Columns

For many years—decades even—dreams of addressing Rutland’s downtown core have been deferred. Master plans drawn, community meetings held, revitalization goals articulated, and yet limited change has been possible. There has been no large-scale action. That is, until now. But what makes this effort now, with the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District in play, so different…

The Mojo Birds don’t come around often. Most of them hail from Colorado, with one member residing in North Carolina and one local member from Shrewsbury. If you have the chance to see them, I highly recommend doing so. I got to see them last summer at the Killington Block Party. They put on a…

You could take a look around and see that everything is going wrong. You could also take a look around and see that everything is exactly how it’s supposed to be. Whining, complaining, and pointing fingers will get you nowhere. When you’re pointing your finger, there are three pointing back at you.  The more you…

Twenty-two years after director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland’s surprise hit apocalypse film, “28 Days Later” (2002), entered the lexicon of zombie movies, they return with “28 Years Later.” Sure, the math doesn’t quite add up, but it’s an alternate-future sci-fi anyway, and aside from the same setup and world-building, there aren’t any characters…

We have just about come to the end of the great unfurling. That moment in time when the trees have grown and budded and leafed and have stretched as far as they can go. They are bigger, brighter, and fuller than they were last year, and you can feel the canopy thickening. The woods are…

We’ve all received those dreaded phone calls— the ones where the person’s voice on the other end suggests something dire is coming. The greatest example of this for me was the night I got the call that my father had died.  It happened during my senior year of college around 9 p.m. Upon returning from…

From forest edges and thickets on late spring mornings in the Northeast comes what sounds like an exhortation from across the pond: Drink your tea! This is not a British parent’s plea but rather the song of a chunky, colorful sparrow: the eastern towhee.  The eastern towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus, or “red-eyed chipper”) is found in…

Humans have difficulty dealing with death. Canadian auteur David Cronenberg is not immune to this affliction. His wife of nearly 40 years passed away in 2017. Cronenberg said on record that “The Shrouds” is one measure of his grieving process. We all handle grief differently. Maybe not quite as different as Cronenberg or his protagonist,…

As the director of the Rutland County Pride Center (RCPC), William Fourney-Mills is a pillar of LGBTQ+ advocacy in the Killington-Rutland area, overseeing the 501c3 organization he launched over two years ago. In championing inclusivity, diversity, and community building, his work is particularly vital given the current political climate, making Rutland County Pride an essential…

The Solstice arrives this week. If you’re located on the northern half of the globe, the Sun will reach its highest point and slowly begin the descent of light towards the Winter Solstice. If you’re reading from the south, the Sun reaches its lowest position, and from there, the days will slowly grow in length.…

We are in a strange time. You might be yearning, remembering the world that was. A world you can never go back to.  A world you can remember like it was yesterday, even though it may be many years ago. It may only be yesterday. A world that you can still see, taste, smell, and…

Jacob Vahey, 14, and Lila Bucci, 15, who form the duo group Rivalry, are the youngest musicians I’ve interviewed to date. Coincidentally, Vahey’s Mom, Laura, attends my music bingo at the Public House Pub in Quechee. Rivalry played the Public House on St Patrick’s Day and Cinco De Mayo. They’ll return to play there on…

I find it refreshing to see the kids in my neighborhood outside now that warm weather has arrived. Some are on bikes. Others are “shooting hoops” or playing soccer in their backyards.  Riding bikes was probably the most popular outdoor activity for kids growing up on our street back in the ‘50s. We all began…

Editor’s note: Stephen Box is a Rutland-based general contractor, landlord, and advocate for citizen developers.  When it comes to increasing the number of available affordable housing units in Vermont, there are two strategies.  The first approach is to build more affordable housing, and this is the current favored strategy of Vermont’s non-profit housing developers with…

The cost of living in Vermont continues to rise, especially in communities with greater affordability challenges but with fewer resources to invest in major infrastructure projects necessary to address those needs. A recent bill that passed in the Vermont Legislature aims to allow communities to leverage the same financing model behind TIF for small-scale housing…