Can state lawmakers prevent Vermont youth from getting hopelessly
hooked on social media? A bill approved by the Senate on Thursday
attempts to do just that. Children 8 to 12, on average, spend four to
six hours a day on screen time, and it’s almost nine hours for teens,
according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
What’s the key to getting kids off their devices? Vermont Democratic
lawmakers say one of the solutions may be their “Kids Code” bill.
Senate Bill 69 would require social media apps to set privacy at the
highest level for children. That means data collected from children
can’t be sold to advertisers. It would also block push notifications
from midnight to 6 a.m., as well as block messages from unknown
adults, in an effort to decrease sex trafficking. Gov. Phil Scott last year
vetoed a broader data privacy bill with similar provisions for youth,
saying that it would harm businesses and was also untested in the
Courts.
Vermont’s Education Secretary Zoie Saunders was up for her second
full senate confirmation vote Thursday afternoon after being voted
down 19-9 last year. This year was much different as the Senate
confirmed her appointment on a 22-8 vote. Many Democrats changed
their votes from roughly a year ago due to lawmakers now attempting
to overhaul education in the state. They admit while they don’t agree
with everything she has put out; she is capable of the job.
A renewed push is underway at the Statehouse to address what some
have called Vermont’s “revolving door” of criminal justice. Lawmakers
and the governor are looking to reform the state’s bail laws for people
who commit additional crimes while out on bail awaiting trial. Recent
news headlines illustrate the impact that repeat offenders are having
on police and courts. People like Michael Reynolds, a Burlington man
with more than 150 misdemeanors and more than a dozen felonies,
many of them accumulated while Reynolds was released under court
conditions that authorities say he does not follow. Those testifying in
front of the House Judiciary Committee Thursday expressed concern
over what to do with this kind of offender. Under the Vermont
Constitution, only offenders charged with violent crimes can be held
in jail without bail while they await trial. House Bill 409 would allow
judges to revoke bail for non-violent offenders if they continuously
violate conditions of release, fail to show up for court, or violate other
court orders.
Dozens of students from across the state converged on the
Statehouse Thursday in what has become an annual appeal to push
lawmakers to address the climate crisis. The Rally for the Planet
comes on the heels of the Trump administration’s EPA administrator
on Wednesday announcing plans to cut dozens of rules including
limits on tailpipe and smokestack emissions, protections for wetlands,
and greenhouse gases that are heating the planet. Students at the
rally said they fear what their future could look like because of
climate change and the ramifications of federal cuts.
A Swanzey man admitted in federal court Thursday to stealing 18
firearms from Trader John’s Gun Shop, according to federal
prosecutors. Khale Guillou, 19, pleaded guilty to theft of firearms
from a federally licensed dealer. He is scheduled for sentencing on
June 24, 2025, and faces up to 10 years in prison along with a
potential fine of up to $250,000. Court records show that Guillou
broke into the gun shop on July 6, 2024, and took 18 firearms.
Investigators later recovered six of them—four from his vehicle on
July 15 and two more from his home on July 20. The Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives led the investigation with
support from multiple law enforcement agencies, including police
departments in Keene, Swanzey, Winchester, and Tewksbury.
A Springfield resident has been charged with causing a SPD Dispatch
call to get an ‘immediate response to a non-emergency’, police say.
Officers responded to a reported vehicle crash and injury in the
Springfield Plaza February 16. At the scene police did not find a crash
or injured individuals. Investigations revealed that Cynthia Morancy,
57, had caused a call to be made to their dispatch center. Police also
say that the reason for this non-emergency situation changed multiple
times, from a broken windshield wiper to ‘past-tense medical issues’
and more. Morancy is set to appear in Vermont Superior Court
Criminal Division, Windsor Unit, on April 8. She will face one charge
for falsely reporting to agencies of public safety.
World-class skiers are going head-to-head in our region, and this isn’t
your normal ski race. The World Pro Ski Tour is making its only stop on
the East Coast this season at Tenney Mountain in Plymouth. More
than 40 skiers will compete in men’s and women’s dual slalom where
races run parallel courses at the same time. Winners of the
elimination-style races take home a cash prize. The qualifiers are
today (Friday) and the races for money are on Saturday and Sunday.
You can watch it from the bottom for free.