By Emerson Lynn What passes for economic development in Vermont is largely ineffective and not suited for the 21st century, according to Peter Stromgren and Bill Schubart who co-wrote a recent op-ed that was widely circulated. They are correct in the sense that what we have – the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development…

By Lawrence Zupan “A, my name is Alice, and I come from Arlington, Vermont, and we sell... abortions.” The above variation on the children’s innocent alphabetical song game might well become reality if a bill currently under consideration by the State House Human Services Committee is actually passed into law. This ghoulish, grisly, and garish…

By Vermont Humane Federation On Christmas Day a Pittsford family dog was shot and killed by a man when he mistook the dog for a coyote. The man claims that he thought the coyote was chasing a deer. Neither party has yet to be cited for a legal violation by the state police. Eastern Coyotes…

By Angelo Lynn What happens when Democrats and Americans begin to confront Trump? When they call his bluff and simply say, “This will hurt you more than it will hurt us.” Democrats were at that point with the government shutdown but they had three important reasons not to give in: First, they’re in the right;…

By Ross Sneyd As with most adages, there’s truth to the one we hear a lot. Vermont can be an expensive place to live. After we pay the rent or mortgage,  taxes, health care, transportation and heating, there’s often not much left over. It’s a fact of our rural economy. But that’s no reason to…

By Pamela Frasher As a record number of female members of Congress are sworn in this month in Washington, D.C., things are different in Vermont. Here, top state officials are removing elected officials from local office, and the removals disproportionately affect women. In interpreting Act 46, Vermont’s 2015 school consolidation law, the state is attempting…

By Angelo Lynn As political partisanship reaches an all-time high in the country (recent studies show the nation’s two major political parties have never been further apart in terms of their priorities and ideology), Vermont’s political leaders offered a different scenario on the opening days of this biennium. In Gov. Phil Scott’s inaugural address on…

By Anson Tebbetts As we enter a new year, many Vermont dairy farmers, as well as farmers nationwide, continue fighting through their economic fog. Trapped in an antiquated federal dairy pricing system, Vermont’s hard-working stewards of the land are at the whim of a highly competitive global structure. Compensation for their milk is out of…

By Rob Roper As a result of the November 2018 elections, Vermont Democrats and Progressives achieved veto-proof majorities in both chambers of the Legislature. Their first priority flexing this new muscle is to pass a mandatory, government-run, paid family leave program that will require a new payroll tax. This proposal demonstrates exactly why Vermont is…

By Angelo Lynn Just 16 hours after Trump’s prime-time speech from the Oval Office urging support for his border wall fell flat Tuesday night, news organizations reported he slammed his hand down on the table and walked out of a Wednesday afternoon meeting with Democratic congressional leaders declaring angrily that trying to negotiate was a…

By Lawrence Zupan “If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street, If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat. If you get too cold I’ll tax the heat, If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet…  TAXMAN!” Though that’s from a 1966 song by The Beatles (“Taxman”), with our Legislature plotting to…

By Josh Decatur On July 1, 2018 Vermont became the ninth state to allow the legal possession and consumption of cannabis for adult use. In other words, cannabis is now legal in Vermont. Under current law, any Vermonter 21 years of age or older can cultivate up to two mature and four immature plants and…

By Scott Giles Nearly every conversation about the economic future of our state begins and ends with the need for greater workforce development and for Vermonters to get the education and training required for the available jobs today and the ones coming down the line. Economists project that by 2020, nearly seven out of 10…

By James Ehlers As you know, 2019 is a constitutional amendment year, with the next one not coming until 2023. For this reason, I ask, on behalf of a broad constituency of Vermonters, for your consideration of and assistance in amending our Vermont Constitution beginning this coming legislative session. Vermont’s Bill of Rights, Chapter I…

By Anson Tebbetts As we enter a new year, many Vermont dairy farmers, as well as farmers nationwide, continue fighting through their economic fog. Trapped in an antiquated federal dairy pricing system, Vermont’s hard-working stewards of the land are at the whim of a highly competitive global structure. Compensation for their milk is out of…