Upper Valley

The Alliance Defending Freedom, a powerful conservative law firm that has won several precedent-setting cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, brought the lawsuit on behalf of the Quechee school.

Randy Leavitt, whose family has been in East Barnard for 10 generations, is building an outhouse with a composting toilet outside the village church. It will be open to the public.

The Montshire Museum in Norwich has exhibits throughout its trails geared towards being present in the natural world and to process grief.

Federal lawyers bring out new allegations against Mahdawi, which he and his attorneys refute.

Developers are cheering the so-called CHIP program, which would finance infrastructure to support development, including in towns that weren’t able to take advantage of similar options in the past.

At a hearing Wednesday, a federal court judge said he would consider Mahdawi's potential release next week. Mahdawi is a student at Columbia University who was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Colchester following a citizenship interview this month.

Mahdawi’s friends in the Upper Valley say he’s an extrovert who connected with people at Dirt Cowboy Cafe in Hanover and Dan & Whit’s in Norwich, at bonfires at his cabin, at seders and church services, and on hikes.

Some of the reasons: rising costs amid climate and health care crises, a desire to reduce property taxes, plus an easier approval process.

Lake Morey Resort, which has been maintaining the lake's skating loop, lost their insurance coverage. But at the eleventh hour, the town of Fairlee stepped in, agreeing to maintain the ice and provide insurance coverage for the activities there.

"You don't get up at 7 o'clock in the morning and spend the whole day stomping around outside, freezing to death or getting soaking wet, unless it's something you're really committed to," said Sally Laughlin, who has organized the Christmas Bird Count in Woodstock for 50 years.