By Polly Mikula The Vermont Economic Progress Council (VEPC) met with the town of Killington and its residents via Zoom Thursday, Jan. 27, for a public hearing on the town of Killington’s tax increment financing (TIF) application. The town hopes to utilize future incremental municipal and education property tax revenue to finance planned infrastructure that…

By Curt Peterson More than 30 people attended Hartland’s second public meeting on Thursday night, Jan. 27 to discuss how the town might best invest $1,050,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Everyone attended virtually but Rendy Strawbridge of Barron Hill Road, who sat with Town Manager David Ormiston in Damon Hall. Of the…

Emergencies, especially storms, can be unpredictable and cause personal injury and costly damage to homes. The right insurance is essential to help mitigate damage from storms and soften the financial blow that such destruction can cause. Not all insurance is the same, and additional policies and riders may help reduce the impact of emergencies. Homeowners'…

Dear Editor, Tens of thousands of children are victims of sexual abuse and exploitation in the U.S. every year — in their homes, communities and online. Covid-19 has created a perfect storm for unprecedented levels of abuse by trapping children at home with their abusers and children are also spending an unprecedented amount of time…

By Victoria Gaither Although skiing and snowboarding dominate central Vermont this time of the year, another outdoor sport pedals along — fat biking. “Up here in Vermont, people love riding them, a lot of people do move mostly to skiing in the winter, but for the way our weather is going, I don’t see fat…

By Rep. Jim Harrison Since returning in person two weeks ago, our committee began a daily ritual of sharing a riddle just prior to the official start of our deliberations. One of my favorites from last week was “Why do seagulls live at sea? Well, if they lived in the bay, they would be baygulls…

By Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos and Deputy Secretary of State Chris Winters It only takes just a few minutes online to get a snapshot of America in 2022; a country divided; a digital battleground of rhetoric where information is wielded as a weapon. We hold faith that we can still heal this divide…

Dear Editor, Editor’s note: The following letter is an adaptation of the testimony Art Malatzky gave to the Vermont Economic Progress Council (VEPC) on Jan. 27. VEPC is considering the town of Killington’s application to utilize future incremental municipal and education property tax revenue to finance debt, if approved by the voters and incurred for…

Why your local paper matters Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. — VIRTUAL — Vermont Independent Media (VIM), publisher of The Commons, will host a panel discussion with Vermont publishers/editors about the future of local journalism on Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. on Zoom. VIM’s panelists will discuss the turmoil in local journalism today…

By Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger Two Vermont-trained gold medalists will join almost two dozen other athletes with ties to the Green Mountain State at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. Mikaela Shiffrin, who learned alpine skiing at Burke Mountain Academy, and Jessie Diggins, who trains for cross-country in Stratton, are set to compete at the event Feb.…

The Funologist's guide to getting ‘unstuck’ By Sandra Dee Owens The smallest room My brain is approximately 6” long. A rather small space to keep organized it would seem, yet of all the rooms I own, this one is the most cluttered. Merriam Webster’s definition of clutter is "to fill or cover with scattered or…

Staff report Lauren Anderson has been to the 2014 Pyeongchang Olympics and the 2018 Sochi Olympics, where she watched her daughter Jamie Anderson nab two gold medals and one silver, but Anderson will have to watch the 2022 Olympics on her couch in Hartland. “It’s weird what is happening in the world,” Anderson said. “I…

By Deborah J. Benoit Forsythia in February? Impossible, you say? Not so. A vase full of flowers from the garden won’t take much more effort than harvesting some branches to force them to bloom. A good time to take cuttings for forcing is when you’re doing your annual winter pruning. If pruning isn’t on your…

Home improvement projects require substantial financial investment. But just because a homeowner wants to bring a fresh look indoors doesn’t mean he or she has to break the bank along the way. Living rooms are some of the most frequently used spaces in a home, and they can use an update from time to time…

By Janet McLaughlin Editor’s note: This commentary is by Janet McLaughlin of Burlington, executive director of the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children. Just before the calendar flipped to 2022, thousands of Vermont families with school-age children picked up free Covid rapid tests to ensure as safe a return to school as possible.…