Barstow, Otter Valley prepare for third budget votes June 11 and 12 Staff report On Thursday, May 30, two Rutland County school budgets were up for revotes. Only one passed. On its third attempt, Rutland Town School District’s $10.57 million budget passed 477-288. On its fourth attempt, Slate Valley Unified Union’s $30.8 million budget failed…

The grand opening of New England Cider Donuts at 29 Main St. in Ludlow was recently celebrated with a ribbon cutting. The new shop will offer local coffee, breakfast sandwiches, assorted baked goods, in addition to delicious cider and specialty donuts. In the summer months it’ll also offer extravagant ice cream sundaes. 

Taken two years after the tragedy, members of the Green family gathered with the recipients of Nicholas’s organs. Back row (l-r): Reg Green, Maggie Green, Andrea Mongiardo (heart), Francesco Mondello (cornea), Tino Motta (kidney), Anna Maria Di Ceglie (kidney), Eleanor Green. Front row (l-r): Laura Green, Maria Pia Pedala (liver), Domenica Galleta (cornea), Silvia Ciampi…

By Isabelle Gieder My tires whiz as I zip down the mountain, darting through rock and sticks. I lean into a turn and whip my bike around. I see a jump in front of me. I steady the bike and pump. I launch off of the jump. Time seems to slow as I fly through…

Dear Editor, In Vermont’s quest for equitable education funding, Act 127 represents a beacon of hope, especially for our rural communities. This legislation, informed by thorough research from Rutgers and the University of Vermont, revises the state’s school funding formulas to reflect the actual costs of educating students in diverse socio-economic settings, with a significant focus…

Dear Editor, The debate over educational equity in Vermont, particularly around the implementation of Act 127 and the Pupil Weighting Factors Report, touches deeply on the state’s social and economic disparities. This conflict is starkly illustrated by the historical and current attitudes of certain towns towards neighboring communities, especially in the context of educational funding…

Dear Editor, We have an urgent call to action: to protect 3SquaresVT/SNAP benefits nationwide for millions of families, including nearly 70,000 people in our state. In early May, the U.S. Congress began to progress on Farm Bill negotiations again. Just a day apart, the chairs of the House and Senate Agriculture committees released their respective Farm…

Dear Editor, In a dismaying attempt to obstruct Vermont’s environmental and economic progress, Governor Scott vetoed compromise legislation aimed at modernizing the Renewable Energy Standard and setting the state on a path to delivering 100% renewable electricity by 2035.  By vetoing H.289, which was supported by nearly all of the state’s electric utilities, along with…

Dear editor, On May 9, the SVUUSD FY25 budget once again failed. While this budget was defeated, it was by a much narrower margin than in the previous two votes. During a school board meeting on May 13, the board decided to schedule a revote on this budget for May 30, with an informational meeting…

By Governor Phil Scott  Editor’s note: Governor Phil Scott gave the following speech at his weekly press conference, Wednesday, May 22, discussing his decision-making process with bills on his desk. Last week, I talked about all the bills that passed at the very end of the session, which are starting to head to my desk…

By Ethan Weinstein/VTDigger John Rodgers, a former Vermont House and Senate Democrat from Glover, is running for lieutenant governor as a Republican.  “I don’t feel like I left the party. I feel like the party left me,” Rodgers said in an interview Friday, describing himself as a moderate. “I feel closer to Phil Scott than I…

On Thursday, May 23, Governor Phil Scott, as expected, signed the budget bill into law H.833, while vetoing H.289, An Act Relating to the Renewable Energy Standard.  Scott has long voiced his opposition to the renewable energy bill because of the cost and complexity in how the law could be carried out and the ultimate cost…

Vermont is among the first states to launch thenew permanent federally-funded program  Governor Phil Scott and the Vermont agencies of Human Services and Education announced May 21 that the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) has approved Vermont’s Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (SEBT) plan to help feed eligible school aged children during the summer vacation months.…

By Alan J. Keays/VTDigger The cruiser Vermont State Police Cpl. Eric Vitali was driving when he crashed into a parked fire truck on Interstate 89 in March was traveling at 88 mph just before the crash and between 79 mph and 86 mph at impact. That’s according to a standard crash report submitted by the Vermont…

By Brooke Geery/Killington Resort As part of Killington Resort’s commitment to Play Forever, it sponsored a new exhibit at the Wonderfeet Kid’s Museum located in downtown Rutland on Merchants Row. Killington Resort exhibit offers the little ones a chance to be fully immersed in what The Beast has to offer during all four seasons, including…