John Roberts: Farmers can make change

CORNWALL — John Roberts is the first executive director of the Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition, a Middlebury nonprofit that works on public policy in the areas of water quality, soil health, and other areas that affect farms and their communities. The coalition includes about 100 farms in Addison, Chittenden, Rutland and Washington counties and is supported by an array of grants, including a four-year grant from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture’s Clean Water Initiative Program. Roberts, who is English, w … (read more)

VERMONT — Vermont’s glossy winter advertising, an annual investment in the state’s $2.8 billion tourism industry, is rolling out apace this year, despite the quarantine order that effectively blocks most out-of-staters from visiting. “It’s just you and th … (read more)

Vermont could see a vaccine “on its doorsteps” by Dec. 10, the state’s health commissioner, Dr. Mark Levine, said Friday at the governor’s Covid-19 press briefing. Levine noted that the pharmaceutical company Pfizer is expected to file for emergency autho … (read more)

MONTPELIER — With the seventh month of the coronavirus pandemic approaching, the lenders who helped thousands of Vermont businesses obtain Paycheck Protection Plan loans last winter are now delving into the business of seeing those loans converted to gran … (read more)

VERMONT — A collision of social forces, some related to COVID-19, has prompted a wave of migration into Vermont this year. While nobody knows for sure how many people have moved to the state over the past several months, University of Vermont research on … (read more)

VERMONT — Maura Donnelly, who owns the Bristol children’s shop Simon Says on Main Street, was pleased that Gov. Phil Scott has mandated Vermonters to wear masks in public beginning Aug. 1. “I think it’s awesome,” she told the Independent on Monday. “Very … (read more)

VERGENNES — With a land area of only 2.4 square miles, the city of Vergennes is one of Vermont’s smallest municipalities. But it nonetheless faces the same problems with sprawl and land use as some of its much bigger counterparts.  This week, Vergennes wi … (read more)

NEW HAVEN — It’s not every day you need stingray hide to finish a cabinet. But if you’re building high-end interior cabinets, it’s actually not that uncommon either, says Skimmer Hellier, who keeps a stack of the hides in a drawer at work. Hellier owns an … (read more)