The district environmental commission has denied a permit for a 9,100-square-foot Dollar General store near Exit 3 of Interstate 89. Last month, the commission refused to approve plans for a Family Dollar outlet proposed for the same area.

With more than two months still left in the fiscal year, the town of Rockingham has surpassed its diesel fuel and gasoline budget. Rising gas prices and the cost of damages caused by Tropical Storm Irene have hampered future road projects.

Opponents say they'll appeal the Chester Development Review Board's approval for a dollar store in the Windsor County town.

Jim Yong Kim, an American who is president of Dartmouth College, has been chosen to be the next president of the World Bank. His selection Monday extends the U.S. hold on the top job at the 187-nation development agency.

With shrinking tax revenue and less federal aid, many cash-strapped Vermont cities and towns are employing a complicated financial tool designed to help them build public projects that they can't currently afford.

Vermont labor officials say the state's unemployment rate fell slightly in January to 5 percent. The seasonally adjusted rate was a decrease of two-tenths of a percent from December and 3.3 percent below the national rate for January of 8.3 percent.

In Chester, plans to build a dollar store have stirred up some members of the community who say the project isn't in keeping with the town's character. Many turned out last night as the town's Development Review Board met to review the plans.  

Some residents in Plymouth want to run a new farmers' market out of the town's elementary school.

Cities and towns along Vermont's Route 7 corridor have long fought unchecked commercial development and suburban sprawl, trying to maintain their community identity. One Vermont town hopes it has found a way.

People in Alburgh are working to lure a bank to town, on the heels of the news that its People's United branch will close at the end of March.

To boost the local economy, the City of Barre wants some of the state workers displaced by Tropical Storm Irene to move to its downtown.

Vermont's largest ski resorts are trying to get the message out that, despite the wrath of Tropical Storm Irene, they will be ready for the ski season.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency says unscrupulous repairmen sometimes pose as government inspectors. FEMA officials say the public should always ask for identification to make sure they are dealing with legitimate inspectors.

Cities and towns hit hard by Tropical Storm Irene are scrambling to set up bank accounts to collect the financial support they've received.

Cleanup and repair efforts are going on all over the state, and many local businesses are trying to get back to some sense of normalcy. In Brandon, local business owners say as long as the roads stay open, they will, too.

Many farms in Vermont are struggling to clean-up and move forward after the flooding associated with Tropical Storm Irene. Agriculture officials say that many dairy farmers may have to destroy hay and corn crops that were inundated with flood waters. And vegetable growers are also dealing with the loss of crops.

Scores of volunteers turned out on Sunday at the Perley Farm in Royalton to help clean out a dairy operation that took a direct hit from last weekend's floods.  Even Governor Peter Shumlin showed up with federal officials to thank the volunteers.

Like the global economy, the global golf industry is in the rough. There are too many courses for too few golfers. That has hurt finances in Killington, the only town in Vermont that owns its own golf course.

Vermont's Supreme Court has cleared the way for construction of a Wal-Mart store in St. Albans, in a decision that puts an end to a contentious legal battle.

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a $2.5 million contract to a Bennington company for development of new technologies for vehicles.