Dear Editor, As Health Careers Awareness Month in Vermont ends, it's time to keep up the buzz around the importance of health careers in our state. Vermont has among the highest shortages of medical professionals in the nation per capita, and the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated an already stressed and depleted health workforce. The need…

Dear Editor, Editor’s note: this is an open letter to Gov. Scott and Vermont Fish & Wildlife. My husband and I are hoping to relocate to New England next year. Vermont was our first choice. However, in researching the state’s regulations governing wildlife, we decided, regrettably, Vermont was not for us. My husband and I…

Dear Editor, Little scares me about Halloween or trick-or-treating. Ghosts, zombies, skeletons and witches have nothing on all the milk ingredients in candy and the frightening truth about the dairy industry. This is the industry that has spent billions convincing humans that drinking the milk of another species is okay. This is the industry that…

Dear Editor, This is in direct response to the article “Monkey Wrench: How the Delta Variant Caught Vermont Off Guard,” published in the Mountain Times Oct. 6. Why do case counts remain stubbornly high, despite vaccination of so many eligible Vermonters? Community spread. Without pairing vaccines with other mitigation measures, cases will increase or remain…

Dear Editor, I grew up spending summers on Lake Bomoseen, where Fair Haven was our nearest village for shopping, restaurants and other activities. I was also a soccer player in high school at that time, and spent two months in Germany, where I was invited to play soccer. My daughters all played soccer from grade…

Dear Editor, Covid cases are climbing around the state and Gov. Scott says “I don’t know why.” The answer is obvious: the abandonment of the indoor mask mandate. This is causing serious outbreaks across the state, particularly in schools. From the early days of the outbreak, Vermont was justly praised for keeping the numbers down.…

Dear editor, In 2022, after decades of hopes, fears and tears, Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express should finally restore passenger rail service between Rutland and Burlington, after a 69-year absence. The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTRANS) and media will closely track this $25 million project until the train becomes a reality: Vergennes Station/Platform restoration (summer 2020),…

Dear editor, In response to the article about combined state colleges to be named Vermont State University, it truly is time for the state of Vermont to come to terms with its support of its state college system. This problem has plagued the schools for years, not only because of the national issue colleges and…

Dear editor, Since 1964, Oct. 15 has been designated White Cane Safety Awareness Day to celebrate the achievements of people who are blind or visually impaired, and to recognize the importance of that tool for independence. The white cane is a symbol of strength and independence for blind and visually impaired people. As a blind…

Dear editor, Vermont is at an interesting crossroads with the fossil fuel empire. On the one hand, our Attorney General is suing ExxonMobil, Sunoco and Citgo for deceptive and unfair practices, as a consumer protection issue. Included is a proposal to prevent said companies from engaging in future unfair and deceptive acts, as well as…

Dear Editor, I am reaching out to express my support for universal school meals in Vermont. I am a recent resident of Middlebury, a longtime former resident of Brandon, and the mother of two children in the public school system. As a mother and a former student in the public school system, I am aware…

Dear Editor, I wanted to take a moment to reflect back and share to a time in my youth that I have such fond memories living for a couple years in Killington. The year was I believe 1972, give or take, I was in third or fourth grade. My family had made a move to…

Editor’s note: This is an open letter to the Vermont Legislature written by Commissioner Bram Kleppner, CEO of Danforth Pewter, on behalf of the Vermont Tax Structure Commission. Dear Legislators, Three years ago, you and the Governor asked us to spend two years studying Vermont’s tax system as a whole, and to make recommendations that…

Dear Editor, Farming, like most human activity, impacts the environment. During the last two decades — and particularly since 2016 — Vermont has taken progressive and calculated steps to reduce one such environmental impact: nutrient loss from farmland. On Aug. 19, Sen. Patrick Leahy hosted U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack at ECHO, Leahy Center…

By Shaun Christean Dear Editor, Everyone living in the Northeast has heard the warnings time and time again: always be vigilant for ticks after spending time outdoors. Tick habitat has increased substantially as higher latitudes are unlocked by warming climates, allowing ticks to edge further north every year. Tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease, babesiosis, and…