Dear editor, In reading the article entitled “Police investigate harassment of black family with out-of-state plate in Hartford”, which appeared in the May 20-26 issue, I had an alternative interpretation of the motivation.  The car was pulled over and the driver “advised that he was not wanted in Vermont and told to leave” and this…

By Gov. Phil Scott Editor’s note: What follows is a transcript of Gov. Phil Scott remarks on racism in the wake of George Floyd’s death by police last Monday and subsequent protests over the weekend in Vermont and nationwide. These remarks opened the regular, three-times-per week press conference usually dedicated to the state’s Covid-19 response…

By Sen. Dick McCormack Note to readers: This isn’t the Covid/Economy related article I’d planned to submit for this week. The economic fallout of the shutdown is terrible and people want an accounting of how their legislators are responding. There are reasons for me to not write about racism. We’re the whitest state in the…

By Rep. Jim Harrison In my prior role with the Grocers Association, I remember going into the House Appropriations Committee where the chair at that time, Michael Obuchowski, had a sign on the wall, “What part of NO do you not understand…The N or the O?” The message was clear if you were coming in…

By Katy Savage As summer approaches, thousands of families would usually be marking their calendars to attend overnight summer camps in the Green Mountain state, but, for many, that won’t happen this year. Camp Sangamon, a camp for boys in Pittsford, won’t operate for the first time in its 99-year history. “We weren’t comfortable with…

Covid-19 test results from Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility (MVRCF) in Rutland detected no new cases of coronavirus, according to a news release May 28. The Vermont Dept. of Health performed a total of 117 inmate tests and 87 staff tests at the Rutland facility. MVRCF is the fourth Vermont facility to have all staff…

SHREWSBURY— On Monday, June 1 at about 3:30 p.m., state police troopers responded to a report of a two-vehicle crash in the area of Route 103 north of Town Hill Road in Shrewsbury. Preliminary investigation indicated that a 2016 Chevrolet Cruze, operated by Ryan Ahonen, 21, of Mount Holly, was traveling northbound when Ahonen crossed…

Tourism and event-based businesses left out as Covid-19 is still rampant in North Eastern U.S. By Polly Mikula Two weeks after the governor began to open sectors of the economy and allow public gatherings of 10, data continues to show that Covid-19 suppression in Vermont is trending positively. Therefore, the state has continued to gradually reopen…

Staff report The members of the (VSP) Vermont State Police and Dept. of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Schirling unequivocally condemn the actions of police officers in Minneapolis that led to the death of George Floyd, according to a statement, Friday, May 29. “What I have seen on video from the mishandled attempt to arrest George…

By Mike Dougherty, Grace Elletson and Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger Vermonters rallied Saturday, May 30, as protests against police brutality erupted across the country in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis. In Burlington, signs and speeches escalated to a verbal confrontation with city police officials as demonstrators marched on the Burlington Police…

By Brooke Geery On Monday, June 1, protesters gathered in Rutland’s Main Street Park for a silent vigil in response to the police killing of George Floyd, as well as to commemorate the 100,000 American lives lost to Covid-19, who are disproportionately people of color. The demonstration began at 5 p.m. and the crowd built…

Photos by Robin Alberti Megan Henderson ( right), 14, from Woodstock and Clara Shortle (top left), 14, from Killington volunteer gardening at the Woodstock Community Garden. Michael Caduto (right) executive director of Sustainable Woodstock is in charge of the program. The gardens, used by more than 25 families and organizations, are located at Billings Farm…

Governor Phil Scott and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) announced Monday, June 1, a restart plan for resuming driver’s license tests and a new service for Vermonters to receive their learner’s permit online as the state begins limited resumption of services paused due to Covid-19. “As operations and services come back online, the DMV…

RUTLAND—Tom Donahue, CEO at BROC Community Action safely received a donation of $1,000 from Jerry Henrichon, owner of Park Place Florist and Garden Center in Rutland. The florist raised the funds recently for the BROC Community Food Shelf by dedicating a portion of every sale that day. “The community has been both creative and generous in supporting others in…

By Gary Salmon At first I didn’t even notice it nestled under the root flare of a big white pine stump cut several years ago. But the idea of a white pine seedling growing while being sheltered by its larger former self was too much to ignore. The little 2-inch tall white pine seedling germinated…