Health Care & Rural Access: Copley Hospital is opening the Copley Express Lab in Morrisville on Aug. 3, aiming to keep Lamoille County testing local after decisions that would have routed services out of state. Public Health: Vermont officials warn this summer’s tick season is trending worse, with ER and urgent care visits for tick bites running above the 2017–2025 average and experts calling it a “new normal.” Elections & Voting Rights: Attorney General Aaron Ford is leading a coalition of 24 states urging the U.S. Postal Service to withdraw a proposed rule they say would restrict mail-in voting and disrupt local election control. Legal Challenge to School Policy: The Liberty Justice Center filed an amicus brief in a federal appeal over Vermont’s Act 73 and religious schools. State Politics: A new poll finds Gov. Phil Scott’s approval slipping to its lowest since 2022, while Democratic primary voters remain largely undecided. Public Safety: Search efforts continue for a missing man on the Lamoille River near Arrowhead Mountain Lake, with crews planning to return Saturday. Business & Infrastructure: Vermont’s new commercial financing licensing law takes effect July 1, 2027, adding disclosure and operational requirements for certain providers. America 250 (Vermont History): A two-part look at Vermont’s pre-statehood republic era explains how life and local governance shaped the state’s identity before statehood in 1791.