After hours of debate this week, the Vermont House approved legislation on Thursday that would increase legislators’ pay by 2027 — a move supporters have argued will make serving in Montpelier more accessible for people from diverse backgrounds.

Source: https://vtdigger.org/2023/05/11/final-reading-legislature-oks-another-2-years-of-to-go-cocktails/

And there’s a strong concern that city officials don’t fully appreciate the critical role that the center plays in providing an important quality of life for hundreds of Montpelier residents.

Source: https://vtdigger.org/2023/10/05/jean-olson-montpelier-senior-activity-center-needs-its-own-leader/

As of 10:45 p.m., the Winooski River — which is full at 11 feet and flooded at 15 feet — was at 20.9 feet in Montpelier, according to the National Weather Service.

Source: https://vtdigger.org/2023/07/10/montpelier-floods-to-first-floor-of-its-downtown-streets/

Ellsworth Stahler, Sr. was born January 13, 1944 in Montpelier, Ohio, the son of Howard and Pauline M. (Stoy) Stahler.

Source: https://thevillagereporter.com/ellsworth-stahler-sr-1944-2023/

Flooding in Montpelier, Vt., is pictured Tuesday, July 11, 2023.

Source: https://www.deseret.com/u-s-world/2023/7/12/23792397/vermont-severe-flooding-photos-devastation

In Montpelier — one of two primary places now taking the leachate — city councilors say the plant will stop accepting the waste by July 1 this year unless it is treated ahead of time for PFAS.

Source: https://vtdigger.org/2023/02/26/as-casella-aims-to-treat-pfas-in-leachate-what-happens-next-with-vermonts-forever-chemicals/

“It’s heartbreaking because you know all these businesses are losing inventory, and this person just clearly just lost their car,” said state Sen. Anne Watson, noting a parked vehicle inundated with water in Montpelier.

Source: https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/07/11/vermont-hit-by-2nd-day-of-floods-as-muddy-water-reaches-the-tops-of-parking-meters-in-capital-city/

It was the wettest month on record in Montpelier, which recorded 12.06 inches of rain, and the wettest July on record in Rutland, which had 7.42 inches of rain, said Adriana Kremer, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Burlington.

Source: https://www.centralmaine.com/2023/08/01/parts-of-new-england-including-mount-washington-saw-record-rain-in-july/

Montpelier Town Manager Bill Fraser warned that the Wrightsville Dam several miles to the north could exceed capacity for the first time.

Source: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/u-s-news/2023/07/rescuers-brace-for-more-rain-as-relentless-storms-flood-northeast-vermont-hit-hard/

Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden Central, left, confers with Secretary of the Senate John Bloomer as the Senate considers the budget bill at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Wednesday.

Source: https://vtdigger.org/2023/04/26/vermont-senate-gives-preliminary-approval-to-its-8-5-billion-budget-plan/

So, the question before Gov. Phil Scott and lawmakers in Montpelier is: Who do they think should pay for the damages caused by climate change, Vermont taxpayers or Big Oil?

Source: https://vtdigger.org/2023/06/25/burns-hierl-make-big-oil-pay-not-vermont-taxpayers/

Speaker of the House JIll Krowinski, D-Burlington, second from right, confers with Majority Leader Rep. Emily Long, D-Newfane during a veto session of the Legislature the Statehouse in Montpelier on Tuesday, June 20, 2023.

Source: https://vtdigger.org/2023/06/20/after-whirlwind-day-vermont-lawmakers-adjourn-veto-session-early/

The bank’s Montpelier branch, State Street, remained closed.

Source: https://vtdigger.org/2023/08/08/20-bank-branches-were-affected-by-the-july-floods-driving-customers-to-other-locations/

The city and surrounding communities have seen “record-breaking flooding” in two days, Montpelier officials Tuesday afternoon.

Source: https://krdo.com/news/2023/07/11/storms-turning-streets-into-rivers-trapping-drivers-and-forcing-rescues-across-the-northeast-evoke-memories-of-hurricane-irene/

The deluge also came less than three months after a storm caused deadly floods in New York’s Hudson Valley and swamped Vermont’s capital, Montpelier.

Source: https://ktar.com/story/5542113/new-york-stunned-and-swamped-by-record-breaking-rainfall-as-more-downpours-are-expected/

This commentary is by of East Montpelier, a self-employed woodworker and owner of small hydroelectric projects, and the author of “Doodlebug, A Road Trip Journal” and “Concrete and Culture,” a book of personal essays.

Source: https://vtdigger.org/2023/08/04/robby-porter-the-bear-the-flood-and-the-powerhouse/