Montpelier

It’s the nation’s smallest state capital and, as far as we know, the only one without a McDonald’s. But Montpelier is far from sleepy. With its idyllic setting (beside the Winooski River, near the Green Mountains’ highest peaks), eclectic shops, and top-notch restaurants that emphasize local ingredients, the city has much to offer a weekender, along with a quirky friendliness that stands out even in a state known for being unconventional. Getting there: From Boston, it’s an easy three-hour drive on Interstate 89. The Visitors Center (134 State Street)

The new chair of the Vermont Republican State Committee is warning against what he says is the reckless agenda of Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin. Jack Lindley was unanimously elected party chair on Saturday during a meeting in Montpelier. Lindley says it could be a great year for Vermont Republicans, but it will take energy and a lot of hard work. He says Republicans need to push back against what he says is Democratic single-party rule in Montpelier. He says Democrats are creating "turmoil in our health care system.

MONTPELIER - The Thrush Tavern - a Montpelier institution known as much for its burgers as being a watering hole for politicians - closed yesterday after 36 years in business. Owner Lorraine Richards said a lack of customers and rising food costs forced her to close. "The minute gas prices and fuel prices went through the roof our business was cut more than in half," said Richard, who took over the restaurant in the 1820s brick building from her former husband Paul Rumley a year ago. But on Saturday afternoon, business was picking up as patrons stopped in for their last Thrushburger -...

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermonters are a hearty lot. After a morning on the cross-country ski trails at Morse Farm, they line up at the snack bar where signs offer hearty bowls of chili and steaming cups of hot chocolate. But almost everyone — adults and children alike — opts instead for a swirled cone of maple creemee, as soft-serve ice cream mixed with maple syrup is called in these parts. That is just one of the advantages of hitting the trails at this maple sugarworks established in 1948 and now run by father and son Burr and Tom Morse, the seventh and eighth generations of...

Many businesses in Vermont’s capital are shut down and cleaning up from overnight flooding. The North Branch of the Winooski River was nearly touching the bottoms of downtown Montpelier bridges at midday Friday, raising concern that more heavy rain predicted for later in the evening could trigger more flooding. Already, many downtown businesses were working to pump out flooded basements and save inventory stored there. The Gary Home for the Aged on Montpelier’s Main Street was evacuated at about 2 a.m., with its residents moved to an affiliated facility — Westview Meadows — on...

The new chair of the Vermont Republican State Committee is warning against what he says is the reckless agenda of Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin. Jack Lindley was unanimously elected party chair on Saturday during a meeting in Montpelier. Lindley says it could be a great year for Vermont Republicans, but it will take energy and a lot of hard work. He says Republicans need to push back against what he says is Democratic single-party rule in Montpelier. He says Democrats are creating "turmoil in our health care system.

MONTPELIER - Robert Kasow looks mighty relaxed for a small business owner, given the economic turmoil everywhere. "I don't think I could re-create this business anyplace else," said the proprietor of Rivendell Books. "Montpelier is America the way it used to be. " The nation's smallest state capital, population 7,495, is home to four independent bookstores whose creaky floors and aisles of books continue to lure devoted customers. Visitors seeking local color can scope out downtown by foot in under an hour unless they linger over a cup at Capitol Grounds Coffee, research pellet stoves...

A series of intense, slow-moving thunderstorms unleashed high winds and torrential rains around the Northeast, causing widespread river flooding and ripping up streets in Vermont on Friday and leaving parts of central Pennsylvania and upstate New York without power. About 200 people were forced from their homes in Vermont, and high winds toppled a circus tent in western Pennsylvania. Churning brown water from the rising Winooski River and a tributary flooded into the streets of Vermont’s state capital, sending business owners with...

MONTPELIER - State Representative Cola Hudson, a veteran Northeast Kingdom lawmaker who fell ill Friday, died two days later of complications from congestive heart failure. He was 81. Mr. Hudson of Lyndon, a member of the House since 1973, died Sunday at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. Mr. Hudson, a former farmer and lifelong Republican, represented the towns of Burke, Lyndon, and Sutton since 1973, when he was first elected to the state House of Representatives.

MONTPELIER -- Senator John F. Kerry easily captured Vermont's three electoral votes yesterday, but those sentiments didn't translate in the governor's race to the degree Democrat Peter Clavelle had hoped. Instead, Vermonters fulfilled Governor James Douglas's prediction that they would split their ballots, voting to send a Republican back to Montpelier and a Democrat to the White House. Three in 10 Kerry voters also voted for Douglas, an Associated Press exit poll indicated. Douglas cruised to victory over the Burlington mayor, taking 57 percent of the vote...

