By Rick Weinstein Weinstein has a Ph.D. in Antarctic microbial ecology from Cambridge University and was a biology lecturer at the University of Tennessee for 15 years. He now lives in Stowe. There is no such thing as cold. That might sound idiotic coming from a Vermonter, but it’s true. In actuality there is only…

By James Duff Lyall Editor’s note: James Lyall is the executive director of ACLU of Vermont. Our communities are still struggling through the pandemic and its harmful impacts on mental health, substance use, and affordable housing. It’s clear that we still need to do far more to support one another and build healthy, safe, and…

Dear Editor, The recent proposal by Vermont Huts Association and Moosalamoo Association to construct a hut next to Silver Lake in the Moosalamoo National Recreation and Education Area in Leicester reveals numerous problems with the USDA/Forest Service’s management of the Green Mountain National Forest. Pitched as connecting trails and establishing a series of huts for…

Dear Editor, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans,” to quote John Lennon. Some plan to go to college, some plan to marry, some plan careers, and many succeed in following their plans. Then, it happens, the unexpected, the interruption. The future is now depending on making choices. The feeling of being…

Dear Editor, Vermont has known for at least 60 years that it is not meeting its water quality standards in Lake Champlain and that the major contributor to the problem is conventional dairy. Conventional farming was designed in the years following Wolrd War II, when fossil fuels were cheap and abundant. The Haber-Bosch process, invented…

Dear Editor, We were recently in Millinocket, Maine, where one of the largest paper mills in the world closed in 2008, and wondered, after we got home, what was going to happen to the old mill site. According to ourkatahdin.com and other sources, the site has been bought by a company called Nautilus, which plans…

By William Mathis Editor’s note: William J. Mathis, who lives in Goshen, is a former superintendent of the Rutland Northeast School District and former member of the State Board of Education. There are few issues as controversial as school consolidation and closures. Whether as a member of the state board, a school superintendent, a local…

By Angelo Lynn Editor’s note: Angelo Lynn is the editor and publisher of the Addison County Independent, a sister publication to the Mountain Times. Vermont Progressives took center stage in Vermont following Tuesday’s primary with left-leaning candidates capturing seats for U.S. Congress, lieutenant governor, the state’s Attorney General and several down-ticket offices. It was a…

By Fred Baser Editors note: Fred Baser is the financial advisor and founder of Bristol Financial Services, is a commissioner of the Vermont Housing Finance Agency, former member of the Vermont House of Representatives and past member of the Habitat for Humanity of Addison County board. Despite recent efforts, in our state and nationally, to…

Dear Editor, Kevin Mullin, chair of the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB), called our state’s health insurance premiums “unaffordable” in 2019. Those premiums have since risen, and double digit-plus increases were just approved for both Blue Cross and MVP, making health care far more unaffordable. Our hospitals are requesting major increases in their budgets that…

Dear Editor, Warning. The state of Vermont has changed the process of renewing a vehicle driver’s license. No longer can you go to a real person who can answer questions and help fill out the forms, like at the Courthouse. Now it is to be done by the taxpayer, at home, and on a computer.…

By Josh Castonguay Editor’s note: Josh Castonguay lives in Colchester, and is the vice president, chief innovation and engineering executive at Green Mountain Power. When it gets hot outside, folks say it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity that gets you. Some Vermonters relish the warm weather no matter how damp it is. Summer is…

Dear Editor, We’ve been following local and national news reports, and want to tell you that we are worried about the recent extreme heat and wildfires raging across the country. We feel for people who’ve lost their lives and/or livelihoods to extreme weather, and we believe that it’s only a matter of time until it…

Dear Editor, Why is it that modern name changes leave us so much in the dark about organizations and their legacy? For instance some of the local hospitals have given up the names of their medical benefactors of yesteryear. Instead of Mary Fletcher or Bishop DeGoesbriand or Fannie Allen, we now have UVM Medical Center.…

Dear Editor, After reading about the new train service between Burlington and Rutland and seeing the cost, I began thinking. The cost of taking a taxi from Burlington to Rutland is about $150. For the price of constructing the new rail service, Vermonters could have taken 1.18 million taxi rides between the two cities. The…