MONTPELIER – Vermont Arts Council 2025 grants benefiting a wide range of local organizations, artists and projects were announced earlier this month. Plainfield’s Buffy Aakaash will receive $1,000 to support attendance at the Colrain Manuscript Classic Online conference; Marshfield’s Jenni Belotserkovsky will see $850 to support lost income due to[Read More…]
Montpelier
Kitchel Reflects on her Senate Career
MONTPELIER – After 35 years in state government, Jane Kitchel is able to sit on the sidelines now as the legislature gets to work in the new year. Last year, after the session was over, she said it was a difficult decision to walk away from the position she held[Read More…]
Vermont Introduces New Retirement Program
MONTPELIER — The Vermont Treasurer’s Office announced Wednesday that a program aimed at expanding retirement account options for small employers is now open for enrollment. Vermont Saves is a retirement savings program that operates like an employer-sponsored individual retirement account with automatic payroll contributions similar to a 401(k). State Treasurer Mike[Read More…]
Area Lawmakers Sit on Key Committees, Leave Some Unfilled
MONTPELIER – House and Senate representatives in the area landed key positions chairing important committees, serving on others, but leaving quite a few standing committees unfilled by area lawmakers. Second-term Calais Rep. Mark Mihaly, represents the Washington-6 District (Calais, Marshfield, Plainfield) in the Vermont House and will now chair the[Read More…]
Renaud Receives Congressional Nominations to U.S. Service Academies
MONTPELIER – High school senior Derek Renaud of East Hardwick met with Vermont’s Congressional delegation and received nomination certificates to become a member of the U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy and U.S. Naval Academy, at a Vermont Statehouse ceremony, Saturday, Dec. 28. Renaud was among 20 young Vermonters[Read More…]
Emergency Housing Providers and Advocates Raise Alarm
MONTPELIER – Vermont has deprioritized emergency housing assistance for certain individuals under 50, including some who are disabled. In a joint statement, December 10, The Housing and Homelessness Alliance of Vermont, along with Good Samaritan Haven, Vermont Center for Independent Living and End Homelessness Vermont raised an alarm with concern[Read More…]
Vigil to Remember Lucas, Tammy Menard, Nov. 30
Legislature’s Fiscal Experts had Mixed News
MONTPELIER – Lawmakers gathered last Wednesday for an annual legislative briefing, a refresher on the state’s revenues and budget with a focus on two of the most pressing topics of the day: education finance and housing. “What I would ask you is this: What is your prize for having won?”[Read More…]
VCRD’s Climate Catalyst Innovation Fund Supports Local Projects
MONTPELIER – The Center for an Agricultural Economy in Hardwick, Salvation Farms in Morrisville, and the Town of Plainfield Energy Team are included in the awardees for the fourth competitive round of the Vermont Council on Rural Development’s (VCRD) Climate Catalyst Innovation Fund. The funding supports projects that make a[Read More…]
Tomorrow is not Promised: Community Remembers Tammy and Lucas Menard
MONTPELIER – Housing advocate Brenda Siegel first met Tammy Menard on the steps of the Vermont Statehouse during a 2021 protest that asked state leaders to give shelter to people who needed it through a state-sponsored motel program. In September, after facing housing insecurity for years, Tammy and her husband,[Read More…]
Republicans Tap Beck as New Caucus Leader
MONTPELIER – Vermont’s Republican state senators ousted the leader of their caucus last Tuesday and took the unconventional step of replacing him with a senator who’s just been elected. The GOP caucus chose Rep. Scott Beck, who in January will make the jump to the Caledonia County Senate seat after[Read More…]
“Messiah” Presented Dec. 6, Dec. 8
MONTPELIER/BARRE – Handel’s “Messiah,” conducted by Lisa Jablow with the Vermont Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, will be presented at two performances on Friday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m., in St Augustine’s Church, Montpelier and Sunday, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m., at the Barre Opera House. The “Messiah” performances are a central[Read More…]
