By Mary E. Mendoza Editor’s note: Mary E. Mendoza is an assistant professor of history and Latino/a Studies at Penn State University. She lives in Weybridge. Because I teach about the history of race in America, I often ponder the differences between equity and equality. In addition, the start of my current semester teaching Latino…

By Angelo Lynn Editor’s note: Angelo Lynn is the editor and publisher of the Addison County Independent, a sister publication to the Mountain Times. A bill introduced last week to reform the way Vermont sheriffs operate is a step in the right direction, and sorely needed. Currently Vermont sheriffs have an unseemly way of earning…

By Lise Sparrow Editor’s note: Rev. Dr. Lise Sparrow is the chair of religious affairs of the Windham County NAACP. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.”  Here in Vermont the dismantling of structural racism has been happening slowly but relentlessly…

By Scott Giles and Joyce Judy Editor’s note: Scott Giles is the president and CEO of Vermont Student Assistance Corp; Joyce Judy is president of the Community College of Vermont. We’ve long known that the most promising jobs in Vermont require education and training beyond high school. Yet too often, Vermonters seeking that education and…

By Jim Condos For more than 35 years, it has been my great honor to serve the people of Vermont as a public servant as: Secretary of state for 12 years, state senator for eight years, and South Burlington city councilor for 18 years.  During this time, I have always worked hard to serve Vermont’s…

By Michael J. Caduto Editor’s note: Michael J. Caduto is author and co-author of more than 20  books, including the “Keepers of the Earth” series. He is executive director of Sustainable Woodstock. He lives in Reading. Although Jan. 1 is day one in the year of the Western (Gregorian) calendar, it is not written in…

By Robert S. Emmons Editor’s note: Robert S. Emmons has maintained a private psychiatric practice in Vermont for 33 years. He is a member of the volunteer clinical faculty at UVM Larner College of Medicine, where he has taught in the fields of professionalism, ethics and psychoanalytic psychotherapy. It’s hard to wrestle old habits to…

By Narain Batra Editor’s note: Narain Batra is a media and First Amendment scholar affiliated with the diplomacy and international program in the graduate college at Norwich University. He lives in Hartford. Joy to the world! Freedom is rising. On Dec. 6, we saw another embodiment of what the American dream is made of: A…

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.  It’s hard to overstate the impact Sen. Patrick Leahy has had on Vermont, and the nation, during his 48-year tenure at the U.S. Senate. Reading a complete list of his many…

By Angelo Lynn Editor’s note: Angelo Lynn is the editor and publisher of the Addison County Independent, a sister publication to the Mountain Times.  Republican Gov. Phil Scott’s announcement to launch a paid leave program for state employees is a cynical, political move that has sparked deserved criticism. With Democrats pressing for a universal paid…

By Walt Amses Editor’s note: Walt Amses is a writer who lives in North Calais. Between the time I’m writing this and you’re reading it, there likely have been several mass shootings, bringing the total to well over 600 so far this year, a number that, however astounding, increases annually in a country with more…

By Emerson Lynn Editor's note: Emerson Lynn is the former editor and publisher of the St. Albans Messenger. He is also the uncle of Polly Mikula, editor/copublisher of this publication. OneCare is the accountable care organization whose purpose it is to shift Vermont’s health care spending from a fee-for-service model to one in which hospitals…

Editor’s note: Angelo Lynn is the editor and publisher of the Addison County Independent, a sister publication to the Mountain Times. Since Election Day, Americans have seen a sea-change of political fortunes and attitudes: from the conservative Trump-supporters who expected the red wave to push Democrats from power and hobble President Joe Biden’s next two…

By Gov. Phil Scott At 4 a.m. the day before every election, my team and I set out on a 14-county tour, visiting all of Vermont’s 14 counties in one day. This 500+ mile tour was a way to put things into perspective. It reinforces how beautiful our state is and how much it has to…

By Steve Costello Editor’s note: Steve Costello is one of the organizers of the Gift-of-Life Marathon. As we approach the 20th annual Gift-of-Life Marathon Blood Drive, during a period of divisiveness and ugliness nationally and at times even in Vermont, I’ve been reflecting on some of the people who’ve become synonymous with the GOLM and…