Photos by Rik Champine

By Robin Alberti RUTLAND — On Sunday, Aug. 10, citizens banded together for a second time to hold a protest in front of Mac’s convenience store and gas station on South Main Street in Rutland. The group is encouraging folks to not spend their money at Mac’s locations until owner Jennifer Allen changes her policies…

By Karen D. Lorentz Approximately 73 percent of the nation’s major winter resorts are open this summer, according to information provided to the National Ski Area’s Association (NSAA) in the Kottke National End of Season Survey for 2013/14. In the Northeast, 61 percent of the respondents offer lift rides, 45 percent offer zipline/canopy tours, and…

RUTLAND – Rutland’s growing collection of public murals blossomed again Friday, Aug. 8, as a mural highlighting Rutland Blooms was installed downtown. Artist Kathryn Wiegers painted the 19-foot-long mural in her Rutland studio this summer and installed it Friday on the second-floor north wall of the Green Mountain Power Energy Innovation Center on Merchants Row.…

By Polly Lynn KILLINGTON — This past weekend, Aug. 9-10, the town of Killington hosted the Downhill Throwdown, a two-day competition for a variety of daredevil disciplines including standup skateboard, street luge, and drift trike. The competition kicked off at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on East Mountain Road. Approximately 100 riders from across the country traveled…

By Anne Galloway, VTDigger.org The Shumlin administration proposed $31 million in budget cuts for fiscal year 2015 to a panel of lawmakers Monday, Aug. 11. The reduction in state spending is a response to a revised revenue outlook for the coming year. Most of the $31 million in savings is achieved through cuts to external…

By Cristina Kumka KILLINGTON — No additional financial information was given out Monday afternoon about a plan, initiated by Killington Resort, to repeal a portion of the local option tax that provides the town with $450,000 annually. But, there was serious concern from one of the founding members of the town’s pioneering economic development arm.…

By Dom Cioffi This past Saturday was a bad day. Now don’t get me wrong, I know “bad” is relative. Right now there are middle-aged men in Iraq who are reluctant to let their children go outside for fear that a suicide bomber may annihilate the street corner that they live on; right now there…

By Tim Traver I don’t often shake down my cat for a dead mouse, but I did think it was fair, considering that he is always shaking me down for his cat food. I wasn’t going to eat his mouse. I needed it as bait, to see if I could catch a burying beetle. Burying…

By: Brett Yates Despite a plethora of local opportunities and a healthy interest in fermented malt beverages, I’d never attended a beer festival until this month, when some friends convinced me to go to the New England Edition of Sierra Nevada’s Beer Camp Across America in Portland, Maine. I now have some thoughts on this…

Thursday, Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. — FAIR HAVEN — The Fair Haven Concerts in the Park will be welcoming six siblings to the stage at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 14. The Santa Croce Band will be performing for the ninth in a series of 10 summer concerts. This group of family singers has been performing…

Thursday, Aug. 14 at 7:30 p.m. — RUTLAND — Award-winning director Jay Craven will present his most recent Vermont film, “Northern Borders,” at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 14 at the Paramount Theater in Rutland. The screening will include an introduction and post-film discussion led by director Craven. “Northern Borders” was shot in Vermont and New Hampshire, and…

Friday, Aug. 15 — MENDON — Sugar and Spice Restaurant is sponsoring a raffle to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The drawing is on Aug. 15. The winner will receive a Nordic Retreat Hot Tub plus delivery within an hour of Rutland, and set up, worth over $5,000. Tickets are $25 each and can be purchased at…

Friday, Aug. 15 at 8 p.m. — RUTLAND — The Southern rock jam band Gov’t Mule will perform at the historic Paramount Theatre in downtown Rutland on Friday, Aug. 15 at 8 p.m. Tickets ($44.75-54.75) are available at the venue box office located at 30 Center Street in Rutland, charge-by-phone at 802-775-0903, or online at www.paramountlive.org. When…

Long-time Killington skier gives back to community Friday, Aug. 15 — RUTLAND — Lifelong Killington skier Steven Behnke will be bringing his nationally recognized non-profit, the Patriot Brass Ensemble to Rutland, Friday, Aug. 15. This free concert will be held Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Rutland Free Library. The Rutland concert is a special…