.
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Discussing new research that shows a growing number of kids and teenagers in Vermont are struggling with mental health issues. Plus, Gov. Scott disputes Trump administration claims that Vermont is illegally providing a safe haven for undocumented immigrants, hundreds of acres of land has been permanently conserved as a community forest in Wolcott, twelve of the fifteen positions being eliminated at Bennington College are union roles, the state health department says Burlington’s insurance plan will provide enough coverage for the city to house a proposed overdose prevention center, and a volunteer-led effort will help connect neighbors with local farmers in Jericho and Underhill.
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We speak with the owner of a music store in Randolph about the resurgence in vinyl records, CD’s, and other forms of physical media. Plus, Vermont’s Secretary of State says President Trump’s call for an end to mail-in voting would be unconstitutional, Vermont joins a lawsuit to block the Trump Administration from withholding over a billion dollars in federal Crime Victim Funds, the mayor of Winooski is resigning after nearly seven years in office, and two Vermonters take first prize in amateur solo bagpipe competition at Scotland’s World Pipe Band Championships.
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Visiting a summer camp for young kids who have an incarcerated parent. Plus, UVM Health Network could make more than 80 million dollars in profit next year if state regulators approve the hospital’s budget plans, midwives at Copley Hospital say they’ll be laid off once the hospital closes its birthing center later this year in a cost-cutting move, Republican Lieutenant Governor John Rogers and Democratic Secretary of State Sarah Copeland-Hanzas say they plan to run for re-election in 2026, and Quebec schools face a big teacher shortage as the new academic year approaches.
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Relatives of a man fatally shot by Vermont State Police while he was undergoing a mental health crisis are asking questions about why the incident led to his death. Plus, Gov. Scott denies a request from President Trump to send Vermont National Guard troops to the District of Columbia, some Lamoille County residents are asking state regulators to stop Copley Hospital from closing its birthing center, the company that purchased Gardener’s Supply says only one of the store’s retail locations will close down following the sale, a local music editor discusses why the popular Burlington venue Nectar’s was forced to shut down, and three dogs were successfully rescued after getting stuck on a Mount Pisgah cliff ledge.
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Deconstructing a home on the property of Montpelier's founding settler to its original state as a floodplain. Plus, an overnight shelter for young adults opens in St. Albans, three people have died recently in Montreal due to extreme heat, Rep. Becca Balint decries president Trump’s order deploying National Guard troops to the District of Columbia as a pretext for dealing with crime, a former Vermont star college athlete and philanthropist has died, and we examine the shifts in power at the top of the Major League Baseball standings in our weekly sports report.