By Katy Savage After much anticipation, the state rolled out Pfizer BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines for children ages 5-11 on Monday, Nov. 8. More than 200 students traveled from around the state to attend one of the first clinics at Riverside Middle School in Springfield that Monday. Most of the children and parents who attended said…

By Dom Cioffi My nightly routine usually consists of me lying in bed with my iPad watching YouTube videos until I get drowsy, after which I put on a podcast and fall asleep. Apparently digital interaction just before bed is frowned upon by experts, but I generally doze off within minutes and sleep like a…

Thursday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. — ONLINE — Virtually appear to read and/or to listen to poetry with event host Bianca Amira Zanella. Those interested in reading can sign up at the beginning of the meeting, via the Zoom Chat Box feature. Zanella is a Vermont-based performance poet, paper artist, and events coordinator, and…

By Tiffany Tan/VTDigger Like many law enforcement agencies around the country, the Rutland Police Dept. has been having difficulty recruiting new police officers. Filling its 13 open positions is expected to be so challenging that Rutland Mayor David Allaire has suggested funding only half of them in the next fiscal year as a way to…

Sunday, Nov. 21 at 3 p.m. — WOODSTOCK — Billings Farm & Museum will host a screening of "The Truffle Hunters," to benefit the Woodstock Vermont Film Series. Executive producer Geralyn Dreyfous is one of the most prolific and successful producers in independent documentary film, with 154 credits ranging from "Born Into Brothers," "Allen vs.…

One of our native wildlife species historically played an important role on Thanksgiving Day. North America’s native wild turkeys were the ancestors of the Thanksgiving turkey on our dinner table. Originally found only in the wild, turkeys now exist as meat-producing domesticated derivatives — the broad breasted white, broad breasted bronze, white Holland, bourbon red,…

Vermont’s Agency of Transportation (AOT) released the following report of planned construction activities that will have traffic impacts on state highways throughout Vermont for the week of Nov. 15-21. The following affect our readership in Central Vermont. I-89 Sharon – Bridge rehabilitation begins to wrap up for the season. Traffic has been reduced to one…

By Deborah J. Benoit, Extension Master Gardener University of Vermont Temperatures have dropped, and the garden has been put to bed for the season. There’s not much to do except peruse garden catalogs and shop for veggies in the produce section of the supermarket. Right? Wrong. While your outdoor garden may be on hiatus until…

By Darby Bradley Editor’s note: Darby Bradley has worked for the Vermont Land Trust in many roles since its founding, including a stint as president. For the Vermont Land Trust (VLT), land conservation has always been about more than simply protecting land. When Rick Carbin founded the organization in 1977, he was already thinking about…

By Lola Duffort and Sarah Mearhoff/VTDigger After eight terms and nearly five decades in office, U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy is retiring. He announced his decision during a press conference at the Statehouse Monday morning that was attended by members of the media and his supporters, including his wife, Marcelle. “While I will continue to serve…

By Ethan Weinstein Following a week of record cases, Gov. Phil Scott will call the Legislature back for a special session, allowing them to pass a law granting municipalities to install local mask mandates — but only on his terms. Scott called his decision an “olive branch” and a “compromise.” Vermont currently has the fifth…

Saturday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. —SOUTH POMFRET — "Woman of the Woods" is a night of standup and story telling comedy featuring one of the country’s funniest and edgiest female comics Vicki Ferentinos. For one night only, Ferentinos will take to the stage at The Grange Theater, in South Pomfret, Vermont. Woman of the…

By Curt Peterson The Windsor Central Unified Union School District policy committee experienced a “Robert Frost moment” Monday night, as deliberators found themselves at a divergence of “two roads,” trying to decide which one to follow. Committee member Kelly Welsh (Barnard) wondered if other issues, such as gender identification, social equity, economic status and religion,…

How tax incremental financing revitalized St. Albans: a model to follow By Polly Mikula St. Albans and Killington may not have a lot in common, as far as Vermont towns go. St. Albans is a city of about 7,000 (with the town of St. Albans hosting another 7,000 just outside the city boundaries) located just…

By Narain Batra Editor’s note: Narain Batra of Hartford is a professor of communications and diplomacy at Norwich University. He is the author of “The First Freedoms and America’s Culture of Innovation” and the forthcoming “India in A New Key.”  Major U.S. social media network companies — including Apple, Alphabet (Google), Facebook (now Meta), Microsoft…