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…

Dr. Michael Shank As a university professor, I’m constantly thinking about how to best equip my graduate students with life skills. I’m always taken aback when they struggle with how to communicate effectively, handle conflict constructively, think critically, or engage civically. Not only is a degree less valuable now, it’s also less applicable. Especially as…

By Layne Bruce A move by the USPS to slow down mail service by cutting overtime and reducing sortation sure seems like a gambit by the Trump administration to impact voting by mail this fall. He practically said as much Aug. 13 on Fox Business. Democrats have proposed over $3.6 billion for voting by mail at…

By Rob Roper A number of public school teachers and administrators have recently raised serious concerns about re-opening schools this fall. Harwood Union Superintendent Brigid Nease, just penned a 2,225 word letter sounding the alarm about the overwhelming challenges facing the system (see letter on page 10). Then on July 30, the House Education Committee held a…

By Angelo Lynn With Gov. Phil Scott’s declaration that everyone in the state should don facemasks when inside public establishments and when social distancing is not possible outside, Vermont just might be one of the few states to stay ahead of this pandemic’s rapid spread. The governor’s timing was particularly relevant as college towns and ski…

By Annabel Bruno I played a lot of sports in high school: soccer in the fall, snowboarding in the winter, and some mix of lacrosse, swimming and pre-season camps in the spring and summer. It will come as no surprise to those who know me that the athlete in my “tri-scholar athlete” status at RHS…

By Cathy Resmer The demand for local news has never been greater, U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) acknowledged to newspaper publishers at the start of a June 4 Zoom call organized by the Vermont Press Association. “But the market model — in order to fund it — has never been weaker. It’s just an unbelievable…

Find new ways to make your summer count By Secretary Anson Tebbetts As the weather gets warmer, Vermonters are comforted by the simple pleasures of summer, among them, fun with friends at Vermont country fairs and festivals. My own family has enjoyed fairs all over the state year after year. Unfortunately, Covid-19 has caused this summer’s…

By Alon Ben-Meir The murder of George Floyd by a police officer in broad daylight came amid a high point in the continuing rampage of the coronavirus throughout the country, killing over 100,000 and infecting nearly 2 million while more than 45 million have lost their jobs. The death of Floyd is no longer seen…

By Angelo Lynn Donald Trump is a failed president. Americans are facing the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression of the 30s, the worst pandemic since the Spanish Flu of 1918, and the worst civil unrest and protests since the riots of the late 1960s. It is no coincidence that these three calamities have…

By Rep. Randall Szott, D-Barnard Around this time last year, as the legislative session was ending, I was reflecting on the meaning of politics and the politics of meaning. I wrote and published my thoughts and ended on this note, “If we pursue a legislative agenda committed to putting meaning at the center of our deliberations, we…