Archive
October 21st, 2009
An update just rolled in from the Vermont Department of Health: The department has confirmed cases of H1N1 influenza in all regions of the state, and increased levels of influenza-like illness are being reported in most regions.
Vermont will report “widespread” influenza activity for the week ending Oct. 17 to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Most U.S. states (41) have already reported widespread activity levels.
That "widespread" activity was slower to hit New England than other parts of the country.
October 20th
Throughout the summer, almost every small produce market and grocery store in Rome has packages of fiori di zucca — zucchini flowers. Their delicate orange blossoms are usually around four inches long and slender, petals scrunched together. When crushed, they give off the crisp smell of fresh leaves.
October 19th
I haven’t made any new posts, and gone on very few runs in a while due to a combination of mediocre weather (bring back September!) too many exams to administer and grade (although my students would prefer I went running, no doubt), and a nagging head cold which has slowed me even further. Enough excuses. I had the realization this morning that despite all the mountain biking, hiking and trailrunning I have done over the last 20+ years, I had never taken the time to explore the National Forest trail closest to town – the one leading up to Abbey Pond.
ADDISON — New York and Vermont transportation officials on Friday afternoon closed the Champlain Bridge because of safety concerns.
The move was taken after experts inspecting the 80-year-old span that links Addison, Vt., with Crown Point, N.Y., found a structural support that worried them.
“It was their decision to close it,” said John Zicconi, Vermont Agency of Transportation Director of Planning, Outreach and Community Affairs. Officials said two of the piers are deficient.
MIDDLEBURY — Addison County Transit Resources (ACTR) will receive $200,000 in federal grant money in each of the next three years to increase service along three of its bus routes.
The grant awards, confirmed late last week by state officials, will benefit ACTR’s Middlebury Shuttle, Tri-Town Shuttle, and Burlington Link service that is run in cooperation with the Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA).
MIDDLEBURY — On Saturday, Williams held off a late surge by the Middlebury College football team to earn a 37-27 win over the host Panthers. Williams (3-1) had a slight edge in yardage (454-403), but with an effective ground game that translated into a major advantage in time of possession (38:38-21:19) over the 1-3 Panthers.
ADDISON COUNTY — This Saturday, Oct. 24, people will be cycling through the streets of Kitale, Kenya. In Beirut, Lebanon, others will ride buses handing out flyers. The people of Chitral, Pakistan, will play an all-day game of freestyle polo. And in towns throughout Addison County, people will eat, ride bikes, drum and ring church bells.
The cause that unites these far-flung events is climate change. The vehicle: 350.org, an organization started close to home, in Middlebury.
October 17th
For all too long, firefighting in America has been the sole monopoly of government, usually organized at the very local level of cities and communities and often relying on volunteers. While firefighting serves the community, this public stranglehold needs to be broken for a variety of reasons.
