By Anne Wallace Allen/VTDigger The Legislature’s Joint Fiscal Committee has steered an additional $75 million into grants intended to help Vermont’s hospitality businesses survive the winter. The committee, meeting Saturday, Nov. 14, approved many of the items on a proposal the Scott administration issued earlier this month to reallocate some of the state’s $1.25 billion share of the…

By Katy Savage Rep. Charlie Kimbell, D-Woodstock, is campaigning to be the next speaker of the House after Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero, lost her bid for reelection on Nov. 3. Kimbell is a ranking member of the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee and represents Woodstock, Reading and Plymouth, which make up Winsor-5. He was…

K-12 schools grapple with holiday exposure risks to Covid-19, potential outbreaks, staffing By Curt Peterson An explosive increase in Covid-19 cases across the U.S. and now Vermont are inspiring many reactive decisions — perhaps none more consequential than those regarding education. Education Secretary Dan French said at the Nov. 13 pandemic press conference the state…

Contact tracer keeps advice simple: stay 6 feet apart or keep contact to less than 15 minutes By Polly Mikula The recent surge of Covid-19 case growth in Vermont has led to new mitigation measures to slow the spread. Among those announced Friday, Nov. 13, were a prohibition on multi-family gatherings and the closure of…

By Brooke Geery If you grew up in Rutland in the 90s, you likely have a memory of the Sound Barrier and its brightly colored banner on Center Street. Whether you were after music, clothing or skate and snowboard supplies, the store provided anything and everything an alt-teen could desire. Owner Jeff Sanborn helped rural…

By Anne Wallace Allen/VTDigger Home prices rose sharply this summer as out-of-staters moved into Vermont and market conditions deterred the construction of new houses, tightening the supply. The median sales price paid in September hit $348,000 — 23% more than the median sales price of $281,335 in September 2019, the Vermont Association of Realtors said…

By Merisa Sherman We pulled into an empty parking lot and raced down to the water, amazed that we are even still paddling this late in November. The BF unstrapped the canoe in record time while I grabbed our dry bags and paddles from the back seat. We could see the sky begin to hint…

By Kevin Theissen According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, productivity losses linked to employees not showing up for work cost employers approximately $225 billion annually, or over $1,600 per worker. Business owners and managers understand very well the rising cost of health care and the loss of productivity associated with absenteeism and…

By Dom Cioffi This is an actual group text I received a few days ago from a college friend: “Yo whoz goin 2 the re-union” I scanned those words two or three times, cringing progressively worse upon each reading. Forget the fact that zero punctuation was used or that the grammar was bastardized nearly beyond…

By Mary Ellen Shaw Before the pandemic I was watching a talk show that used to air on ABC. One of the hosts, Keke Palmer, who is her late 20s, said that when she was a child and didn’t know the meaning of a word her parents would tell her to look it up in…

By Susie Spikol Bent down in an apple field searching for a lost earring, I found a different treasure: a stout mouse-like animal, with a short tail and stubby ears. It gave me one quick look, then disappeared through a maze of tunnels in the thick autumn grass. I would have loved to follow this…

By Cassandra Tyndall Do you remember the iconic scene from the movie, “A Few Good Men,” when the character played by Tom Cruise goes on a relentless search for the truth behind a murdered Marine? After weeks of investigating, probing and being guided by instinct, the dramatic climax in the courtroom is a movie scene…

Holiday decorating contest offered this holiday season By Brooke Geery If you need a little motivation to deck out your house for the holidays this year, perhaps the chance for fame, glory and spectacular prizes will help you out. Enter Jeanette Langston of Social Tinkering, who took it upon herself to create a competition for…

For many families, it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without turkey. But proper food preparation and handling is necessary to avoid an unwanted guest for the holiday, foodborne illness. According to Dr. Omar Oyarzabal, University of Vermont Extension food safety specialist, the best way to defrost or thaw a frozen turkey depends on its size. “For large…

The eighth piece on the Rutland Sculpture Trail honors one of America’s earliest civil rights advocates and the first Black college president in the country. The work will be unveiled Friday, Nov. 20 at noon. The public is invited to attend the outdoor event in the Center Street Marketplace; masks are required, and attendees are…