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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

By Jay Diaz Editor’s note: Jay Diaz is a general counsel for ACLU of Vermont. With Vermont’s primary election approaching on Aug. 9, it’s time for many voters to decide which candidates are best aligned with their values — and that includes candidates for county prosecutor. Vermont’s elected prosecutors, known as state’s attorneys, have tremendous…

By Jonathan Dowds Editor’s note: Jonathan Dowds is the deputy director of Renewable Energy Vermont. New Hampshire households are about to get hit hard, really hard, by rate hikes that will increase electricity bills by more than $70 a month. These unprecedented rate hikes reflect surging natural gas prices and New Hampshire’s ill-fated decision to…

By Linda Bowden Editor’s note: Linda Bowden is AARP Vermont’s volunteer state president. We are paying more for nearly everything today – from groceries to gas to housing. As inflation reaches its highest in 40 years – rising 7% last year alone – Vermonters are asking what Congress can do to help them pay for…

By Roxanne Vought Editor’s note: Roxanne Vought is the executive director of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. She lives in Weybridge. For those of us who envision — and strive each day toward — a just, thriving, and transformative economy that works for all people and the planet, the final week of June 2022 was…

By Steph Yu Editor’s note: Steph Yu is the deputy director of Public Assets Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit organization based in Montpelier. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has devastating effects on anyone who can get pregnant. Plain and simple, this ruling is a clear effort to assert control over women’s…

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. Seemingly, the troubling aspects of the Trump drama never end. After the fourth day of testimony by the House committee looking into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, inspired by ex-president Donald…

By Peter Sterling Editor’s note: Peter Sterling is the executive director of Renewable Energy Vermont. Over the last decade or so while most of us weren’t looking, something very concerning has happened in Vermont: it has become easier to build commercial strip development like a Dollar General store in a rural town than to build…

By Laurie Gagne Editor’s note: Laurie Gagne is the retired director for Edmundite Center for Peace and Justice at St. Michael’s College. Investment in education, anti-poverty programs, and other human needs are essential to keeping our communities safe. My faith community, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, has worked in Vermont for decades on…

By Gregory M. Thayer Editor’s note: Gregory M. Thayer is a candidate for lieutenant governor. When we look at shootings, we need to stop blaming inanimate objects — the guns— for these tragedies. They are not the problem. Criminals or mentally ill people intent on murdering people will always succeed. Either they’ll acquire a firearm…

By Dan Smith Editor’s note: Dan Smith is president and CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation, which is based in Middlebury. We are out of words. The list of available adjectives is too commonplace to hold any real meaning. These events are not aberrations of a functioning society — they are the convulsions of a…