By Curt Peterson According to Killington Select Board member Jim Haff, there are more than 600 short-term rental properties (STRs) in Killington. Many of those owners have recently spoken out against the town's proposal to increase fees for registering the properties. Proposed increases were significant, adding $250 to each of three categories: one and two…

By Peter D’Auria/VTDigger Vermont students are urging state officials and educators to make a series of sweeping reforms to combat longstanding racial inequities in the state. A new report, written by the Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network, a group of students from across the state seeking to address racial inequities, aims to be a resource for…

By Katy Savage The Rutland NAACP is asking for change after what appeared to be antique slavery shackles offered by a vendor at a gun show on the Vermont State Fairgrounds Aug. 13-14. The Rutland NAACP sent a letter to the Vermont State Fairgrounds board on Aug. 16, condemning the incident and asking the board…

Staff report The Vermont State Fair in Rutland broke an attendance record for the second year in a row. Fair President Robert Congdon, Jr. said there was about a 10% jump in attendance from last year’s historic high, when an estimated 40-50,000 people attended the fair. “Attendance was up every single day but Wednesday,” Congdon…

Celebrate in downtown Rutland Saturday with a street party, Parade of Heros, concert and fireworks Staff report The whoopie pie — alternatively called a black moon, gob (term indigenous to the Pittsburgh region), black-and-white, bob, or "BFO" for Big Fat Oreo — is an American baked product that may be considered either a cookie, pie,…

By Fred Thys/ VTDigger Woodstock is adopting a novel approach to provide housing for people who work there. “You can get a job here, but then there’s nowhere to live,” said Trena Tolliver, who has been hired as Woodstock’s housing advisor by the town’s Economic Development Commission to run its pilot housing programs. “We’re trying…

By Alan J. Keays/VTDigger Vermont State Police are investigating after a Ludlow police officer shot a man who was then taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to a state police press release Aug. 16. The wounded man, whom police did not identify, was taken by ambulance to Springfield Hospital and was then expected to…

Staff report New state guidance released last Wednesday, Aug. 10, leaves Covid mitigation up to school nurses this school year. The Vermont Agency of Education and Department of Health release was three-pages of loose guidance, signed by Vermont Secretary of Education Dan French and Health Commissioner Mark Levine. The state said it is aimed at establishing…

Mayor nominates Joe Barbagallo By Jacob Knipes During the “communications from the mayor” portion of the Aug. 1 Board of Aldermen meeting, Mayor David Allaire announced that after some consideration Matt Reveal had withdrawn his nomination to the board. Reveal was previously nominated for the vacancy, first created by Devon Neary’s departure from the board…

By Curt Peterson Local residents are worried about endless variants of Covid-19, and the new Monkeypox. As usual, these important topics are clouded by unanswered questions and misinformation. Both Dr. Rick Hildebrant, Rutland Regional Medical Center’s chief information officer and department chair of medicine, and Dr. John Perras, Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center’s CEO,…

By Jacob Knipes The pick is in for Rutland’s Board of Aldermen vacancy. At the July 18 Aldermen meeting, Mayor David Allaire nominated former Alderman Matt Reveal to fill the vacancy left by Devon Neary. Reveal, who currently serves as a member of the Rutland Redevelopment Authority and as chairman for the Rutland City Republican…

By Katy Savage Ukrainians fleeing war started arriving in Vermont last month. Two Ukrainian families are currently in Rutland county and about 20 people have arrived in the state so far through the Uniting for Ukraine program, according to Amila Merdzanovic, the director at U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants Vermont. A total of about…

By Emma Cotton/VTDigger Rutland’s sewage treatment facility often releases untreated discharges into the Otter Creek and its tributaries, which then empty into Lake Champlain. In a new appeal of a recently approved permit, members of an environmental organization argue officials haven’t adequately planned to eliminate the discharges. In the recent appeal to the Environmental Division…

'New' name is actually its original By Katy Savage Suicide Six, the nation’s oldest ski mountain, is now called Saskadena Six. Woodstock Inn and Resort officials announced the name change of Suicide Six on Wednesday, July 13 in a move to be more inclusive and aware about mental health issues. “We really believed it was…

Photo credit: Jerry LeBlond