MONTPELIER, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark announced Monday that the state has won a settlement from Angi, formerly Angie’s List, based on concerns about its marketing.

The website, founded in 1995, connects customers with contractors who perform home repairs and services.

Before this year, according to the settlement, Angi used the phrase “certified pro” to refer to participating contractors in Vermont, a phrase Vermont officials said was inaccurate, as contractors in the state only need to register under Title 26, and the state does not have a “certification” process.

As part of the settlement, Angi has agreed to stop using the term “Angi Certified Pro,” and will remind all Vermont contractors to register under Title 26. The registration is only required for projects where at least $10,000 in payment is received.

“For most Vermonters, our homes are the single biggest investment we make,” said Clark. “It’s vitally important that consumers are not misled by marketing terms that imply confidence or credentials that contractors do not have.”

In I.M. Aiken’s latest novel, EMS captain turned sleuth Brighid Doran suspects that all is not as it appears at The Branston Club, a swanky ski lodge being built in her rural Vermont town. When neighbors start going hungry and local businesses are threatened, Brighid sets to investigating the club’s charismatic developer, coming up against crooked cops, greedy politicians, and a string of increasingly depraved deceptions—all while struggling to cope with the deployment of her wife, Major Sarah Ann (“Sam”) Musgrave. With help from attorney Morgan Harmon and the FBI, Brighid must uncover the scheme defrauding her community of millions, even if it puts her own life on the line.

Stolen Mountain is available October 21^st in bookstores everywhere.

Reader: I.M., thanks for chatting with me. Where did the idea for Stolen Mountain come from?

Aiken: I watched the brewing of two large fraud cases in Vermont in recent decades: one in Wilmington and Dover, and the other near the Canadian border at Jay Peak. From an outsider’s perspective, it seemed as if the cases were unrelated, but the similarities were striking. Two Vermont ski areas, efforts to steal funds from local citizens and businesses, influencing state officials with tax programs and photo-ops, and other tricks common to the fraudster’s toolkit.

As I researched one case, facts from the other case would bleed in. I used the stillness of the pandemic year to travel to these projects, interviewing victims, studying local documents and newspapers, and photographing the sites. 

Stolen Mountain focuses primarily on the case involving Haystack Mountain, and the developers of The Hermitage Club. Haystack was a small and private ski area in Wilmington and Dover. The vision of The Hermitage, as explained in the local papers, was to create an exclusive resort for wealthy patrons who would fly in and out of a local airport. But the locals paid a hefty price.

Reader: “Ripped from the headlines,” as they say?

Aiken: Inspired, yes. Faithful to the facts? No. Stolen Mountain is fiction, because if I stuck with the facts, my readers would hate me. Fraud is actually very boring and predictable. Con cons locals and politicians with grand ideas, gets great deals, starts doing things, then “forgets” to pay bills. The bad guy decides he’s too big to fail and the local economy is suddenly dependent on his project, employment scheme, and investment. The real bad guy simply walked away with the money. In my book, I am just not that forgiving. There are a few fun twists and turns. 

Reader: Your main character, Brighid, is a lot of fun to read. Tell me about her. This isn’t the first time your loyal readers will meet her, is it?

Aiken: I wanted to expand on two of my favorite secondary characters from my previous novel The Little Ambulance War of Winchester County, released last year. Our hero, Brighid, is an advanced EMT and captain on the rescue squad in her fictitious town of Trowbridge, Vermont. She comes with classic Yankee moxie and keeps getting interrupted by 911 calls. Her wife, Sam, is a career army officer. For those in the know, I have been publishing short stories monthly on Substack, where readers can get to know Brighid, Sam, and the Trowbridge rescue squad. The stories are free. You can find them here: https://TrowbridgeDispatch.IamAiken.com. Each story stands alone and can be read in any order. I just keep writing about the same people in the same places while ignoring timelines.

Reade: So tell me more about the plot of Stolen Mountain. Obviously, Brighid is investigating this big fraud. What else is going on?

Aiken: Twenty years ago, I reported for duty at the military base in Killeen, Texas, the then-home of the U.S. Army’s 4^th Infantry Division. I was a civilian assigned into a military unit as a subject matter expert. My boss was a major, and together we managed a platoon of fifteen soldiers and one coast guard member. When I was deployed overseas, the military had already dismissed nearly 5,000 service members for being queer. The timeline of the original Hermitage fraud case straddled the reversal of “Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell,” so the discrimination against queer soldiers is woven tightly into the novel. Of course, when drafting this work, I assumed that these days were behind us. Suddenly, exploring queer folks in public service and military roles seems contemporary.

Also, I questioned why Vermont was a target for two large fraud cases that related to land, development, and ski areas. Although I offer no blame, I did explore how Vermont reviews and approves development projects. We run them through environmental reviews during the permitting process. While writing, I researched how Vermont investigates financial crimes. I didn’t find much.

