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…

  By E. Thomas Sullivan & Stephen C. Terry Editor’s note: E. Thomas Sullivan is resident emeritus and professor of law and political science at University of Vermont where he writes and teaches in constitutional law and history. He is also a former Provost, Dean of the Law School, and Professor of Law at the…

  By Ali Jalili Editor’s note: Ali Jalili, Burlington, is a retired Foreign Service officer who served with the State Department all over the world, primarily as an economic officer.  Vermont needs more people, especially young people and families who want to make Vermont a permanent home where they will work and contribute to a…

  By Ken Cadow Editor’s note: Ken Cadow of Norwich is co-principal of Oxbow High School in Bradford, a board member of Green Mountain Economic Development Corp., and author of a book, “Gather,” that’s coming out in October. When I tell people from away that I work in a school with around 400 kids, grades…

   Editor’s note: The following is a joint statement from the leaders of Vermont’s local United Ways, which each contribute funding to Vermont 211.   State officials repeatedly urged Vermonters to call 211 to report damages and get connected to resources in the days and weeks following July’s catastrophic flooding. Ten days before the disaster,…

  By Tom Rogers Editors note: Tom Rogers, of Stowe, works for The Nature Conservancy in Vermont.  Vermont’s increasingly destructive flooding disasters are happening because our rivers are doing exactly what we have spent more than 200 years intentionally designing them to do — rush water off the land as quickly as possible.  As the…

  By Elizabeth Sawin Editor’s note: Elizabeth Sawin, of Hartland, is the founder and director of the Multisolving Institute, a think tank helping implement solutions that protect the climate while improving equity, health, biodiversity, economic vitality and well-being. In the aftermath of the July floods, my home state of Vermont faces a daunting path to recovery. Flooding…

  By Angelo Lynn Like the rain in Vermont these past two weeks, signs of climate change are everywhere. From record heat waves to record rainfall, melting icecaps to Canadian forest fires so extensive the residual smoke from 1,000s of miles away has become a health concern up and down the East Coast. Almost no…

  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.  As Vermont braces for more rain again later this week, state, municipal and volunteer crews are working miracles to restore devastated downtowns, get commercial and retail buildings cleaned out, and…

  By Bill McKibben Editor’s note: Bill McKibben is an internationally known climate activist and writer who lives in Ripton. In Vermont, the scent of wood smoke on a late fall afternoon is an iconic smell. It’s not like that here today, in the first week of June — it’s more like sitting on the…