Discover More from This Category: Opinions

Catamount? Panther? What’d I see?

August 18, 2021
Dear Editor, My wife and I were driving along River Road in Killington, Sunday evening, Aug. 15, around 6:15 p.m., about one mile farther down from the Killington town hall (on the dirt road). We spotted what looked like a black cat with a very long tail. We were traveling about 15 mph, enjoying the…

Hesitant at first, they got vaccinated — and are glad they did

August 18, 2021
By Ivy Scott and Camille Caldera, Boston Globe correspondents Better late than never, as the saying goes. Massachusetts residents who only recently got immunized against Covid-19 cited a variety of reasons for waiting: a torrent of misinformation on social media, concern that the vaccine would exacerbate preexisting medical conditions, and skepticism of the health care…

Stopping Covid-19: We can, if we have the will

August 18, 2021
By Angelo Lynn Editor’s note: This commentary is written in collaboration with The Boston Globe, which has provided news reports, charts and graphics on the Covid-19 virus to participating papers throughout New England. Their initiative seeks to more fully educate the public about the virus and the benefits of getting vaccinated. Each participating paper was…

Storms show the need for fast action on climate change

August 11, 2021
By Reps. Michelle Bos-Lun, Westminster, and Mike Mrowicki, Putney Climate change and its resulting weather variations are contributing to floods and massive roadway erosion in some parts of Vermont and floods and droughts in other areas this month. A large section of northern Vermont experienced abnormally dry conditions in July, but southern Vermont endured two major storms…

Choose Vermont dairy

August 11, 2021
Dear Editor, Summer is synonymous with creemees, and well-timed ones at that. Dairy, as an industry, has supported Vermonters for 150 years. Summer is a wonderful time to celebrate the food that dairy provides, and the hardworking families who have produced that food while stewarding the land and landscape that sets Vermont apart from so many…

Correcting two decades of harm in school finance

August 11, 2021
Dear Editor, Education finance in Vermont is an often hard-to-understand and quite complex system. Act 59 of 2021 created the Task Force on the Implementation of the Pupil Weighting Factors Report, a group of eight Vermont legislators who will spend time this summer, as the name implies, determining the best path forward to implement the…

High-quality child care is a unifying challenge

August 11, 2021
Dear Editor, Virtually every business owner or manager Green Mountain Economic Development Corp. works with as the regional development corporation for Windsor and Orange counties, cites the lack of decent housing and child care as the most important factors hampering recovery from Covid. We believe this is true throughout New England and beyond. Both were…

Vermont’s civic future is at risk

August 11, 2021
By Chris Winters, Vt. Deputy Secretary of State It is important we all understand the strengths of American democracy, as well as its weaknesses. If we are to work together as a nation to address the limits of "the great experiment," and ensure our government is truly created of, by and for the people, having…

Vermont is vulnerable to gerrymandering

August 5, 2021
By Shayne Spence Editor’s note: This commentary is by Shayne Spence of Johnson, who was a Republican candidate for the Vermont House in 2020. With an ongoing battle taking place over the future of voting rights and access, on the federal level and in many states, we often hear about the For The People Act,…

As this summer wanes, we rush toward the abyss

August 5, 2021
By Walt Amses Editor’s note: Walt Amses is a writer and former educator who lives in Calais. The waning days of July find me swimming in silken water that feels prematurely cool, gliding by a shoreline maple sporting a single bright-red leaf, a distinct reminder that nature will not only have its way, but also set…

The U.S. needs to walk the vaccination walk

August 5, 2021
By Tom Evslin Editor’s note: Tom Evslin is an entrepreneur and author from Stowe. He is a former Douglas administration official. The U.S. government talks the talk about Covid vaccination but doesn’t walk the walk. The CDC and the FDA say “get vaccinated” but they don’t act as if they really believe in the efficacy of…

Investing in HCBS

August 5, 2021
Dear Editor, Most people don’t know what Home & Community Based Services (HCBS) are, let alone their importance to many disabled people. People who are physically disabled often depend on others to perform “activities of daily living” like getting in and out of bed, dressing, bathing, preparing meals, toileting and transferring to and from a…

A new and essential kind of hospitality

August 5, 2021
Dear editor, Recently I had the opportunity to tour the newly repurposed Cortina Inn, the beautiful property that my wife Breda and I owned for 33 years, which is now under the management of a family that is now offering a new kind of hospitality — perhaps the most essential kind. Long known for Sunday…

It’s time to rise up, defend liberty from government

July 28, 2021
Dear Editor, Since Dec. 2018, “Vermonters for Vermont” Initiative has been talking about educating every Vermonter about freedom, liberty, individualism, independence, innovation and personal responsibility. We have been defending and promoting our Constitution, free markets and taking risks. We have been working to educate and encourage Vermonters to learn what Montpelier and local governments are…

Vermont should reopen schools cautiously

July 28, 2021
By Anne N. Sosin, Liz Winterbauer and Annie Hoen Editor’s note: This commentary is by Anne N. Sosin, a policy fellow at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College; Liz Winterbauer, a consulting epidemiologist currently supporting national Covid-19 testing efforts; and Annie Hoen, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Geisel School of Medicine…