I wonder if financial integrity ought to be as important as environmental planning. As a novelist, I can explore these questions freely (I hope, still).

And because I have been in public service since my teen years, I’ve tossed in my normal 911 and rescue squad antics and drama. Bringing the spice to everyday community heroes we find in Vermont towns.

Reader: Where can readers find the book?

Aiken: It will be available at any bookstore from October 21^st. I have a funny feeling that booksellers near Jay Peak and The Hermitage Club will have abundant inventory. I encourage folks to buy the audiobook, which is read by me. It can be found on Libro.fm or any other place where audiobooks are sold.

Reader: Thanks so much, I.M. Readers can pre-order Stolen Mountain from Bartleby’s Books in Wilmington here: https://myvermontbookstore.com/book/9781963511284, or from Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne here: https://flyingpigbooks.com/book/9781963511284. Readers elsewhere can pre-order the paperback or e-book from Bookshop.org here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/stolen-mountain-i-m-aiken/19d770bf30de31fa?ean=9781963511284.

Locals living in stunning fall foliage towns have conjured up cunning plans to keep annoying tourists at bay when they flock during the autumnal months. 

Excited vacationers have started traveling to Vermont’s countryside, ready to experience beautiful views of color-changing leaves.

But the overflow of selfie-snapping influencers disrupting the peace have become too much for some residents to bear in New England. 

Locals are so fed up with the dangerous traffic jams caused by the autumn hotspots – so have voted to close some of the most scenic routes in their neighborhood. 

This dramatic move cuts off vehicles from reaching some local farms that are often flooded with people during the season.

Not only that, but miniature figurines poking fun at ‘influencers’ trespassing on private roads have popped up in local gift shops – aimed to make them feel unwelcome. 

Influencers have been accused of blocking roads and emergency vehicles from getting through, while often getting their cars stuck on uneven ground and getting into residents’ driveways. 

Laura Seymour, a Vermont local, told the Wall Street Journal why she escaped to the French countryside during her home state’s prime season.

Residents are fed up with the dangerous traffic jams caused by the autumn hotspots

Local residents are fed up with influencers blocking roads and emergency vehicles from getting through

‘I hate to say it, but we probably picked this time to actually avoid some of the traffic on our road,’ Seymour told WSJ. 

Residents voted to close Cloudland Road, which leads to Sleepy Hollow Farm in Pomfret, for the third consecutive year.

The maple syrup state also closed Jenne Road in Reading, for a third year. The road is known for its appearances in commercials and the film Forrest Gump, another autumn hotspot.

But Vermont’s economy thrives off tourism – regardless of how locals feel. 

New 2025 data showed that tourism is a four billion dollar industry, with an economic impact report estimating a whopping 15.8 million visitors traveled to Vermont in 2023.

‘Tourism has always been important to Vermont, but this new data underscores tourism’s role in driving the economy in every corner of our state,’ says Commerce Secretary Lindsay Kurrle, in a press release.

She added that residents must support businesses and workers to provide travelers with ‘experiences that make Vermont unforgettable.’

One local is definitely creating an atypical but unforgettable experience.

Burlington artist Alex Bonson created collectible figures to poke fun at screen-obsessed visitors.

The tiny figure shows a woman, dressed country-esque with boots and a hat, holding a phone.

Burlington artist Alex Bonson created collectible figures to poke fun at screen-obsessed visitors

The figure reads: ‘Influencer Trespassing on Private Road,’ accompanied by mocking hashtags that read #autumnvibes and #sweaterweather

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Bonson added his inspiration comes from the most ‘basic influencer’ you see when you search ‘fall foliage’

Overcrowded roads with bumper-to-bumper traffic triggered the state to ban visitors from fall foliage attractions

Many locals supported tourists coming during the fall, and experiencing the stunning views and great food the state offers

Above the figure reads: ‘Influencer Trespassing on Private Road,’ accompanied by mocking hashtags that read #autumnvibes and #sweaterweather. 

‘It really comes from the most common influencer you see when you type in “Vermont Foliage” on TikTok or Instagram,’ Bonson told the WSJ.

His website shows another satire collectible of cars in congested traffic on a scenic highway, titled ‘Leaf Peepers Blocking Traffic.’

Bonson even donated a portion of his sales to a 2023 campaign that raised over $20,000 for sheriff deputies to man the Cloudland Road closure. 

Locals say the so-called influencer era has brought a different kind of tourist to the area – one that does not mind blocking traffic or getting into residents’ driveways to get that perfect shot. 

Residents part of the ‘I grew up in Vermont’ Facebook group shared mixed feelings when it comes to the influx of tourists.

Many supported tourists coming during the fall, and experiencing the stunning views and great food the state offers. 

One local wrote: ‘Vermont is both a great place to visit and a great place to live and you can’t say that about everywhere.’