By Paul Costello The temptation with bad news, like that of the closing of Green Mountain College, is to sit on one’s hands, paralyzed by structural change beyond immediate local control. The alternative is to come together, line up strategies and do what is in your power to move your community forward. That is just…

By David Van Deusen As president of the 10,000 member Vermont AFL-CIO (and as a former organizer with the Sierra Club), it was with keen interest that I read the recommendations of the Transportation and Climate Initiative.  This group, representing 12 Northeast states, is seeking to take steps to increase the price of fuel over…

Editor’s note: This was submitted by the Windsor Central Supervisory Union and may not represent the opinion of all school board members. After two years of studying the best and highest value means of addressing the facility deficiencies of the 60 plus year-old middle and high school facility, the WCSU (Windsor Central Supervisory Union) board…

By Steve Costello As a  former journalist who has seen a lot over the years, I’m not one to be easily impressed or inspired.  But as Gordon Dritschilo wrote (Gift of Life kicks off, Dec. 11) Stefanie Schaffer has recently done both. Read on, and I hope you’ll be inspired by Stefanie as well –…

By William J. Mathis Policy wonks, not getting the results they hoped for (and being a touch lazy) invented a new research method called the “intraocular traumatic test.” What that means is, look at the data and if the result hits you between the eyes, it’s significant. Naturally, this kind of eyeballing lends itself to…

By Leo Pond Republicans in both the House and the Senate have spoken out against the impeachment inquiry. Republicans in both chambers are doing everything in their power to prevent the impeachment inquiry from making any “groundbreaking” discoveries. These Republicans have interrupted a hearing already, setting it back three hours and causing a security issue…

Dear Editor, “______ Rolls Down Hill” you’ll hear the old Vermonters yammer. It has been my experience, however, that the main thing rolling downhill from Killington/Pico’s direction toward Rutland… is opportunity. I am a Rutland (city), Vermont native. Born and bred as they say. I grew up on Lyman Ave, just off of Jackson in…

By Jim Haff I stopped by the Mountain Times on March 22 and asked them to go up to the hill and take a picture. It was an amazing sight! Any of you folks that are doubting Powdr and Killington Resort’s commitment to our ski resort, look at this picture!  On March 22, 2017, the…

By Jon Margolis, VTDigger Vermont offers its citizens more opportunity to “access the American dream” than any other state. Vermont is one of the poorest states in the Union. Can both those judgements be correct? No. One of them must be wrong. Maybe both of them. But just look where they come from. They seem so … so…

By Deb Markowitz Editor’s note: This is a final note from Secretary Deb Markowitz as she helps the Agency of Natural Resources transition to a new leadership team. Six years is a long time to serve as Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources. From the moment I arrived at our offices in Waterbury, people…

Editor’s note: This commentary is by Joe Fusco, who is a vice president of Casella Waste Systems Inc. He served as a member of the Vermont Climate Change Economy Council. He is also co-chair of the Advisory Board for the University of Vermont’s MBA program in sustainable entrepreneurship. Over the past year, as the Vermont…

Gov. Peter Shumlin, representatives from Vermont’s insurance carriers, and officials and staff from Vermont Health Connect (VHC) gathered Thursday, Oct. 1, to offer an update on the health insurance marketplace’s progress. The governor announced that the technology upgrade necessary for a smooth open enrollment has been delivered and tested and would be deployed starting that…

By Matt McCarthy Editor’s note: Matthew McCarthy, from Connecticut, took a gap year between high school and college and participated in a program called Worldwide Opportunities On Organic Farms (WWOOF) at Kiss the Cow farm, in Barnard, Vt. At the top of a curving, steep hill, in a red house with four cats, two farmers and five WWOOFers,…

By Lee J. Kahrs, Editor, The Reporter, Brandon Anyone who can’t claim Native Vermonter status came here for a reason. I came here in October 2002 after living through the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City. I wasn’t in the towers, and I wasn’t downtown, but I was in Manhattan that bluebird…

By Mayor Christopher Louras On Aug. 26 I co-hosted (with the Vermont Council on Rural Development) a regional public forum at the Paramount Theatre on Advancing Vermont’s Climate Change Economy. The City of Rutland has garnered statewide and, in numerous instances, national recognition for embracing solar development as a tool to promote itself as a…