By Rob Roper Vermont is a tougher than average place to make a living. No secret there. One of the first questions you get from folks you meet is, “You live here full time? How do you make it work?” Some of the answers are necessarily creative. Vermont is a great place to live, but…

By Anne Galloway, VTDigger.org Shap Smith, the longtime speaker of the Vermont house of representatives, formally launched his campaign for governor on Wednesday, Aug. 19, in his hometown, Morrisville. He is the first candidate among a large field of "maybes" to declare a bid for governor. Smith used the former Arthur’s Department Store, which has…

RUTLAND — PEGTV, Rutland County’s public access television station, officially announce Tom Leypoldt as their new executive director on Tuesday, Aug. 25. Leypoldt has been the channel 15 coordinator for the last 20 years and will take over the helm starting Sept. 1. "Tom Leypoldt has been an important part of our community's PEGTV stations…

Dear Editor, Vito Rasenas’ letter in the Aug. 13-19 edition of The Mountain Times is right on the money. The Killington Selectboard and town manager have been slowly and methodically trying to eliminate the “Slip Road.” This started well over a year ago with a suggestion by one of the selectmen to create a park…

Dear Editor, I’ve asked two simple questions. Killington Selectboard Chair Patty McGrath believes she’s answered them. As a voter, I do not. To summarize my point: page 7 of our town report lists a Town of Killington Debt Summary, which does not include FEMA/flood debt. Since my questions regarding this, Patty, the Selectboard and management…

Dear Editor, We are a small group of people that live on Barrows Towne Road. Even smaller if you only count those of us that live on the stretch between Route 4 and Green Mountain National Golf Course. It is this stretch of road that is increasingly becoming more dangerous due to speeding traffic. Though…

By Scott A. Giles Nobody likes to take tests, myself included. So it was with a fair amount of trepidation that I accepted Secretary Holcombe’s invitation to take the new Smarter Balanced Assessments in April. My anxiety increased when I entered Montpelier High to discover we would be taking the 11th grade math assessments. Three…

Dr. Stephen Pitmon Vermont’s secretary of human services recently saluted the 50th anniversary of Medicaid. As the secretary pointed out, there’s much to celebrate. There are also many elements of the program that must be reformed if Vermont is to succeed in making health and dental care affordable for everyone. First, state government must acknowledge…

By Lee H. Hamilton The most important function Congress serves is to debate and pass the federal budget. I know—it also levies taxes, imposes or relaxes regulations, and once in a while nudges our social, economic or political order in a meaningful way. But the budget tells the government what to do and makes it…

Dear Editor, Earlier in July, Mr. Haff asked why the Town Report doesn’t show a deficit with flood funding and FEMA in the Town Report like the auditor’s report does? I answered his question in my July 29th letter to the Mountain Times (see “Killington Selectboard Chair addresses flood financing plans, transparency” on their website). Since,…

Dear Editor, I was disappointed when I learned that solar wasn’t a fit for my home. Here in Montpelier, the city has launched a Net Zero initiative—meaning we will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by investing in renewable energy. I wanted to be a part of that movement. I wanted to do my part…

Dear Editor, The inexorable march towards eliminating the West Hill Road slip lane advanced further at the Aug. 4, 2015, Select Board meeting wherein Chet Hagenbarth, town facilities and road manager, introduced his "West Hill Road signage package," which included removing the West Hill Road street sign from the top of the slip lane and…

Dear Editor, My second question about transparency in Killington was what are the town’s plans to fix the issue that the auditor pointed out about not having enough funds to sustain government operations for approximately two months? The response we received back from Killington Selectboard Chair Patty McGrath in her letter in last week’s edition…

Dear Editor, Concrete and asphalt do not constitute progress. Progress is having the vision to reserve fertile and open land for any number of agricultural purposes. Progress is assisting former vibrant downtowns to become healthy again by focusing economic activity and workers and customers in these already existing downtown centers. Think Randolph and Bethel. Progress…

Dear Editor, I would like to reply to Richard Kropp’s letter to the editor from June 17. Mr. Kropp suggests our town is not using the options tax money to reduce taxes as Rutland Town does and questions the golf course debt, as well as the repair and maintenance of assets such as the pool…