Emma Franca Ottolenghi, doctor, activist, grandmother, Montpelier

In 1972, the Vermont Supreme Court deemed the state’s abortion law to be unconstitutional, at which point abortion became “neither legal nor illegal.” Rather than wait for legal certainty, Emma and several other physicians and advocates launched Vermont’s first abortion clinic: the Women’s Health Center.   Read more

Arthur G. Krueger, engineer, man of many talents, grandfather, Shrewsbury

Loyal readers of the Rutland Herald will recognize Art as a frequent writer of letters to the editor. Naturally, he wanted to write his own obituary.   Read more

Robert Guilford Kitchel, student of history, reader, father, Danville

He was named for his ancestor, Robert Kitchel, one of the original settlers of Guilford, Connecticut founded in 1639.   Read more

People & Places

Essex Junction celebrates becoming an independent city

Hundreds of people gathered in the city’s Five Corners intersection Friday — the day its charter took effect — for free food and tunes, including Starship’s “We Built this City.”

Crime and Justice

Vermont Supreme Court sides with OneCare in blocking state auditor from reviewing financial records

A unanimous ruling of the five justices released Friday affirmed a lower court decision rejecting Auditor Doug Hoffer’s bid to obtain employee pay information for the state-contracted organization.

Politics

State shifts hotel housing program to longer-term, more stable transitional housing

The general assistance hotel program reverted to pre-pandemic guidelines July 1. People enrolled in the program can remain in hotels on a longer-term basis under a new transitional housing program.