By Michelle Bos-Lun Editor’s note: Michelle Bos-Lun is a state representative from Westminster. Early voting has begun in Vermont with the election soon approaching. There is the possibility that great changes could come to our state as a result of this election. From two opportunities to amend our state constitution to support freedom, along with a…

By Mark Boutwell Editor’s note: Mark Boutwell is executive director of Senior Solutions, the Council on Aging in Southeastern Vermont, headquartered in Springfield, Vermont. The upcoming state and national elections offer voters a chance to reset priorities and focus on true pockets of need, one of which is providing for older adults. Federal funding for…

Dear Editor, This election year, Windsor County has the opportunity to elect three excellent candidates to the state Senate. Representing the largest geographic Senate district in the state takes a special type of person. They must be willing to show up in every corner of a district that sprawls from Thetford to Weston and Springfield…

Dear Editor, I believe that women’s health care, including abortion, is a medical issue, and making it into a political issue is a mistake. As Rev. Raphael Warnock, U.S. Senator from the state of Georgia, recently stated, “I happen to think that a patient’s room is too small a place for a woman, her doctor…

By George Till Editor’s note: Rep. George Till of Jericho is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist who has served in the Vermont State Legislature since 2008. Till is also an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the UVM School of Medicine.   A lot of misinformation is being circulated regarding Article 22/Prop. 5, which will appear as…

By Bill McKibben Editor’s note: Bill McKibben is an internationally known climate activist and writer who lives in Ripton. I am writing this dispatch from a southbound train, which left Middlebury at midday and is making its way — not too fast, not too slow — through Rutland and toward Penn Station in New York…

By Kevin Manna and Allen Rothman Editor’s note: Manna is the director at Pinnacle Condos in Killington and Rothman is the director at High Ridge. So, you want to live in a condominium complex? Do you know what you are getting into? The recent surge in condominium sales has brought about a lot of “impulse”…

Dear Editor, I am running as an Independent for Rutland County assistant judge in the November election. I believe the office should be nonpartisan and as apolitical as possible, so that is why I’m running as an Independent. I will not seek or accept any campaign contributions. I’ve failed at retirement since I left Castleton…

Dear Editor, The Rutland County Humane Society (RCHS) has 25 pet rats up for adoption. Rats make wonderful pets as they are both social and smart. They do well in same gender groups so plan to have at least two. They typically live between 18–36 months. They are nocturnal so they will be most active…

By Lee H. Hamilton Editor’s note: Lee Hamilton is a senior advisor for the Indiana University Center on Representative Government and was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for over 30 years. It sometimes seems that Americans are hopelessly divided by politics, but I believe it will take politics to make our country…

By Angelo Lynn Editor’s note: Angelo Lynn is the editor and publisher of the Addison County Independent, a sister publication to the Mountain Times. As we enter the final weeks before the Nov. 8 elections, both state and national, let’s all reflect on one point that should, by now, be uncontested: Who you vote for…

By Mary Jo Teetor Editor’s note: Mary Jo Teetor of Poultney, a longtime member and trustee of the Lake St. Catherine Association, where she is currently the treasurer. She is on the water quality committee and has been a lay monitor on Lake St. Catherine for more than 20 years. There have been so many…

By Alison Whritenour, Donna Carpenter and Matthew McCarthy Editors note: This commentary was written by Seventh Generation CEO Alison Whritenour, Burton Snowboards co-founder, owner and chair Donna Carpenter and Ben & Jerrys Homemade, Inc. CEO Matthew McCarthy. These companies are all Certified B Corporations and longtime members of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. Silence is…

By Jess Kimball Editor’s note: Jess Kimball is an administrative assistant at The National Midwifery Institute and managing editor of the Journal for Pre and Perinatal Psychology. Jess runs a private practice, Jess Kimball Wellness (formerly Sunflower Postpartum Care LLC), providing families with birth and postpartum doula support and lactation counseling. She is also a…

By Angelo Lynn Editor’s note: Angelo Lynn is the editor and publisher of the Addison County Independent, a sister publication to the Mountain Times. The latest news that a top-secret document describing a foreign government’s military defense readiness, including its nuclear capabilities, was found among the documents at ex-president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence is the…