Business has been good this summer in Manchester despite a major construction project.

Finding greater energy efficiency is a proposition facing many Vermont communities, and towns hoping to save on energy costs are starting small - with their streetlights.

After decades of planning, work is slated to begin this spring on Manchester's most notorious downtown traffic section- the intersection of routes 30, 11 and 7a.

Smart meter technology allows customers to save electricity, and gives utilities the ability to respond quickly to power outages. But the wireless meters have also raised health and privacy concerns, and now voters in several southern Vermont towns will get a chance to weigh in at next month's town meetings.

he Vermont House has quickly advanced a bill that would save money for towns hard-hit by Tropical Storm Irene. The bill allows towns to defer their education tax payments to the state until late February.

Developers who hope to build a Hampton Inn in Manchester's historic village have scaled down their plans for an 80-room hotel. The developer has already won town permission to demolish a defunct inn on the site.

VPR Newscast for Friday 12/23 at 12:04 p.m.

A decision on whether to restore or knock down an historic building --replacing it with a modern hotel-is drawing interest in Manchester Village, and is the focus of our Friday Regional Report.

A New York company that makes mattresses for hotels and hospitals is moving its operations to Manchester. WCW Incorporated, which employs just over 100 people, is currently located in three buildings in Hoosick , New York. It also has a call center in Bennington.  

A man from Sandgate, trying to help a friend affected by Tropical Storm Irene flooding, took a two-day tour of back roads.

The mattress manufacturing company that plans to relocate to Manchester is in a tax dispute with its current home in Hoosick, New York. Officials there say WCW Inc. owes more than a million dollars in unpaid taxes. But Manchester sees little cause for concern.

Some Vermont towns say their confidence in an economic recovery has been undermined by the downgrading of U.S. credit.

A proposal to build a chain hotel in Manchester's historic district is getting a skeptical reception from village residents. The project would include tearing down a much older inn that's currently vacant.

The prospect of a new passenger rail service linking Bennington and Manchester to Albany gets a warm reception at a public meeting in Mechanicville, New York, as state transportation officials in Vermont and New York consider a passenger train that would connect the towns.

This afternoon we'll hear from pianist Adam Neiman and Manchester Music Festival Artistic Director Ariel Rudiakov about their upcoming performance of the Piano Concerto #1by Dmitri Shostakovich.  The performance will be this Sunday afternoon in Bennington.

A well-known Manchester restaurant was sold at auction Tuesday. The Harvest Grille - formerly "The Quality Restaurant" - went for a high bid of $220,000, plus unpaid taxes. 

Ari Rudiakov, artistic director of the Manchester Music Festival, joins me for a preview of the Festival's 36th summer season, which begins tonight. 

Ten towns in southwestern Vermont hope to boost their purchasing power for things like diesel fuel, road salt and heating oil with a new municipal collaborative.