Arts & Life
Upper Valley beekeepers assess winter losses
By CLARE SHANAHAN
WINDSOR — Last year, beekeeper Brian Jasinski reached a new milestone in his business by surpassing 300 colonies of honeybees. He hoped hitting that mark would allow him to sell new products this spring.
Should Vermont’s Catholic Church pay retirement benefits to clergy facing abuse claims?
By KEVIN O’CONNOR
Accusers with unresolved clergy misconduct lawsuits are trying to stop the Vermont Roman Catholic Diocese from paying monthly pensions to two unidentified priests who the church acknowledges face credible allegations of sexual abuse.
Art Notes: ‘If you love ‘Messiah,’ you’ll love this piece’
By MARION UMPLEBY
The 18th century composer George Frideric Handel is probably best known for his meditation on the life of Jesus Christ, the oratorio “Messiah.”
Farmer-led project gets grant to recycle agricultural plastics
By NATALIE BANKMANN
Guy Crosby goes through lots of plastics on his farm in North Hartland, mostly sheets used to wrap up bales of hay. For years, he had to throw them into landfills because agricultural plastics are bulky and hard to clean, and few recycling centers take them.
Regulators seek comments on relicensing of Wilder dam
LEBANON — The public comment period is open for a key regulatory document in the relicensing of the Wilder dam.
Newport Peeps Diorama Contest opens submissions
NEWPORT — The Library Arts Center is accepting submissions for its 14th annual Peeps Diorama Contest through Thursday, April 10.
Abuse claimants in Vermont Catholic bankruptcy case seek details about local assets
By KEVIN O’CONNOR
Seeking “full disclosure and transparency,” claimants with unresolved clergy sexual misconduct lawsuits against the Vermont Roman Catholic Diocese have asked a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge to order the church to detail local assets that so far aren’t part of the proceedings.
New arts school offers alternative in downtown Lebanon
By MARION UMPLEBY
LEBANON — On an afternoon in late January, students of a new arts-based private school in downtown Lebanon were busy working on their creative projects.
Dartmouth doctoral student studies contaminants in maple syrup
By KATE ODEN
HANOVER — While attaining a master’s at Yale during the COVID-19 pandemic, Emily Sigman began tapping the Norway maples in the backyard of her New Haven, Conn., home.
Over Easy: Even muck has its day
By DAN MACKIE
Ah, mud season!
Art Notes: We the People’s latest show offers hopeful message
By MARION UMPLEBY
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — In the past, We the People Theatre’s founder Perry Allison hasn’t shied away from musicals with a lot of energy.
Halls Lake in Newbury earns Gold Lake Wise Award
NEWBURY, Vt. — Halls Lake is now the second Upper Valley lake to be recognized with a Gold Lake Wise Award, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation announced Wednesday.
Bennington, Vt., region has the most severe PFAS contamination problem in the state, and new research finds it is getting worse
By GRETA SOLSAA
When Laura Martin bought her home in south Bennington, Vt., seven years ago, she was well aware of the problems of PFAS contamination in Bennington’s private well supply and groundwater.
Forester of the Year knows woodlands are more popular and more endangered than ever
By DAVID BROOKS
It seems pretty clear that Wendy Weisiger the youngster wouldn’t have been too surprised if a time portal had given her a glimpse of Wendy Weisiger the adult at work.
Food pantries across NH brace for short falls after federal budget cuts
By OLIVIA RICHARDSON
The New Hampshire Food Bank has lost close to $1 million dollars in funding since the Trump administration cut federal support for USDA assistance programs. The cut has some pantries across the state that rely on the food bank reconsidering how they’ll meet a growing need for assistance.
A Life: Duff Cummings is ‘irreplaceable as a friend and mentor’
By MARION UMPLEBY
LEBANON — When Lebanon Opera House Executive Director Joe Clifford thinks of Lauren “Duff” Cummings Jr., he pictures him in the shadowy wings of the city’s downtown theater, headset on and Cherry Coke at hand.
With year-round cyanobacteria blooms, a northern NH lake community seeks a solution
By CLAIRE SULLIVAN
Even under the ice, cyanobacteria have been blooming in Partridge Lake.
USDA cuts funds schools use to buy food from farmers
By LIZ SAUCHELLI
Upper Valley school districts will no longer receive funding through two federal programs meant to help districts purchase food from area farmers.
When does spring start? In Vermont, it depends.
By KEVIN O’CONNOR
The calendar says spring starts March 20. But tell that to the Thurber family at Brattleboro’s Lilac Ridge Farm, where the third generation of maple sugarmakers fired up the sap boiler at the beginning of the month.
Theater Review: Northern Stage’s ‘Waitress’ serves up delight
By MARION UMPLEBY
“Sugar, butter, flour.” A woman’s voice carries across a dimly-lit diner minutes before the room is jolted to life by the arrival of hungry customers.
Your Daily Puzzles
An approachable redesign to a classic. Explore our "hints."
A quick daily flip. Finally, someone cracked the code on digital jigsaw puzzles.
Chess but with chaos: Every day is a unique, wacky board.
Word search but as a strategy game. Clearing the board feels really good.
Align the letters in just the right way to spell a word. And then more words.
