By Jenn Swain Burton Snowboards was born in a barn in southern Vermont over 40 years ago, and we proudly remain a Vermont-based business. The climate crisis is a direct threat to the sport we love, the mountain lifestyle that we and our community lead, and our long-term business success. In today’s world we are…

By Curtis Hier Some of us are old enough to remember when Mr. Rogers welcomed Officer Clemmons into his neighborhood and onto his television show. They famously shared a foot bath. And a towel. It was a momentous television event because Francois Clemmons was black and also, as Fred Rogers knew at the time, was gay.…

Editor’s note: This is a commentary by the Rutland Herald/Times Argus editorial board, republished here with VPA permissions.  Something is way out of whack. Isabel Jennifer Seward, a teenage driver, was fined $220 for her part in a double-fatal vehicle crash that killed an elderly Ferrisburgh couple last fall in Charlotte. Were it not for…

By Brooke Geery As soon as  a mob of conspiracy-theory-inspired thugs breached the gates and began to the climb the steps of the Capitol Building on Jan. 6, the finger pointing began. Rightfully, many blamed Trump for inciting the coup, which for all intents and purposes, was a failure, as all it did was delay the…

By Rob Riley Over the past year, I’ve heard two very different narratives about rural America. The first is that rural people face enormous economic and social challenges and the federal government does little to help them. The second is that the coronavirus pandemic has turned rural places into refuges where the urban elite — with…

It’s up to us By Michael J. Caduto It was one of our country’s most turbulent years. Demonstrations and riots demanding equality were staged nationwide. Gunshots rang out. World leaders threatened military force to control protesters while millions of sympathizers joined demonstrators on the front lines. A foreign war dragged on, seemingly with no end.…

By Angelo Lynn With the New Year upon us, let’s look for silver linings. Nine months into this pandemic, for instance, we have fine-tuned the art of looking at bleakness and coming up with ways to smile. We’ve turned panic of the unknown into a calm resignation of semi-isolation. We are learning how to infuse…

By Michael Caduto What a journey we are on together. For some 10 months our lives have been upended by Covid-19, and yet we carry on. In the midst of more than 1.65 million deaths worldwide, including over 313,000 who have lost their lives in the United States (more than 100 in Vermont and rapidly approaching…

By Philip Finkelstein Editor’s note: This commentary is by Philip Finkelstein, of Charlotte, Vermont, who is a technical writer and business analyst. After attending the University of British Columbia, where he received a BA in political science, he served as a blog contributor for Citizens’ Climate Lobby.  Americans value their freedom—so much so, that refusing to…

By Angelo Lynn As all Americans wish fervently for a return to normal times, we are faced with twin crises that have shaken the country to its core: a meteoric rise in Covid cases and an erosion of trust in the truth — a casualty of four years of lies and misinformation spewed by a…

By Betsy Dorminey Editor's note: Betsy Dorminey of Enosburg Falls is an attorney, entrepreneur and hotelier, proprietor of the Quincy Hotel of Enosburg Falls. She serves as the Vermont state director of The Capitalist League. As Biden savors his slim victory and prepares to “Occupy 1600 Pennsylvania” for the next four years there are lessons to be learned. Neither…

By Bill Bender What, isn’t Vermont “green?” Of course it is, right? Wrong. Green Mountain Power, which is owned by a Canadian natural gas distributor and supplies 70% of Vermont with electricity, claims that its energy supply is 94% carbon free and more than 63% renewable. This sounds great, except that 95% of this electricity…

By Angelo Lynn “The war for truth is now the war to preserve our democracy,” is how New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman summed up the state of the union in the wake of Trump’s defeat and his willingness to fabricate falsehoods about fraudulent votes and rigged elections. Friedman’s fraught warning has been five years in the…

By Lynn McNamara Several years ago I made a decision that came as a surprise to many of my friends and family. I was going to start hunting deer here in Vermont. As a lifelong animal lover and considered the family “tree hugger,” this desire to hunt seemed to some to be at odds with my…

By Jim Condos, Vermont Secretary of State Many of us love going to the polls on Election Day. Joining in-person with our friends, family, and neighbors to participate in the civic process is something I look forward to every election year. As Vermont’s chief election official, it is my responsibility to ensure we can all safely…