By Royal Barnard General Wing descendants Katrina Wing and sons, and Megan Foley, and Mark Foley, Jr. joined Garden Club presenters and dignitaries for a group photo after the ceremony, Saturday.

By Adam Federman, VTDigger.org RUTLAND — Two weeks of hearings on the constitutionality of the death penalty opened Monday, July 11, in U.S. District Court in a case that has the potential to lead to the first-ever U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the legality of capital punishment. Defense lawyers for Donald Fell, who is facing…

Dear Editor, Here at my Rutland home I have a wonderful golden retriever named McKie. He’s the most mellow, people-loving creature on the planet. We feed him an all-raw diet of healthy meat and local produce and he will soon celebrate his 10th birthday in apparent good health . . . a long time for…

Dear Editor, Over the past eight years, Vermont has rapidly become a precarious state in which to own a small business. Per the Department of Labor Statistics, 60.5 percent of Vermont businesses employ four or less persons; in Bennington County, 62.5 percent and in Rutland County 60 percent. These are our mom and pop operations.…

By Jon Margolis Editor’s note: Jon Margolis is a VTDigger’s political columnist What with elections in the offing, the ideologues have awakened from their seasonal torpor and with them a familiar old cry — one might even call it a meme if only one knew what a meme was — about how Vermont had best…

By Jasper Craven, VTDigger.org Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sue Minter announced a plan Tuesday, July 5, that would expand outdoor recreational opportunities in the Green Mountains. Minter’s plan—VT-Outdoors—prioritizes Vermont’s bucolic landscape as a key asset in attracting people and business to the state. As governor, Minter would create the statewide position of outdoor recreation director, a…

By Stephen Seitz KILLINGTON — The West Hill Road slip lane will be closed for the next two months, according to Killington’s road and facilities manager, Chet Hagenbarth. “It’s safer that way,” he said. “It doesn’t affect traffic flow, especially at this time of year, so it’s safer to have it closed.” Hagenbarth said the…

By Karen D. Lorentz The Rutland County Regional Planning Commission, Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission and Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commissions have filed a Motion to Alter and Amend the Permit Conditions that were imposed regarding traffic studies in the June 21 Environmental Court decision regarding the Killington Village. In that decision Judge Thomas S.…

  Project 240 logo RUTLAND – The Paramount Theatre and Castleton University announced July 11 that the second half of Project 240 is set to begin. As part of the remaining 10 events, the Paramount will welcome several prominent political experts and analysts to its stage, none of whom are more well-known than the powerhouse…

By Stephen Seitz RUTLAND — A number of unfounded beliefs about Syrian refugees have made their way into the discussion over whether to allow 20-30 families to relocate to Rutland. Stacie Blake, the director of communications for government and community relations for the U.S. Committee on Refugees and Immigrants, of which the Vermont refugee program…

By Adam Federman, VTDigger.org RUTLAND — The Board of Aldermen came up just short Tuesday, July 5, of granting a controversial citywide special election on whether to participate in a refugee resettlement program, but then endorsed a statement withholding the Board’s support for taking in refugees, at least until more information is available. A petition…

By Polly Lynn KILLINGTON— Killington Select Board Chair Patty McGrath said that new rate for municipal property taxes would be 0.3333, “only slightly higher than we anticipated,” she said. The Select Board unanimously approved the rate at its regular meeting Tuesday, July 5, there was no further discussion. The 2015-16 rate was $0.4633 for an 18-month…

By Anne Galloway, VTDigger.org The U.S. Senate passed a GMO bill late Thursday, July 7, that will require food manufacturers to provide information about genetically engineered ingredients. The measure passed 63-30. The bill, S.764, allows companies to choose a text label, a symbol or a QR or bar code for GMO products. Manufacturers have lobbied…

Killington Mountain Lodge owner hopes to open hotel in downtown Rutland RUTLAND — An initiative of the Rutland Redevelopment Authority (RRA) and the City of Rutland took a big step forward recently with the City and a local private developer agreeing to a lease option, which could lead to the eventual development of a first…

By Cal Garrison, a.k.a. Mother of the Skye This week’s Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a Libra Moon, with a bunch of aspects that have us hog-tied to some pretty rough stuff. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of hearing myself talk about it. With that in mind, I…