Courtesy rutlandbridalshow.com The 37th annual Rutland Regional Bridal Show will be held at The Brandon Inn on Sunday, Jan. 21 at 11:30 a.m. The event, hosted by the Vermont Wedding Association, marked its 167th show, bringing together brides, grooms, and wedding professionals.   Sunday, Jan. 21 at 11:30 a.m.—BRANDON—The Brandon Inn, 20 Park Street, Brandon, will…

Staff report Lauren Teton learned to paint a few years ago at a paint and sip class, where she created paintings for the first time. Now, she’s teaching others. The self-taught artist is launching paint and sip classes, where she’ll teach guests step-by-step how to create Van Gough’s “Starry Night” and other designs.  “I’ve created…

Friday, Jan.19 at  8 a.m.—RUTLAND—VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region (VNAHSR) provides training for those interested in becoming hospice volunteers. Training will be held on Friday, Jan.19 from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. in the Casella Conference Room at the Rutland office, located at 7 Albert Cree Drive. Training is free and open to…

  Courtesy castleton.edu The Vermont State University’s Castleton Women’s Ice Hockey team stands at the ready for a recent Pink the Rink game. Saturday, Jan. 20, at 3 p.m.—RUTLAND—The Vermont State University’s Castleton Women’s Ice Hockey team will host the 15th annual Pink the Rink game against Plymouth State University at 3 p.m. at the…

Saturday, Jan. 20, 5:30 p.m.­—Woodstock — The intersection of cinema and winter will unfold on Saturday, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Snowdance Film Soiree. The event is hosted to support the Woodstock Vermont Film Series, an outlet curated and directed by award-winning filmmaker Jay Craven for sharing stories not  heard every day as…

One of my top events from last year was the 2nd annual Singer/Songwriter Festival at Rivershed Killington. On Jan. 26, at 7:30 p.m., for the first time, they’re hosting “Wintersong: A Celebration of Female Songwriters.” One notable difference, besides being all female, is that owner Kara Tondorff is one of the performers. I’ve heard a…

  By James Lyall Editor’s note: James Lyall is the executive director of the ACLU of Vermont. The Fair Share for Vermont campaign is calling for Vermont’s wealthiest residents to pay their fair share in taxes so we can build a better state for all of us.     As part of this campaign, the ACLU…

By State Auditor Doug Hoffer  Evidence-based. Evidence-informed. Data-driven. Results Based Accountability. PIVOT. Vermont policymakers frequently use these terms to indicate that new policies and spending decisions are the result of rigorous, fully-informed analysis. Too often, though, the promise of these terms is undercut by bad data, incomplete information, and misleading representations from officials. When state…

  Dear Editor, For the first time in American history our democracy is on the  precipice of becoming extinct. The odds are stacked against us. Democrats find themselves in a precarious place. They have lost  the House, the Senate is holding on by a thread and our president  is not a slam dunk for reelection…

Dear Editor, With decades of effort toward raising public awareness on the plight of pollinators, we the beekeepers of Vermont are deeply concerned about recent communications from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets (VAAFM), and we would like to set the record straight. The VAAFM’s claim of record honey bee numbers in Vermont…

  Dear Editor,  Snow globes are popular and soothing. What’s not to like about a glass globe with a pleasant scene inside, with snow gently falling whenever you shake the globe? But what if those falling flakes are actually bits of greed, corruption, violence and ignorance?  That’s how America seems to me now: a carefully…

    Polar Vortex by Rivers, CagleCartoons

By Anson B. Tebbetts, secretary of the, Food and Markets (VAAFM) From Canaan to Cavendish, and Duxbury to Dummerston, Vermonters are asking for more housing units and better-quality dwellings. Workers and employees, we hear you, asking for more well-constructed homes, apartments, and condos so you can work, live, and play closer to where you earn.…

An innovative initiative is underway in Vermont: The Grow America Farm Corps initiative addresses Vermont’s farm labor shortages by fostering dynamic collaboration among local farmers, new Americans, and supporting partners. Farmers with employment opportunities can sign up to match with new Americans seeking agricultural training and mentorship. Grow America Farm Corps partners assist in placing…

By Peter D’Auria/VTDigger In 2022, Erin Kellar was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Kellar had enrolled in Vermont’s Medicaid health insurance program as a graduate student, and was able to stay in the program while she began her career as a therapist.  Medicaid helped pay for treatment for her diabetes, which requires rapid-acting insulin, long-acting insulin…