Top Ten 2022: Passenger rail returns

2022 saw the return of passenger rail service to Addison County with the expansion of Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express train, which now moves people between New York City and Burlington each day. 

Top Ten 2022: Childcare shortage affects families

Childcare centers have for years been waging a battle to attract and retain educators, while providing enough slots to meet the needs of Addison County households.

Top Ten 2022: ANWSD/MAUSD merger defeated

Despite their optimistic findings, the committee’s drafted articles of agreement sparked concerns from many community members, particularly regarding how potential school closures and consolidations would be handled in a merged district.

Top Ten 2022: Vergennes finds a big sewer fix

For years the troubled Vergennes wastewater collection and treatment system has had a distressing habit of overflowing and then dumping sewage-laced stormwater into Otter Creek, with amounts at times running into hundreds of thousands of gallons. 

Top Ten 2022: Police arrest sheriff

The hammer came down on June 28, when troopers after a months-long investigation arrested Newton on charges of felony sexual assault, second-degree unlawful restraint and domestic assault.

Top Ten 2022: Recreational cannabis sold legally

Smoking or even possessing cannabis became illegal in the United States for the most part during the Great Depression. Generations of American lived in a society that looked down on and jailed people found with cannabis.

Top Ten 2022: Online

The Addison Independent news team picked the top 10 stories you just read, but how would readers pick Addison County’s top 10 stories of 2022? One measure is to see what you, dear readers, clicked on in 2022.

Top 10 of 2021: COVID concerns continue

The biggest story of our lifetimes dragged on through all of 2021 as the story of COVID-19 followed an arc through the year.

Top 10 of 2021: Some towns want their elementary schools back

School consolidation and closure continued to dominate local public education discussions this past year, as districts searched for solutions to the long-term problems of declining enrollment and rising education costs.

Top 10 of 2021: Dearth of workers leaves some businesses scrambling

Addison County businesses started waking up from their collective, COVID-induced slumber in early 2021, when state and federal authorities began to lift pandemic restrictions. But those same businesses encountered another problem: a shortage of workers.

Top 10 of 2021: Hard year puts some students in crisis

Students arrived on the first day of the 2021-2022 school year believing they’d be able to get rid of their masks after a couple of weeks. Four months later, they’re still wearing masks, seven-plus hours a day, five days a week.

Top 10 of 2021: Middlebury wraps up 4 years of ‘big dig’ rail project

Those who reside, shop, work and travel through downtown Middlebury celebrated the completion of a complex, $72 million rail tunnel project in 2021, a massive undertaking that spanned the better part of four years and brought much construction disruption … (read more)

Top 10 of 2021: Housing costs spike, create challenges

The housing news was great in Addison County in 2021. Great, that is, if you were a residential property seller and had somewhere already lined up for your next move.

Top 10 of 2021: Renewable energy projects finally come to the fore

Work on renewable energy projects made quiet but significant progress in our communities this past year.

Top 10 of 2021: Local economic development projects get funding

The pandemic provided an opportunity for local entrepreneurs to reimagine their businesses — or create new ones.

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