Local News
Rutland Area NAACP hosts annual Freedom Fund Brunch
January 15, 2025
Saturday, Jan. 18, from 10 a.m. —RUTLAND—The Rutland Area NAACP will hold its annual Freedom Fund Brunch at Grace Congregational Church in Rutland. Held over Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, the event celebrates racial and social justice achievements and honors the legacy of Dr. King and the NAACP. This year’s theme, “love,” highlights the…
Cabaret & Silent Art Auction brings ‘Faces in Harmony’ to the Chaffee Art Center
January 15, 2025
Saturday, Jan. 18, from 6-9 p.m. — RUTLAND. The Chaffee Art Center invites the community to its 2nd annual Cabaret & Silent Art Auction fundraiser, “Faces in Harmony.” This special evening features live musical entertainment, a silent art auction, wine, and hors d’oeuvres. Performances will include piano, guitar, and vocalists filling the Queen Anne Victorian…
Sisters combine a passion for skiing with fundraising to battle cancer and diabetes
January 15, 2025
Saturday, Feb. 1 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. — LUDLOW—Runs4Research (R4R), an annual ski and ride fundraiser at Okemo Mountain Resort, returns for its eighth year, benefiting cancer and diabetes research. Founded in 2017 by sisters Cami and Chloe Blount of Ludlow, Vermont, R4R combines the Blount sisters’ love of skiing with a mission to support…
Killington’s Johnson Recreation Center Ice Rink kicks off hockey season
January 15, 2025
The Johnson Recreation Ice Rink started the season early with some cold December weather. It has been operating since the first week of December. The rink continues with its Winter programming on Monday nights, when the Recreation Dept. holds its Double Diamonds hockey practice from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. “This year, the ice is as…
A sign of the times?
January 15, 2025
By James Kent Perhaps you’ve seen it as you drive along Route 7. In an abandoned lot next to Godnick’s on the corner of 259 N Main St. in Rutland City, erected atop a leftover sign from a long-shuttered mini golf course, a Trump/Vance election sign is affixed overhead. Even those with a cursory knowledge…
Opinions/Columns
Sen. Williams—we will not ‘get over it’
January 15, 2025
Dear Editor, The new vice-chair of Senate Natural Resources, Terry Williams, kicked off the legislative session with a rude and dismissive response to a constituent’s concerns about trapping. A constituent wrote Williams a polite, lengthy email outlining various concerns with trapping—Williams’ response: “Get over it...” Sure, Williams lists trapping as one of his recreational pastimes on the Legislature’s…
Vermont’s housing crisis: A call for decisive action
January 15, 2025
By Miro Weinberger Editor’s note: Miro Weinberger is a former mayor of Burlington (2012-2024) and a former affordable housing developer. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Taubman Center. Abundant housing is the cornerstone of an affordable, vibrant, and inclusive Vermont. Yet today, that vision of our beloved state is at risk…
Vaccines are our lifeboats
January 15, 2025
Dear Editor, Dreaded diseases that we have forgotten about because vaccines have eliminated them are threatening to return. Along with public health and sanitation efforts, vaccines are the single most lifesaving interventions in the history of medicine. Before vaccines, 10% of infants were dying of what are now preventable diseases; 30%-40% of children did not…
Overcomplicated or simple, the message must still deliver
January 15, 2025
Dear Editor, Since the November election, many Vermont Democrats have been reflecting on the results and lessons learned. To some, a significant problem was messaging. A funny thing about Democrats is that we often can’t stop explaining everything. “If only we could explain [insert idea/program/policy here] in a way that people could really understand, they…
Just saying ‘no’ is not an effective or affordable agenda
January 15, 2025
By Angelo Lynn Editor’s note: Angelo Lynn is the editor and publisher of the Addison Independent, a sister paper of the Mountain Times. In a written statement released the opening day of the 2025 legislative session and a day ahead of his fifth inaugural address, Gov. Phil Scott encouraged Vermont residents to watchdog the Legislature…
State News
Divided Sky Foundation appoints Dolinsky as its first executive director
January 15, 2025
On Friday, Jan. 10, the Divided Sky Foundation announced the appointment of Seth Dolinsky as its first executive director, marking a significant milestone in the organization’s growth and dedication to expanding its recovery services in Ludlow. Dolinsky, a seasoned expert in behavioral healthcare, brings over a decade of experience managing residential treatment and sober living…
Nationwide data breach affects Vermont student, staff information
January 15, 2025
By Corey McDonald/VTDigger According to state education officials, the personal data of students and staff at several dozen Vermont school districts may have been compromised in a nationwide data breach of a student information system. PowerSchool, a California-based company that provides a student information system and cloud software used by 39 school districts in Vermont,…
‘Vermont’s most promising jobs’ list features well-paying careers in need of at least 300 workers
January 8, 2025
Phil Scott, the Vermont Dept. of Labor (VDOL), and the McClure Foundation announced the release of Vermont’s Most Promising Jobs list, featuring more than 50 occupations expected to pay a median wage above $30/hour and have at least 300 openings over the next decade. “We have tens of thousands of jobs available in Vermont,” said Governor Scott. “It’s more important than ever…
State of Vermont launches MoneyBack program to return $1.3 million of unclaimed property to Vermonters
January 8, 2025
On Dec. 18, Governor Phil Scott and Treasurer Mike Pieciak announced the launch of the MoneyBack Program, a partnership to proactively return unclaimed property to Vermonters whose identity and address can be verified via Tax Department data. The program will rightfully return a total of nearly $1.3 million to over 5,000 Vermonters this holiday season.…
‘An anomaly?’: Pay to state employees under investigation exceeds $2.6m, up 60%
January 8, 2025
By Ethan Weinstein / VTDigger State records show that since the start of 2020, taxpayers have funded more than $9 million in wages for state employees on paid leave while under investigation for alleged misconduct. According to Vermont Dept. of Human Resources records obtained through a public records request, the cost of paid investigative leave…
Arts & Entertainment
Rutland Area NAACP hosts annual Freedom Fund Brunch
January 15, 2025
Saturday, Jan. 18, from 10 a.m. —RUTLAND—The Rutland Area NAACP will hold its annual Freedom Fund Brunch at Grace Congregational Church in Rutland. Held over Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, the event celebrates racial and social justice achievements and honors the legacy of Dr. King and the NAACP. This year’s theme, “love,” highlights the…
‘The Brutalist’ is a monumental achievement in film
January 15, 2025
With home viewing becoming the preferred way to watch movies, it’s a rare delight to encounter a film that demands to be seen in a theater. Brady Corbet’s "The Brutalist" is one such film. This 215-minute epic, shot in stunning VistaVision and presented in 70mm, is a cinematic experience that makes the journey to the…
Cabaret & Silent Art Auction brings ‘Faces in Harmony’ to the Chaffee Art Center
January 15, 2025
Saturday, Jan. 18, from 6-9 p.m. — RUTLAND. The Chaffee Art Center invites the community to its 2nd annual Cabaret & Silent Art Auction fundraiser, “Faces in Harmony.” This special evening features live musical entertainment, a silent art auction, wine, and hors d’oeuvres. Performances will include piano, guitar, and vocalists filling the Queen Anne Victorian…
Woodstock Film Series presents ‘The Eternal Memory’
January 15, 2025
Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 18-19, at 3 p.m.—WOODSTOCK—The Woodstock Vermont Film Series continues with a screening of the Academy Award-nominated documentary “The Eternal Memory” at the Billings Farm & Museum Visitor Center Theater. Directed by Maite Alberdi, the film chronicles the love story of Augusto Góngora, a renowned Chilean cultural commentator and television presenter, and his wife,…