Dear Editor, Nearly 97 percent of Vermont’s businesses are classified as “small” according to the Small Business Association (SBA). Statistics provided by the SBA report that between 2010 and 2013 Vermont had 77,726 small businesses and that, of that number, 60,067 businesses were without employees. These businesses primarily survive through contract work with other business…

By Gov. Peter Shumlin Last month, the Vermont Senate passed a bill to end the failed War on Drugs policy of marijuana prohibition in Vermont. This was a big step forward for our state. Bringing marijuana out of the shadows of prohibition is a smarter approach to regulating a substance that over 80,000 Vermonters admit…

By Wendy Reese Teaching yoga for 15 years, I’ve come to know that yoga improves balance, strength, flexibility and the ability to surrender. Unknowingly, I became a student of yoga from a most unlikely teacher when I volunteered for a nine-month appointment on our Select Board. Our board consisted of a newly elected selectman and…

By Don Turner The Fiscal Year 2016 Appropriations Act promised that the state legislature would embark on a “multiyear process to align state spending” in order to balance overall revenues and expenditures. By delineating comprehensive measures, the budget bill aimed to correct the ever-growing spending problem in Montpelier. These steps included reducing the reliance on…

Dear Editor, A new Vermont law extending paid time off benefits to tens of thousands of workers is good for the state’s economy and will result in a healthier and more stable workforce. Governor Peter Shumlin signed H.187, an act relating to the absence from work for health care and safety, into law Wednesday morning,…

Dear Editor, On behalf of the staff, volunteers and board of directors of the Rutland Area Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice (RAVNAH), I would like to thank the city, towns, and residents of Rutland County for your strong and heartfelt support of our comprehensive home care, hospice and community health services. Thanks to your vote…

Dear Editor, It is with heartfelt appreciation that the members of the Board of Directors and the staff of the Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging thank voters of Rutland and Bennington Counties for your continued funding of our work serving elders and their caretakers. Thanks to your financial assistance, we are able to provide such…

By Sen. Christopher Bray Vermonters want a greater voice in solving this century’s greatest challenge—how to change our economy from one powered by burning fossil fuels to one powered by clean, renewable energy. Over the past several years, the legislature has struggled to find the right way to promote this energy transformation while also empowering…

Dear Editor, Debbie Haskins’ recent op-ed titled “Youth and marijuana: Colorado’s experience and efforts” published in the March 9-15 edition of The Mountain Times, claims that a government survey (the National Survey of Drug Use and Health) showed dramatic increases in marijuana use by teens (12-17) and young adults (18-25) in the year immediately following…

Dear Editor, In response to the article “Budget Proposal Raises Worries of Waitlist for Child Care Subsidy” published by VTDigger.org last week, Let’s Grow Kids would like to issue the following statement to the media. Vermont cannot afford to place the healthy development of our children on a waiting list. Every Vermont child deserves a…

By Gov. Peter Shumlin I’ll admit that I don’t understand how Washington D.C. and Congress work most of the time. For years, Republicans in Congress have thrust the institution into perpetual gridlock, so much so that it struggles to fulfill its most basic responsibilities. Even after the death of a Supreme Court Justice, Senate Republicans…

By Debby Haskins When recreational marijuana was made legal in Colorado, the governor and other proponents promised that they would keep it out of the hands of youth. It’s the same promise Governor Shumlin and other legalization proponents are now making here. Can they succeed? The answer from Colorado is a resounding “No.” The newly-released…

By Lee H. Hamilton These are very unhappy times in Washington. Relations between the executive and legislative branches are not just sour, but corrosive. Partisan paralysis and game-playing on Capitol Hill have become a hallmark of these times, as has the evident distaste our nation’s leaders feel for one another. It would be understandable to…

Dear Editor, In the wake of the recent election it has come to my attention that a certain prominent member of the community has made some proprietary statements to the Killington Pico Areas Association (KPAA) concerning the 1 percent options tax. This person stated the tax is raised by the businesses and infers because the…

Dear Editor, Hip hip hooray for Jim Haff’s excellent run for Selectboard. Jim, you stuck to the issues, and with honesty and integrity you made your case for a better Town of Killington. Hip hip hooray for Jim Haff’s attention to details. Jim, again, you brought attention to the “mistakes” in this year’s Town Book…