RUTLAND—BROC-Community Action, located at 45 Union St. in Rutland (west of the railroad tracks) is offering information about the 3SquaresVT program and personalized assistance with applications. Staff are ready to help new users sign up for this benefit and access healthful meals. 3SquaresVT is an important nutrition program that provides benefits based upon income, expenses…

Gov. Peter Shumlin issued 10 pardons last week to people convicted of various felonies and misdemeanors. These pardons were issued separately from the marijuana pardon program announced earlier this month. The pardons mark a total of 16 issued by the governor to date. “I believe in second chances, and I believe we as a society…

Gov. Peter Shumlin has pardoned 192 individuals convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana, according to a Jan. 3 news release. In December, the Governor announced that he would consider pardons for those with minor marijuana possession charges who did not have violent criminal histories. “A minor marijuana possession charge should not be an anchor…

On Tuesday, Jan. 3, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that 88 high-impact projects across the country will receive $225 million in federal funding as part of the USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). In addition, partners have proposed to contribute up to an additional $500 million to improve the nation’s water quality, combat drought, enhance…

Dear Editor, Up until a few years ago, ski passes for seniors were given at age 65 and at age 72 you were considered a “super senior.” That super senior season pass was $549. So, why did the mountain raise the age of the super senior pass to 79 and charge $200 more? That’s because the information…

Dear Editor, On behalf of the Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union (BRSU) we would like to offer our sincerest thanks and praises to the organizations that graciously donated gifts and food items to students and families throughout our school district during the holiday season. Thanks to BROC-Community Action in Southwestern Vermont for their donation of toys and…

Dear Editor, Well, you folks have done it again! For the 44th time, you have reached deep in your pockets and created the magic of Christmas in Rutland County. There is no room here to thank the many residents, visitors and local businesses who together made it possible for the WSYB Christmas Fund to reach…

By Jon Morgolis, VTDigger Fake news has not come to Vermont. Not that some Vermonters don’t consider a report in the newspaper or on TV here and there to have been inaccurate or biased. But that’s not what fake news is. Fake news is a completely invented false item, like the one about the Pope…

By Rob Roper During the gubernatorial campaign Phil Scott set a goal to expand Vermont’s population from 625,000 to 700,000 over the next 10 years or so. This is a pretty tall order (maybe unattainable), but the governor-elect’s call does raise an important issue. Our state’s population is stagnant, and if we want to be…

By Deb Markowitz Editor’s note: This is a final note from Secretary Deb Markowitz as she helps the Agency of Natural Resources transition to a new leadership team. Six years is a long time to serve as Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources. From the moment I arrived at our offices in Waterbury, people…

By Adam Federman, VTDigger The kingpin of a major cocaine and heroin distribution ring in the Rutland area was convicted by a federal jury Friday, Dec. 23. Joell Joyce, or “Prince,” a 27-year-old African American from Brooklyn, was found guilty on charges of conspiracy to distribute more than 28 grams of cocaine base and heroin…

By Kevin O’Connor, VTDigger When Gov. Madeleine Kunin learned of the recent death of 96-year-old friend Marion Pritchard, she recalled their meeting at Vermont’s first Holocaust memorial ceremony in 1987 — and their separate yet shared World War II experiences nearly a half-century before. Kunin, born in Switzerland in 1933, was 6 years old when…

By Mark Bushnell, VTDigger The ice called to Amos Blood. Each winter, as the cold settled in, he would look out from his hometown of Ticonderoga, N.Y., across the frozen waters of Lake Champlain, to the Vermont shore. Blood would grab his skates, which were just strips of wood with a curl of metal acting…

By Daniel Schwartz, VTDigger One man is dead and another has been transported to a hospital following a suspected shooting Monday, Jan. 2, on Georgia Mountain Road in Georgia, according to a Vermont State Police press release. Police are investigating what they say appears to be a homicide. Detectives say an initial probe indicates that…

By Tiffany Danitz Pache, VTDigger State officials hope to attract foreign students and boost online enrollments to state colleges. That’s why the Vermont State College trustees used the word “university” to describe the newly merged Lyndon and Johnson state colleges. The new Northern Vermont University will be easier to market overseas, especially to Chinese students,…