Discover More from This Category: Editorials
Governor’s budget — it’s easy to just say ‘yes’
January 26, 2022
By Angelo Lynn It’s not surprising that any governor of Vermont faced with creating a budget with more than $1 billion in one-time ARPA money (with $500 million still left to spend), plus another $2.2 billion coming from the congressional infrastructure package, would choose to spread it around to as many constituencies as possible for…
Health care alarm bells should be ringing
January 19, 2022
By Ben Smith Editor's note: Ben Smith is an emergency physician and medical director of the emergency department at Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin. American health care is in crisis. On NPR (“On Point,” Nov. 29) an ICU nurse recently said that anyone would leave the field if they were paid the same wage…
Leadership can keep schools safe, open
January 12, 2022
Vaccination mandates and 'test to attend' programs needed now By Jim Haff Editor’s note: Jim Haff is the Killington representative in the Windsor Central School District and Killington Select Board member. This commentary was written as an open letter to Vermont’s elected leaders on Jan. 10. You are not protecting our children. Over the holidays…
On Jan. 6, ‘don’t look down’
January 12, 2022
By Angelo Lynn It is to be hoped Jan. 6, 2021 will be a date that long resonates in our nation’s history. That historians will accurately assess the roots of the deadly insurrection on the nation’s Capitol, determine those responsible for assembling the crowd and encouraging them to storm Congress in what turned out to…
We need to end fossil fuels
January 12, 2022
Dear Editor, We, the older Vermonters (including voters and taxpayers), must make it clear to younger Vermonters that our most crucial task and the most urgent job is to fix the broken two-party political system. Why, you ask? Only younger Vermonters can achieve the political transformation in the shortest amount of time to break up…
Fight indifference in 2022
January 5, 2022
By Angelo Lynn It’s no surprise that Covid-19, the delta variant and its effect on our collective lives will be remembered as the top story of 2021. It’s likely the twists and turns of this pandemic will remain dominant in our lives in 2022 as well. To that end, it’s not hard to see the…
‘Out of storm and peril’: rental housing safety in Vermont
October 20, 2021
By David Martins Editor's note: Martins is the director of the Vt. Affordable Housing Coalition. “Out of storm and manifold perils rose an enduring state, the home of freedom and unity” — These words are the epitaph printed on the gravestone of the first governor of Vermont, Thomas Chittenden. The phrase serves as an acknowledgement…
Sending an SOS for the Connecticut River
September 29, 2021
By Karl Meyer Editor's note: This commentary is by Karl Meyer of Greenfield, Mass., a member of the Fish and Aquatics Studies Team in this FERC relicensing process since 2012. He did not sign a confidentiality agreement with FirstLight. Meyer is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists. No river should die in the…
Educational equity is about all of us
September 29, 2021
By Rep. Emilie Kornheiser Editor’s Note: Rep. Emilie Kornheiser, D-Brattleboro, is vice chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, co-chair of the task force on the implementation of the pupil weighting factors report, and a state legislator since 2019. Vermont’s commitment to equitable access to education is enshrined in our constitution, which established the…
Funds available to pay off utility debt
September 22, 2021
By Steve Costello Editor’s note: Steve Costello is the vice president of Green Mountain Power. Time and again, Vermonters amaze and inspire with their kindness and generosity — from our communities’ strength seen throughout Vermont during the 10th anniversary of Tropical Storm Irene just last month, to the seemingly endless acts of kindness that have…
With children in school, one issue dominates
September 22, 2021
By Angelo Lynn As Congress grills the Biden administration on its troubled withdrawal from Afghanistan, as small businesses throughout Vermont and many parts of the nation struggle to hire enough employees to keep their businesses open, as housing prices rise and millions of Americans can’t find affordable solutions, as the climate crisis magnifies, or as…
Opting in and out of government spending
September 15, 2021
By John McClaughry Editor’s Note: McClaughry, vice president of the Ethan Allen Institute, a free-market oriented public policy research and education organization. A large insurance company has been flooding the television channels with an advertising slogan “Only Pay for What You Need.” It’s an interesting exercise to apply that idea to various public spending issues.…
Covid-19 response strong at the expense of overdose deaths?
September 15, 2021
By Jennifer Mayhew Editor’s note: This commentary is by Jennifer Mayhew, executive director of the Turning Point Center of Addison County. September is both Recovery Month and Suicide Prevention Month. An increase in overdose and suicide deaths across the country is shining the spotlight on how the Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected those already struggling…
‘We never saw it coming,’ or dodging responsibility
September 15, 2021
By Walt Amses Editor’s note: Walt Amses is a writer and former educator who lives in Calais. The last few weeks have seen the word “unprecedented” beaten like a rented mule. I’ve wielded the whip myself too often to cast aspersions at others, but collectively, we’ve all been habitually categorizing what should have been predictable…
Surprise! Recycling is thriving in Vermont
September 8, 2021
By Reagan Bissonnette You have likely heard about the supposed death of recycling in recent years. But have you heard that recycling is actually thriving again? If this comes as a surprise to you, you’re not alone. I recently read a local article with outdated and inaccurate information about recycling markets. So I thought I’d…