Dear Editor, The 2016 gubernatorial candidacy of Bill Lee marks the resurgence of the Liberty Union Party as the main voice of progressive conscience and thought in state politics as the Vermont Progressive Party has lost that distinction due to recent ill-advised decisions and bad campaign strategies in their attempts to collaborate with the establishment…

Dear Editor, Last Wednesday, June 15, at The Local in Rutland, Team Romulous raised money for animal cruelty investigations against a background of outrageous music by Rick Redington & the Luv with Swamp Cabbage. Founder Walter Parks and Rick generously donated their time for our cause. In his column last week in the Mountain Times,…

Dear Editor, At the Killington select board meeting, Tuesday, June 21, Ms. Kathryn Bellis whose husband was killed in an accident involving Craig Mosher’s bull July 31, 2015, was allowed to speak at the meeting during citizens input. What she said was for the most part a direct quote, from the letter that appeared in the…

By Stephanie Yu Young people and rich people are moving to Vermont. If this surprises you, you aren’t alone. You’re more likely to hear that the young and the wealthy are fleeing Vermont for better opportunities. Your neighbors bought a condo and moved to Florida. Your daughter got a good job and took off for Chicago. So…

By Jon Margolis, VTDigger.org (Editor’s note: Jon Margolis is VTDigger’s political columnist.) Last week the federal government came out with some new state-by-state economic data, and guess which state looks to be in pretty good shape. Yep, little ol’ Vermont. Not that its economy is booming. But now that the prices of oil and gas…

By Angelo S. Lynn The die has been cast: Clinton will be the Democrat nominee. She has won the majority of the pledged delegates, she has won more states and contests, her steadfast support is across more demographic sectors of the population and far stronger in the most populated regions of the nation. She also…

Dear Editor, When my husband and I moved to Chester in March of 2001 on a very snowy day it was impossible to really appreciate the meadow we had acquired. By the middle of April we were able to walk the property. As we were coming back to the house I mentioned to him what…

Dear Editor, The majority of the citizens who I hear oppose the refugee relocation program for Rutland are afraid to speak up or be branded “phobes” and bigots . . . nasty politics. The people are not opposed to humanitarian efforts or persons of cultural difference. It’s the lack of democratic process that angers them.…

I would like to thank everyone who bowled or made donations for the Strike Out Hunger Benefit Bowl, held on Friday, June 3. Together, we raised $1,726 for the Rutland Meals Challenge! This is enough money for us to package an additional 6,904 meals for local community dinner programs, food pantries and the Vermont Food…

Dear Editor, A big thank you to Amy Morrison for all of her help with organizing the town-wide tag sale and to the KPAA for the space.  Though the weather was less than perfect on June 11, the sale was somewhat of a success and we hope to make it an annual event. Again, thanks to…

Dear Editor, Ms. Bellis certainly has my sympathy for the loss of her husband. As she stated in her letter to the editor last week, not only did she lose her husband but also her best friend. No one can deny the gravity of such a loss. But I question her characterization of Craig Mosher…

Dear Editor, In response to the state of Vermont’s criminal charges of involuntary manslaughter, a criminal charge that could carry up to a 15-year prison sentence, against Craig Mosher, the owner of a Scottish Highlander bull that escaped its pasture when a tree caused a fence failure, leading to a tragic car crash and the…

By Gov. Peter Shumlin When I came to office in January 2011, I pledged to work every day to help make Vermont a more economically secure place to live, work, and raise a family. Back in 2011 our state still faced serious headwinds from the Great Recession. Vermont had lost nearly 10,000 jobs in the…

By Lee Kahrs, The Reporter One year ago, I wrote my first View From Here column. It was June 2015 and the U.S. Supreme Court, by a vote of 5-4, legally recognized the right of gay and lesbian Americans to marry. In writing that column, I came out to The Reporter readership. It wasn’t a…

By Deb Bucknam Last year Governor Shumlin issued an executive order “banning the box” for applicants for state employment. Last month, he signed a bill ordering that all private employers “ban the box.” Banning the box means that no employer can ask on an employment application if an applicant has a criminal record. In signing…