Dear Editor, On Monday, Jan. 13, I presented the following resolution to the Cavendish Select Board. I requested that this resolution be placed as an article on the condition that we discuss and vote on it at the annual town meeting in early March. The Select Board approved my request with the clear understanding that…

By Amy Spear Tourism is a significant economic driver for many of Vermont’s rural communities. Visitors spend more than $2.5 billion in Vermont each year, and the tourism industry employs more than 32,000 Vermonters. The tax revenue generated by the tourism industry each year equates to a $1,450 tax savings for every Vermont household. Yet,…

By Sen. Dick McCormack On Jan. 9, several climate crisis protesters disrupted the governor’s State of the State address for about 20 minutes. Colleagues, constituents, and media had several different reactions; outrage at the disruption, snide sarcasm about the protesters, outrage at the climate crisis and outrage at government’s failure to respond to the crisis…

By Jim Harrison Gov. Phil Scott used part of his State of the State address two weeks ago to remind us all of the growing demographic change facing Vermont. Its impact can be seen in schools with fewer students and a shrinking labor pool. With the governor’s budget address scheduled for this Tuesday, Jan. 21,…

By Art Woolf/VTDigger The U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent population report shows that each year since 2016, Vermont has experienced more deaths than births. Vermont continued to lose population in 2019, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates of each state’s population. On July 1, Vermont had 623,989 residents, 400 fewer than a year earlier and…

Ski areas across Vermont saw record levels of business over the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday weekend, thanks to timely snowstorms that resulted in prime conditions for skiing and snowboarding. Sugarbush Resort enjoyed the “biggest day” in its 61-year history on Sunday, according to Public Relations Manager John Bleh. “Sugarbush had a record day on…

By Curt Peterson Last week the Parker House Inn restaurant, bar, and bed and breakfast was purchased by Simon Pearce family enterprises for a reported $1.2 million. Parker House was owned and operated by Adam and Alexandria Adler for 16 years before selling to the Pearce family. They live in Hartland. As of Jan. 21,…

By Katy Savage RUTLAND—The city’s fire department faces uncertain leadership after its chief was suspended from work for bullying members of the department and creating a “hostile” work environment. Rutland City Mayor David Allaire said Fire Chief James Larsen was “intimidating, bullying, condescending and/or belittling” toward other members of the fire department in a letter to…

By Katy Savage Hannah Soar remembers when she and her best friend Olivia Giaccio did back flips with full twists into an air bag at Killington Resort around age 11. “We were doing such bad back fulls, but we were pushing each other,” Soar said. “We wanted to push female mogul skiing.” Even as kids,…

By Virginia Dean One of Woodstock’s arguably most popular restaurants is soon to open its doors again, and its new owner, Bridgewater resident John Worth, is thrilled — not only to connect the eatery to the local community again but also to honor his own family. “I’ve always wanted my own place, and now I…

  By Virginia Dean According to local resident Mark Scully, Vermont has “great things going for it” — great food, great beer, great skiing, great swimming holes, great mountains and lakes and great people. But what it lacks, he notes, is a great t-shirt company – one that offers premium t-shirts adorned with original designs…

Sunday, Jan. 26 at 2 p.m.—SHREWSBURY—Peter Grace and Grace Brigham, both of Shrewsbury, will share the art, history, and lore of ice cutting at the Russellville Schoolhouse in Shrewsbury from 2 to 4 p.m. The program is free, with donations encouraged to support the story-sharing Root Words Project. Refreshments will be served. Audience members will…

Friday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m.—MIDDLEBURY—Stephen Sondheim called it “dazzling.” The New York Times called it “the most intensely romantic score of any Broadway musical since “West Side Story.” Adam Guettel’s Tony Award-winning musical, “The Light in the Piazza,” comes to Town Hall Theater as the 15th Winter Term production, the annual collaboration between THT and the Middlebury…

“Auld Lang Syne” is a Scottish poem that was written by Robert Burns in 1788. Burns claimed when he wrote the words down and put them to music, and later sent the poem to the Scots Musical Museum, “Auld Lang Syne” was an ancient song but he had been the first to record it on…

Saturday, Jan 25—KILLINGTON—January 25 is Chinese New Year Day and 2020 is Year of the Rat. To celebrate Chinese New Year,  Casey’s Caboose will be serving a special Chinese New Year burger, “Casey’s Dragon Burger.” “Casey’s Dragon Burger” is made with hand pressed fresh Vermont beef, roasted red peppers, fresh lobster and dragon chili pepper…