By Anson Tebbetts Editor’s note: Tebbetts is the secretary of the Vermont agency of agriculture, food and markets.  This season, we gather with friends and family. Perhaps you’re getting together for a home cooked meal, a potluck, or a special holiday celebration at the office or workplace. Maybe it’s to visit your favorite restaurant. We…

By Mike Pieciak, Vermont State Treasurer As Vermont’s Treasurer, I am committed to growing Vermont’s economy and building a more inclusive future for our state. To keep our economy on a positive track, we must address our demographic challenges and grow our workforce. I regularly hear from employers about the difficulty of finding workers —…

By Angelo Lynn Vermonters witnessed as much of a change election as we’ve seen in the past couple of decades, as Republicans gained six seats in the Senate and 18 seats in the House. The headlines blasted the story: Dems’ supermajority in both chambers was busted. And in the surprise outcome of the election, newly…

‘Not in my backyard’ is hitting Rutland hard, solutions must be statewide By Alis Headlam Editor’s note: Alis Headlam, of Rutland, is a former educator and member of Project VISION. The “not in my backyard” syndrome has put the Rutland area in a very difficult situation. Rutland has become the go-to place for people who…

By Mike Mrowicki Editor’s note: Mike Mrowicki is a state Representative for the Windham 4 District of Putney and Dummerston. For those experiencing sticker shock from viewing their property tax bills this year, you’re not alone. I get it. Or, I got it, as our tax bill soared on a 1,000-square-foot house on 2 acres,…

By John Vogel Editor’s note: John Vogel of Williston is a retired professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. The shortage and cost of housing in Vermont is a problem we can solve. Other states are showing us how.  In Minneapolis, apartment rents have declined by 4% over the last five years,…

By Angelo Lynn Editor’s note: Angelo Lynn is the editor and publisher of the Addison Independent in Middlebury, a sister paper to the Mountain Times.  Vermont Republicans running for election to the House or Senate have two ready-made campaign issues — inflation and high property taxes — and many are using it to their full…

By Elizabeth Bridgewater and Chris Campany Editor’s note: Elizabeth Bridgewater is the executive director of the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust. Chris Campany is the executive director of the Windham Regional Commission. Housing remains at the top of the media cycle for good reason: there are still not enough homes for people. Recently, Vermont’s Department…

By Jeffrey Reel  Editor’s note: Jeffrey Reel is a writer living in Hartland and author of “Uncommon Sense: The War on Hunger and Other Myths. How Our Adversarial Relationship With Life Undermines Our Best Intentions.” Critical thinking has been described as an ability to question; to acknowledge and test previously held assumptions; to examine, interpret, evaluate, reason,…

By Rep. Brian Cina Editor’s note: Brian Cina is a state Representative for Chittenden 15 (Old North End | East District, Burlington). Cina is also on the House Health Care Committee and House Ethics Panel. This commentary was originally addressed to the members of the Vermont General Assembly, Governor Scott and Administration, Lieutenant Governor Zuckerman,…

By Gov. Phil Scott Editor’s note: At a press conference Thursday, Sept. 12, Governor Phil Scott discussed the costs and barriers to implementing the Legislature’s Clean Heat Standard, and the impacts it will have on affordability. This is the transcript of that speech. Last year, I vetoed S.5, the so called ‘Affordable Heat Act’ which…

By Ann Manwaring Editor’s note: Ann Manwaring of Wilmington, a former Democratic state representative who served from 2007-2017. For six of the 10 years I was in the Legislature, representing the towns of Wilmington, Whitingham and Halifax, I was on the Appropriations Committee. We spent a good deal of our time in that committee listening…

Do all of these generational shifts matter? By David Moats Editor’s note: 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.…

By Karen Horn Editor’s note: This commentary is by Karen Horn of Moretown, where she serves on the planning commission. She retired as director of advocacy for the Vermont League of Cities and Towns in 2023. As for so many others, our property taxes went up by 26% this year, an appalling and unsustainable amount.…

By Leslie J. Matthews Editor’s note: Leslie J. Matthews, co-chair of the Vermont Workers’ Center campaign team. On August 12, the Green Mountain Care Board approved a 19.8% increase for BlueCross BlueShield premiums on Vermont Health Connect individual plans, along with a 22.8% increase for small group plans. This is the third year in a row with…