The Montpelier Bridge
For most Vermonters, mid-May is a time that brings the joyful realization that spring is finally here.
For me, though, itâs a time of reckoning. Itâs when, once again, I realize Iâve been taken hostage.
Now considering the political climate, you might think Iâm being held by right-wing loonies or black-clad Antifa protesters (or perhaps black flies, who hold many of us unfortunate rural denizens hostage indoors in May).
But actually, itâs far worse than that.
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Iâm a hostage of my gardens, whose brutal demands are relentless, persistent, insistent, perverse and, at my age, ever-more back-breaking and stiffness-inducing. And yet I submit willingly, a clear example of Stockholm Syndrome, whereby one sympathizes with his captors, not to mention revealing a tendency for masochistic pursuits.
The Montpelier Bridge
New fiber optic internet service from Consolidated Communications is now available to some 5,000 homes in the Montpelier area, and the early reports from new users on Front Porch Forum and elsewhere regarding price and reliability are positive. The service will soon be available throughout Montpelier and in parts of Berlin, East Montpelier, Middlesex, and Worcester.
Last December, Consolidated announced plans to upgrade 1.6 million locations across its 23-state footprint to symmetrical, multi-gigabit speeds over a five-year period, including more than one million locations in northern New England.
“In Vermont, the company will invest nearly $140 million over the next five years to bring fiber internet directly to 200,000 Vermonters,” Shannon Sullivan, Corporate Communications Manager for Consolidated, said in an email. “Of those, 50,000 locations are on track to be completed by the end of 2021.”
Krista Huling raised her hand at the Cambridge Town Meeting in 2020 after the selectboard voted to provide the Varnum Memorial Library with less money than it requested. She wanted
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DANBY â The Select Board asked the townâs Planning Commission to look into a proposed ATV ordinance and after several weeks of work the commission has its recommendation. Start over.
That was the unanimous decision by the Planning Commission at its May 6 meeting, following three consecutive weekly meetings and many dozens of comments gathered from town residents.
Danby Planning Commission chair Shelly Taylor said the consensus is the ordinance, as written, is a âno-go.â The findings of the commissionâs work has been returned to the Select Board with the suggestion that they start from scratch.
Lilian Tacovici Five new hires at Dirt Tech, a Colchester construction company, have filled out hiring paperwork in recent weeks, been given start dates, and left with company hard hats and safety vests. Three of them haven t been seen at Dirt Tech since. Two didn t call us at all, said manager Lauren Weir. One said there was a personal reason. It has baffled us to figure out why somebody would fill out all their intake paperwork and just not show up. If they wanted a hard hat, they could just ask. For years, Vermont employers have reported difficulty in finding workers, particularly in the service and construction industries. But as businesses gear up for this summer, they say their hiring problems have worsened. A workforce shortage is being reported around the country. Thousands of people remain on unemployment as a result of COVID-19 shutdowns, fueling some of the theories for why applicants are staying away.