By Elizabeth Gribkoff/VTDigger As Vermont reports a slowdown in the number of new Covid-19 cases, officials say the Department of Health will have 48 people by the end of the week tracking down individuals who may have been exposed to the novel coronavirus. Public health experts say the epidemiological detective work known as contact-tracing can help…

By Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger Vermont’s Department of Labor said that it cleared tens of thousands of backlogged unemployment insurance claims over the weekend. The state also made good on its promise Monday, April 20, to send checks of $1,200 to the remaining 8,384 Vermonters who still haven’t been able to resolve problems with their claims — over…

Dear Editor, First, a little history: 2008 saw the worst financial crisis in this country since the Great Depression. In response to the economic devastation, congress enacted the Troubled Asset Relief Program to bail out America’s big banks, to the tune of $700 billion. Today, with the coronavirus pandemic hitting small businesses harder than anybody…

Dear Editor, I felt like an imaginary, old fashioned Italian woman today. I decided it was time to pack away the big, heavy down comforter as deep winter is over in Vermont. So, I filled my big bath tub with lots of soap, bleach and hot water. Then I submerged the queen sized white comforter…

Dear Editor, Covid-19 is impacting families all across Vermont and the nation. We have known from the beginning that group living settings are particularly susceptible to rapid infection. We have seen in other countries and states that the outcome of not taking strong preventative measures in prisons is a spike in cases of infection. We…

Dear Editor, From Ayn Rand to Ronald Reagan, America’s conservative heroes have preached “public is bad, private is good.” Yet public means “accessible to or shared by all members of the community,” while private means “intended for or restricted to the use of a particular person, group, or class.”  We’re paying a great price for…

By Dr. Alon Ben-Meir For a man who is a self-absorbed, power hungry narcissist who wants to be recognized as one of the greatest presidents of the United States while desperately trying to be reelected, Trump failed miserably to rise to the occasion precipitated by the unfortunate advent and spread of the coronavirus. Instead of…

By Zachariah Ralph, Rep. WDR-1 Hartland, Windsor, and West Windsor This weekend truly felt like spring had arrived and that summer will come presently. I personally am looking forward to the arrival of morel mushrooms and planting my seedlings in my garden. A lot has been changing on the governance front, too. Remote voting The…

By Rep Jim Harrison Two weeks ago Governor Scott indicated that as circumstances allowed us to ease the “Stay Home Stay Safe” restrictions, that he would do so, but only a quarter turn of the spigot at a time. This past Friday, April 17, we saw the first of those turns. Beginning Monday, April 20,…

By Sen. Dick McCormack Closing state colleges? This issue is still in play, and what I write on April 18 may be outdated by press time. But the basic frame of the discussion is likely to persist. If we approach the question as pure book keeping, as supply and demand analysis, a case can be…

On Friday, April 24, they will be at Rutland Southern Vermont Regional Airport The Vermont Foodbank and Vermont National Guard will distribute food to those in need at five different areas of Vermont beginning on Wednesday, April 22. These points of distribution will help ease demand on food shelves around that state that have seen…

The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved more than $853 million in loans to 4,896 Vermont businesses, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy announced on Wednesday, April 15. The assistance comes from the Paycheck Protection Program that was created as part of the CARES Act Congress passed in late March. Leahy, the Vice Chair of the Senate…

By Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger Twin brothers Cleon and Leon Boyd followed each other seemingly everywhere, from their births 64 years ago at the old Putnam Memorial Hospital in Bennington to their frequent arrivals at Deerfield Valley coffee counters such as Dot’s in Wilmington. “I never regretted seeing them walk in the door,” recalled Laura Sibilia, a former…

By Curt Peterson Some Vermonters imagine a vast influx of out-of-staters bringing the dreaded coronavirus into our state. Governor Scott has shut down short-term rentals and regular lodgings until June 15, but second-home owners fleeing New York, in particular, but New Jersey and Southern New England as well, are allegedly here in droves to escape…

Presents hospital with $23,867.31 check RUTLAND—Rutland Subaru continues to share the love. Recently, they presented Rutland Regional Medical Center with proceeds from the 2019 Subaru Share the Love® event in support of the Enhancing our Culture of Care campaign. Rutland Subaru was one of many retailers participating in the event nationwide. “For the third consecutive year, Rutland Subaru…