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Leaving RutVegas: A blue-collar city reinvents itself — and refutes its reputation

“Let’s talk about RutVegas.” Jim Sabataso is sitting at a small table in Café Terra, “Rutland’s best coffee shop” — and only one, he admits. Sabataso is 28 years old, bearded and friendly. His family goes back a long time in these parts: His great-grandparents emigrated from Italy and landed in Rutland; the Sabataso family has run the Palms restaurant downtown since 1933. Jim Sabataso is Rutland through and through. Which brings us back to “RutVegas.” “That’s our word, not yours,” Sabataso says.

Publication Date: 
02/01/2012

'The Blood in this Town' screens on Capitol Hill Thursday

“The Blood in This Town,” the documentary about Rutland, Vermont’s grassroots efforts to revitalize itself, travels to Capitol Hill this week for a screening and revitalization forum, bringing the plight and promise of America’s ailing small towns to the attention of national leaders and advocates...The panel discussion to follow the film will include: moderator Paul Costello, Executive Director, Vermont Council on Rural Development...

Publication Date: 
10/13/2011

Vermont town's blood drive, film draw notice

RUTLAND, Vt. — When documentary filmmaker Art Jones and his five-man crew set out from New York to shoot footage of a blood drive in a small Vermont city, he did it to satisfy an old friend, one of the organizers. Jones figured it might make a nice four-minute film. What he found in hardscrabble Rutland was something more: A hard-luck city whose annual Gift-of-Life Marathon was but one of the homegrown initiatives being spearheaded by energetic volunteers and creative community members determined to turn things around.

Publication Date: 
06/26/11

Rutland Takes a Bow

RUTLAND ~ May 16, 2011. VCRD's Paul Costello hosted a morning session at the Vermont Business for Social Responsibility's annual meeting. There he pointed to Rutland's successful efforts since VCRD's creative economy program there, including the Friday Night Live series and the makeover of Pine Hill. More and more, the work of Rutland’s local heroes is being held as a statewide example of how to get things done.

Publication Date: 
05/16/2011

Council on the Future of Vermont Community Forum Notes

From 2007 to 2008 the Council on the Future of Vermont traveled around the state holding public forums and met with farmers, nurses, students, veterans, seniors, businesspeople, advocates, low income and working Vermonters. These meetings were in both large public forums and smaller focus groups. One public forum was held in every county and over 90 focus groups were conducted: overall the Council met with more than 1,200 Vermonters through forums. At each forum, a trained facilitator asked Vermonters to answer 5 questions:

Residents brainstorm for a new economy

The public has spoken on the future of the city's creative economy.

It will include a clearly-defined identity for Rutland and a railroad or children's museum, the result of a vote by about 100 locals Wednesday night after a three-hour public forum held at Rutland's Paramount Theatre.

The Rutland Creative Economy's first large-scale forum since 2006 was meant to recruit new volunteers for community projects, ranging from creating artistic bike racks to reconstructing Center Street Alley.

It was also a call for direction.

Publication Date: 
04/01/10

Rutland To Discuss 'Creative Economy'

(Host) Rutland residents will get a chance to talk about what they'd like to see happen in the city Wednesday night at a public forum sponsored by Rutland's Creative Economy.

As VPR's Nina Keck reports, organizers are hoping for a big turnout similar to what the group had at its inception four years ago.

(Keck) Tara Kelly, chair of Rutland's Creative Economy, says over four hundred people showed up four years ago to dream big about what they wanted Rutland to become.

Publication Date: 
03/30/2010

Community building time

Lest anyone think all is doom and gloom in Rutland – and between the economy and the state of affairs at the south end of Wales Street, there are plenty of those stories in the city these days – along come the good folks at the Creative Economy to remind us of the positive energy in and around the community.

Publication Date: 
03/19/2010