Dear Editor, In response to Kyle Finneron’s story “The first 30 days,” published in the Mountain Times Dec. 21-27, which asks if organically grown food is worth the extra money: In most cases, it is not. After extensive testing, which many organic growers claim they have never done, it does not appear that organic fruits…

Dear Editor, The response from people I received after my letter was published in last week’s edition, was overwhelmingly positive everywhere I went—skiing Thursday and Friday, at Choices Friday night, the Deli on Route 4, everywhere—not one negative remark. But this is not just one man’s battle. We all need to make our voices heard.…

Dear Editor, The staff and clients of Black River Good Neighbor Services offer their sincere thanks to all who made our annual holiday food and gift distribution possible. In all we delivered nearly $11,000 worth of food and toys to people in Ludlow, Cavendish, Proctorsville, Plymouth, Mount Holly, and Belmont. Again this year our staff…

Dear Editor, On Jan. 20, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. Mr. Trump has said many times that he wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act—the ACA, or Obamacare—on “day one.” Mr. Trump’s pronouncements are notoriously erratic and changeable, but his choice of Tom Price—an inveterate…

By Gail Johnson The question “Can Rutland have it all?”—an expanding commerce base, increased employment, new residents—isn’t rhetorical any more. The three issues are easily combined in conversations, editorials, and now in a story that made front page of The New York Times on Jan. 2, 2017, “Ailing Vermont Town Pins Hopes on Mideast Refugees.”…

Dear Editor, Up until a few years ago, ski passes for seniors were given at age 65 and at age 72 you were considered a “super senior.” That super senior season pass was $549. So, why did the mountain raise the age of the super senior pass to 79 and charge $200 more? That’s because the information…

Dear Editor, On behalf of the Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union (BRSU) we would like to offer our sincerest thanks and praises to the organizations that graciously donated gifts and food items to students and families throughout our school district during the holiday season. Thanks to BROC-Community Action in Southwestern Vermont for their donation of toys and…

Dear Editor, Well, you folks have done it again! For the 44th time, you have reached deep in your pockets and created the magic of Christmas in Rutland County. There is no room here to thank the many residents, visitors and local businesses who together made it possible for the WSYB Christmas Fund to reach…

By Jon Morgolis, VTDigger Fake news has not come to Vermont. Not that some Vermonters don’t consider a report in the newspaper or on TV here and there to have been inaccurate or biased. But that’s not what fake news is. Fake news is a completely invented false item, like the one about the Pope…

By Rob Roper During the gubernatorial campaign Phil Scott set a goal to expand Vermont’s population from 625,000 to 700,000 over the next 10 years or so. This is a pretty tall order (maybe unattainable), but the governor-elect’s call does raise an important issue. Our state’s population is stagnant, and if we want to be…

By Deb Markowitz Editor’s note: This is a final note from Secretary Deb Markowitz as she helps the Agency of Natural Resources transition to a new leadership team. Six years is a long time to serve as Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources. From the moment I arrived at our offices in Waterbury, people…

Dear Editor, The appearance of snowy weather tends to mark the start of the holiday season here in the Rutland region. It’s a time of year when we focus on gathering with friends and family to enjoy festivities and create memories. It is also the time of year that youth look forward to being home…

Dear Editor, First it’s out, then it’s in, now it’s out again. According to one Select Board member a calendar year report would be better. Who cares!! Manage the golf course using comparative data. Make sure the data is accurate and current. Ask some smart people to study the reports and advise the board. But…

By Lee H. Hamilton As Mario Cuomo said, politicians campaign in poetry but have to govern in prose. Now we have a president-elect who campaigned in tweets...but still will have to govern in prose. So, like a few thousand other Americans, I’d like to give him some advice. Not on the substance of policy itself…

By Jon Margolis, VTDigger Vermont, they say, is a well-educated state. Whatever that means. The criteria for what qualifies a person as “educated” are debatable and subjective, so let’s stick to objective, empirically verifiable information: Vermont has one of the highest college graduation rates in the country. According to an analysis of Census Bureau data…