Lisa Rathke
The Associated Press
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Past articles by Lisa:
Conn. woman 1st non-Vermonter granted assisted suicide right
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Lynda Bluestein has terminal cancer and knows she’ll likely die soon, but until Tuesday, she didn’t know if she’d be able to choose how or when and whether her family, friends and dog would be with her when the time comes. The 75-year-old from Bridgeport, Connecticut, reached a settlement with the […] → Read More
Vermont lawmakers mull bills to protect abortion providers
Vermont lawmakers are taking testimony on a pair of bills that aim to protect health care workers who provide abortions and gender-affirming health care in Vermont from legal and disciplinary action from states that limit or ban those practices. → Read More
Town employee quietly lowered fluoride in water for years
Residents of a small community in Vermont were blindsided last month by news that one official in their water department quietly lowered fluoride levels nearly four years ago. → Read More
Spotty fall colors likely in New England amid drought
This summer’s drought is expected to cause a patchy array of fall color in the leaf-peeping haven of New England → Read More
Spotty fall colors likely in New England amid drought
This summer's drought is expected to cause a patchy array of fall color starting earlier in the leaf-peeping haven of New England while the autumn colors are likely to be muted and not last as long in the drought- and heat-stricken areas of the south. → Read More
How families are handling the end of pandemic-era free school meals
The pandemic-era federal aid that made school meals available for free to all public school students — regardless of family income levels — is ending, raising fears about the effects in the upcoming school year for families already struggling with rising food and fuel costs. → Read More
Families brace for changes to pandemic-era free school meals
Before the pandemic, there was no room in the budget for Kate Murphy’s children to buy lunch at school. She and her husband would buy in bulk and make bag lunches at home. So the free school meals that were made available to students nationwide amid the crisis have brought welcome relief, especially since her husband lost his job last year at a bakery company that closed. → Read More
Congress approves free student meal extension through summer
Congress passed a bill Friday that aims to keep up the expanded, pandemic-era distribution of free meals for all students this summer. → Read More
Former ski resorts owner faces sentencing in Vermont fraud
The former owner of two Vermont ski resorts faces sentencing Friday in federal court for his role in a failed plan to build a biotechnology plant in Vermont using tens of millions of dollars in foreign investors' money raised through a special visa program that was part of the largest fraud case in the state's history. → Read More
Peace Corps plans to start sending volunteers overseas again
The Peace Corps will start sending volunteers overseas again in mid-March after it evacuated them from posts around the world two years ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government program announced Thursday. → Read More
States seek to protect election workers amid growing threats
Lawmakers in a handful of states are seeking greater protections for election officials amid growing concerns for their safety after they were targeted by threats of violence following the 2020 presidential election. → Read More
States seek to protect election workers amid growing threats
Lawmakers in a handful of states are seeking greater protections for election officials amid growing concerns for their safety after they were targeted by threats of violence following the 2020 presidential election. → Read More
Legislator dies using medical suicide law he helped pass
A former Vermont legislator and House majority leader has died with the help of a law he himself helped pass that allows the terminally ill to end their own lives, his wife said. → Read More
Bernie Sanders' mittens meme merch helped raise $1.8M for charity
Sen. Bernie Sanders capitalized on his viral mittens meme and put it in merchandise which then raised millions of dollars for charity. → Read More
US colleges mull new virus protocols for students' return
COLCHESTER, Vt. (AP) — St. Michael’s College managed to keep coronavirus cases at bay... → Read More
Artist hikes length of Vermont, painting along the way
MANCHESTER, Vt. — (AP) — After hiking over 200 miles (320 kilometers) on the country’s oldest long-distance trail, Rob Mullen had just 3 miles (5 kilometers) to go in the rain to meet up with his wife and father for a break. He kept dry with his foul weather gear as he walked down the trail with a backdrop of trees sprouting fall’s orange and yellow leaves and carrying trekking poles and a big… → Read More
Some gardeners in a pickle over scarce canning supplies
MARSHFIELD, Vt. (AP) — It’s the time of year when gardeners are turning their ripe tomatoes into sauces and salsas and cucumbers into pickles. But a boom in gardening and preparing food at home... → Read More
Foreign ski workers stranded by virus get helping hand
MARSHFIELD, Vt. (AP) — They were far away from home -- young adults from Latin America, working seasonally at U.S. ski resorts. Then the coronavirus arrived, even before the snows... → Read More
Virus sours business for already-reeling dairy industry
MARSHFIELD, Vt. (AP) — This was supposed to be rebound year for dairy farmers embattled by at least four years of depressed milk prices — and then the coronavirus hit. Schools, restaurants,... → Read More
Former college towns left to adapt to business loss
POULTNEY, Vt. — As colleges and universities come alive this fall, some campuses sit closed and empty after succumbing to a recent wave of fewer students and financial challenges.Now communities that long hosted those historic institutions and relied on them for an economic boost — and their very identity — are left to adapt to the vacancy and wondering what comes next.In Poultney, Vermont,… → Read More