By Peter D’Auria/VTDigger Gov. Phil Scott has signed two important bills affecting schools statewide. One create a one-year pilot program of free breakfast and lunch for Vermont students and the other bans offensive school mascots. The governor’s signatures represent victories for anti-hunger advocates and for activists who have pushed to retire mascots that stereotype marginalized…

Wednesday, June 15 at 6 p.m. — RUTLAND — Next Wednesday watch back-to-back Republican and Democratic debates starting at 6 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre in Rutland. With incumbent Lt. Gov. Molly Gray stepping aside to run for Congress, Vermont’s No. 2 job is wide open. Republican candidates include Sen. Joe Benning, R-Caledonia, and former Rutland…

By Julia Purdy The U.S. Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture with ranger districts in Rochester and Manchester and soon-to-be headquarters in Mendon, has announced changes in a forest management project initially approved in 2018 but delayed due to public concerns expressed during the required comment period. Public notice of a…

Christopher Morrow, a long-time Weston resident and former owner of the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, is running for state senate in the Windsor district. His recent retirement from active management of the Northshire Bookstore has given Morrow time, as he puts it, “to put my entrepreneurial problem-solving skills to work contributing to the development of…

By Katy Savage After 25 years, Little Harry’s restaurant in Rutland is permanently closed. The owners announced the closure in a Facebook post on June 1. “We are looking forward to the next chapter of life” the post read. “Thank you for your constant support and friendship.” Co-owner Jack Mangan said he was retiring in…

Dear Editor, As a former legislator, I understand and appreciate departing legislators’ complaints about pay and benefits. And, as a former legislator, I hope turnover based on complaints about legislative pay and benefits continues with every biennium. How can these two apparently conflicting positions be held? In 1988 I was elected to the first of…

A public hearing on the construction of a hut near Silver Lake in the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area is set for Wednesday, June 8, at 6 p.m. in the downstairs function room of Café Provence in Brandon. The meeting is being hosted by the Moosalamoo Association and the Vermont Hut Association (VHA), the two nonprofit…

Saturday, June 11 at 4 p.m. — RUTLAND — The Chaffee Art Center invites the community to the opening reception of the Vermont Pastel Society member exhibition in the first floor galleries on Saturday, June 11 from 4-6 p.m. The opening will include light refreshments, music by pianist Marna Grove and the presentation of awards.There…

By Declan McCabe I have a pre-pandemic memory of a dozen high school students – armed with dipnets and wearing chest waders – emerging from a Saint Michael’s College van. Before masks and social distancing, my collaborators and I packed vans with students from Vermont, Massachusetts, and as far afield as Puerto Rico to monitor…

By Katy Savage A zoning permit request to sell firearms next to Rutland Northeast Primary School was rescinded on June 6 after backlash from residents. A temporary permit was granted on May 24, which would have allowed applicant Eric Fletcher to sell firearms on Temple Street, about .1 mile or a 3-minute walk from Rutland…

With the beginning of summer and anglers fishing from shore, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department reminds people that open fires and swimming are prohibited at all Vermont state fishing access areas. Open fires and their remnants, create unsafe areas for other anglers and boaters to use and enjoy. The remnants of these fires are…

By Joe Resteghini Editor’s note: Resteghini is the principal of Champlain Elementary School in Burlington. He lives in Colchester. In 2019, after a white supremacist racist killed 51 people with an assault rifle, New Zealand put a policy in place to ban assault-style weapons and buy back guns already in the public. It took the New…

The Killington Music Festival is returning for its 40th season. On Saturday evenings from July 2- 23, acclaimed musicians of the Killington Music Festival will perform at Pico Mountain Lodge at the Killington Resort at 7 p.m. During the Music in the Mountains classical concert series, they will also teach, guide and mentor the young…

By Bonnie Kim Donahue Donahue Editor’s note: Bonnie Kirn Donahue is a UVM Extension Master Gardener and landscape designer from central Vermont. Growing flowers, vegetables and berries for eating is fun and nourishing, but what about growing them to make colorful dyes? Natural pigments in these can be harnessed to dye fiber or fabric. Indigenous…

By Katy Savage After pushback from residents, Rutland Mayor David Allaire changed his decision about his nomination to the School Board. Allaire nominated Rep. Peter Fagan, R-Rutland City, on May 25, a change from his earlier consideration of Bob Pearo, Jr. Allaire said he received many emails and phone calls regarding his consideration of Pearo.…