The state has expanded its trash pick-up services to accommodate the new policy, but many residents are already composting pros.

Single-use plastics—from straws to retail bags—will be illegal in Vermont by summer 2020.

Columbus Day is likely to be a thing of the past in Vermont in the near future. The Vermont Legislature passed a bill on Wednesday that would permanently recognize the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Gov. Phil Scott said he’ll likely sign it into law. “I see no reason that I would not sign it,” Scott told the Burlington Free Press, “but we’re reviewing the bill as we speak.”

A mystery shopper paid of customers' layaway items at a Walmart in Derby, Vermont, CBS Burlington affiliate WCAX reports. The act of generosity happened just days before Thanksgiving, when the store's storage room was already filled with layaway items. "I don't even think I can find the words to say," customer Julie Gates told WCAX. Gates was going to pick up a package at the store on Thursday when she overheard a man asking if he could pay for someone's items.

I arrived early in the morning to the walkway by Smuggler's Notch to find the whole area engulfed by a void of fog. I was exploring around and shooting some reflections of the trees in a nearby pond when I suddenly noticed the fog was slowly receding, revealing the amazingly colorful foliage on the hills. It was a pretty magical start to my week-long photography stay-cation in Vermont.

As of today, recreational use of marijuana is legal in Vermont -- within boundaries of some clear and not-so-clear rules. Vermont becomes the ninth state to legalize marijuana and the first state to do so through its state legislature. Gov. Phil Scott signed the law in January with "mixed emotions." The law allows adults to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana, two mature and four immature plants.

Vermont lawmakers have passed a bill that will require all single-user bathrooms in public buildings or places of public accommodation to be marked as gender-neutral. Gov. Phil Scott signed H.333 on Friday. It was introduced in the Vermont General Assembly in February 2017. The bill passed with a large majority in the House in April 2017, and then took a year to reach the Senate, where it passed unanimously.

Ethan Sonneborn is an eighth grader who loves basketball, fishing and writing. He also wants to be governor of Vermont. Not when he grows up, but now. And thanks to the fact that there are no state laws that require gubernatorial candidates to be a certain age, Ethan is officially the youngest candidate to run for that office in Vermont history.

Gun rights supporters protesting gun restriction legislation are gathering at the Vermont Statehouse, urging the governor not to sign the bill.Police estimate hundreds of protesters turned out Saturday to show their opposition a day after the Vermont legislature passed the gun restrictions package. Protesters were giving away 1,200 30-round magazines. The legislation would ban high-capacity magazines and rapid-fire devices known as bump stocks, in addition to raising the legal age. It would also expand background checks for private gun sales.

Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's led a public service demonstration Saturday, simulating the sound of an F-35 jet blast. Cohen and other organizers were eventually arrested by Burlington Police, and charged with disorderly conduct by noise. The protestors drove a truck with multiple speakers throughout Burlington -- to allow people to hear what they say over 6,000 people in the F-35 flight path will hear multiple times a day. Burlington Police issued at least one set of tickets to the organizers for a noise violation as well. Multiple residents and businesses were heavily impacted and complained to the group about the lack of warning.

The Vermont Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that would allow recreational use of marijuana, putting Vermont on course to become the first state to legalize pot by an act of the Legislature rather than through a citizen referendum.

A candidate for governor in Vermont is too young to vote but he's not too young to run. Thirteen-year-old Ethan Sonneborn tells The Burlington Free Press that he can run because Vermont is one of two states without age restrictions. He's currently collecting 500 signatures of registered voters, a requirement for the Vermont ballot.

Comcast has sued the state of Vermont to try to avoid a requirement to build 550 miles of new cable lines. Comcast's lawsuit against the Vermont Public Utility Commission (VPUC) was filed Monday in US District Court in Vermont and challenges several provisions in the cable company's new 11-year permit to offer services in the state. One of the conditions in the permit says that "Comcast shall construct no less than 550 miles of line extensions into un-cabled areas during the [11-year] term."

In a new low-income development that replaced a trailer park here, rooftop solar panels sparkle in the sun while backup batteries quietly hum away in utility closets. About an hour away, in Rutland, homes and businesses along a once-distressed corridor are installing the latest in energy-saving equipment, including special insulation and heat pumps.

Last month, the Republican governor vetoed a legalization bill for recreational marijuana after it passed the state Assembly and Senate. But rather than killing it outright, he sent it back to legislators and asked for stronger protections against stoned driving and kids' access to pot.

Harvesting syrup from maple trees has been a tradition for centuries, but new techniques are helping sugarers modernize their farms and maximize yields

Members of several close-knit neighboring communities in Vermont are mourning five teenagers who died in a fiery car crash over the weekend after a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction struck them, authorities said. Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin ordered flags lowered to half-staff through Thursday for Eli Brookens, 16, of Waterbury, Mary Harris and Cyrus Zschau, both 16, of Moretown, Lim Hale and Janie Cozzi, both 15, from Fayston.

In one regiment, the Ninth Vermont Infantry, the officers and men were indignant..... One of its members, a 19-year-old named Algernon Squier, served on temporary duty as an assistant hospital steward. A gentle giant at 6 feet, 4 inches tall, the toothy peacetime medical student had suspended his studies only five weeks earlier to join the Ninth.

Bernie’s adopted hometown is a total fun-fest for a summer weekend.

Five things a Vermont third party can teach us about carving out a space to the left of the Democrats. By Luke Elliott-Negri.