Courtesy of the Pittsfield Select Board Columns show the hourly rates for the 2015 actual pay to Pittsfield town employees, the Vermont Municipal Compensation report average, and what was budgeted for 2016. PITTSFIELD—On Tuesday, March 1, Pittsfield voters rejected their town budget. The most contentious item seemed to be pay increases, according to Select Board…

By Tiffany Danitz Pache, VTDigger.org Lawmakers on the powerful House tax-writing committee have set homestead property tax rates for next year, using a new formula—the “yield” calculation — instead of increases in the penny rate. The bill also includes a controversial provision that applies all of the surplus money in the education fund, about $19.7…

By Stephen Seitz Voters all over the region seemed to be in a pretty generous mood this year, approving most of the spending articles placed before them on Tuesday, March 1, Town Meeting Day. Voters in Killington passed every article on the warning, including a $4.1 million budget, and agreed to borrow $200,000 for a…

By Mark Johnson, VTDigger.org In an Internet war of words over the weekend, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean defended his decision to vote for Hillary Clinton when he goes to the Democratic National Convention in July. Dean, a superdelegate, aggressively pushed back against critics who said he should support Sen. Bernie Sanders after his landslide…

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By Nan Salamon Killington Active Seniors bookclub meets at Killington’s Sherburne Memorial Library the last Wednesday of every month. The March book is “The Endurance.” By Gerrie Russell At a recent OSHER lecture given by The Memory Center in Bennington, Vt., on the subject of memory loss, it was stated that “what’s good for your…

RUTLAND CITY Dorr Drive bridge work resumes With the return of construction season, crews are scheduled to resume work on the bridges crossing Otter Creek. Preparations are being made to remove the old Dorr Bridge. Removal of the deck and sidewalk is scheduled for March 9-11. Measures will be taken to keep debris from landing…

Approvals and rejections CASTLETON—Castleton voters eliminated the traditional lister’s position in favor of a professional assessor, in a 638-489 vote. Voters in Castleton approved, 686-478, construction of a new town office during their March 1 balloting; they also approved, 762-396, use of a surplus that had come to more than $56,000 in the construction project.…

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Tuesday, March 8, that his office will host three open houses next Tuesday, March 15, in Windsor County. The senator has a five-member team of constituent advocates dedicated to helping Vermonters on a wide range of issues. The most typical inquiries are from people looking for help with Social Security,…

MENDON—On Feb. 23, the VBA Board of Managers announced that Therese (Teri) Corsones of Mendon will succeed Robert (Bob) Paolini as executive director of the association, effective May 1, 2016. Teri Corsones has been a VBA member since 1982, following her graduation from Cornell University Law School that year. Corsones practiced law in Rutland for…

RUTLAND—Beginning in early March, Community College of Vermont (CCV) Job Hunt Helper Darrell Hughes will be on hand at the Rutland Free Library for six hours a week to offer jobsearch services to library patrons and job seekers. Job Hunt Helpers can help with finding employment opportunities in your area, writing a resume and cover…

By Robin Alberti

By Robin Alberti

By Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, reports the marijuana legalization bill before a packed Senate chamber Wednesday, Feb. 24. The bill, S.241, will now go to the House. By Elizabeth Hewitt and Mark Johnson, VTDigger.org The Senate OK’d a bill Wednesday that would legalize and regulate recreational marijuana — a move that one senator…