Well hey now, got us a bumper crop of content worth your time without mentioning the big ol’ manbaby in the White House. Yes, It Can Happen! And we’ll begin with not one, but two stories from VTDigger. It’s hard to imagine where we’d be without Digger, what with the decimation of the rest of our news media. So let’s celebrate the things Digger does well and encourage them to do more.

Official misconduct in the Fern Feather case. I mentioned this in an earlier post, but I want to shine a spotlight on Peter D’Auria’s deep dive into the prosecution of Seth Brunell for the murder of Fern Feather — a prosecution that ended with a defendant-friendly plea bargain triggered by police misconduct. D’Auria’s story chronicles all the ways in which this case was mishandled by police and prosecutors. You come away from it feeling mad as hell, and wondering if Feather’s gender identity played any role in how authorities screwed this thing up six ways from Sunday.

Exiting prison is a “bureaucratic morass.” In an example of the routine Statehouse coverage that no other media outlet provides, Digger’s Ethan Weinstein reported on a role-playing simulation of the process of exiting prison and re-entering society. The system “forces individuals to jump through hoops that many of us in this room would struggle through,” said none other than Corrections Commissioner Nicholas Deml, the person in charge of administering the system. I saw no other reports on this simulation which, in a just world, ought to trigger a thorough overhaul of a system that surely must contribute to high recidivism rates. Probably could also apply to social service programs designed without any input from those who have to jump through an obstacle course’s worth of officially-designed hoops to receive the help they need. “Lived experience,” anyone?

Maybe Act 250 isn’t the biggest barrier to housing. Maybe it’s us. Last week I spotlighted a Hardwick Gazette report on how a proposal to turn the Greensboro Town Hall into badly-needed apartments prompted mixed reaction from the community. Well, since then the town has held a vote — and as the Gazette reported, the good people of Greensboro rejected it by a wide margin. This is a community with sky-high property values, a shortage of workforce housing, and shrinking enrollment in its elementary school. In that context, I find it shocking and profoundly dispiriting that town voters said “No” to a reasonably-proportioned plan to bring new life to an underused building. Makes me think that Phil Scott’s favorite binky, permitting reform, won’t solve our housing problem unless all of us start approaching the issue with open minds and open hearts.

Handicapping 2026. Vermont’s younger and less jaded version of me, Matthew Vigneau, returned from a lengthy blogging drought with a look at who might run for statewide office in 2026. I don’t agree with his every take — Miro Weinberger is nowhere near Mike Pieciak’s level in a hypothetical race for governor, and I’d rank Anson Tebbetts as a formidable Republican candidate if he wants the nod — but I certainly can’t claim a monopoly on political insight, and it’s good to have Vigneau back on the beat.

Johnson Library rolls down the road. Many news outlets covered the move of the Johnson Public Library from its flood-prone site to a safer location — but you simply have to see the News & Citizen piece by Aaron Calvin, if only for the unforgettable photo by Gordon Miller. It’s an aerial view, taken at nighttime, of the library being rolled through downtown. “Striking” doesn’t do it justice. Amazing, more like.

The 25th anniversary of civil unions. Last week’s NYSV did not include Seven Days’ fine cover story about the 25th anniversary of the enactment of civil unions for same-sex couples. If you didn’t catch it, look it up. This week, David Goodman’s podcast “Vermont Conversation” featured a good, insightful, highly listenable chat with former state representative Bill Lippert about the enactment of civil unions, the political price paid by many, and the current backlash targeting transgender folk.

If you think history is fun, here’s one for you. From the busy studios of GNAT-TV, a community access TV channel serving the Manchester area, comes a four-part podcast called “Nothing’s New.” It’s an informal (or informal-sounding, at least; the appearance of informality is often the product of careful planning) conversation among three knowledgeable friends: Longtime GNAT host Andrew McKeever, Paige Vignola of the Manchester Community Library, and Shawn Harrington of the Manchester Historical Society. I’ve listened to parts one and two, which cover colonial America and the approach of the Revolutionary War. Looking forward to hearing the rest.

Approaching the end of life with dignity. Morgan W. Brown, fellow blogger and man about Montpelier, took to his “Green Mountain Meandering Missives” platform to update his health situation. Last November he was diagnosed with malignant colon cancer. He’s back in the hospital for pain management and an aggressive regimen of chemotherapy. His long-term outlook is, well, not great. His essay reflects a state of grace and acceptance that would do credit to any human facing the likely prospect of death. Much respect.

Town Clerk retires after four-plus decades. In the virtual pages of the Chester Telegraph, we learn that Chester Town Clerk Debbie Aldrich is retiring after a mere 42 years in the Clerk’s office. The story by Shawn Cunningham covers her retirement party, which attracted a turnout of “more than 120 friends, co-workers, relatives and Chester residents.” Anyone who served their community for that long deserves the kind of send-off that Aldrich received.

Middlebury footballer gets a tryout. Closing the circle here. A couple weeks ago I spotlighted a story in the Middlebury Campus about Middlebury lineman Thomas “The Tank” Perry, who was hoping to hear his name called in the NFL draft. It wasn’t, but Perry did get an invitation from the Baltimore Ravens to attend their minicamp. His prospects got a boost from Duke Manyweather, a man described by NFL insider Ian Rappaport as a “noted offensive line guru.” Manyweather sees Perry as ““the definition of a hidden gem.” Perry faces an uphill climb, but his dream may still come true.

See, I told you. Not a single mention of That Man in the White House. Probably won’t be the case next week.