By Bill Schubart Like a good novel, our lives have a narrative arc, during which we are actively participating in and relevant to our world. We are born, rise slowly into sensual consciousness and gradually process what we see and feel. Our juvenile perceptions gradually become knowledge, and, if all goes well, that knowledge binds…

By Charlotte Oliver/Community News Service Editor’s note: The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost. From the top of the Northeast Kingdom down toward the Berkshires, the VTXL carves a path the length of Vermont. The biking route takes…

Bats are everywhere! It may feel that way to some of Vermont’s human residents. Summer is when some species of bats gather in colonies to raise their young in human-made structures such as houses, barns, office buildings, and bat houses, but fall is the safe time to get them out. “Summer is the time of…

The 2024 census recorded 3,458 people homeless in Vermont, a nearly 5% increase over the number tallied in January 2023 By Carly Berlin Editor’s note: This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public. The number of unhoused Vermonters living without shelter jumped last year,…

Attorney General Charity Clark filed a lawsuit July 17 against pharmacy benefit managers Evernorth (owner of Express Scripts) and CVS as well as nearly two dozen affiliated entities for unfairly and deceptively driving up prescription drug prices in Vermont. Pharmacy benefit managers (sometimes referred to as PBMs) are the middlemen who negotiate contracts with pharmaceutical…

The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) published its weekly report of planned construction activities that will impact traffic on state highways and interstates throughout Vermont, July 22-26 and ongoing. I-89 Royalton: Work continues on the northbound and southbound I-89 bridges near Exit 3 in Royalton. A new traffic pattern is in effect until fall 2025.…

Donald “Don” Williams, 85, of Mendon passed away on July 10, 2024. Born on November 28, 1938, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Don was well known for his straightforward, honest demeanor, always telling it like it is, yet with a big hearted and kind spirit underneath. Don proudly served in the U.S. Army 1959 to 1962 and…

Dave Bienstock of Killington VT passed away from interstitial lung disease, peacefully on June 25, 2024, with his wife, Diane Benton, by his side. Bienstock, originally a music teacher from Brooklyn, New York, worked for many years at Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, New York. He was passionate about skiing and would travel to Killington to ski…

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Dept. (VTF&F) is asking for help with monitoring wild turkeys.  Since 2007, the department has run an annual online survey in August for reporting turkey broods. Beginning in 2021, the survey was expanded to include July. The use of citizen scientists in this way facilitates the department’s ability to collect important turkey…

The Vermont Farmers Food Center (VFFC), Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC), and Community Health Clinics of the Rutland Region (Community Health) are celebrating the Farmacy Project’s 10th year this month. Farmacy, which began at VFFC as Health Care Shares, is a produce prescription program that provides fresh locally grown produce to people facing chronic diet-related…

Staff report When Five Elements Salon & Day Spa owner Kelly Sweck decided it was time to retire she decided the ideal buyer was the person who had been running the spa for the past five years: her manager Sarah Lemery. The sale of the business was finalized in May.  Lemery said she is “excited…

Killington Road reopened to two-way traffic Friday afternoon, July 19. The event was commemorated with a ribbon cutting ceremony and short procession of town and state rep vehicles. “We wanted to get the word out that Killington Road has reopened,” said Selectman Jim Haff. “However, the former detour up West Hill Road is also still…

Runner Elle Purrier St. Pierre, rugby player Ilona Maher and rower William Bender will represent the U.S. By Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger Vermonters are famous for skiing and snowboarding off with Winter Olympic medals. But three athletes with Green Mountain State ties are aiming to sprint, grand slam or speed their way into Summer Games history. Montgomery runner Elle…

Be kind to the earth, Always and forever, It has helped you so much, Why not help it.  How, you ask? Well the answer is simple: Recycle what you can, Pick up trash you find on the ground, Mother Nature thanks you for this, Because if you want to help the earth, If you want…

Wednesday, July 17 at 7 p.m. - RUTLAND -  High school contemporary musicians will take the stage in Main Street Park on Wednesday, July 17 when West Rutland School Rock Lab plays Rutland’s mainstay “Seven To Sunset” concert series. The performance caps off an exciting school year which included road gigs, drone-captured music videos, and…