By Julia Purdy As I continued my search for a smallish property to settle into permanently – land or land-with-small house – my budget gave me no slack. On my side, I do have the advantage of knowing the southern Vermont counties well, being a native of the area and having returned almost 20 years…

By Michael Metz Editor’s Note: Michael Metz is a retired materials scientist, entrepreneur, and business owner. He has a history of board leadership with profit and nonprofit organizations and currently serves in that role for the Maker Space Generator and The Vermont Community Foundation. This commentary is the seventh in a 10-part series in which the…

By Lindsay DesLauriers Editor’s Note: Lindsay DesLauriers is one of the co-owners and the president of Bolton Valley Resort. She lobbied for the Vermont Early Childhood Alliance from 2012-2018 and for Voices for Vermont’s Children from 2012-2014. This commentary is the sixth in a 10-part series in which the authors respond to the pressing topics identified…

By Governor Phil Scott Editor’s note: Governor Phil Scott announced April 17  that he will allow H. 315 to become law without his signature and issued the following letter to the General Assembly. Pursuant to Chapter II, Section 11 of the Vermont Constitution, H.315, An Act Relating to Covid-19 Relief, will become law without my signature for…

  By Holly Groschner Editor’s note: Groschner, a former partner at DR&M, is a telecommunications lawyer with 30 years of experience and the chair of the board at Equal Access to Broadband. She recently retired as the president & CEO of Vermont PBS. This commentary is the first in a 10-part series examining some of…

By Paul Costello Vermont’s pandemic recovery is a catalytic opportunity for creative renewal. How do we work together to revitalize Vermont? Where do our values, principles, culture and economy fit together as we search for common paths to a more resilient, prosperous and welcoming state? Throughout this long year, the Vermont Council on Rural Development…

By Sec. Jim Condos Covid-19 has strained so many of our institutions over the last year. As our Vermont government agencies work to support our state through this crisis, we must always work to maintain the public’s right to know. Fortunately, in Vermont we have made great strides. Confidence in our public institutions is needed…

By Angelo Lynn Hunters and reasonable gun owners may be the only Americans capable of talking sense to Republican representatives in the U.S. House and Senate. That’s because political leeches like Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, believe he is crowing to his base with his shoot-from-the-hip snipe that any calls for gun reform in the wake…

By Michael Shank Editor's note: This commentary is by Michael Shank of Brandon, communications director for the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance and an adjunct faculty member at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs. A local zoning administrator once told me — when I served as chair of the Brandon Planning Commission — that Vermont was…

By Richard Watts and Meg Little Reilly Editor’s note: Richard Watts is the director of the Center for Research on Vermont, and Meg Little Reilly is a Vermont writer and editor with the Community News Service (a program which pairs college students work with professional editors to write news stories for local papers around Vermont.) With needed…

By Secretary of State Jim Condos 2020 was no ordinary year. Now three months into 2021 we have endured the health, societal, and economic challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic that have rocked our communities for over year. Many people have lost their lives, or their loved ones, along the way. Our country is experiencing…

Editor's note: this commentary was signed by Alison Notte from Rutland City Public Schools along with 30 other  school board members from around the state.  Our Vermont legislators recently commissioned a state-of-the-art study to investigate how best to apportion funds to schools equitably.  Unfortunately for the students of Vermont, it detailed serious inequities in school…

By John Pelletier All Vermont public school students are supposed to be taught personal finance, but I would bet that many parents would have a hard time finding a young person who has learned about credit scores, investing or compound interest. And there probably are even fewer students learning about personal finance during the pandemic,…

By Lt. Gov. Molly Gray Each March we have the opportunity to celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month and to recognize the achievements of women in our communities and across the globe. Let us honor women this month by acting to address their economic wellbeing. The president and vice president paid tribute to…

By Pattie McCoy How often does an education reform bill pass on a voice vote in the Vermont Legislature? From experience, I can tell you it is about as rare as the same type of legislation passing unanimously. That is, very rare indeed. Yet, when the Vermont Legislature contemplated a statewide commission to determine the…