Dear Editor, After reading Gov. Shumlin’s letter to Rebecca Holcombe, secretary for the Vermont Agency of Education, dated Aug. 19, 2014, which outlines initiatives he hopes she and the Agency will pursue on his behalf to advance progress this year, I was confused on a number of topics.  Shumlin refers to the fact that many…

Dear Editor, When people in a community are concerned that their neighborhood is being overrun by crime, they start a Neighborhood Watch. They do so to protect their families, their property values, and their way of life. Nobody ever accuses them of NIMBYism; it’s only logical. Nobody says, “Well, the criminals have to go somewhere,…

Dear Editor, With all the news about the inability of a severely divided Congress to do much of anything except shift the blame to the other party, we can be proud that our U. S. Representative, Peter Welch, is bucking the trend.  For example, he worked across the aisle with Representative Trey Gowdy, a South…

By Angelo S. Lynn Vermont Gas Systems was taken to task last week by the governor’s office for, among other things, its cost overruns on Phase 1 of the pipeline project from Colchester to Middlebury, its lack of transparency in its handling of easement rights, and for using the eminent domain process in a way…

By Lee H. Hamilton Many trends in American politics and government today make me worry about the health of our representative democracy. These include the decline of Congress as a powerful, coequal branch of government, the accumulation of power in the presidency, and the impact of money on the overall political process. Recently, the Supreme…

By Michelle Monroe There was a lot of information about one of the state’s most vexing issues – education taxes – but no solutions at a gathering of roughly 100 municipal and school officials in South Burlington Thursday, Aug. 14. Rising education costs are closing out other opportunities as education consumes more of the available…

Photo by Jerry LeBlond Work continues on the bridge construction just outside the village of Pittsfield. The new bridge is being put back in place where its predecessor was washed out by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. A temporary bridge was build parallel to the damaged site, to allow traffic to resume.   

Dear Editor, I am writing in response to the letter by Mario Vincelette printed in the Aug. 7-13 edition of The Mountain Times. I would suggest that Mr. Vincelette read the book “Vegetarian Myth.”  It is not the meat and dairy products that are polluting our environment, but the government supported meat and dairy industries that…

Dear Editor, My name is Kelly Socia and I am running in the Aug. 26 primary election as a write-in candidate for state senator from Rutland County. I have just retired after 34 years from the United States Postal Service.  For the last 8 years I have been building Vermont Backroad Tours.  I have developed…

Dear Editor, When I read in the August 18, 2014 Rutland Herald article that the Town of Chester is holding a “tutorial” on how state funding for schools really work. The town manager, David Pisha, said that the education rate is too big to understand so why do anything about it. The resident rate funding…

By Lee H. Hamilton As election season approaches, I’ve been pondering a crucial issue about the role of government in our society. It’s that our government often fails — and that we need to address this. There’s ample cause for concern — the VA appointments scandal; the botched launch of the Affordable Care Act; the 28…

By Robin Alberti Hemp has a rich history in our country and is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world. Hemp can provide a sustainable agricultural system that can heal our farmland and economy. Cultivating this crop can provide desperately needed jobs in agriculture, manufacturing and retail. First, let’s get rid of a…

By Angelo S. Lynn Vermont is at it again: angling to be a national leader on yet another public policy issue. This time it’s the effort to reduce consumption of sugar-laden beverages. The angle? Pass a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. The Legislature, however, isn’t in the driver’s seat. Rather, the Alliance for a Healthier Vermont…

By John Herrick, VTDigger.org The Obama administration launched an initiative Wednesday, July 16, aimed at helping local communities better prepare for the impacts of climate change, but one of Vermont’s key recommendations to the president was not included. The state wants to use FEMA public assistance money to help rebuild culverts and bridges so streams…

By Morgan W. Brown Several years ago I advocated that courses in the humanities be offered and taught to those within Vermont who might have otherwise gone without the opportunities and benefits of these. For example: people living in poverty; people living homeless; persons incarcerated in jails, prisons or other institutions; people living in the…