Vermont Edition

An exploration of Vermont's Act 250 with Brave Little State

By Mikaela Lefrak,

Published January 2, 2024 at 5:09 PM EST

A downtown block with multicolored buildings, and flags and flower pots lining the street. — Act 250 is Vermont's signature land-use law. It sets standards that developers need to clear to break ground on projects.

Vermont’s pastoral, small-town charm didn’t just happen out of thin air. Laws helped shape it, especially Vermont's signature land-use law, Act 250.

A recent episode of Brave Little State centers on a question from a listener about Act 250, why it's so important, and how it might change in the coming months and years. Plus, Vermont Public and VTDigger's housing and infrastructure reporter Carly Berlin tells us what stories she'll be following as Vermont's lawmakers kick off their new legislative session.

Broadcast at noon Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

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Mikaela Lefrak

Mikaela Lefrak is the host and senior producer of Vermont Edition. Her stories have aired nationally on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Marketplace, The World and Here & Now. A seasoned local reporter, Mikaela has won two regional Edward R. Murrow awards and a Public Media Journalists Association award for her work.

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Andrea Laurion

Andrea Laurion joined Vermont Public as a news producer for Vermont Edition in December 2022. She is a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., and a graduate of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland, Maine. Before getting into audio, Andrea worked as an obituary writer, a lunch lady, a wedding photographer assistant, a children’s birthday party hostess, a haunted house actor, and an admin assistant many times over.

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Sabine Poux

Sabine Poux is a reporter/producer with Brave Little State. She comes to Vermont by way of Kenai, Alaska, where she was a reporter, news director, and on-air host for almost three years. Her reporting on commercial fishing and energy has been syndicated across Alaska and on NPR.

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Josh Crane

Josh Crane is part of Vermont Public's Engagement Journalism team. He's the senior producer and managing editor for Brave Little State, a podcast based on questions about Vermont that have been asked and voted on by the audience, and runs Vermont Public's Sonic ID project.

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