The Bernie Buzz

Summer Meals feeds kids for free all summer long, while Crop Cash doubles your food dollar at the farmers market. It’s a simple way to feed your family fresh healthy food grown right here in Vermont while also supporting local farmers. Both programs are easy to use: Summer Meals is open to any child 18 and under and Crop Cash is available for Vermonters who receive 3SquaresVT benefits.

Every year, Vermonters turn out for these “Big Nights,” to help migrating amphibians safely cross roads near ponds and wetlands. In April, the Bernie Buzz caught up with the organizers and more than 200 local volunteers on Pond Road for the town of Shelburne’s Big Night to learn about why these evenings are important — and to get a look at some of the creatures that were migrating.

What a Saturday. I want to thank the 450 Vermonters who joined me on Saturday for a fun walk on the Delaware & Hudson Rail Trail in Castleton. The weather was great, the bagels and coffee hit the spot and we all got a bit of healthy exercise on an absolutely beautiful day. I also want to thank local musician and educator Phil Henry for some truly excellent music. After a short discussion, we kicked off the hike with one of my favorite parts of this event: inviting young Vermonters up to the stage to lead everyone in These Green Mountains, our state song.

Girls on the Run Vermont has a strong history of motivating girls physically and mentally, including Olympian Elle St. Pierre. Every year, well over 100 Vermont schools and towns host Girls on the Run, a 10-week program where girls move their bodies while learning lessons about positive self-talk, friendship and inner strength. The program culminates with thousands of girls — from Brattleboro to Barre, Newport to Newfane — coming together in for two celebratory 5K runs.

The foundation of artificial intelligence is based on our collective human intelligence: our books, songs, artwork, journalism, computer code, scientific research, videos, conversations, images and ideas spanning generations. Simply put, everything that human beings have produced is being used to train these AI models and, in truth, all that work has been stolen by Big Tech oligarchs.

Please join me for an outdoor town meeting and hike on the Delaware and Hudson Rail trail on Saturday, June 13. We’ll meet at the Vermont State University Castleton Pavillion. Bagels and coffee will be available at 9:30 a.m. with the program kicking off at 10 a.m. After breakfast, we will set off for a three mile out-and-back hike along the rail trail.