By Megan Sullivan Editor’s note: Megan Sullivan, of Jericho, is the vice president of government affairs for the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. Last year at this time, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce shared that “amid a nation more divided than ever, Vermont remains a leader in unity, particularly when it comes to agreeing on the top issues…

  By Secretary Lindsay Kurrle and Secretary Jenney Samuelson  Editor’s note: Lindsay Kurrle is the secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, which includes the Department of Housing and Community Development. Jenney Samuelson is the secretary of the Agency of Human Services.   Vermont faces a housing crisis. So, like we did during the…

  By Angelo Lynn Editor’s note: Angelo Lynn is the editor and publisher of the Addison County Independent, a sister publication of the Mountain Times.  Vermont Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), were joined by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) in sending a letter to President Biden expressing their serious…

By Bill Schubart Editor’s note: Bill Schubart is a retired businessman and active fiction writer, and was a former chair of the Vermont Journalism Trust, the parent organization for VTDigger.  I once weighed 485 pounds. I now weigh a bit over half that. My addiction to sugar and refined carbohydrates was killing me. When I…

  By David Moats David Moats, an author and journalist who lives in Salisbury, is a regular columnist for VTDigger. He is editorial page editor emeritus of the Rutland Herald, where he won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for a series of editorials on Vermont’s civil union law. At a time when facts, science, and the…

  By the Vermont State Colleges Labor Task Force Editor’s note: the VSC Labor Task Force is a group formed in 2020 that fights to bring faculty and staff voices and research to the decision-making processes that have accompanied the formation and ongoing transformation of the Vermont State University system.  Recent announcements from the Vermont…

  By Maria Gigliello  Editor’s note: Maria Gigliello is the communications coordinator for the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.  “They [Vermont Fish and Wildlife] need to be dispatched (tortured, beaten) the same way [as a trapped animal].” “You’re no better than the Ku Klux Klan.”  “Bunch of in-breds out there just shooting animals for fun.…

  By John McClaughry Editor’s note: John McClaughry writes for the Ethan Allen Institute, a conservative think-tank. Of all the problems facing today’s America, the most seemingly intractable is the intertwined issue of the physically and mentally sick and homeless, family breakdown, drug and alcohol addiction, street violence, retail theft, gang warfare, random shootings, protest…

How moving to Killington provided me with a fresh perspective — and a more granular comprehension — of my globetrotting transatlantic subjects  By Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff  Editor’s note: Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff is a historian, speaker, and consultant, author of “Basketball Empire: France and the Making of a Global NBA and WNBA” (Bloomsbury), “Views From the…

By Angelo Lynn Editor’s note: Angelo Lynn is the editor and publisher of the Addison County Independent, a sister publication of the Mountain Times. The ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is notable for many things — including the fact that it’s the first time in the nation’s history that a speaker has been dethroned,…

   By David Sharpe Editor’s note: David Sharpe of Bristol is a former long-time member of the Vermont House of Representatives, where he chaired the Education Committee.  It’s no surprise that the latest educational report of the widening gap in student performance in Vermont’s public schools is between students of means and those who live…

By Haviland Smith Editor’s note: Haviland Smith is a retired CIA operations officer who focused during his Cold War career in Eastern and Western Europe on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The Oxford dictionary defines democracy as “a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically…

  By James Lyall Editor’s note: James Lyall is the executive director at the ACLU of Vermont. We all want to live in healthy, safe, vibrant communities, where everyone is treated fairly, and their rights are respected. We need leaders whose vision for Vermont is consistent with those goals and with these shared values.  …

  By Walt Amses Editor’s note: Walt Amses is a resident of North Calais. As the current uptick of Covid comes into focus — likely more than reported since keeping track of infections became a political nonstarter — the initial fall season’s conspiracy theories are making their debut.  Weirdest so far is that these new…

  By Angelo Lynn President Joe Biden’s age has always been a secondary concern, but rarely has it captured the headlines as it has the past few weeks. Biden is a fit 80; he eats well, is trim, is disciplined and exercises daily. He has a speech impediment, always has, that makes him less articulate…