By Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos and Deputy Secretary of State Chris Winters It only takes just a few minutes online to get a snapshot of America in 2022; a country divided; a digital battleground of rhetoric where information is wielded as a weapon. We hold faith that we can still heal this divide…

By Janet McLaughlin Editor’s note: This commentary is by Janet McLaughlin of Burlington, executive director of the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children. Just before the calendar flipped to 2022, thousands of Vermont families with school-age children picked up free Covid rapid tests to ensure as safe a return to school as possible.…

By Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) As you read this, the number of Covid cases in Vermont are reaching levels far greater than at any point in the crisis. Today, I am writing to you with some news that should be of help as we fight this terrible pandemic. The scientific community has been very clear…

By Angelo Lynn It’s not surprising that any governor of Vermont faced with creating a budget with more than $1 billion in one-time ARPA money (with $500 million still left to spend), plus another $2.2 billion coming from the congressional infrastructure package, would choose to spread it around to as many constituencies as possible for…

By Ben Smith Editor's note: Ben Smith is an emergency physician and medical director of the emergency department at Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin. American health care is in crisis. On NPR (“On Point,” Nov. 29) an ICU nurse recently said that anyone would leave the field if they were paid the same wage…

Vaccination mandates and 'test to attend' programs needed now By Jim Haff Editor’s note: Jim Haff is the Killington representative in the Windsor Central School District and Killington Select Board member. This commentary was written as an open letter to Vermont’s elected leaders on Jan. 10. You are not protecting our children. Over the holidays…

By Angelo Lynn It is to be hoped Jan. 6, 2021 will be a date that long resonates in our nation’s history. That historians will accurately assess the roots of the deadly insurrection on the nation’s Capitol, determine those responsible for assembling the crowd and encouraging them to storm Congress in what turned out to…

Dear Editor, We, the older Vermonters (including voters and taxpayers), must make it clear to younger Vermonters that our most crucial task and the most urgent job is to fix the broken two-party political system. Why, you ask? Only younger Vermonters can achieve the political transformation in the shortest amount of time to break up…

By Angelo Lynn It’s no surprise that Covid-19, the delta variant and its effect on our collective lives will be remembered as the top story of 2021. It’s likely the twists and turns of this pandemic will remain dominant in our lives in 2022 as well. To that end, it’s not hard to see the…

By David Martins Editor's note: Martins is the director of the Vt. Affordable Housing Coalition. “Out of storm and manifold perils rose an enduring state, the home of freedom and unity” — These words are the epitaph printed on the gravestone of the first governor of Vermont, Thomas Chittenden. The phrase serves as an acknowledgement…

By Karl Meyer Editor's note: This commentary is by Karl Meyer of Greenfield, Mass., a member of the Fish and Aquatics Studies Team in this FERC relicensing process since 2012. He did not sign a confidentiality agreement with FirstLight. Meyer is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists.   No river should die in the…

By Rep. Emilie Kornheiser Editor’s Note: Rep. Emilie Kornheiser, D-Brattleboro, is vice chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, co-chair of the task force on the implementation of the pupil weighting factors report, and a state legislator since 2019. Vermont’s commitment to equitable access to education is enshrined in our constitution, which established the…

By Steve Costello Editor’s note: Steve Costello is the vice president of Green Mountain Power. Time and again, Vermonters amaze and inspire with their kindness and generosity — from our communities’ strength seen throughout Vermont during the 10th anniversary of Tropical Storm Irene just last month, to the seemingly endless acts of kindness that have…

By Angelo Lynn As Congress grills the Biden administration on its troubled withdrawal from Afghanistan, as small businesses throughout Vermont and many parts of the nation struggle to hire enough employees to keep their businesses open, as housing prices rise and millions of Americans can’t find affordable solutions, as the climate crisis magnifies, or as…

By John McClaughry Editor’s Note: McClaughry, vice president of the Ethan Allen Institute, a free-market oriented public policy research and education organization. A large insurance company has been flooding the television channels with an advertising slogan “Only Pay for What You Need.” It’s an interesting exercise to apply that idea to various public spending issues.…