Thursday, July 2 NEW YORK (AP) — Investors kicked off the stock market's third quarter with a moderate gain after getting some reassuring data on manufacturing and housing. The Dow Jones industrial average rose by 0.7 percent Wednesday, rebounding from the previous day's selloff that was triggered by a drop in consumer confidence.   Full Story

The whole thing is nebulous at this point, partly because it is a work in progress, and partly because too few details have been forthcoming. But the Bennington School District Board's proposal to study a possible "merger" with the Mount Anthony Union District is, it seems, a step in the right direction.   Full Story

Friday, July 3 OLD BENNINGTON — There's a piano in the laundry room. There's one in the office. Several cluster at one end of the living room. There's a piano in each dorm-style bedroom. A few are tucked into stairwells, and there's even one in a "Harry Potter" closet. And everywhere you go, even in the piano-free kitchen, there's the sound of someone playing.   Full Story

Friday, July 3 BENNINGTON — Four teens from Southwest Vermont Career Development Center traveled halfway across the country last week to put their knowledge to the test — and returned as gold medalists. More than 90 contests More than 5,400 students from around the country, with representatives from every state, competed in one of the 91 hands-on occupational and leadership   Full Story

DORSET - Most high school student-athletes spend their four years of competition with dreams of reaching a state title game. A lucky few actually reach that grand stage, and fewer still experience the thrill of capturing a championship. And then there is Burr and Burton Academy's Kristen Palmer. In her four years at BBA, Palmer participated in 11 varsity athletic campaigns - and in nine of 11,   Full Story

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. -- When the board of directors at the Norman Rockwell Museum first proposed moving from a quaint but cramped old house on Main Street to a new building in the town's Glendale section, the public response was like nothing ever pictured in the iconic artist's representations of his adopted hometown.   Full Story