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Explore our coverage of government and politics.

F-35 Fighter Jets Are Still Coming To Vermont, Despite Review Of The Program

Despite President Donald Trump’s criticism and pledges to scale back Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter program, the Vermont Air National Guard is still slated to receive the jets in 2019.

This week, the Burlington Free Press reportedthat the members of Vermont’s Congressional delegation said the Department of Defense’s review of the F-35 program would not stop the jets from being based in Vermont.

However, that decision remains controversial, as many people living near the airport in Burlington, South Burlington and neighboring Winooski say they're worried about the F-35 jets and the effect their presence will have on property values.

In South Burlington, residents are especially dismayed that the Federal Aviation Administrationhasn't provided sound mapswith information on the projected noise impact to surrounding neighborhoods.

VPR spoke to Nicole Higgins DeSmet, a reporter at the Burlington Free Press, about the recent developments in this story.

Listen to the full interview above.

A graduate of NYU with a Master's Degree in journalism, Mitch has more than 20 years experience in radio news. He got his start as news director at NYU's college station, and moved on to a news director (and part-time DJ position) for commercial radio station WMVY on Martha's Vineyard. But public radio was where Mitch wanted to be and he eventually moved on to Boston where he worked for six years in a number of different capacities at member station WBUR...as a Senior Producer, Editor, and fill-in co-host of the nationally distributed Here and Now. Mitch has been a guest host of the national NPR sports program "Only A Game". He's also worked as an editor and producer for international news coverage with Monitor Radio in Boston.
Liam is Vermont Public’s public safety reporter, focusing on law enforcement, courts and the prison system.
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