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…

By Cheryl Mitchell Editor’s note: Cheryl Mitchell is president of Treleven, a retreat and learning program located on her family’s sheep farm in Addison County. She does freelance consulting on issues related to children, families, social policy and farm to community work. She can be reached at [email protected]. There is a lovely new project emerging…

By Bill McKibben Editor’s note: Bill McKibben is an internationally known climate activist and writer who lives in Ripton. I am writing this dispatch from a southbound train, which left Middlebury at midday and is making its way — not too fast, not too slow — through Rutland and toward Penn Station in New York…

By Rick Weinstein Weinstein has a Ph.D. in Antarctic microbial ecology from Cambridge University and was a biology lecturer at the University of Tennessee for 15 years. He now lives in Stowe. There is no such thing as cold. That might sound idiotic coming from a Vermonter, but it’s true. In actuality there is only…

By Linda Johnson Editor’s note: Linda Johnson is the executive director of Prevent Child Abuse Vermont. It is difficult to comprehend that there is yet another mass murder of children in our country. Nonetheless, a young 18-year-old boy who appears to have been bullied, dropped out of school, was unemployed, fighting with his parents and…

By Angelo Lynn Editor’s note: Angelo Lynn is the publisher of the Addison Independent, a sister publication to the Mountain Times. If commonsense gun control legislation can’t convince Republican Senators to protect their constituents for fear of upsetting the gun lobby and white supremacists within their party, perhaps portraying the problem as a public health…

By Sen. Patrick Leahy Editor’s note: The following is a statement made by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, on the Senate floor Wednesday, May 11, during discussion about the Women’s Health Protection Act; a federal act that would protect a woman’s right for health care (and abortion) even if Roe v Wade is overruled. This federal…

By Jacob Pluta Editor’s note: Jacob Pluta is the principal broker of White Cap Realty and a board member of Rutland Young Professionals. From 2014 to the present day, Vermont’s real estate market has swung from a sluggish buyer’s market to a frenzied seller’s market. I became licensed to sell real estate in Vermont in…

By Emerson Lynn Editor’s note: Emerson Lynn is the former publisher and current editorial writer for the St. Albans Messenger. Tucked into H.159, a bill focused on community and economic development, is a provision that would create a pilot program for “project-based” tax increment financing (TIF) opportunities. Unlike the existing TIF programs, the pilot programs…

By Kesha Ram Hinsdale Editor’s note: Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale is a candidate for U.S. Congress. Educators and civil servants in Vermont made a promise to the communities they serve. They work for wages below those paid for comparable private sector jobs, and, in exchange, receive affordable health insurance, paid time off, and a stable…

By Jon Groveman Editor's note: Jon Groveman is a policy and water program director for the Vermont Natural Resources Council. Vermont’s Act 250, our one-of-a-kind statewide land use program, is often synonymous with the state’s environmental ethic. Act 250 has served Vermont well for more than 50 years, mitigating the impacts of large-scale development on…

By Isabella A. Johnson Editor's note: Isabella A. Johnson is working toward her master’s degree in public health at the University of Vermont. As a graduate student in public health, it becomes increasingly clear how fortunate I am to live in Vermont and share the landscape with abundant wildlife that contributes greatly to biodiversity. Many…