By Richard Podlesney

Courtesy of CSJ College of St. Joseph’s President Dr. Richard Lloyd announced that he will be stepping down, effective June 30. RUTLAND—After nearly four years of outstanding service and accomplishments, Dr. Richard Lloyd will step down as president of College of St. Joseph effective June 30, 2016. Dr. Lloyd, who joined CSJ in July 2012…

By Eileen Vaughn

Courtesy of Seven Days PAUL HEINTZ Paul Heintz is an editor and columnist for Vermont’s Seven Days newspaper based in Burlington, Vt. Before graduating from Dartmouth College in 2006, he worked as an intern with NPR’s “On the Media.” After graduation, he became s a desk assistant for “The News Hour with Jim Lehrer” before…

Courtesy of Paramount Theatre JARED BERNSTEIN Jared Bernstein was the Chief Economist and Economic Adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, executive director of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class, and a member of President Obama’s economic team. In addition to authoring several books, Bernstein has published extensively in various venues, including The…

Paramount Theatre, downtown Rutland, hosts events March 9-10 On Wed. and Thurs., March 9 and 10, the Paramount Theatre and Castleton University will host back-to-back broadcasts of the Democratic and the Republican primary debates as part of their 14-month series, Project 240: Celebrating the American Experience. Audience members will watch the debates live on the…

Courtesy of the Pittsfield Select Board Columns show the hourly rates for the 2015 actual pay to Pittsfield town employees, the Vermont Municipal Compensation report average, and what was budgeted for 2016. PITTSFIELD—On Tuesday, March 1, Pittsfield voters rejected their town budget. The most contentious item seemed to be pay increases, according to Select Board…

By Tiffany Danitz Pache, VTDigger.org Lawmakers on the powerful House tax-writing committee have set homestead property tax rates for next year, using a new formula—the “yield” calculation — instead of increases in the penny rate. The bill also includes a controversial provision that applies all of the surplus money in the education fund, about $19.7…

By Stephen Seitz Voters all over the region seemed to be in a pretty generous mood this year, approving most of the spending articles placed before them on Tuesday, March 1, Town Meeting Day. Voters in Killington passed every article on the warning, including a $4.1 million budget, and agreed to borrow $200,000 for a…

By Mark Johnson, VTDigger.org In an Internet war of words over the weekend, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean defended his decision to vote for Hillary Clinton when he goes to the Democratic National Convention in July. Dean, a superdelegate, aggressively pushed back against critics who said he should support Sen. Bernie Sanders after his landslide…

By Gov. Peter Shumlin I’ll admit that I don’t understand how Washington D.C. and Congress work most of the time. For years, Republicans in Congress have thrust the institution into perpetual gridlock, so much so that it struggles to fulfill its most basic responsibilities. Even after the death of a Supreme Court Justice, Senate Republicans…

By Debby Haskins When recreational marijuana was made legal in Colorado, the governor and other proponents promised that they would keep it out of the hands of youth. It’s the same promise Governor Shumlin and other legalization proponents are now making here. Can they succeed? The answer from Colorado is a resounding “No.” The newly-released…

By Lee H. Hamilton These are very unhappy times in Washington. Relations between the executive and legislative branches are not just sour, but corrosive. Partisan paralysis and game-playing on Capitol Hill have become a hallmark of these times, as has the evident distaste our nation’s leaders feel for one another. It would be understandable to…

Dear Editor, In the wake of the recent election it has come to my attention that a certain prominent member of the community has made some proprietary statements to the Killington Pico Areas Association (KPAA) concerning the 1 percent options tax. This person stated the tax is raised by the businesses and infers because the…

Dear Editor, Hip hip hooray for Jim Haff’s excellent run for Selectboard. Jim, you stuck to the issues, and with honesty and integrity you made your case for a better Town of Killington. Hip hip hooray for Jim Haff’s attention to details. Jim, again, you brought attention to the “mistakes” in this year’s Town Book…