Double Scoop: Post-Crossover Crunch — Andy & Joanna catch up politics & policy. Education, Housing, Healthcare, Vermont's Wealth Tax Moment & More.

Joanna and Andy are back in double scoop mode — just the two of them — digging into a packed post-crossover moment at the Vermont Statehouse. They open with dispatches from the No Kings Rally, where Joanna emceed, Senator Becca White airdropped in and owned the mic for three minutes flat, and Joanna's 15-year-old Isa Cramer delivered a speech that brought down the house — and handled an interruption like a seasoned pro.On education, they unpack the House Education Committee's significant pivot away from forced district consolidation and toward Cooperative Service Agreements — a shared-services model similar to BOCES in New York that could deliver real administrative savings without blowing up local schools. The Senate remains stalled with no clear direction, setting up a potentially messy conference. Joanna also reflects on the moment Chittenden County superintendents and school board chairs collectively broke from the sidelines to tell families that Act 73 would pull $63 million from their districts — and what it meant that they felt they had to do that.On housing, they break down S325, which puts an 18-month pause on Act 250's Tier 3 implementation and delays the road rule by three and a half years. A Republican-led amendment to strip Tier 3 entirely — which would have collapsed the political bargain that made Act 181 possible in the first place — failed on party lines. On healthcare, H-585 just passed the House with a quietly big provision: mandated site neutrality for physical therapy, which equalizes reimbursement rates between hospitals and independent providers. It also expands prior authorization relief, giving independent practices a fighting chance. And finally: H-621, the Priestly-Cole wealth tax, is now a standalone bill creating two new income brackets for earners above $500K and $1M. The JFO estimates it could raise $100 million — money that would otherwise come out of the other 99%. Joanna's heard from plenty of high-earners who say they'd sign up for it.Plus: the first creemees of the season and Front Porch Forum's not-so-candidate-friendly "candidate access" program.#TheresNoAInCreemee #VTPoli #VermontPolitics #NoKingsRally #DoubleScoop #VTLeg #Act73 #VermontEducation #Act250 #S325 #VermontHousing #H585 #SiteNeutrality #HealthcareVT #H621 #WealthTax #PriestlyCole #Crossover #VTElections2026 #Creemee #FrontPorchForum