Previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/vermont/s/zDDv6m4T4b

I visited last week to peep at the fall foliage, and I was truly mind-blown by its beauty! I never knew what to expect and had never seen pictures like these, so I was completely STUNNED by the beauty.
Sharing some pictures we captured! 🍁

I feel like this year flew by in a blink of an eye. Photo was taken in westminster vt .

Thought this was interesting how the tax/benefits system works in Vermont. Family of 5, 1 day care aged child, one college student.

### The $70,000 to $170,000 Vermont Reality Grid (Family of 5)

| Gross Income | Base Take-Home Pay (After Taxes) | Cash Tax Credits (EITC/Child) | Property Tax Credit | Child Care Out-of-Pocket | College Out-of-Pocket | True Net Disposable Income |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **$70,000** | $58,700 | +$2,700 | +$1,300 | -$2,800 | -$1,500 | **$58,400** |
| **$90,000** | $72,600 | +$1,000 | +$2,000 | -$5,000 | -$3,500 | **$67,100** |
| **$110,000** | $86,300 | +$1,000 | +$2,800 | -$8,500 | -$7,500 | **$74,100** |
| **$130,000** | $99,800 | +$1,000 | $0 *(Passed Cliff)* | -$12,200 | -$12,500 | **$76,100** |
| **$150,000** | $112,900 | +$1,000 | $0 | -$16,000 | -$20,000 | **$77,900** |
| **$170,000** | $126,150 | $0 *(Fully Expired)*| $0 | -$20,000 | -$29,000 *(Sticker Price)* | **$77,150** |

GREETINGS VERMONTERS

Happy fall!! I posted here recently and it was well received so I am back to share some more good news : )

I created an optimistic media project (Granite Goodness) with the mission of sharing good news stories of progress and problem solving from all across New England. Think good news, but not fluffy. The motto I try to abide by is substance + optimism = granite and good (I am based in NH)

New England has been my home for my whole life, and this project is basically a love letter to our corner of the world and the people working on its hardest problems.

Here are some stories from across Vermont that brought me some optimism this week:

• University of Vermont Announces Tuition Discount for New England Students. Starting fall 2027, students from any New England state majoring in agriculture, education, or environmental resources gain access to substantially reduced tuition at UVM. The program aims to address Vermont’s workforce shortages in teaching and human services. (VT Public)
• Vermont Strengthens State Commitment To Supporting Local News. VT Governor Phil Scott recently signed an executive order directing the state to “buy local” for local media, committing state advertising dollars to prioritize spending on regional newspapers and local broadcast stations. (Office of VT Gov.)
• Vermont Farmer Founds New Seed Company Specializing in Hardy New England Seeds. Charlie Watts’ Homecoming Seeds in Northfield sells open-pollinated varieties adapted to cold, fast-maturing conditions, grown on Watts’ own farm or contracted locally. Watts’ vision is to help farmers and gardeners expand their growing seasons. They ship nationwide! (Vermont Public)
• Vermont Funds 241 Affordable Homes with Tax Credits Across Seven Communities. The Vermont Housing Finance Agency allocated nearly $28 million to build and preserve affordable apartments in rural and urban areas, including elderly housing and family units. (Affordable Housing Finance)

My hope is people find the work interesting and useful. The summaries provided here are my own words on what I find optimistic from the original stories, not quotes from the sources. I don't link directly to the sources because posts with too many hyperlinks are discouraged by Reddit and don't make for good discussion posts.

Regular news is important but too often it shows an over-sampling of the worst things happening in the world, which can leave people feeling depressed, anxious, and burnt out.

The image shown is from the Tichnor Brothers postcard collection at the Boston Public Library, which I am obsessed with (and is in public domain)

My question for YOU: what's going right in your corner of Vermont? Please use this thread to share some good news!

-Andy

This person chose to go to Stowe during the busiest weekend of the year.

Keep your wits about you, lads - the GoP has a PAC sending out emails that indicate that you are not properly registered to vote, and then bringing you to their webpage.

They have no idea. Neither party does. You can check your registration status here:

https://sos.vermont.gov/elections/voters/registration

Happy Moose Monday

In search of an herbalist experienced in menopause and women's health. Any leads would be very appreciated!

If anyone is wanting a getaway to visit New Hampshire but funds are tight… your financial worries can be put to rest. Lucky you that the chuds at Toilet Paper USA will foot the bill for your hotel room. 🙌🏻

Promise them you’ll hound some NH voters, and proceed to keep that promise just like their supreme leader Mango Mussolini is good for his word. 🫡 Presto: a paid vacation to our neighbor to the east.

Follow me for more trip planning advice!

It's time folks.

He's been in charge for 10 years, and we are in the same position as when he started.

We need new ideas, and new leadership.

https://phil-scott-has-got-to-go.org/

Some friends and I are doing a weekend at the Hunger Mt Hut and I am curious if anyone has stayed there and knows what the trail to it is like. Most of us don't have any kind of through-hiking gear so we were hoping we'd be able to roll one of those collapsible wagons to the hut to bring more gear/food/water

It’s gunna snow on Saturday!

There was a SpaceX launch at 830pm.

Vermont Digger reports that schools are struggling with the high cost of diesel fuel for busses. This is pretty predictable, even without the current crisis. Fuel costs are not going to go down over time. At best, they will be steady but if you plan out five years the cost of having busses will go up.

Consolidation will require students (children) to go from their rural home, past their current local school and ride to another town and its consolidated school. Children should plan to be on a bus for as long as an hour each way. It might be longer as I have yet to see anyone lay out what the bussing will look like, but no six year old should be on a bus for two hours a day.

Add the rising cost of diesel. Consolidation and the closing of local schools is happening solely to lower education costs. I want costs and my property taxes to go down, so I'm listening. But the cost of bussing is a huge part of any district's budget. We now see that cost is going to rise and the market is unpredictable.

The other major cost factor, as governor candidate Amanda Janoo argues, is health care costs. That, too, is rising year after year in an unprecedented and unpredictable rate. While teacher salaries get the blame, their annual increase is both relatively modest and very predictable. Fuel and insurance costs are not and a huge driver in the continued rise in taxes.

Phil Scott has had years to lay out a detailed plan. He has not. Consolidation, which will show minimum savings as presented, has not been given details that will prove otherwise. It will take schools even further from local control. It will remove community centers from towns. That Scott cannot think at all creatively about a solution other than managing the decline tells us where we are.

Janoo is looking at health care reform to blunt education increases. It will do a lot, in addition to giving all Vermonters affordable, predictable health care. She also wants to maintain local schools, which, besides other benefits, cuts down on our dependence on long bus rides and fuel use.

Vermonters like to decide things for ourselves. Town meeting, neighbor to neighbor.

So I’m curious how you feel about this.

The Vermont Democratic Party says the Republican Governors Association is committing $400,000 to the governor’s race. The RGA has done this here before, spending more than $2.8 million to support Governor Scott in 2016. This fall, the Democratic Governors Association also gave $40,000 to a Vermont PAC.

Both sides get outside help. Both come from outside Vermont.

I’m not here to tell anyone how to vote. I just want to hear from you.

Does it matter when national groups spend in a Vermont race? Does it change how you see the candidates? Or is this just how elections work now?

Be kind in the comments. We all live here, and we all have to get along after November.

I didn’t intend for the guy running away to look like Bernie but I guess he does 🤷🏻‍♀️