Courtesy of VTDigger Green represents Vermont; red represents the U.S.  Curbing health risks of marijuana now steers debate By Cory Dawson, VTDigger.org A major public health group is urging lawmakers to consider the health risks associated with legalizing marijuana. The Vermont chapter of the American Public Health Association, the VtPHA, released a list of policy…

KILLINGTON—Residents of Killington will engage in the process of strategic planning for the future of their town once again. The town’s commission guiding economic development and tourism will hold a town meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016, and has invited the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) to facilitate. The meeting is a followup to…

By Stephen Seitz KILLINGTON — Melvin Neisner, Jr.’s dissatisfaction with former town manager Seth Webb has not abated, as evidenced by a lawsuit Neisner filed against the town in the closing days of 2015. Neisner is asserting that Webb and the town’s board of selectmen have bungled the use of town money in recent years,…

By Mike Polhamus, VTDigger.org Lawmakers Thursday, Jan. 14, rejected proposed rules allowing ATVs on state-owned land. The rules would have permitted four-wheelers on a 0.4-mile stretch of former logging road that would be called the Les Newell Connector Trail, near Stockbridge. Opponents of the rule said the Agency of Natural Resources lacked authority to adopt…

Courtesy of Karen D. Lorentz Photo One: The latest in technology for getting passengers to the top of the mountain is the heated-seat bubble chair at Okemo. Photo Two: Tow ropes were an early way to get up the hill. By Karen D. Lorentz Editor’s Note: In honor of Okemo’s upcoming 60th anniversary, this is…

Bernie Sanders emailed this artifact to his supporters Jan. 13, 2016, explaining that Hillary Clinton autographed the photo, taken on a flight to a health care forum at Dartmouth University on Dec. 7, 1993, along with a note saying, “To Bernie Sanders, with thanks for your commitment to real health care access for all Americans…

By Gov. Peter Shumlin On Christmas Day, I burned brush on my farm in Putney—in a t-shirt. My experience was not unlike that of many Vermonters as we all lived through Vermont’s most tropical Christmas in memory, capping off the world’s warmest year on record. Climate change is here, and it is affecting the Vermont…

Dear Editor, Happy New Year from Pentangle Arts. I’ve completed my first year as the organization’s executive director and find every day as interesting and challenging (in a good way) since the day I started. Over the year I’ve met so many talented singers, dancers, and artists from the Upper Valley and beyond. I’ve had…

Dear Editor. The “silly season” for the mass media is supposed to be a short period of time, “usually late summer when the media focuses on trivial or frivolous matters for lack of major news stories,” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. This presidential election cycle the silly season started early and has yet to subside.…

By Stephen Seitz Town meeting is right around the corner, and the period to run for local office has begun. While there are still some towns like Reading and Bridgewater which conduct business by electing officers from the floor, most elect their officers by the ballot box. Besides selectmen, voters will pick school board members,…

The deadline was 5 p.m. on Jan. 11 for candidates to file their petition to appear on the ballots of the Vermont presidential primaries. Secretary of State Jim Condos announced that 14 candidates qualified for the ballots: 10 candidates for the Republican ballot and 4 candidates for the Democratic ballot. The Republicans qualifying for placement…

Submitted Vermont’s per-pupil expenditure continues to rise despite a decrease in student population, due to no corresponding cuts in teachers and staff. By Art McGrath and Bruce Parker, Vermont Watchdog If Tuesday night’s committee vote is any indication, then it looks like the 2 percent annual spending cap on school budgets mandated by Act 46…

By Dom Cioffi When you go to the movies every week for 20+ years, you’re going to see some interesting things. I’ve witnessed inebriation on all levels and in all ages. I’ve seen food fights erupt between unruly teenagers. I’ve even helped break up a brawl between two patrons. Because I’m at the theater so…

Submitted Blue gloves and garter can fulfill the “something blue” in the popular good-luck wedding tradition: “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.” (MS) Wedding day tokens of good luck come in many forms, but the“something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue (a sixpence in your shoe)” adage remains one of the most…

(MS) — Making the wedding of your dreams a reality may require some creativity. It can be challenging to organize all of the creative ideas swimming around in your head, but inspiration boards may be able to help. Inspiration boards, sometimes referred to as idea boards, are commonly used by interior designers, artists, writers, and even…