Dear Editor, In light of the thief of investor funds at Jay Peak and Burke and the Town of Newport, it is so ironic the state of Vermont approvals got things moving so fast. The lack of oversight with EB-S funds by the state, the movement of funds from People’s United Bank to a brokerage…

By Rob Roper Vermont Business Magazine (VBM) wrote about some good news for a Vermont economy that has otherwise been pretty moribund for several years. The bright spot is our tech industry. As the VBM article points out, “Vermont’s tech sector makes up a quarter of the state’s workers and 40 percent of its wages,…

By Paul Costello At the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) we get to work with rural towns throughout Vermont where we rally everyone to pull together, review all the issues before the community, evaluate potential collective action, set priorities, and line up together to advance the economy, attract youth, build senior housing or children’s…

By Jon Margolis, VTDigger.org (Editor’s note: Jon Margolis is VTDigger’s political columnist.) The 2016 session of the Vermont General Assembly did not legalize or decriminalize marijuana. It did not pull the state’s pension fund money out of coal or oil company stocks. It did not establish a commission or an agency or even a part-time…

Thank you to all my dear friends, my family and so many Killington well wishers who came out to celebrate my retirement. I’m touched by the outpouring of kind words and fond memories recalled. My life at Killington has surely been interesting, I always enjoyed hard work and helping my friends, my community and of…

Dear Editor, Last week a noted economist pointed out that Vermont’s exports have dropped 25 percent since 2010 while, nationally, exports have actually risen by 17 percent in that same time. This is troubling news especially when you consider that the exporting industries inside Vermont are the ones with the best wages, upward mobility for…

Killington continues to deliver the longest season in the East; conditions and temp better than reported Dear Editor, I have seen photos of Don McNeil (a.k.a. Shortski) in The Mountain Times more than once this year along with commentary that he has perfect attendance at Killington. I am the other person with an unbroken record…

Dear Editor, Vermont is riddled with lobbyists and bad money skills. Our state is truly suffering from the good ol’ boy club, a.k.a. nepotism. A friend of mine recently turned me onto money trails in Vermont, and it’s a sordid mess. However, our problems are solved by better ethics. A major criterion for ethics grading…

It seems that refugees are all anyone is talking about in Rutland. Beyond a simple statement in support of the effort, I’ve largely listened over the past few days. I didn’t want to add to the cacophony of refugee discussion without taking the time to collect my thoughts and express them simply and clearly. As…

By George Jaeger Among the most disturbing aspects of this bizarre election season is the absence of any serious discussion of America’s foreign affairs. Endless debates have produced simplistic themes that play to the gut feelings of parts of the electorate. But relatively little attention has been paid to the most critical world issues America…

The Page Memorial Frontier Animal Shelter in Orleans, Vt. would like to acknowledge and truly thank Claude Blais for carrying out an amazing fundraiser to benefit our shelter in memory of his beloved dog, Bullet. The fundraiser was held this April and raised $800. Thank you to all the wonderful Killington folks for supporting this…

By Deb Markowitz Every Earth Day, I take time to reflect on the importance of the work we do at the Agency of Natural Resources and how much I appreciate the passion and commitment of our over 600 employees. At ANR, our work to protect the environment is not just a job—it also provides a life…

By Emerson Lynn It breaks the heart to read the Securities and Exchange Commission’s allegations that the Jay Peak “miracle” was a “Ponzi-like” scheme involving the misuse of $200 million in investor funds. It is a story without victors. It’s a story from which we will have to recover. And that will take time. It…

By Job Tate Thankfully, Vermont is no “banana republic”—corruption, conflicts of interest and abuses of power by our elected officials are few and far between; and we continue to have one of the most accessible legislative bodies in the world. However, as the public trust continues to be tested by a mounting stream of either…

If drugs cause addiction, ceasing drug use would cure addiction. It doesn’t. Members of Narcotics and Alcoholics Anonymous are clean and sober. What’s causing their addiction, the drugs they don’t use? There would be a dose dependent relationship between use and addiction. There isn’t. An alcoholic can’t have one drink, but the vast majority can…