By Jack Hoffman There’s a lot in the budget the governor presented last month to the Legislature—and to the public. It’s a proposal to spend more than $6.3 billion for the fiscal year that starts July 1. The detailed budget book is over 1,350 pages, and that doesn’t count the supporting documents. Buried in all…

Dear Editor, The Vermont Rural Education Collaborative includes 44 schools from Canaan in the Northeast East Kingdom to Bradford in the Connecticut River Valley. Our school-communities have some of the highest poverty levels and include the most sparsely populated areas in Vermont. We implore the Legislature to take the recommendations of the recent University of…

Dear Editor, We are women business owners who serve in the Legislature and we believe more Vermonters should have access to paid family leave in their time of need. Paid family leave should not be limited to people who work for large employers or have high-income jobs. As business owners, we know the value of…

Dear Editor, “I had my doubts when you invited us, but that was incredible,” a friend from Burlington said minutes after watching Rutland’s “Newly”wed Game, which benefited the Rutland Community Cupboard, BROC’s Community Food Shelf, and the Salvation Army. The fourth-annual event, presented by WJJR and Green Mountain Power and hosted by The Paramount Theatre…

By Jim Condos Following the results-reporting debacle during the Iowa Democratic Caucus, my office has been asked numerous times about Vermont’s presidential primary process, and if the problems that occurred in Iowa could happen here. The simple and straightforward answer is “no.” I want to take a moment to clear up how Vermont’s presidential primary…

By Angelo Lynn The one positive thing you can say about Trump’s State of the Union speech is that it had entertaining moments. Trump’s brilliance, if that’s a fitting word, is that he believes in the power of reality TV and brings a larger-than-life version of the presidency into his supporters’ living rooms with the…

Dear Editor, Windsor County Sen. Dick McCormack (D-Bethel) recently opined about the climate crisis and how government must implement “a worthy and non-negotiable response” to this crisis. What is this “worthy and non-negotiable” response?  In the summer of 2018, the “new” Act 250 commission was busy crafting this response. The commission’s purpose was to realign…

Dear Editor, Republicans have long pushed the idea that lots of people on social security disability are “fakers and takers” who don’t deserve those benefits.  That push intensified when the number of social security recipients increased significantly after the financial crash in 2008, prompting calls to reduce the number of recipients to save money and…

Dear Editor, My name is Michael Talbott and I am seeking your vote for Rutland City Board of Aldermen. You might know me as a teacher at Castleton University, where I’ve worked since 2014. Perhaps you’ve seen me working on the property I’m slowly restoring on the edge of our vibrant downtown. We may have…

By Don Turner Despite a strong economy at the national level, many Vermonters feel left behind. Across our state, thousands struggle to pay their bills and make ends meet. From burdensome taxes to sky-high insurance premiums, many individuals, families, and small businesses are stuck in a persistent economic cycle they didn’t create. Small towns and…

By Anson Tebbetts Vermont’s rural communities are intricately tied to our economy, identity and way of life. At the same time, all of Vermont suffers when our farm and forestry sectors falter. The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets and Vermont Farm to Plate are taking steps to build on our strengths and innovate…

Dear Editor, The Rutland County Humane Society (RCHS) is excited about our new Dinner Card!  With it, cardholders can visit 13 participating Rutland County restaurants and purchase an entrée and their guest will receive an entree of the same or lesser value free. It’s a win for the cardholder, a win for the restaurant and…

Dear Editor, We are unsettled, anxious, heart-broken by the images of the inferno in Australia. Tens of thousands of people are displaced, millions of animals have died and Primal Spaces are burning, some having been wet and unignited for eons. Prior to the fires, unprecedented years of drought and heat had already ravaged the landscape…

By Patrick Leahy Hours before senators were sworn in to serve on President Trump’s impeachment trial, an independent, nonpartisan government watchdog confirmed what I have long suspected: When Trump froze congressionally appropriated military aid to Ukraine as part of an effort to compel Ukraine to investigate his political rival, he broke the law. That’s because…

By Emerson Lynn Sen. Ruth Hardy, D-Addison, has introduced a bill to create a Community College Scholarship Program that would provide tuition-free scholarships for Vermont residents attending CCV. It would, from the outset, require a $6 million appropriation. That’s a small amount of money that would yield profound benefits at a variety of levels, and…