By Catherine Antley MD and Spencer Smith After decades of fighting Big Tobacco, is the Vermont Legislature unwittingly inviting Big Cannabis into our state, our towns and our schools? Creating a retail cannabis market is not about decriminalization or social justice. It’s about creating a hugely profitable industry which depends on addiction and youth users…

By Angelo Lynn Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is right about the shortcomings of Joe Biden’s campaign for president against Donald Trump. He is not focusing enough on what he will do differently to help Americans regain their economic footing. “We … have to give people a reason to vote for Joe Biden,” Sanders (I-Vt.) said…

By Jack Hoffman Dithering in Washington has left a lot of states scrambling to figure out how to pay for the support and services their citizens desperately need. In Vermont, Washington’s paralysis means the Legislature will have just over a month to determine whether the $7.1 billion budget Gov. Phil Scott proposed for the current…

By Haviland Smith Editor’s note: Haviland Smith, a long retired CIA operations officer who has watched democracies fall. During the Putin era it has become clear that the Russians are in the process of trying to reestablish themselves among the most powerful and influential countries in the world. To do that, they see the diminution of…

By Rep. Pattie McCoy A few months ago, the Legislature adjourned without passing a full fiscal year’s budget. The hope by the majority party in Montpelier was Congress would come to the rescue and appropriate more money to the states so we could plug our budget holes with federal dollars. Some of us voted against…

By Lisa Loomis There has been considerable recent discussion about why Vermont’s response rate to the 2020 census form is so low. Several possible excuses have been floated, but one explanation is frequently overlooked when discussing why 43% of Vermonters have failed to complete the census form. The Census Bureau in its ill-conceived marketing plan…

By Fred Baser Editor’s note: Fred Baser of Bristol is a Vermont Housing Finance Agency commissioner. He is a member of the District 9 Act 250 Commission and an Addison County Home Health board member. He was a Vermont state legislator and small business owner. It seems odd going about the activities of daily life, albeit…

By Lauren Hierl Like so many aspects of our lives, the 2020 legislative session in Vermont has been unprecedented. For the first time, lawmakers figured out how to do committee work and hold votes virtually. Instead of adjourning before the election season got underway, as typically happens, lawmakers were merely on a break until Aug.…

By Jim Condos Dismantling the U.S. Postal Service during a pandemic will suppress the voting rights of American voters and is a disgrace to democracy. During any election year, and especially during a pandemic when voters are increasingly turning to mail-in voting as a safe and secure way to exercise their sacred franchise, we rely…

By Betsy Bishop and Aly Richards When we look years ahead, how do we picture Vermont? Where are our workplaces centered, where are our homes in relation to our workplaces, and how do we see working parents in our state thriving? Vermont is in a pivotal moment. Amid the economic and emotional pain caused by the Covid-19…

By Rob Katz, Vail Resorts CEO What will the 2020-21 ski and snowboard season look like? We are still in the heat of July – still celebrating the successful opening of our resorts for summer —  and that is the number one question we are getting across our 34 North American resorts. What lies ahead…

By Governor Phil Scott Earlier this summer, my team set a goal for our state: If our positive health trends continue, let’s return to in-person instruction for our kids in the fall. Our core principle has been to help school districts safely provide every child with an education that is as good or better than…

By John R. Kasich This op-ed was first published in the Boston Globe July 22, 2020. It is republished here with permissions. America, we’ve lost our way. As a nation, and as individuals, we’ve been thrown off course by an endless barrage of shocking words and divisive deeds from the president who is supposed to lead…

The federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) pumped $1.19 billion into the Vermont economy in April, May, and June to help employers hang onto nearly 114,000 jobs during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. To put that in perspective, in normal times Vermont has about 315,000 non-farm payroll jobs, and the state’s total output of…

The following editorial was first published in the Deerfield Valley News in Wilmington, Vermont. Just in case readers haven’t noticed, it’s an election year. Of course, there is much focus on the presidential election. Understandably so, given all that is at stake with the future of the country and everything. But there are also statewide…