By Sen. Alison Clarkson The Vermont Constitution is a living document and, as such, is allowed to be amended. However, the authors of our Constitution in 1777 did not make it an easy document to amend. It is a multi-year process, requiring review and approval in two consecutive legislative biennia (in this case 2019-20 and…

By Rep. Jim Harrison Last week there were unmistakable signs of spring around us. Warmer temperatures, area golf courses reopening, crocuses and daffodils blossoming and more. Another sign of spring happens in the Legislature this time of year as well. It is evidenced by the beginning of passage of bills in either the House or…

The U.S. Small Business Administration officially open the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) application portal on April 8 for operators of live venues, live performing arts organizations, museums and movie theaters, as well as live venue promoters, theatrical producers and talent representatives to apply for critical economic relief, as those eligible entities are some of the first that had…

By Lola Duffort/VTDigger The public costs of domestic and sexual violence total an estimated $111 million a year in Vermont, with more than half that money spent not on direct services to survivors, but on incarceration and law enforcement. That’s according to a new report released Monday, April 5, by the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence,…

Funding from the American Rescue Plan is in addition to the state’s annual award of $3.4 million  Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced Monday, April 12, that Vermont has received more than $11 million in additional funding for affordable housing construction under the American Rescue Plan Act, through…

By Lola Duffort/VTDigger At the start of the pandemic, state and education officials worried that Covid-19 would be a financial catastrophe for the pre-K-12 system. Instead, the opposite happened. With three major federal relief packages approved by Congress since the start of the pandemic, schools in Vermont and the Agency of Education have been allocated a combined $566…

On Wednesday, April 7, 2021, Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC) held its annual meeting of the corporators virtually, for the first time. With close to 100 participants, the hour-long meeting featured various reports, special presentations as well as the election of new corporators and members of the hospital’s board of directors. The meeting including a…

By Emma Cotton/VTDigger and Polly Mikula Around the state, slots for vaccines have filled up quickly at several clinics organized specifically for Vermonters who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and those in their households. Megan Herrington, public health services director for the Bennington district, said around 3,000 Vermonters who qualified registered for the…

By Brett Yates Last spring, when the Rutland Redevelopment Agency (RRA) established a temporary lending policy to assist mom-and-pop businesses devastated by the pandemic, city officials hoped that, within a year, business would be back to normal. But now, it seems Rutland City’s entrepreneurs may need some extra help. “We’re finding that a number of…

By Katy Savage With some restaurants, inns and bars being forced to close last year, option tax revenue is down by 50% or more in some towns, but many of them will be able to make up some of that with the help of a federal Covid-19 relief bill. Part of $2.7 billion in federal…

By Brooke Geery For most people, the ski season is over. If you live anywhere other than the Killington-area, that is. (And even many locals have shifted their goals to spring and summer pursuits — fishing, mountain biking, golfing or even yard work.) The fact is, most have other things that come to mind first…

The winning entry in the Vermont Urban and Community Forestry program’s growing works of art contest for Grade 5 was submitted by Emma Haley, who attends Middletown Springs Elementary School. Oak tree in my dreams One night when I was fast asleep, I had a beautiful dream. In my dream, it was dark in my room,…

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife (VTF&W)board voted on April 7 to have 60 either-sex moose hunting permits and 40 antlerless moose hunting permits available this year for a hunt limited to Vermont’s Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) E in the northeastern corner of the state.  The science-based hunt will result in an estimated harvest of 51 to 66 moose,…

WEST RUTLAND—The Carving Studio and Sculpture Center (CSSC) presents a gallery exhibition of works from the “Core” series by Tsuneo Narumi through April. The elegantly balanced kinetic sculptures were each carved from a single piece of wood. His aim was to show that freedom can be found among restrictions and that we are all harmonically connected…

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