By Dom Cioffi One of the first jobs I had as a teenager was at a local record store (of course, this was back when record stores actually specialized in selling records). It was a huge thrill to be around all that music, to talk about music and to enlighten people about music. My infatuation…

RUTLAND — At 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 7, Rutland firefighters responded to a reported fire at the Bardwell House, at 142 Merchants Row in downtown Rutland. The apartment building with about 75 units, was ablaze when they arrived. The fire started in a kitchen of a unit on the fourth floor of Bardwell House,…

By Erin Mansfield, VTDigger.org The Vermont House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday in a voice vote that would loosen Vermont’s medical marijuana laws. The House had given preliminary approval to the legislation, S.14, by a vote of 133 to 13 on Monday. Vermont currently has strict laws that require a person who wants a…

Saturday, May 14, marks the 24th anniversary of the National Association of Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. Letter carriers walk throughout the community every day, often coming face to face with a sad reality for too many: hunger. Each year on the second Saturday in May, letter carriers across the country collect non-perishable…

Courtesy of Tinmouth Old Firehouse BILL STAINES Friday, May 13 at 7:30 p.m. — TINMOUTH — The Old Firehouse crew welcomes Bill Staines on Friday, May 13 at 7:30 p.m. Regulars, irregulars, and lovers of traditional American music are welcome to join. Staines has been performing all over the country since the early days of the folk…

By Erin Mansfield, VTDigger.org The Senate has passed a bill that would expand women’s access to long-acting birth control and men’s access to vasectomies, and allow pregnant women to enroll in Vermont Health Connect more conveniently. The Senate passed H.620 in a voice vote Monday, May 2, after giving it preliminary approval Friday. The House…

Courtesy of Brandon Music KEN, BRAD KOLODNER Saturday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m. — BRANDON — The father-son duo of Ken and Brad Kolodner push the boundaries of the Appalachian tradition by infusing their own brand of innovative, tasteful and unique interpretations of traditional and original fiddle tunes. Ken is regarded as one of the most…

Dear Editor, Another legislative biennium has ended and Vermont has begun to enter the doorway of an historic transition in state government. Next January we will have a new Governor, Lt. Governor, Speaker of the House and President Pro Tem of the Senate — and it is possible that Vermont’s path forward could look far…

Dear Editor, In light of the thief of investor funds at Jay Peak and Burke and the Town of Newport, it is so ironic the state of Vermont approvals got things moving so fast. The lack of oversight with EB-S funds by the state, the movement of funds from People’s United Bank to a brokerage…

By Rob Roper Vermont Business Magazine (VBM) wrote about some good news for a Vermont economy that has otherwise been pretty moribund for several years. The bright spot is our tech industry. As the VBM article points out, “Vermont’s tech sector makes up a quarter of the state’s workers and 40 percent of its wages,…

Courtesy of Chandler Center for the Arts Saturday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m. — RANDOLPH — On Saturday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m., Chandler Center for the Arts is excited to bring two talented local bands to the upper gallery. Chandler’s Esther Mesh room will be filled with good food, good drink and great music. Snacks from…

May — WEST PAWLET —  Mettawee Community School’s “ Heart & Sole ” program (registered part of Girls on the Run Vermont, Inc.) is holding a sneaker and shoe drive during the month of May for the benefit of various area shelters. The 5th and 6th grade girls of MCS’ Heart & Sole program ask the…

Wednesday, May 11 at 7 p.m. — PITTSFIELD — Meteorologist Mark Breen presents “The Puzzling, Promising, Peculiar.....Pluto Surprise” at the Roger Clark Memorial Library in Pittsfield on Wednesday, May 11 at 7 p.m. Although once thought of as a frozen, silent, slumbering piece of ice, the planet Pluto stunned the scientific world with a tremendous variety of …

By Paul Costello At the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) we get to work with rural towns throughout Vermont where we rally everyone to pull together, review all the issues before the community, evaluate potential collective action, set priorities, and line up together to advance the economy, attract youth, build senior housing or children’s…

Saturday, May 14 at 7 p.m. — RUTLAND — Vermonter Sally Olson will appear in concert on Saturday, May 14 at 7 p.m. at Grace Congregational Church in Rutland. Presented by Grace Congregational UCC and benefiting Project VISION, with Bill Reed as accompanist, the show will include signature covers and hits by the Carpenters, such as “We’ve…