Commentaries

By Rebecca Holcombe Editor’s note: Rebecca Holcombe is a Vermont Representative from Windsor-Orange 2 who served as the Vermont Secretary of Education from 2014 to 2018. Vermonters suffer from unsustainable increases in the cost of everything from property taxes to healthcare. Too many people are working hard and stretching Social Security checks but still worry…

In a matter of days, the 2024 General Election will be over. Hooray!If you have not already sent in your ballot to your town clerk, you have three options according to the Secretary of State’s Office: Bring your ballot to your town clerk’s office in-person during their open hours. Drop your ballot into an official…

By Chief Don Stevens, Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk – Abenaki Nation As the holiday season approaches, it gives us time to reflect on how we celebrate the Holidays. Whether you celebrate Columbus or Indigenous Peoples Day is a personal choice. Some gather together to celebrate the original inhabitants of this land, Columbus, or simply…

By Don Tinney Editor’s note: Don Tinney, an English teacher who lives in South Hero, is the elected president of Vermont-NEA, the state’s largest union. He has also served as chair of the Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators. Recently, I came across an extraordinary video produced by Gov. Phil Scott’s Agency of Education. It…

By Jeffrey Reel Editor’s note: Jeffrey Reel is a writer from Hartland. He serves as the general manager of the Rutland Food Co-Op. The debate on how to lower healthcare costs in Vermont is of paramount importance. Of equal importance is balancing that debate with discussions on the quality of life we can achieve right…

By Peter Sterling Editor’s note: Peter Sterling is the executive director of Renewable Energy Vermont, the nonprofit trade association representing Vermont businesses working towards a 100% renewable energy future.  Though the tragic and costly impacts of changing weather extremes on Vermont continue to (justifiably) make headlines, they shouldn’t totally overshadow recent accomplishments in the fight…

By Ivy Enoch Editor’s note: Ivy Enoch is SNAP policy and training lead for Hunger Free Vermont. As we mark the 60th anniversary of the Food Stamps Act, now known as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) nationally and 3SquaresVT here in Vermont, it is crucial to recognize the profound impact this landmark legislation has had…

Editor’s note: This commentary was written collaboratively by Vermont Natural Resources Council, Conservation Law Foundation, Connecticut River Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, and Lake Champlain Committee.  This commentary was written in response to concerns from Vermont community members, our own observations as landowners, and road crews cleaning up post-flooding damage. What we have heard and witnessed…

By Justin Marsh Editor’s note: Justin Marsh is the political director for Vermont Conservation Voters. Vermont’s primary election saw candidates running on strong climate action platforms overwhelmingly win their races across Vermont. Vermont Conservation Voters (VCV) endorsed candidates facing primary challenges in races in all corners of the state. Of those candidates VCV endorsed in contested…

By Katrina Menard Editor’s note: Katrina Menard is state policy fellow at Public Assets Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit, people-centered, data-first organization based in Montpelier. She lives in Strafford. As Vermont recovers from yet another round of flooding and braces for what’s left of Tropical Storm Debby, it may come as no surprise that Vermont is ranked…

By Allen Gilbert Editor’s note: Allen Gilbert of Worcester, a former journalist, teacher and ACLU-VT executive director. He chaired his school board in Worcester when it joined the education funding lawsuit that resulted in the Brigham v. State decision by the Vermont Supreme Court. Don Keelan’s commentary printed in this publication July 31 — “The ‘welcome to Vermont’…

By Melinda Moulton Editor’s note: Melinda Moulton, of Huntington, is a writer, filmmaker, social and climate activist and community leader. As the grandmother of three teenage girls, I have trepidation about their futures growing up in America. A hateful tenor toward women and anti-women rhetoric out in the open is now mainstreamed. Women’s rights are…

By Madeleine Kunin Editor’s note: Madeleine Kunin served as the 77th governor of Vermont from 1985-1991.  Just about every article about the Harris/Trump presidential campaign emphasizes how little time we have left until Election Day: fewer than 100 days. The authors of these stories see these few days as a crisis, a disadvantage or at…

By Don Keelan Editor’s note: Don Keelan of Arlington, a retired certified public accountant. Deep inside the 171-page tome of the recently adopted Act 181 (H.687) legislation was a section to extract more money from nonresidents who purchase Vermont homes after Aug. 1, 2024. Sections 73 and 74 detail the extraction of funds from those who conceivably…

By Zoie Saunders, interim secretary of education  When I arrived in Vermont, I shared my intent to spend my first 100 days learning as much as possible about the state, our schools, and Vermonters’ education priorities. What I have learned gives me great hope about the work underway in our state. There is a real…