Ice Cream, Chocolate, Coffee, and Beer
Take ingredients and blend, for small-town synergy.
Economic Development
221 posts
Luck? Planning? Karma? The Elements of a Small Town’s High-Tech Success
A software company grows in an unlikely setting. "Why here?" we ask the founders.
From the Tree to the Table: The Journey of a Brave Little Orange
The surprising complexity behind even the simplest-seeming aspects of modern life.
A 4th-Generation Orange Farmer, on Why He Sticks With It
"I was born in the grove. I was raised in the grove. I developed an intense dislike of farming in the grove." Yet after 20 years around the world he has come back.
Inside the Packing House
Viewing an ordinary fruit with new respect.
Reports From the Road: Hangar 24 and a Student-Run Farm
The variety of America, chapter 12,825
When Rails Make the Difference, From Down East to the Southwest
The loss of rail service into a small Maine town has been crippling
America-Going-to-Hell Watch, Heady Topper Dept.
Ever closer to the magical-unicorn ideal
Small Town, Big Tides, Bigger Ambitions
Ocean Renewable Power in Eastport
The Question We Keep Running Into: What Turns a Town Around?
Plus, a nationwide golden age of beer.
A New Type of Growing City
"This is where the talent wants to live"
Back on the Bright Side: Silicon Valley in Vermont
Why did this company end up on the shores of Lake Champlain, rather than on the San Francisco Bay or Puget Sound?
On Making and Taking, in Trenton and Around the World
Respect for the Garden State and its industrial heritage.
Buying Local: the Google Angle
OK, I'm biased—but I think this is an interesting new project.
Burlington Makes, the World Takes: The Story of NRG Systems
Why Vermont, for this kind of business? Away from traditional manufacturing centers, and tech-world complexes, and even easy transport routes? The cold mountains and the early wind turbines are a sort-of explanation. Plus, as I heard, a 19th-century-onward heritage of precision machine production in the area. But there were two elements of the “why here? why now?” story I found provocative for further discussion.
If You Thought a Profitable Newspaper Was Surprising, How About This: A Pleasant Airport
More strange tales from the North Country.