Cindy Babcock likes to think she has three employees in the kitchen at Andy’s Salsa and BBQ.

Technology can make government both more effective and much cheaper to operate. Does this sound too good to be true? It’s not; it’s a fact.

Garret Hirchak of Manufacturing Solutions Inc. has been named Community Business Leader of the Year by the Lamoille Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Rick Howell, an inventor and businessman who lives in Stowe, has introduced a new alpine ski binding that he promises will radically reduce skiing knee injuries.

As part of its commitment to community and charitable giving, Laughing Moon Chocolates in Stowe launched its Like Water for Chocolates gift box last fall.

Yellow Turtle, a specialty children’s clothing store in Stowe, is looking for the next great child model, and using a winter skiwear picture contest to do it.

The Stowe chapter of the Women Business Owners Network will hold a breakfast meeting Tuesday, March 16, from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at the Depot Street Malt Shop, 57 Depot St., Stowe.

Omar M. Graddock of Stowe, a senior vice president and financial adviser for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, has been named to Barron’s annual list of America’s Top 1,000 Advisers: 2010 State-by-State.

Five people have been promoted at Copley Hospital, and four people have joined the staff.

Joanne Heidkamp has joined the nonprofit Children’s Literacy Foundation as special projects coordinator.

Ned Houston has been appointed Waterbury energy coordinator for Waterbury LEAP (Local Energy Action Partnership). Houston, a longtime local resident, has almost 30 years of experience as an environmental consultant. He is past president of Waterbury Trails and Greenways, an organization that supported development of local walking and biking paths. Houston will help LEAP volunteers expand efforts for renewable energy and energy efficiency and reduction of carbon emissions. Information: www.waterburyleap.org.

Collapses in the banking sector were a major cause of the current recession. Now Congress is considering sweeping proposals for additional banking regulation that may have large effects on Vermont’s economy.

A column by Kim Brown in last week’s edition merits a clarification. In commenting on Stowe Mountain Resort’s lift closures Feb. 18-20 because of wind, icing and other issues, Brown asserted there was a lack of “out-front information” about operational issues during the busy holiday weekend. Brown did his reporting by speaking to customers and checking the daily e-mail blasts that Stowe Mountain Resort sends.

Stowe’s municipal electric company is considering a big change.

Cupolas are sky-high properties in more ways than one.

State officials want to have a say on whether dioxin-contaminated soil can be dumped at the Moretown Landfill.

When Joe Allen moved to Stowe in 1995, there was “really no Internet in the community to speak of,” he recalled. sitting in the upstairs conference room of his office.

School funding dominated a legislative breakfast forum Monday morning at Green Mountain Inn in Stowe.

The annual Relay for Life NordicStyle — a unique event in the U.S. — has become a huge fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.

This weekend, cross-country skiers have a chance to do two things they most certainly haven’t done all winter: Ski from Trapp Family Lodge Touring Center to Mt. Mansfield, and help build a school in Africa.

John W. Vincent was recognized for his many years of public service to Vermont and Waterbury citizens when he was awarded the 2010 Keith A. Wallace Community Service Award at the Waterbury town meeting last week.

Water fees in Stowe are likely to go up this summer.

So what happens next?

A car was damaged when it ran over an icy speed bump created by hundreds of Stowe Derby skiers traveling over a strip of snow across Mountain Road.

A small but vociferous crowd of voters turned out for Stowe’s annual town meeting Tuesday and, in the course of four and a half hours, approved everything put before them.

Stowe voters decided to accept the compromises made in the school budget this year.

Guess who’s the new member of the Stowe School Board? The incumbent, Susan Segal, who announced two weeks ago that she had decided not to seek re-election.

The cupola that’s being replaced atop the Akeley Memorial Building — voters approved the $240,000 project on Tuesday — has caused some ripples in the community.

Morristown voters swallowed a bitter pill at Tuesday’s town meeting, passing a sharply reduced school budget that will slice programs and people — and still raise taxes.

The two cabins are partially hidden, tucked among leafless hardwoods on a snowy stretch of the Mill Trail above the west branch of the Little River.

This Saturday, Kathleen Stockfleth, a two-year cancer survivor, and six of her college classmates will participate in the Relay for Life NordicStyle at Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe.

A Democratic candidate gubernatorial forum/debate, hosted by the Lamoille County Democratic Committee, will be held Sunday, March 7, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Green Mountain Technology and Career Center in Hyde Park.

Stowe voters approved several charter changes Tuesday, including one that will eliminate the town auditor positions.

Stowe’s Town Manager Charles Safford has a “preferred candidate” for the job of public works director and the position is likely to be filled by mid-April.

Students at Johnson State College are selling limited-edition T-shirts with woodblock designs to raise money for Haiti relief.

Like 25 of her peers in the Vermont Senate, Lamoille County Sen. Susan Bartlett voted last week not to relicense the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.

Total incidents: 71

Feb. 27 at 2:46 p.m., fire alarm, Ye Olde England Inne, Mountain Road; alarm transmitted unintentionally.

A couple of car owners woke up last week to discover their car windows had been shot out in Stowe.

A Wolcott woman was arrested early Wednesday in Williston after a 12.2-mile chase from Williston through South Burlington, Burlington and Essex.

Christopher E. Anderson, 25, of Hyde Park, driving under the influence No. 2, pleaded guilty, fined $300, jail sentence of six to 24 months suspended during good behavior, placed on probation for two years; possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana, case dismissed at prosecution’s request.

Total incidents: 87

Feb. 19 at 4:52 a.m., carbon monoxide alarm at Holmes Lane; detector defective.

Joshua D. Hess, 31, of Morrisville, driving after license suspension, pleaded not guilty.

A Stowe man has been charged with attacking his roommate with a knife.

A Wolcott woman will serve six months in prison for embezzling more than $120,000 from a Morristown dentist.

A Hyde Park man will be under close supervision for the next one to three years, as a result of his third conviction for driving under the influence.

A Johnson man has avoided prison time for an angry outburst last June.

Mindy Maskell, 31, of Waterville won’t have to spend any time in jail for a series of offenses, including financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult.