By John Downes and James Nagle Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt of testimony given by John Downes and James Nagle to the Vermont Senate Education Committee on April 21, 2020. John Downes is the director of The Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education in the College of Education and Social Services at the University…

By Nick Richardson, president and CEO of the Vermont Land Trust For some it may feel too soon to ask this question, as new cases of Covid-19 are reported every day and the economic impacts for our state and our country grow more severe. Yet it’s this question we must ask relentlessly over the days…

By Joyce Judy, president of Community College of Vermont The Vermont State Colleges System is weathering the roughest days of its 60-year history. The potential changes facing our sister institutions are painful and the challenges are real. While the Community College of Vermont (CCV) is not immune to these challenges, we are fundamentally unique, financially…

By Dr. Karen M. Scolforo, president of Castleton University You may have seen the recent news coverage regarding the challenges faced by the Vermont State Colleges System (VSCS), many of which were highlighted last summer in the VSCS white paper, Securing the Future of the Vermont State Colleges, and exacerbated by the novel coronavirus global…

By Richard Slusky The coronavirus pandemic has brought to light the many fractures in the U.S. health care system, particularly the inadequate access that many low- and middle-income people have to health care services when they are most needed, and their dependence on employer-sponsored health care plans. Perhaps it’s time to reconsider the concept of universal…

By Lisa Loomis, The Valley Reporter In the midst of this time of self-isolation and social distancing during Covid-19 our lives have changed in so many ways that it’s hard to keep up. A lot of these changes have been difficult and scary and painful. But at least one change in how Vermont conducts itself…

By Dr. Alon Ben-Meir For a man who is a self-absorbed, power hungry narcissist who wants to be recognized as one of the greatest presidents of the United States while desperately trying to be reelected, Trump failed miserably to rise to the occasion precipitated by the unfortunate advent and spread of the coronavirus. Instead of…

By Jim Condos, Vermont Secretary of State The current public health crisis has been a serious test for us all, and it’s also testing our democracy and how we respond in a crisis. Just last week the Supreme Court voted 5-4, along ideological lines, to reject an extension of absentee ballot return deadlines for Wisconsin…

By Faith Gong I’ve seen several articles lately in which mental health professionals explain the emotions that humankind is experiencing right now — when the worldwide death toll from the COVID-19 virus continues to rise and the social distancing guidelines under which we have been placed stretch out indefinitely — as grief. Collective grief. If…

By Heather Furman, director for The Nature Conservancy in Vermont Only a few short weeks ago, none of us could have predicted the impacts to our personal and professional lives that COVID-19 would wreak. During times of crisis or tragedy we are often compelled to gather with one another and find community, but in this…

By Jack Hoffman Let’s all take a deep breath. Before we jump to the conclusion that $600-a-week federal unemployment checks on top of state benefits are going to destroy the work ethic and wipe out the labor force, let’s remember why we’re doing this. The intended consequence of federal pandemic unemployment benefits through July is…

By John Flowers, Addison Independent After 35 years in reporting, I thought I’d been through a lot as a journalist: Martial law in the Philippines; a couple of natural disasters — the big ice storm and rampant flooding in Addison County — in 1996; a double-murder/suicide; a visit by the Dalai Lama; local soldiers deploying…

By Sen. Alison Clarkson We are all adjusting to our new COVID-19 normal. The Legislature has just finished its first week of working remotely on Vermont’s response to this crisis. In each committee we are addressing different ways to respond to the anxieties and uncertainties we are all facing. This crisis is affecting almost every…

By Rep. Jim Harrison, Bridgewater, Chittenden, Killington & Mendon President Kennedy’s words, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country,” never rang more true than in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. We must all make sacrifices and help out where we can. The spread of the…

By Angelo Lynn On Friday, March 13, Gov. Phil Scott declared a state of emergency in Vermont in response to the coronavirus pandemic that has now established several beachheads in this country — most notably, a new epicenter is spreading in New Rochelle, New York, New York City and neighboring states, and into the Boston…