City officials in Montpelier are giving up on the idea of having police officers carry Taser stun guns — at least for now. After months of debate, City Manager William Fraser says Police Chief Anthony Facos ("FAKE-ohs") has withdrawn his request that the city buy Tasers for its police officers. Facos says Tasers can keep officers safe and prevent the need to resort to more lethal means in controlling suspects. Opponents say Tasers aren't needed and have been prone to abuse by officers elsewhere.

Montpelier police and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investing what authorities say was a drug-related shooting in Vermont's capital. Police say no one was injured when someone fired a gun Sunday afternoon on Baldwin Street, just a few doors down from the Vermont Statehouse. Police say three suspects were involved, and that two of them displayed firearms. Police currently are searching for the suspects.

MONTPELIER — Vermont’s economic picture is starting to improve in part because the financial fortunes of the state’s top 3,000 income tax filers are getting better along with the stock market, economists say. Vermont income tax revenues are up more than 10 percent from where they were a year ago. Statistics show that between 2007 and 2009, state income tax revenues declined by about $72 million, with about $50 million of that decline...

A former Vermont property manager admits he’s guilty of fraud in the collapse of a Montpelier company. Sixty-four-year-old James Pumpelly, of Lake Charles, La., pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of fraud stemming from his work with Parkside Management and Rentals Co., which managed residential apartments in central Vermont on behalf of landlords. Federal prosecutors say Pumpelly misappropriated tens of thousands of dollars in rent money — some of it federal rent subsidy money — that Parkside collected on behalf of the landlords, diverting it for his use and...

Many businesses in Vermont’s capital are shut down and cleaning up from overnight flooding. The North Branch of the Winooski River was nearly touching the bottoms of downtown Montpelier bridges at midday Friday, raising concern that more heavy rain predicted for later in the evening could trigger more flooding. Already, many downtown businesses were working to pump out flooded basements and save inventory stored there. The Gary Home for the Aged on Montpelier’s Main Street was evacuated at about 2 a.m., with its residents moved to an affiliated facility — Westview Meadows — on...

A series of intense, slow-moving thunderstorms unleashed high winds and torrential rains around the Northeast, causing widespread river flooding and ripping up streets in Vermont on Friday and leaving parts of central Pennsylvania and upstate New York without power. About 200 people were forced from their homes in Vermont, and high winds toppled a circus tent in western Pennsylvania. Churning brown water from the rising Winooski River and a tributary flooded into the streets of Vermont’s state capital, sending business owners with already-inundated basements scurrying to move...

MONTPELIER — Vermont’s economic picture is starting to improve in part because the financial fortunes of the state’s top 3,000 income tax filers are getting better along with the stock market, economists say. Vermont income tax revenues are up more than 10 percent from where they were a year ago. Statistics show that between 2007 and 2009, state income tax revenues declined by about $72 million, with about $50 million of that decline...

MONTPELIER -- People are always saying that a place is "nestled" in hills. Montpelier, the nation's tiniest state capital, isn't nestled. It's wedged. There's nearly always a bump between where you are at a given moment and where you'd like to be. Montpelierites like to tell you that it cost a million dollars to blast the highway from Burlington through town. This is easy to believe. Granite-packed high ground guards it on all sides. Walking or cross-country skiing around town can be spectacular, thanks to Swiss-steep drops on streets like Nelson or East State, and to views of the Green...

It’s the nation’s smallest state capital and, as far as we know, the only one without a McDonald’s. But Montpelier is far from sleepy. With its idyllic setting (beside the Winooski River, near the Green Mountains’ highest peaks), eclectic shops, and top-notch restaurants that emphasize local ingredients, the city has much to offer a weekender, along with a quirky friendliness that stands out even in a state known for being unconventional. Getting there: From Boston, it’s an easy three-hour drive on Interstate 89. The Visitors Center (134 State Street)

The nation’s smallest state capital (population 7,806 in 2007), like the little state it represents, offers outsized opportunities for shopping, relaxation, and fun, making it a good weekend getaway for singles or couples. Its downtown winds around branches of the Winooski River and includes bookstores, art galleries, a regional theater, and a surprising depth of dining options. State Street runs from downtown to the striking capitol building, which is surrounded by other state offices, several of them hewn from the famous Barre granite that helped fuel the central Vermont economy...