Ethan Weinstein

Jose Luis Gonzalez and Jonathan Stone died in separate hospitals days apart.

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Also in Final Reading: Doctor shortage, economic development and pre-K.

Last week, the Vermont Labor Relations Board ordered that the Scott administration rescind its policy requiring state employees to return to their offices three days per week.

Also in Final Reading: A worst case scenario and a looming deadline.

Also in Final Reading: Immigration arrests and abortion access.

Also in Final Reading: Sister state bill vetoed; and a senator’s controversial comments.

After a week of secret meetings, Democrats, Republicans and the governor’s office agreed a compromise was close — and a Friday night amendment signaled an agreement was moving forward.

In a significant change of stance, Gov. Phil Scott and his team agreed not to push for mandated mergers if lawmakers agreed to accelerate the path to voluntary mergers and a new education funding formula.

Big questions remain, such as what shape a new education funding formula could take, and how many districts will actually decide to consolidate.