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News in Lake Placid, NY

Deseret News · Lake Placid, NY

Hockey’s version of Banana Ball is coming to town — and it’s glow-in-the-dark

There’s a fundamental problem that plagues every professional sports league: One team has to lose. Look, no one is saying the best athletes in the world should be content to not keep score and go home with participation ribbons. But no matter what happens, one team’s fans — who paid good money to be there — are going to leave the game feeling shortchanged because their team lost. In 1927, the Harlem Globetrotters reimagined the sports viewing experience. Rather than making their games all about winning and losing, they turned them into spectacles. They simply became displays of elite talent, and every fan in the building could have fun no matter what. Cosmic Hockey is following that same model now. Although games will still be competitive, fan experience is at the forefront. It takes one of the fastest, most physical sports in the world and turns off the lights. The puck, goalposts and players’ equipment are all kitted out in neon colors, making them glow under black light.

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VTDigger · Plattsburgh, NY

Nearby: Plattsburgh, NY

Air Force veteran takes a ride of a lifetime

This story by Mari Huglin was first published in the Shelburne News on Nov. 5, 2026. On Oct. 2, Shelburne resident Lucille Malaney began a journey she would never forget. The 83-year-old, a United States Air Force veteran who served during the Vietnam War, joined around 30 other veterans for a flight from Plattsburgh, New York, to Washington, D.C. North Country Honor Flight, based in New York and Vermont, is an organization that celebrates veterans by giving them a flight to honor their service fully free of charge. Once Malaney arrived in Plattsburgh, the organization gathered the veterans before sunrise for patriotic music and a celebration of each veteran’s military biography and speeches. Sent off by first responders and members of the community, veterans then boarded a plane and flew to Virginia. Malaney said she and some of the other veterans were getting embarrassed with all the attention so early in the morning.

Seven Days · Burlington, VT

Nearby: Burlington, VT

Stuck in Vermont: The First Musical at the New Burlington High School

The past six years were bumpy ones for the students and staff of Burlington High School. In 2020, the pandemic shifted students to remote learning. Later that fall, the New North End campus closed due to PCB contamination, and BHS moved into a former Macy’s department store downtown. The high-school-in-a-mall story went viral, capturing attention around the world. Downtown Burlington High School was windowless and noisy, and some students struggled to adapt. Finally, this past August, students returned to a brand-new, 256,000-square-foot, $204 million building on the site of the old BHS. This month, the BHS Drama Club stages its first musical in the state-of-the-art auditorium. Guys and Dolls, which runs November 19 through 21, represents an exciting new chapter for the club, which has built an impressive legacy over the past 30 years but faced a change in leadership and dwindling participation during the mall years.

VTDigger · Winooski, VT

Nearby: Winooski, VT

Don’t blame immigrant students for rising education costs

This commentary is by Caitlin MacLeod-Bluver, a teacher at Winooski High School. She is the 2025 Vermont Teacher of the Year and the 2026 Vermont History Teacher of the Year. In the WCAX debate on Oct. 28, Gov. Phil Scott incorrectly claimed that the Winooski School District offers 17 languages, unlike smaller, more rural districts that may offer only one or two. This is false. Winooski offers one language, French. Elementary school students have no language opportunities, middle school students take French for one quarter, and high school students are offered French I or French II. When Scott claims that Winooski offers 17 languages, it is not just a curriculum mistake. It is a remark that serves to pit our rural, largely white communities against our more urban, more diverse communities. This misinformation fuels anti-immigrant, xenophobic thinking that hurts our students, our families and our communities. Collectively, our student body does speak at least 17 languages.

Seven Days · Essex, VT

Nearby: Essex, VT

The Pinwheel to Stop Slinging Cowboy Cuisine in Essex

Wendy Piotrowski and Andrew Machanic confirmed that they will close the Pinwheel, their Western-influenced breakfast and lunch spot in Essex, on November 20. The couple operated the Swingin’ Pinwheel on Center Street in Burlington from 2014 to 2021 and then ran the Sweet Wheels Donuts bus before relaunching a suburban version of their daytime restaurant at 4 Carmichael Street, Suite 106, in early 2025. Customers can still place orders at the Pinwheel for Thanksgiving catering until the closing date. Machanic, 58, said he might continue catering for Christmas if November demand is strong. The couple attributed their decision to labor shortages. “We just haven’t had enough staff to manage how busy we are,” said Piotrowski, 44. They quietly put the restaurant on the market in May for $225,000.