By Dom Cioffi My grandmother was the quintessential Italian: she was short, attentive, liked to wear sundresses, hid money underneath the mattress, and spent the better part of her days cooking and watching soap operas. When I showed up and knocked on her door (which was always locked), she would yell, “Who is it?” I…

By Morgan True, VTDigger.org For the second consecutive year, Vermont ranks as the second-healthiest state in the U.S., according to America’s Health Rankings 2014 report. The report was is based on an evaluation of four categories of health determinants including behaviors, community and environment, clinical care and policy as well as the health outcomes those…

Smart Approaches to Marijuana chapter takes root in Vermont By Julia Purdy At the start of 2012, both Colorado and Washington State voters legalized recreational marijuana. However, the votes amounted to nothing like a landslide, as many expected, with about half the counties in each state voting against it — a push-back has been building since.…

By Cristina Kumka The newly-formed Killington Volunteer Fire Department Facilities Committee, charged with reviewing the needs and wants of the department and possibility of a new firehouse, took a tour of the Killington Road fire station on Wednesday, Dec. 17. The committee considered a feasibility study done by Dore & Whittier Architects, Inc. in which…

BarnArts Center for the Arts is seeking female actor to join our 9-cast ensemble for “Death and Taxes.” We lost a female actor unexpectedly and need some ASAP.  Rehearsals now in progress.  Performances Jan. 30-Feb. 2. Please contact director Jo Oliver-Yeager at jooliveryeager@gmail.com

Those who arrived at Pico Mountain Saturday, Dec. 13, could not have asked for a better day to start the 2014-2015 season. The sunshine highlight the first tracks down the nearly two feet of natural snow that blanketed the slopes earlier in the week. Photo by Robin Alberti Fresh tracks through deep powder excite eager…

Gov. Shumlin, emergency officials ask FEMA for damage assessment On Monday, Dec. 15, the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) reported that the estimated cost for the storm was $2.2 milliion as of 8 a.m. that day. VTrans crews have plowed or treated for more than 120 hours continuously, covering 185,000 lane miles since the storm began last Tuesday. 12,600 tons…

Photo by Cristina Kumka Sticky notes supporting the ban of the controversial  app, “After School,” cover the windows of the administrative offices at Rutland High School . This time it was the kids in the classroom teaching the adults. A controversial mobile application that was downloaded on some Rutland High School students’ phones and used…

SOUTH ROYALTON—On Saturday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m. a car driven by Allyssa Ashline, 27, of Randolph, Vt., got stuck on the tracks of an ungated railroad crossing on North Windsor Street in South Royalton, directly in the path of a northbound AMTRAK passenger train. The road surface was icy and the vehicle was unable…

RUTLAND — Monday, Dec. 15, the Vermont Foodbank held its first event at its new Park Street location in Rutland. Pack to Give Back brought together business leaders, school children, elected officials, and concerned citizens to pack holiday food boxes for 500 Rutland area residents. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to be expanding into Rutland,”…

By Polly Lynn MENDON — On Sunday afternoon Seth Bridge, Jesse Bridge, Nick Paquette, Kelly Paquette and a few other friends and family admired the larger-than-life snowman they had constructed on the east side of Bridge’s Country Store in Mendon. “Inside are race-car tires to give it support,” Kelly Paquette explained. “They all race, so they…

Dec. 21 is not only the longest night but also the darkest as there there will be a new moon By Carolyn Lorié Every year, I eagerly await the winter solstice, which this year falls on Dec. 21. My anticipation is driven not from an affection for winter, but a hunger for sunlight. I want…

Vermont was awarded $7.3 million in what is expected to be a $33.4 million, four-year federal grant for pre-kindergarten programs at public schools and Head Start agencies throughout the state. The latest award is in addition to $37 million Vermont received last year to lay the foundation for its pre-K program. The earlier federal grant…

By John Herrick, VTDigger.org A company seeking to build a high-voltage power line beneath Lake Champlain applied for a state permit Tuesday. TDI New England is asking the Public Service Board for a certificate of public good to build a 154-mile underground and underwater power line that would carry hydroelectric and wind power generated in…

By Anne Galloway, VTDigger.org A report released on Friday proposes three changes to Vermont’s property tax system. The changes include: a “renovation” plan that would lead to reductions in school spending; a “variable income tax” proposal that would replace a portion of the property tax revenues with income taxes; and a regional block grant plan…