By Lani Duke New city fire chief receives warm welcome Rutland City’s Board of Aldermen and many of its firefighters welcomed James L. Larsen, the new nominee for fire chief April 2 at the aldermen’s semimonthly meeting. He had been named the nominee at the previous meeting, with a two-week wait before official acceptance, in…

By Lani Duke Castleton U “gives back” to Fair Haven community FAIR HAVEN— Castleton University’s track and field team “spring cleaned” the center of downtown Fair Haven, tidying up the streets and public areas from Community Bank west to Liberty St. and Carl Duffy’s Store. Twenty-five athletes and their coach took part, using the town’s…

By Julia Purdy RUTLAND—All real estate speculation isn’t bad. In Rutland’s case, the city sees it as an avenue toward the revitalization of in-town neighborhoods and a way to get tax sale properties – typically distressed and an invitation to trouble – off its books and into the hands of new owners with the skills…

By Polly Lynn Mikula BRANDON—Old pipes and erosion led to a break in a Brandon sewer pipe, spilling over one million gallons of sewage into the Neshobe River. This is the second time in a month that over a million gallons of wastewater has dumped into the river. The most recent break occurred April 4-5…

By Karen D. Lorentz Nationally, the Airbnb trend has caught on in ski towns, so it’s not too surprising that it is popular in Killington. In fact, Killington ranks no. 1 for having the most Airbnb accommodations in Vermont with 453 listings (from 161 hosts). Four of the five towns with the most Airbnb rentals…

By Dom Cioffi I spent this past weekend in relative silence. This wasn’t because I was on a meditation retreat or happened to be alone. No, I barely spoke this weekend because the final two rounds of The Masters golf tournament were on, and when The Masters is on, I’m generally transfixed. The Masters is one…

By Susan Shea When I was growing up, my family rented a vacation home on a mountain in southern Vermont. One night we were awakened by our dogs barking. Soon we heard a persistent gnawing on the outside of the house. My dad went to investigate. His flashlight beam revealed a large porcupine with black,…

Monday, April 16, 5:45 p.m.—WEST RUTLAND—“Benefits to Wildlife of a Timber Harvest, and the Community Connections When You Improve Wildlife Habitat by Harvesting Timber” will be the topic being discussed at the annual meeting of the Rutland Natural Resources Conservation District (RNRCD). The meeting will be held on Monday, April 16 at the West Rutland…

By Anson Tebbetts The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Boston regional office announced that the Vermont Agency of Agriculture has made significant progress toward meeting the state’s water quality goals. In a letter to the agency dated April 2, EPA regional administrator Alexandra Dapolito Dunn noted, “Your staff have clearly been working hard to get new programs…

By Jon Margolis, VTDigger OK, enough for a while of all this chit-chat over minimum wages, family leave, getting the goop out of the lake, and guns (especially, mercifully, guns). Let’s turn to one of the eternal verities: politics. Not that they aren’t all connected. The wages, the lake goop, the guns (especially, heaven help us,…

Dear Editor, Governor Phil Scott signed a proclamation for Child Abuse Prevention Month on April 3. I appreciate the ceremony at the Statehouse and the attention that it draws to the need that every child has, to be loved and safely nurtured. Every child, every day requires at least one adult who provides that love…

Dear Editor, As many have heard recently, the town of Killington via the Select Board is entertaining bringing in an out-of-state management company to take over operations at Green Mountain National Golf Club. It’s no secret the town owned golf course has had financial challenges due to long-standing debt arrangements and the short Vermont golf…

Dear Editor, It has come to my attention that a certain self proclaimed “political junkie” is castigating our newly elected Selectman Jim Haff for involvement in reorganizing the operational management of the Green Mountain National Golf Course (GMNGC). He states that Mr. Haff has an agenda regarding GMNGC and thus should recuse himself from any…

Wednesday, April 18, 6 p.m.—It is hard to imagine ourselves in a situation where we don’t have the ability to make sound decisions regarding our health care. Yet planning for a time when we might not be capable of making important medical decisions is crucial for each of us. It is something people of all…

Friday, April 13—POULTNEY—On April 13, Green Mountain College (GMC) will be hosting its fourth annual Making a Difference & Making a Living conference. At the heart of this gathering is the essential question many people ask: How do you find a career in which you can make a positive difference in the world and make a comfortable living? The college has…