By Jay Diaz and Ed Baker Vermont is experiencing a full-blown overdose crisis. A record 210 Vermonters died of preventable opioid-related overdoses in 2021, marking 33.7 overdose deaths per 100,000 people. That’s a 500% increase since 2010. For context, Portugal, which has committed to handling addiction with a public health approach since the early 2000s,…

Thursday, March 31 at 6-8 p.m. — RUTLAND — A new nonprofit in the region is hitting the ground running with its cornerstone social connection event, Gather Together, Thursday, March 31, 6-8 p.m., free at Taso’s Event Space at 28 Center St. in downtown Rutland. Social Tinkering began work in January 2020, just before we…

The 35th Vermont Scholastic High School and Middle School Chess Championships will be held on Saturday, April 16 at the Capital City Grange Hall on Vermont Route 12 in Berlin. All Vermont students are eligible to compete for state championships in Middle School (grades 6 through 8) and High School (grades 9 through 12) divisions.…

By Dom Cioffi I have been watching the Academy Awards since I was in grade school — long before there were pre-shows dedicated to the actors’ and actresses’ outfits and long before the event was used as a platform for virtue signaling whatever cause would get the most press the following week. The annual occasion…

By Rep. Jim Harrison Last fall I had the opportunity to meet up with our son, Ben, and two of our grandsons, Luke and Graham, for a golf weekend. During round two of the excursion, Ben and I were teamed against the grandsons (12 and 10). Putting aside that their tee box was often 50-100…

Friday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m. — PUTNEY — Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening of traditional Irish, Scottish, English, and American folk music by Dublin-based duo Ye Vagabonds and New England fiddler/singer Lissa Schneckenburger on Friday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m. Ye Vagabonds, brothers Brían and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn, are…

By DJ Dave Hoffenberg New and exciting things are happening at the Woolen Mill Comedy Club in Bridgewater. They just named a board of directors and are starting a weekly comedy show, which will be every Saturday night at 8 p.m. Each show in April through June will feature a board member and they will…

The Friends of the Fair Haven Free Library have thousands of books ready to find new homes. The book sales will begin in April. Dates and times for the book sales are as follows: Wednesday, April 6 from 4:40-6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 23 from 10 a.m. - noon Wednesday, May 11 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday,…

By Peter D’Auria/VTDigger On March 1, voters in the Otter Valley School District went to the polls and, by a margin of 60 votes, turned down the budget for the upcoming school year. The unexpected rejection of the $22.7 million proposal, which came amid a steep drop in voter turnout in the district, has thrown…

By Emma Cotton/VTDigger Vermont is experiencing parallel crises: The state needs more development as Vermonters struggle to find and afford housing, and development is also increasingly encroaching on forests and habitats that are important for ensuring the state’s resilience to climate change. Sen. Chris Bray, D-Addison, said lawmakers sought to address both problems in S.234,…

By Kevin Theissen Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve increased interest rates for the first time since December 2018 by 0.25%. Several more hikes are expected later this year. Fed chair Jerome Powell emphasized that he wants to see the month-over-month inflation numbers come down and its latest projections indicate it may move rates above…

Wednesday, March 30 at 3-7 p.m. — CHESTER — It’s prom time and the Chester Andover Family Center’s annual community service project, “Everyone Deserves a Special and Affordable Prom Outfit!” is back. We are celebrating the return of prom night with an open house prom shopping event on Wednesday, March 30 from 3-7 p.m. at…

Vermont had the lowest gender-based wage gap of any state in the U.S., according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. But still, women on average were paid $4,600 less than men. Wyoming had the highest gap with men earning on average $21,676 more than women for equal work. Overall, the gender gap in the…

By Sarah Mearhoff/VTDigger With hardly any debate, the Vermont Senate in a series of votes Friday, March 25, unanimously approved the House and Senate’s newly drawn legislative district lines. If approved and signed into law, the maps would stand for the next 10 years. In the upper chamber, senators debated how to fairly divide representation…

April 6 — LEBANON, NH — How are productions, and specifically, opera productions created? From the director’s first ideas and concept, through collaboration with set, lighting, and costume designers, to the rehearsal process with singers and conductor, to the realization of the performance on the stage, director Helena Binder takes you through the process of…