Letters

Dear Editor, Since the November election, many Vermont Democrats have been reflecting on the results and lessons learned. To some, a significant problem was messaging. A funny thing about Democrats is that we often can’t stop explaining everything. “If only we could explain [insert idea/program/policy here] in a way that people could really understand, they…

Dear Editor,  More than any post-election period that I can recall, Vermonters remain heavily engaged since November’s election. So engaged that many want to know why the problems highlighted on Nov. 5 haven’t already been fixed: education property taxes, housing affordability and availability, healthcare costs, public safety, and the Clean Heat Standard.  This urgency, like…

Dear Editor, As we welcome the New Year, many Vermonters set resolutions to build new skills, improve their health, or spend more time with loved ones. This year, let’s add a resolution that really pays off: saving for retirement. Saving for retirement can be daunting, especially for Vermonters living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to…

Dear Editor, Thanks to G. Gregory Hughes for his Dec. 18 letter, “The dictates of conscience in Vermont.” Mr. Hughes identifies a fundamental flaw in our laws: they allow spending tax money on religious schools. He also suggests a sensible solution to the problem: eliminating state expenditures on all private or religious schools. To paraphrase…

Dear Editor, As we think about the new year, we often ponder the positive changes we want to make for ourselves, but why stop there? Remember your furry companions: you can make many easy resolutions to bring you happiness and enrich your pets’ lives. Just like us, pets need regular exercise to stay healthy. Do…

Dear Editor, As the commercial healthcare industry launches a public defense of itself in the wake of the killing of United Healthcare’s CEO, many point to Canada and the UK as reasons to fear a single-payer healthcare system for Americans. These single-payer opponents ignore why so many of us want a single-payer system.  You know,…

Dear Editor, In last week’s article by James Kent, “House Republicans mull a plan to repeal the environmental Clean Heat Standard,” he incorrectly suggests the cost impact on heating fuel is only a couple of cents per gallon, citing a report by Energy Futures. We wish that were true, but unfortunately it is not. Act…

Dear Editor, As 2024 draws to a close, I resolve to start the new year with optimism and determination to protect what we care about. Our shared connection to the natural world lies at the heart of Vermont’s identity. We love the beauty and bounty of our state. We also know that a healthy environment…

Dear Editor, Picture a young woman, nine months pregnant, compelled by forces beyond her control to leave home and make an arduous journey with her betrothed to a foreign land, unsure of their welcome there. At this time of year, most of us raised in the Christian tradition would pretty immediately, if unconsciously, imagine this…

Dear Editor, Let’s look at the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board and Department and tell me if it needs modernizing. And for those unaware, the Board is a 14-member volunteer group comprising hunters, trappers, hound hunters, and anglers from every county. The Board makes public policy decisions on our shared public wildlife without fair representation…

Dear Editor,                                                                                                      Does Vermont still believe in the separation of church and state? The newly elected legislature must address this question. In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Carson v. Makin decision required that states providing tuition reimbursement to independent and charter schools must extend those same programs to religious schools as well as nonreligious…

Dear Editor, According to a Dec. 9 article in VTDigger, a local slaughterhouse, Vermont Packinghouse, is under investigation again for cruelty to animals. Allegedly, workers failed to intervene when a truck driver unloading pigs kicked animals in the head and neck and shoved them off the back of the trailer. The pigs suffered heat stroke…

Dear Editor, As a former school district board member for 15 years, I know budgeting always comes with difficult choices — particularly when making cuts.  This year, the Mountain Views Supervisory Union (MVSU) board proposed $2.5 million in cuts — no small feat, especially because insurance costs and contractual obligations to teachers and staff rose…

Dear Editor, Editor’s note: This letter was originally scripted as a message to legislators. As you get ready to go to work in Jan. I wanted to share the budget situation in our district.  Due to the penalty phase being enacted, we calculated that we would need to cut $2.5 million to stay under the…

Dear Editor, Is aging at home working for you? Do you have an advocate that checks in, helps find what you need, someone to talk over what going on? I do in Sharon. We have Dena, Health Care Coordinator, because 10 years ago a group us formed the Sharon Health Initiative (SHI), to get this…