Discover More from This Category: Commentaries

Funding for area seniors hasn’t kept pace with costs, needs

October 26, 2022
By Mark Boutwell Editor’s note: Mark Boutwell is executive director of Senior Solutions, the Council on Aging in Southeastern Vermont, headquartered in Springfield, Vermont. The upcoming state and national elections offer voters a chance to reset priorities and focus on true pockets of need, one of which is providing for older adults. Federal funding for…

Elective abortions: Dangerous misinformation vs. the facts

October 19, 2022
By George Till Editor’s note: Rep. George Till of Jericho is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist who has served in the Vermont State Legislature since 2008. Till is also an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the UVM School of Medicine.   A lot of misinformation is being circulated regarding Article 22/Prop. 5, which will appear as…

Community living is not for everyone

October 12, 2022
By Kevin Manna and Allen Rothman Editor’s note: Manna is the director at Pinnacle Condos in Killington and Rothman is the director at High Ridge. So, you want to live in a condominium complex? Do you know what you are getting into? The recent surge in condominium sales has brought about a lot of “impulse”…

Political skills make democracy work 

October 6, 2022
By Lee H. Hamilton Editor’s note: Lee Hamilton is a senior advisor for the Indiana University Center on Representative Government and was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for over 30 years. It sometimes seems that Americans are hopelessly divided by politics, but I believe it will take politics to make our country…

The voters’ vital role

October 6, 2022
By Angelo Lynn Editor’s note: Angelo Lynn is the editor and publisher of the Addison County Independent, a sister publication to the Mountain Times. As we enter the final weeks before the Nov. 8 elections, both state and national, let’s all reflect on one point that should, by now, be uncontested: Who you vote for…

It’s time someone pushed back on aquatic misinformation

September 22, 2022
By Mary Jo Teetor Editor’s note: Mary Jo Teetor of Poultney, a longtime member and trustee of the Lake St. Catherine Association, where she is currently the treasurer. She is on the water quality committee and has been a lay monitor on Lake St. Catherine for more than 20 years. There have been so many…

Access for all birthing Vermonters

September 14, 2022
By Jess Kimball Editor’s note: Jess Kimball is an administrative assistant at The National Midwifery Institute and managing editor of the Journal for Pre and Perinatal Psychology. Jess runs a private practice, Jess Kimball Wellness (formerly Sunflower Postpartum Care LLC), providing families with birth and postpartum doula support and lactation counseling. She is also a…

Trump’s troubling trove

September 14, 2022
By Angelo Lynn Editor’s note: Angelo Lynn is the editor and publisher of the Addison County Independent, a sister publication to the Mountain Times. The latest news that a top-secret document describing a foreign government’s military defense readiness, including its nuclear capabilities, was found among the documents at ex-president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence is the…

Vermont’s opportunity to ensure accessible electric vehicles — for consumers and climate

September 7, 2022
Editor’s note: This commentary is a joint op-ed from Vermont Natural Resources Council, Vermont Conservation Voters, Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, Conservation Law Foundation, Vermont Chapter of the Sierra Club and Vermont Public Interest Research Group. When it comes to getting where we all need to go — which often needs to be by car…

The Inflation Reduction Act just shattered the ceiling for clean energy in Vermont

August 31, 2022
By Peter Sterling Editor’s note: Peter Sterling is the executive director of REV, the voice of Vermont’s renewable energy business community who are working to eliminate our reliance on dirty fossil fuels by increasing the use of renewable energy and building a clean energy economy. Incredibly and finally, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has begun…

Vermonters voted for a smarter justice system

August 24, 2022
By James Duff Lyall Editor’s note: James Lyall is the executive director of ACLU of Vermont. Our communities are still struggling through the pandemic and its harmful impacts on mental health, substance use, and affordable housing. It’s clear that we still need to do far more to support one another and build healthy, safe, and…

Affordable housing ideas

August 17, 2022
By Fred Baser Editors note: Fred Baser is the financial advisor and founder of Bristol Financial Services, is a commissioner of the Vermont Housing Finance Agency, former member of the Vermont House of Representatives and past member of the Habitat for Humanity of Addison County board. Despite recent efforts, in our state and nationally, to…

Heat pumps may be a good investment

August 10, 2022
By Josh Castonguay Editor’s note: Josh Castonguay lives in Colchester, and is the vice president, chief innovation and engineering executive at Green Mountain Power. When it gets hot outside, folks say it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity that gets you. Some Vermonters relish the warm weather no matter how damp it is. Summer is…

Climate council may make gas price problem worse

August 3, 2022
By Rob Roper Editor’s note: Rob Roper is on the board of directors for the Ethan Allen Institute, a non-profit that lobbies for conservative principles in politics. He lives in Stowe. As gasoline prices hover around record highs, putting tremendous pressure on family budgets, stressing businesses, and making life generally more expensive, the Vermont Climate…

The dangers of social media misinformation

August 3, 2022
By Jim Condos Editor’s note: Jim Condos is Vermont secretary of state. He is stepping down from his position in November. As we watch new information emerge from the Jan. 6 Congressional hearings, one truth has been made crystal clear. Whether it’s insurrection at the Capitol or violent threats against election officials, these acts are…