Phish wraps up its last ever concert in Coventry
After enduring massive traffic jams, torrential rain and mud that led organizers to turn ticket holders away, an estimated 65,000 fans of the Vermont band Phish enjoyed good weather for the band’s final concerts. (VPR)
Nonmotorized lawnmowers making a comeback
Mowing the lawn is one summer chore that never seems to go away. Modern technology has made the job easier but not necessarily more pleasant, which is why, in some quarters, the old-fashioned push mower is making a comeback. (VPR)
Section 8 cuts may increase homelessness
This spring, the Bush administration announced cuts to a federal housing voucher program known as Section 8 that helps families and individuals on low incomes pay their rent each month. Today, the Directors of Homelessness task forces in Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire are sending a letter to Federal Housing officials warning that the Section 8 cuts will lead directly to an increase in homelessness. (VPR)
Thousands of Phish fans head for home
An estimated 65,000 fans of the band Phish will be streaming out of the Newport State Airport in Coventry this morning on their way home. Vermont State Police say they might close some Interstate 91 exits this morning while fans retrieve cars that they left behind Saturday when the road was closed. The Phish show in Coventry ended last night. (AP)
Leahy wants Goss to keep politics out of the new CIA post
Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy says Representative Porter Goss will probably be confirmed as the new head of the CIA. But Leahy wants to make sure Goss can keep politics out of the top intelligence post. Goss, a Republican from Florida, is President Bush’s nominee to replace George Tenet at the CIA. His nomination must be confirmed by the Senate, which will hold hearings on the matter in September. (AP)
18-year old home-schooled man running for Vermont House
A home-schooled 18-year-old from the town of Wells is seeking the Democratic nomination for his district’s seat in the Vermont House of Representatives. Jesse Larson hopes to represent the district that includes Middletown Springs, Pawlet, Wells and part of Rupert. If elected, he would be the youngest member of the House. (AP)
Majority interest of Stratton Mountain Ski Resort for sale
The company that owns the Stratton Mountain ski resort in southern Vermont is selling a majority interest in many of its properties, including Stratton. Intrawest Corporation is based in British Columbia, in Canada. It has announced plans to sell a majority interest in its commercial properties at nine resorts to a real estate investment trust for about $135 million. (AP)
Hemlock pest slowed by cold winters
New England’s bitterly cold winters of the last few years have been hard on New Englanders. But they have been even harder on an Asian insect that is threatening to destroy hemlock forests from Maine to Georgia. The wooly adelgid is a tiny pest that sucks the life out of hemlock trees. (AP)
Nonprofit group tries to get more local foods onto college campuses
A nonprofit organization that promotes local agriculture has won a $51,000 federal grant to get more local foods onto college campuses. The group is called Vital Communities. It works in eastern Vermont and western New Hampshire. (AP)
Vermont Fish and Wildlife sets 60 day waterfowl season
The Vermont Fish and Wildlife has set another 60 day waterfowl hunting season for this fall. Fish and Wildlife biologist Bill Crenshaw presented the department’s proposal for this year’s season last week to the Fish and Wildlife Board. The department has proposed starting the season on October 6. Hunters would have a limit of six ducks per day. (AP)
California teen dies at macrobiotic conference
A California teenager who was attending a conference on the macriobiotic diet at Green Mountain College died over the weekend when he fell down a flight of stairs. 18-year-old Ira Briscoe of Oroville, California, was taken early Saturday to Rutland Regional Medical Center with severe head injuries. (AP)
Fibermark expected to be out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy soon
Officials at the financially troubled FiberMark in Brattleboro say the company could be out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy by the end of this year. Fibermark is based in Brattleboro and has 184 employees there. It runs eleven factories in the United States and Europe and employs nearly 1,700 people worldwide. (AP)
Richford loses its only supermarket due to low sales
The town of Richford lost its only supermarket yesterday. After a year of struggling to keep the store open, Food City General Manager Zak Sklar says sales were too low to make the store profitable. The three-year-old store employed 12 people. Richford is a small town on the Canadian border. The nearest grocery is now in the neighboring town of Enosburg Falls. (AP)
Montpelier aviator becomes first to reach the level of Army vice chief of staff
A Montpelier, Vermont, native named Richard Cody has become the first aviator to reach the level of vice chief of staff in the Army. Cody is 54 and a four-star general who was promoted to the number-two job earlier this summer. He replaced General George Casey Junior, who was sent to Baghdad to command all US and coalition forces in Iraq. (AP)