Public Safety

Little grains of salt can have a big impact on the environment.

As the acting U.S. attorney for Vermont, Michael Drescher led the Trump administration’s high-profile prosecutions of two students who were arrested and detained by federal immigration authorities last year for their outspoken criticism of the war in Gaza.

Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos pleaded no contest to a drunk driving charge on Tuesday and received a six-month deferred probationary sentence over the objections of prosecutors.

Burlington city councilors last week unanimously signed off on a list of legislative priorities that included getting approval to use automatic license plate readers to enforce speed limits and monitor red lights. The legal landscape around the devices is murky.

The money will fund three infrastructure projects: upgrading and adding security cameras, replacing classroom door locks and replacing the school’s 30-year-old PA system.

Vermont State Police on Friday identified a body found last week in Cornwall as Lia Smith, a Middlebury College student who was missing for nearly a week. The medical examiner’s office determined that Smith, 21, died by suicide.

Racial justice advocates are questioning the Scott administration’s commitment to bias-free policing after the firing last week of an official at the Vermont Department of Public Safety.

A man who was shot and wounded by a Burlington police officer on Sunday is facing charges related to the incident, according to court records.

Two officers opened fire on James Crary of Newport, New Hampshire, as he was accelerating toward them in a vehicle, according to state police.

An average of 10 people unintentionally drown a year, according to recent Vermont Health Department data.