By Bill McKibben Vermont gets good press, and I’ve generated my share of it — especially after the pandemic years I’m proud of the Green Mountain State. But this is a different kind of story: a story of a state that’s failing to understand we’re actually in a climate emergency, and so continuing with business…

By Brian Ricca Editor’s note: Brian Ricca is the school superintendent in St. Johnsbury. There has been a great deal of discussion in the abstract about the impact of the Delta variant in Vermont schools since the academic year began. Here in the real world, with real students, faculty, staff, and families, it’s been excruciating.…

By Marvin Klikunas, M.D. Editor’s note: Kilkunas practices medicine in Williston. As I write this commentary, the seven-day rolling average of daily Covid cases in Vermont is 209. Even during the depths of last winter, before a vaccine was available, the daily average as plotted in VTDigger never reached 200. Forty-eight people were hospitalized with…

By Madeleine May Kunin Editor’s note: This commentary is by former Gov. Madeleine Kunin, a Democrat and the first woman to serve as the governor of the state of Vermont. I was driving home on a September evening when the air started to turn cool. I glanced out my side window and caught a pink,…

By Lt. Governor Molly Gray A year and a half after the onset of the pandemic, Vermont remains in the midst of ongoing recovery efforts. While there is so much uncertainty about the future, one thing we can be sure of is that our state is in a unique position to emerge from this pandemic…

By Royal Barnard, Editor Emeritus I am saddened to learn that the Killington Region has lost a wonderful and important person. I, and other “pioneer” Killington residents and visitors, met Claude Blais when he became chef at the once popular Alpine Inn on the Killington Road in the mid 1960s.  Claude migrated to Killington from…

By Chloe Learey In 2012, the Local Child Care Planning Council of Humboldt County in California uploaded its video “A Day Without ChildCare” to YouTube. Nearly 10 years later, the points it raised are even more salient, especially magnified by the Covid-19 pandemic. The premise is basic: People who do not have child care are…

By Lewis Mudge Vermonters should be proud that we continue to outpace the country in vaccines. I say we double down and once again show the rest of the country how we are a little state with big ideas. I tip my hat to Gov. Scott’s recent request to the White House for more refugees…

By Ivy Scott and Camille Caldera, Boston Globe correspondents Better late than never, as the saying goes. Massachusetts residents who only recently got immunized against Covid-19 cited a variety of reasons for waiting: a torrent of misinformation on social media, concern that the vaccine would exacerbate preexisting medical conditions, and skepticism of the health care…

By Reps. Michelle Bos-Lun, Westminster, and Mike Mrowicki, Putney Climate change and its resulting weather variations are contributing to floods and massive roadway erosion in some parts of Vermont and floods and droughts in other areas this month. A large section of northern Vermont experienced abnormally dry conditions in July, but southern Vermont endured two major storms…

By Shayne Spence Editor’s note: This commentary is by Shayne Spence of Johnson, who was a Republican candidate for the Vermont House in 2020. With an ongoing battle taking place over the future of voting rights and access, on the federal level and in many states, we often hear about the For The People Act,…

By Walt Amses Editor’s note: Walt Amses is a writer and former educator who lives in Calais. The waning days of July find me swimming in silken water that feels prematurely cool, gliding by a shoreline maple sporting a single bright-red leaf, a distinct reminder that nature will not only have its way, but also set…

By Laurie Cox The summer I turned 13, a friend told me how she made a lot of money picking strawberries. It sounded like a relatively easy deal, so my sister and I decided to give it a try. Lunch sacks in hand, we ferried to a nearby island and were loaded in the back…

By Madeleine May Kunin Editor’s note: Madeleine May Kunin was the 77th governor of Vermont, serving from 1985 until 1991. She is the author of “Coming of Age, My Journey to the Eighties.” Her new book of poetry is “Red Kite, Blue Sky.” The six conservative members of the U.S. Supreme Court flicked a green…

By Angelo Lynn The organization Let’s Grow Kids has been at the forefront of an effort to establish legislation that makes having children in Vermont more affordable and, as it should be, desirable. It recent years it has not been affordable, and therefore, to many, not a desirable option. That’s to Vermont’s great detriment. If the state…