Dear Editor, Why are American health care costs so high?  Experts offer up an extensive menu of explanations, which other experts dispute.  The answer is a lot simpler than they make it.  To paraphrase James Carville, “It’s the administrative costs, stupid.” In 2011, the Commonwealth Fund reported that U.S. medical offices spent 20.6 hours a…

Dear Editor, In the aftermath of last Thursday’s electoral vote at the State House, the talk being bandied about by some members of the Vermont Legislature that they should give up their power to elect the state’s national guard adjutant general over to the governor is dangerously myopic in lieu of the threatening situation taking…

Dear Editor, My name is Lisa Ryan and I am running for reelection to the Board of Aldermen. My experience as a member of the Board of Aldermen since 2017 has been one of personal and collective growth. I have learned just how important it is to not only stay true to my beliefs and goals,…

Dear Editor, I am writing in enthusiastic support of Lisa Ryan’s reelection to the Rutland City Board of Aldermen. I have known Lisa Ryan since she was a student in the Rutland City Public Schools (RHS 2007) and recognized her strong character and sense of service even as a young woman. Lisa holds a BA…

Dear Editor, When I first bought a ski house in Killington in 2001, I never dreamed that in 2015, my wife, Rebecca, and I would decide to move up to live here full time with our two sons. There’s no question that Killington is a great place to live, but it has its issues (like…

Dear Editor, Hello taxpayers of Killington, it’s Jim Haff. I’m not on the ballot this year, surprise! But a good friend of mine, Chuck Claffey, is on the ballot, and I’m asking you to help Chuck become the next Select Board member for the Town of Killington. Chuck works for Nat West Financial as a…

Dear Editor, I have had many conversations with hundreds of people including local school leadership in regard to the current state of education in Vermont. I have written many commentaries that have been published in newspapers throughout the state as well as having met with the Governor and other officials. The state’s response as is…

Dear Editor, The real travesty to the news like that of recent similar instances that Green Mountain College will be closing due to economic problems is that meanwhile billions upon billions of federal taxpayer money goes to funding a bloated military budget for endless phony wars to generate endless military/industrial corporation profits. America is more…

Dear Editor, To our wonderful community at large: It’s been over nine years since I was hired to run the Rutland Youth Theatre as its leader. It has been an amazingly successful ride for all those years of making magic together and one I have done with love! At this time, however, I have decided…

Dear Editor, There have been many misconceptions by the general public regarding the need for a new Public Safety Building. The major objection is to the cost, with no real regard to the pressing need due to the antiquated facility (Oren Bates Firehouse). The old firehouse is not in need of repair, it is in…

Dear Editor, As a young and native Vermonter who is committed to this state it has been frustrating to watch many of my peers leave Vermont for more affordable college opportunities. I know this frustration is shared and felt by many Vermonters. These include small, large, local business owners and employers who are struggling to…

Dear Editor, Each year the staff and volunteers at Black River Good Neighbor Services collect food and toys during December and distribute them to deserving families throughout the area. This distribution dates back to well before the creation of BRGNS, but our staff and volunteers are proud to continue the tradition and to serve our…

Dear Editor, By the time you are reading this we hope that the government shutdown has ended. But if not, the folks at Black River Good Neighbor Services in Ludlow want to remind any government employee who is having trouble meeting financial obligations that we stand ready to help with food or heating assistance. We…

Dear Editor, Pizza is a big and tasty business in America; luscious and lip-smacking. In 2015, $38.5 billion worth of pizza was sold nationwide, according to Pizza magazine. The story of America’s love relationship with pizza began in 1905 in New York City—not Italy. Drum roll, please. Put your hands together for Gennaro Lombardi—then say…

Dear Editor, Secretary of Commerce and Community Development Mike Schirling highlighted actions his agency has taken to make a positive impact on Vermont’s previously lackluster economic development program: “focusing on fundamental activities, supporting economic growth, and affordability,” in a recent VTDigger piece. There are many moving parts to economic development. Presently, Vermont has spread those…