By Kevin Ellis It is so very difficult to celebrate the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the next Supreme Court justice. Nominated by President Biden, and confirmed by the Senate, Judge Jackson has a deep resume. She will be the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. She will be the…

Dear Editor, In a few short months, Vermonters will begin casting their ballots to determine party nominees for the fall elections. With so many candidates running for Congress and lt. governor, you may not hear as much about the secretary of state’s race. I urge you to take a closer look — this small office…

Dear Editor, The Democratic leadership in the Vermont legislature has proven themselves irresponsible and with no respect for every Vermont citizen. These people do not care about you as demonstrated by their disrespect for the unintended consequences of their legislation and how it will negatively affect every Vermonter, especially low income and working families. Their…

Dear Editor,  Amending the Vermont Constitution is a long and arduous process, taking four affirmative votes in the legislature (two in each chamber) over two biennia, followed by a statewide popular vote, which, for Proposal 5, will take place this November. The purpose of all this is to ensure that the public has time to…

By Christopher Herrick When Vermonters balance our passion for wildlife with a commitment to mutual respect, our state sees results. The first half of this legislative session exemplifies what this approach can accomplish.  After years of regulatory and legislative stalemate the House and Senate Natural Resources Committees have worked with the Vermont Fish & Wildlife…

By Angelo Lynn In the political tussle pitting small schools against districts that want to close them, a newly devised bill, H.727, intentionally works against the effort to preserve Vermont’s smaller schools — even when those communities overwhelmingly vote to support them. But the bill is not wholly misguided.  Its intent is to assure towns…

Dear Editor, I agree wholeheartedly that spending on healthcare is out of control. But when will we address the deeper reasons why this is so?  We could certainly discuss the out-of-control salaries that administrators at many levels of this system receive, including the bureaucracy-heavy insurance companies. Or the out-of-control costs of pharmaceuticals and the other…

Dear Editor, There is a lot to object to in Mr. Thayer’s piece, “What’s wrong with being a Republican,” published last week (March 30-April 5) in the Mountain Times. I’ll address two points. The main problem is that in lauding today’s Republicans, he ignores the, shall we say, elephant in the room: Donald Trump. Note…

Dear Editor, A recent commentary by Justin Salisbury on the “Ongoing eugenics against disabled Vermonters” pointed out that Vermont has no law protecting parents against losing their children simply because they are disabled.  Disability does not automatically mean that a parent can’t safely raise a child. The current situation of disabled people in family law…

By Anne Sosin Editor's note: This commentary is by Anne N. Sosin, a public health researcher and Policy Fellow at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College and the co-lead on research on Covid-19 and rural health equity in northern New England. This opinion piece was written with the encouragement of Deborah Lisi-Baker and is dedicated to…

By Steve Pappas Editor's note: Steven Pappas is the executive editor of The Times Argus and Rutland Herald. This opinion piece was printed with permissions.  Around Vermont, as municipal boards reorganize, set goals and undertake housekeeping for the term ahead, one of the things every town and city has to do is decide its “Newspaper…

Editor's note: The following commentary was submitted by Prevent Child Abuse Vermont (PCAVT), the Vermont Chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America and the National Circle of Parents, whose mission is to promote and support healthy relationships within families, schools and communities to eliminate child abuse. Visit pcavt.org The child advocates from Prevent Child Abuse Vermont…

Dear Editor, Recently, I read a social media exchange between a mother and her teenage daughter. The mother asked the girl, “What’s wrong?” and the girl responded, “I don’t want people to think I’m a Republican.” That made me stop in my tracks, and I thought, “What is wrong with being a Republican?” Most Republicans…

Dear Editor, Americans now need to look to Ukraine for examples of bravery and heroism. The coverage of multimillionaire oligarchs and mega-yachts are highlighted while children and pregnant women are being bombed out of their homes and rooms and old people and their dogs are facing down the incredibly “brave” Russian soldiers. Then we look…

Dear Editor, Nestle is refusing to join the Russia boycott and defends its decision over Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s blunt criticism. Nestle is based in Switzerland, which has always kept a politically neutral stance. The do-or-die, raw courage and ironclad determination shown by the Ukrainians have arrested the attention of the entire world. CNNBusiness quoted Zelenskyy:…