By Lee H. Hamilton You know who I feel sorry for? Today’s politicians. You’ll laugh at this, but hear me out. This is a very tough time to be a politician—whether running for office or trying to lead while holding office. The people who have undertaken to represent us face circumstances that make campaigning and…

By Steve Costello With war, terrorism and violence topping the news pages and newscasts on an almost daily basis, social media and ordinary conversation of late has been rife with disillusionment. For anyone discouraged by national and world affairs, one need look no further than the recently completed Gift-of-Life Marathon for a homegrown antidote. Tuesday’s…

Dear Editor, Vermont, like many states, is dealing with a budget deficit; this year, legislators are grappling with an estimated $40 million shortfall. New sources of revenue are increasingly hard to come by, so the idea of increasing tax revenues by legalizing recreational marijuana has, for some, a distinct appeal. Proponents like the Marijuana Policy…

Limiting global warming to under two degrees By Deb Markowitz, Secretary, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources The last time I was in Paris, the temperature was unbearable. The country was suffering through a record-setting heat wave that caused the deaths of over 100 people. Needless to say, our visit to this beautiful and historic city…

By Sue Minter Three dead and nine wounded at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs. Fourteen dead and more than 20 wounded in San Bernardino, California. In less than one week. Gun violence is a crisis in our country. It’s happening in our schools, our movie theaters, our workplaces, our community health centers, our…

By Lt. Governor Phil Scott At the start of every legislative session since being elected Lt. Governor, I’ve urged legislators to evaluate every proposal based on whether it helps our economy, improves efficiencies or reduces costs. If the answer to any of those questions was “yes,” then I suggested they put it on the front…

By Gov. Peter Shumlin For most of the last two decades, Vermont’s prison inmate population has been rising. Between 1997 and 2008, it grew by 86 percent. Projections made in 2007 said that Vermont’s inmate population would grow to 2,619 by November 2015. After years of work to reform Vermont’s criminal justice system that trend…

By Lee H. Hamilton You can understand why President Obama and congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle sought to cast their end-of-October budget deal in the best possible light. They avoided a potentially catastrophic national default. They reduced the possibility of a government shutdown. And they raised the debt ceiling until March, 2017,…

By Rebecca Holcombe and Scott Giles Fifty years ago, on Nov. 8, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Higher Education Act of 1965 into law. This historic act marked our first commitment to universal access to higher education, and represented one of the great achievements of the Civil Rights movement. Reflecting on the momentous occasion, President…

By Gov. Peter Shumlin When we talk about renewable energy, the focus is often on the project–the solar panel or the wind turbine that allow us to harness local, Vermont-grown energy to power homes and business around the state. But if we dig deeper we find that renewable energy projects are about more than the…

New report outlines the impacts By Julia Purdy At its Town Meeting in Killington recently, the Vermont League of Cities and Towns came out in opposition to the legalization of recreational marijuana in Vermont. Apparently they have read the latest report, “The Legalization of Marijuana in Colorado: the Impact  Vol. 3,” issued in August by…

By Steve Costello As many of your readers may recall, I enjoy perusing “Aesop’s Fables” from time to time, and look for lessons that apply to life, work and community. Three recent events, a speech by incoming Rutland Police Chief Brian Kilcullen, a conversation with filmmaker Art Jones, and an Associated Press article about Rutland’s…

By Rob Roper A recent article about the new school district consolidation law, Act 46, quoted a state legislator whose reaction seems to be representative of many parents, local school board members, students, and law makers who value and hope to preserve Vermont’s 150-year-old school choice tuitioning system: “I don’t think we can still have…

By Wendy Reese As an appointed Pittsfield Select Board member, one of my greatest concerns in our town is dissemination of information, particularly when it comes to town business. While we post about meetings in three public locations and we have the minutes and agenda on the town website, you have to be proactive to…

By Gov. Peter Shumlin When I came to office in 2011, I made expanding broadband Internet access to every last mile a priority. No one thought achieving that goal would be easy, especially since previous governors had set similar goals, only to fall short in the end. The same features that make Vermont an ideal…