By Barrie Dunsmore This will be my last column of 2017. Traditionally, this has been an opportunity for reflection on important events of the past year, usually with a look ahead – and if possible – a positive spin that the glass is half full rather than half empty. As human beings I believe most…

By Daryle Thomas Once you know where you are, it’s easy to get to where you want to be. And that, dear reader, is why you need to test your garden soil. A bit of a leap? Not really. Garden soil is not just dirt. You have sand, silt, a little bit of clay, and…

By Carl Diethelm, a.k.a. Compost Carl As a tenant not owning his own home and living in town, I understand how difficult it can seem to be to compost food scraps instead of putting them in the trash. There might not be space to compost outside (if the landlord would allow it), or it could…

By Julie Moore Despite the Scott administration’s commitment to restoring Vermont’s waterways and funding clean water initiatives, recent news stories have contained inaccurate information and given the false impression that we’re decelerating our efforts. This is simply not the case. The Agency of Natural Resources, and all the partners engaged in this work – including…

By Lee Hamilton A dozen years ago, the preface to a report on federal election reform began with these words: “Polls indicate that many Americans lack confidence in the electoral system, but the political parties are so divided that serious electoral reform is unlikely without a strong bipartisan voice.” I can find no part of…

By Carl Diethelm, a.k.a “Compost Carl” Most people remember visiting “the dump” as a kid and being awestruck by the sight of piles and piles of stuff. There were big machines building mountains with the materials, and if you were lucky, there might be an old bike to ride down the hill! It sure wasn’t…

By Rob Roper There is a vote fraud case in Vermont, currently in the Essex Superior Court, in which a family of second home owners from Connecticut (parents and two adult children) registered to vote in the town of Victory, and did so. Their votes likely altered the outcome of a local election, which was…

By Jon Margolis, VTDigger That was an impressive event starring Sen. Bernie Sanders last week, reflecting impressive political progress for him and his allies. Just a couple of years ago, Sanders couldn’t get a single cosponsor on a bill to create a “Medicare-for-all” single payer health care system. Now he has at least 15, including Vermont…

By Barrie Dunsmore How will it end? When will it end? As a  geezer with the newspaper column, those are the questions I am constantly asked. (If I knew the precise answers I could start a new career in Las Vegas.) Of course neither I nor anyone else knows how and when the presidency of…

By Angelo S. Lynn Walls to divide, or bridges to unite? On the campaign trail, politicians of all stripes promise big things — but few were as boastful, wasteful and wrong-headed as “The Donald” was during his run-up to the Republican convention and throughout the general election. After his first eight months in office, he’s accomplished…

By Lee Hamilton One reason I consider myself fortunate to have led a life in politics is that, over time, I’ve had a chance to work with nine presidents. From Lyndon Johnson through Barack Obama, I’ve talked policy, politics and, sometimes, the trivial details of daily life with them. Johnson was a deal-maker — always…

By Mike Smith In the early 1960s we still had racist state laws defending the widespread practice of segregation. Slowly — too slowly for many black Americans — those laws began to change. However, racism and bigotry don’t end by changing laws. In many respects, integrating lunch counters, schools and bathrooms is the easy part.…

By David Russell Editor’s note: This commentary is by David Russell of Perkinsville, who is a retired renewable energy and securities consultant and whose writing appears in venues including the The Hill and Huffington Post. Military analysts surmise that North Korea has a small nuclear weapon it can mount on the ballistic missiles it has…

By Jack Hoffman Economist Art Woolf wrote recently that Vermont spends too much on education because taxes are too low for many residents. Woolf was referring specifically to resident homeowners who qualify to pay school taxes as a percentage of their income rather than on the value of their property. According to Woolf, because their income-based taxes are…

By Lee H. Hamilton Do ordinary citizens still have a voice in Washington and in their state capitals? Despite the cynicism of these times, my answer is, yes, we do. But we have to exercise it. I don’t just mean going to a town hall meeting and yelling, or shooting off a letter or email.…