VTDigger

Pat, um, healthcare obviously is a big issue, one of the probably three main affordability issues, and the governor has a, a set of ideas.

Amanda Genoux, um, a, a lot of people are talking about how Amanda Genoux has this big concept idea, and, and in, in this article in VTDigger they're talking about how people are- ... really so tired of paying so much for the premiums in Vermont, probably the highest in the nation.

And it's, it appears to be some people are at least flocking to her campaign because she has this big idea, which is affordable, um, primary care.

It, initially it was being just said, done as universal care, and now they seem to have backed it down to universal primary care.

So all right, so let's get into some issues.

So one of the things, uh, that's been in the news, um, is, uh, and I'll just read the headline from VTDigger, "Lawmakers examine Department of Corrections policy keeping more people in prison past their minimum sentences." And they're saying, I know there's been hearings on this, "Some lawmakers and some advocates have expressed concerns that the policy", critics say, "the policy keeps people incarcerated past their minimum sentences," and they say, "without adequate due process." Now, tell us about this policy, John.

My understanding reading the article, um, is that the governor, uh, came...

Or you can tell us how this happened, but the, my understanding in, in, in the article is the governor wanted to find a way to keep people who might be a danger, uh, incarcerated past their minimum sentences.

Now to Vermont, where a ransomware group has demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars from Slate Valley Unified School District after compromising teachers' records and disrupting its IT systems.

VT Digger reports that the district discovered the attack on September third when teachers were unable to log into Windows, leaving the school without internet and key internal platforms such as PowerSchool for about a week.

The district, which serves about one thousand one hundred and eighty students in grades pre-K through twelve, has since restored connectivity with assistance from cybersecurity contractors.

Now to the UK, where a cyberattack on Bristol City Council's Trading with Schools platform affected eighty-seven schools after the authority took four days to shut down a compromised system.

Um, we demolished all that stuff.

Um, uh, a lot of the people on this street, and I'm going to the Carly Berlin piece in VT Digger, uh, in which, I don't know, 60, 70% of the-- of, of us live in single-family homes with four bedrooms.

The kids have gone.

Um, we're sitting on a big house, and the problem has happened.

What does it say? It says housing.

This is the liberal paper, VT Digger, puts this in the housing category.

You see, this is about the unhoused and the housing crisis and how we're not taking care of the unhoused.

They don't even give lip service to the needs and desires of the actual normal citizens who live in this city, who live in this building.

All right, gotcha.

Now, Bruce, I want to ask you, there's this article in VT Digger today.

It's entitled, Scott Administration, Expect Tighter State Budget to Make Room for Tax Cuts.

And basically the governor has, his finance person has said to the state agencies that we're going to ask for just a 1% increase in state spending rather than the 3% that's been called for previously in order for them to, what they're saying is to have tax cuts for Vermonters.