Dear Editor, School District administration have reviewed the paid advertisement written by former School Board Director Jim Haff running in the Feb.  28 edition of the Mountain Times. The article includes a chart describing certain services proposed by Johnson Controls Inc (JCI) to the School District for improvements to the School District’s buildings. The assertions…

  Editor’s Note: This commentary is by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, the Vt .Natural Resources Council, and the Vt. Association of Planning and Development Agencies. Climate change poses a significant threat to Vermont’s natural resources, economy, and way of life. From extreme weather events to loss of biodiversity, the impacts are already evident. Simultaneously,…

The Vermont Legislature is now on its Town Meeting week break. It is an opportunity for us to go to town/information meetings, meet with constituents, and re-energize our personal batteries. My hope is to get to 12 town/information meetings this year. I represent 25 towns, this is a great time to get a better sense…

With self-imposed deadlines coming up to move legislation from the House to the Senate or vice versa, the pace of bills advancing is heating up. And being the second year of the biennium with elections coming up this fall, the motivation to get one’s priorities passed is increased. For some it may be now or…

Rutland and Windsor are among them President Joseph Biden has signed a major public assistance disaster declaration for seven Vermont counties to assist communities in recovering costs for the repair of public infrastructure damaged by severe storms and flooding on Dec. 18-19, 2023. The declaration covers Essex, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Windham, and Windsor counties.…

By Deborah J. Benoit, UVM extension master gardener    There are countless things that can go right or wrong in a garden. Some of them are obvious: too much or too little water, diseases, pests and critters that nibble on our plants. Other things that can make or break your gardening efforts are less obvious. It’s those little…

The General Fund, Transportation Fund and Education Fund all exceeded their monthly consensus cash flow targets, corresponding to the annual fiscal 2024 consensus forecast update as adopted by the emergency board at its January 2024 meeting. Revenue collections for the month of January 2024 receipts were a combined $362.4 million, exceeding the $324.4 million monthly…

By Mike Dougherty/VTDigger The Travel Inn in Rutland was one of at least 75 motels in Vermont where state agencies housed people who would otherwise be homeless.   The Dept. for Children and Families (DCF) has announced the successful continuation of sheltering all Vermonters currently in a motel and eligible for the General Assistance (GA)…

  Colleges and universities can now participate in the Vermont Campus Voting Challenge, a new nonpartisan initiative announced Jan. 25 by Vermont’s Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas, in partnership with the nonpartisan nonprofit “All In” Campus Democracy Challenge. All higher education institutions in Vermont are invited to be a part of the challenge. Participating…

By Ethan Weinstein/VTDigger Courtesy UVM The new logo (above) will replace the steeple logo from the ‘90s. “Going forward, UVM will unify its brand message under a refined V logomark outlined by a shield,” wrote the University of Vermont’s strategic communications division. Image courtesy University of Vermont The University of Vermont will abandon its iconic Old…

By Glenn Russell/VTDigger Above: Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley spoke in South Burlington on March 3.   By Emma Cotton and Paul Heintz/VTDigger Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley won her first state in the Republican presidential primary on Tuesday — and it happened in Vermont.  Haley defeated former President Donald Trump by the slimmest of…

By Curt Peterson The approximately 200 attendees at the Hartland Town Meeting Tuesday, March 5, approved all nine pertinent Articles on the warning. Select Board chair Phil Hobbie told the Mountain Times, “I think things went surprisingly well. John Broker-Campbell, who’s been our town manager for just five weeks did a wonderful job.” Many said…

By Ethan Weinstein/VTDigger The Vermont Supreme Court on Friday, March 1, upheld contempt sanctions imposed on Daniel Banyai, owner of the former Pawlet weapons training facility Slate Ridge.  The court heard oral arguments in the appeal in January. Banyai, who faces an ongoing arrest warrant for failing to comply with orders to remove unpermitted structures on his property,…

Brennan Bigelow, age 33, of Rutland, Vermont, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss to a term of 80 months’ imprisonment to be followed by a 3-year term of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced on Feb. 29, 2024. Bigelow previously pleaded guilty to two robberies and,…

By Glenn Heitsmith Klara Lendic, Rotary exchange student from Croatia, described what her native country is like to members of the Ludlow Rotary Club. The Ludlow Rotary Club was treated to a lively overview of Croatia’s history, language, culture and geography by a Rotary Youth Exchange Student Klara Lendic at their recent meeting.    Lendic spoke…