By Karen Tronsgard-Scott Editor's note: Tronsgard-Scott is the executive director of the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. Every Vermonter has the right to thrive and live their life free from violence. Unfortunately, the reality is that too many Vermonters aren’t safe. Each year, thousands of Vermonters experience domestic or sexual violence. What would…

Dear Editor, The long-anticipated Christmas holiday is nearly upon us. It conjures visions of happy families gathered by a warm fireplace, opening presents, sharing their love, and... feasting on ham and turkey. It’s the happiest time of the year, but not for the animals. The 222 million turkeys killed in the U.S. this year were…

Dear Editor, “If you build it, they will come,” is a phrase that haunts the main character in the movie “Field of Dreams.” In that film, the thing to be built is a baseball field for spectral players from the early 1900s, but it got me thinking, and not about baseball. It got me thinking…

By Michael Caduto What a journey we are on together. For some 10 months our lives have been upended by Covid-19, and yet we carry on. In the midst of more than 1.65 million deaths worldwide, including over 313,000 who have lost their lives in the United States (more than 100 in Vermont and rapidly approaching…

By Katy Savage Theories are circulating that aliens have landed since a mysterious monolith, at least 8 feet tall, appeared 1,800 feet up a hill in Pittsfield last week. “It’s like a giant just grabbed onto it and stuck it in the ground at the top of the mountain,” Riverside Farm General Manager Peter Borden…

In collaboration with the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Dept. of Public Service (PSD) conducts a regular survey of local heating fuel retailers in order to collect a sample of unit prices charged to Vermont customers. The Heating Fuel Price Survey (HFPS) is conducted weekly during the heating season, from October to March, and…

By Jim Harrison At this point, we generally have a good idea of what the major issues will be for the new legislative session. But this year is different in so many ways. At least the first two months will be conducted remotely (and potentially the entire session), which may make tackling complicated or contentious…

The U. S. Mint America the Beautiful (ATB) Quarters Program is a multi-year initiative to honor 56 national parks and other national sites in each state. Five new reverse designs have been released for the quarter coin each year beginning in 2010 and will continue through 2021. The America the Beautiful (ATB) Quarters are legal…

By Anne Wallace Allen and Erin Petenko/VTDigger Reforming the state’s short-term rental regulations will be a top priority of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce in the coming legislative session. The association aims to level the playing field for members that operate traditional lodging businesses. The chamber will ask lawmakers to establish a registration system for short-term rentals such…

By Karen D. Lorentz If you’ve ever wondered how Okemo rose to its prominence in the ski industry, a major clue can be found in an observation made by Ray Kennedy some 10 years ago: “We all are part of what gets built – there is loyalty and ownership and a sense of accomplishment and…

Case count at 19, including one staff member By Lee J. Kahrs PITTSFORD — Almost the entire current class of recruits at the Vermont Police Academy has now tested positive for Covid-19, but director William Sheets said recruits have not lost much training and class time, and graduation is tentatively set for Jan. 4. When…

On Dec.19 at about 4:45 p.m. a neighbor who lives on Independent Drive in Hartland saw flames coming from the basement area of the home at 17 Independent Drive and called 911. Upon arrival of the fire department, the house was fully engulfed in flames from the basement to the roof. Several local fire departments…

By Polly Mikula It’s now ok to take a walk or ski with a friend — as long as you are outdoors, wear masks and stay six feet apart, Governor Phil Scott said at the state press conference, Tuesday, Dec. 22. In addition to recreating outdoors, families can now gather with one other trusted family…

By Ellie French/VTDigger The Vermont Foodbank has received its largest ever donation, from MacKenzie Scott, the philanthropist ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The $9 million donation is part of a $4.2 billion burst of donations Scott announced this week in a post on Medium called “384 ways to help,” referencing the 384 organizations she’s donating…

By Katy Savage The defunct Bridgewater Village School is on schedule to reopen as a community center in 2021 with the help of a recent $400,000 grant, closing in on a $1.2 million fundraising goal. Bridgewater was one of 10 communities that received a federal Community Development Block Grant this month, with awards totaling $2.9…