By Rebecca Perkins Hanissiant Of all life’s synergies, I appreciate most the one between my propensity for domestic procrastination and my love of moving through the outdoors — countless adventures are born of it. During a late November weekend, when faced with a day spent winterizing our home, my husband and I instead packed up…

  For reasons likely buried deep in my DNA, I have always had an acute sense of smell. While my other senses have been ravaged by time, my olfactory awareness has maintained a high-level status. My mother also had a great sniffer, which posed considerable problems for me and my two brothers as she was…

  The wind howls, The trees sway, The cold icy air whistles, Then all is still. The snow begins to fall, Making everything sparkly and white, Falling silently, Fluffy white snow fills the land. The icy air returns, Forming the frost, Little swirls and twists, Filling up all the icy windows. All this making the…

    The Natural Resources Board will host an online public meeting to present its draft legislative report “Necessary Updates to the Act 250 Program.”  The online public meeting will be held Thursday, Dec. 15 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.   Act 182 of 2022 and Act 47 of 2023 directed the Natural Resources Board with reporting to…

  By Katy Savage Shortly after the Pawlet library director was given a raise and recognized by the Vermont Library Association, she was fired, leading to an outcry from residents at a library board of trustees meeting on Dec. 7. Residents asked the board for transparency. Resident Martin Kravitt predicted the town would face a…

Submitted  350Vermont is seeking to pressure utilities to sell energy using renewable sources.    The grassroots climate justice organization 350Vermont is seeking to pressure utilities to sell energy using renewable sources while producing fewer or no greenhouse gases. The organization will do this by ratcheting up pressure on the Legislature to tighten up the state’s…

  File photo by Tiffany Tan,VTDigger Rutland County State’s Attorney Ian Sullivan showed the jury video clips of the baby on Monday, Nov. 27, the first day of Stacey Vaillancourt’s trial in Rutland Superior criminal court.     Stacey Vaillancourt was convicted of manslaughter and child cruelty at the end of a five-day trial, Dec.…

  By Andy Kirkaldy, Addison Independent With affordable and workplace housing a critical need across Vermont, some advocates are working on a plan to expand housing in town centers in a way they say is “gentle.” With the “Homes For All” project, the Agency of Commerce and Community Development hopes to blend “missing middle housing”…

  Starting Jan. 1, 2024, a new state law will prohibit the sale of specific mercury-containing fluorescent lightbulbs in Vermont. Restrictions include the sale of general purpose, indoor/outdoor, residential, and business mercury-containing four-foot linear, compact fluorescent, and twist-based fluorescent lightbulbs. Twist-based (GU-24) Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs) are also restricted from sale, according to a Nov. 14 news…

Happy Thanksgiving, Family, friends, love, joy, food, Turkey, pumpkin pie.

  Lynn and Karl Acker reflect on generations working in the ski industry By Karen D. Lorentz Sometimes you just have to wonder if some people are born with a ski gene. It certainly might seem that way for the family of Hank and Marge Huntoon whose three children all pursued different facets of the…

   Fall and winter are the seasons when respiratory viruses spread more easily, and that means now is the best time to protect yourself and loved ones from serious illness and hospitalization, according to the the state Health Department, which is urging everyone 6 months and older to get this year’s Covid-19 and flu vaccines.…

  By Sarah Mearhoff/VTDigger It is high time, a coalition of state political interest groups said Thursday, that Vermont’s wealthiest residents pay their “fair share” in income taxes. Members of the newly formed coalition, which is dubbing itself Fund Vermont’s Future, gathered in front of the Vermont House chamber Thursday morning to call on legislators to…

  By David Goodman/VTDigger Ken Squier, an American broadcasting legend and a beloved champion of Vermont, died on Nov. 15, following a brief illness. Squier, who spent most of his life in Waterbury and Stowe, was 88 years old. In January 2018, Squier became the first journalist inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, a recognition of…