Sunday, March 30 at 4 p.m. —RUTLAND— The Champlain Philharmonic returns to Grace Congregational Church for its spring concert series featuring acclaimed pianist Diana Fanning. Celebrating its 21st season, the orchestra welcomes Fanning, who will perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3—the same piece she performed in the Philharmonic’s inaugural concert two decades ago. Fanning, renowned…

Saturday, March 29 at 9 a.m—KILLINGTON— Killington resort hosts Boarding for Breast Cancer’s (B4BC) Love Your Peaks fundraising event, supporting breast cancer awareness, prevention, and survivor programs. Participants are invited to register, fundraise, and dedicate a day on the slopes to promote a healthy, active lifestyle as the best means for breast cancer prevention. Activities…

Hello readers! I’m Uncle Matty, here for your help, but please be advised to swim at your own risk. I am not a doctor, therapist, lawyer, or man of the cloth. My professional certifications are limited to slinging cocktails and umpiring.  If you have serious medical, financial, legal, or faith-based questions, please seek more appropriate…

By Andrea Knepper / Extension Master Gardener / University of Vermont Rudbeckia hirta. Solanum lycopersicum. Acer saccharum. Have you ever seen these names on plant tags or seed packets and wondered where they came from? We can thank Carl Linnaeus for taxonomy, the study of categorizing and naming organisms, and binomial nomenclature, the precise, two-termed…

Saturday, March 22, from 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m.—POULTNEY—Poultney MapleFest returns with a full day of maple-themed activities, community events, and family fun. The festival kicks off with a free pancake breakfast from 8-10 a.m. at the Poultney United Methodist Church, 108 Main St., followed by the Fifth Season Ride & Race at 9 a.m. from Analog…

Dear Editor, A considerable amount of attention and work this legislative session has been devoted to Vermont’s preK-12 public education system and its funding. This is important work as 30% of state spending is devoted to our most precious resource, 83,000 children. Vermonters understand how meaningful these conversations are. Education is critical to our communities…

Dear Editor, The recent actions of Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and the Vermont Republican Party (VTGOP) reveal a concerning inconsistency. AFP, founded by the Koch brothers and a mouthpiece for Big Oil, is campaigning to repeal Vermont’s Act 18 of 2024, the Clean Heat Standard, citing concerns that it will “increase the cost of living,” “make it…

Dear Editor, Education is heading for a major overhaul in Vermont. Whether it be the governor’s, the House, or the Senate proposal (or most likely some amalgam of the three), it is happening. Although the pressure for action is intense now, we won’t actually see substantive changes play out until 2027 or beyond. In the…

By Tanya Marshall Editor’s note: Tanya Marshall is the Vermont State archivist, chief records officer, and director of the Vermont state archives and records administration, a division of the Vermont secretary of state.  As the days get longer and snow melts, it is fitting that this is Sunshine Week—an annual celebration of government records and…

The Vermont Dept. of Disabilities, Aging & Independent Living and the Dept. of Health released a report last month on progress made by Age Strong Vermont, the state’s dedicated effort to provide all people who live in Vermont the opportunity to thrive as they age.   Age Strong VT serves as a roadmap for building a…

The Vermont House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Thursday, March 13, to outlaw the use of toxic perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in dental floss, cleaning products, and fluorine-treated containers — a critical step in reducing Vermonters’ exposure to these harmful substances. According to the Vermont Dept. of Health, PFAS exposure can lead to reproductive and…

By Emma Cotton/VTDigger A short new section to a 22-page bill focused on retargeting energy efficiency goals has given Senate Republicans what they have been seeking — with increasing insistence — for weeks: the end of any mention of a clean heat standard in Vermont law. “30 V.S.A. chapter 94 is repealed” was the key…

On Monday, March 17, the West Ridge Center, a Rutland Regional Medical Center specialized clinic for recovery and addiction, kicked off an Open Access Model for admissions. The Open Access Model is designed to improve access and reduce wait times for individuals seeking support for their opioid use disorder (OUD). “Previously, if an individual requested…

Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC) has announced the recipients of its 2024 Physicians and Advanced Practice Providers of the Year Awards, recognizing healthcare professionals who demonstrate excellence in clinical care, patient advocacy, and community leadership. These awards honor individuals who exemplify dignity, respect, and professionalism each year while serving as role models within the healthcare…

Three Vermont libraries have received donations from Bar Harbor Bank & Trust as part of the bank’s Casual for a Cause program, an employee-driven charitable initiative. Through this effort, employees dress casually on Fridays in exchange for a bi-weekly payroll deduction, pooling funds that are then distributed to nonprofit organizations each quarter. For the fourth…