By Rep. Pattie McCoy Editor's note: Rep. Pattie McCoy (R-Poultney) represents Poultney and Ira in the Vermont House where she serves as House minority leader. I want to talk to you about three numbers: 4,000, 60,000 and 221 million. Four thousand is the number of military retiree families in Vermont who are fully taxed on…

Dear Editor, With Covid-19 and a harsh winter as a backdrop, I’m writing to provide two bright spots that speak to the positive nature of this community. One is a blood drive fully booked more than a month in advance, the other a fundraiser for the Community Cupboard that has already inspired dozens of donations…

By Governor Phil Scott Editor’s note: Gov. Scott delivered the following remarks as part of the Vermont Housing and Conservation Coalition (VHCC) Legislative Week kick-off, Wednesday, Feb. 9: It is good to be with you to talk about some of the most important issues facing our state, like housing, supporting rural Vermont and protecting our…

Dear Editor, Now that I have announced my candidacy for lieutenant governor as a Republican for our great and beautiful state of Vermont, I have many questions for the current leadership of our Legislature. We need to learn from those missteps from this session and the past. We need to do a better job for…

Dear Editor, Changing our Vermont Constitution is no small matter. The last time chapter 1 of our constitution was amended was in 1786. The stated purpose of Pop. 5 is to ensure that every Vermonter is afforded personal reproductive liberty, in the article itself it uses the words, “The right to personal reproductive autonomy.” There…

A serendipitous haven on the hill By Lisa M. Cuzydlo-Donohue Don’t we all need something more to believe in, maybe even magical/mystical these days? The Olympics seemed to have showed up precisely at the right time to inspire us all. So might this story, which still heartens and influences even after four years. We arrived…

By Karen D. Lorentz As if the pandemic’s shift to an endemic isn’t enough for weary souls, David Brooks, the New York Times columnist, has observed that bad behavior has become rampant. Despite people driving less, they’re also driving more recklessly and fatalities are up as is the murder rate. People are becoming more abusive…

Dear Editor, As Vermont embarks on its climate action plan, how are our toilets helping us get to the sustainable future we need? Compost toilet systems can protect water resources, complete the nutrient cycle, and even help build climate resilience. Many Vermonters use composting toilets to safely and affordably transform their human waste into a…

By Roxanne Vought Talk to any business owner today and you’ll likely hear the same refrain: they’re struggling to find workers. They’ve tried everything: raising wages, sign-on bonuses, creative recruitment strategies, and they still can’t fill their openings. Some are eliminating product lines or reducing their manufacturing runs, others are cutting back hours. How did…

Dear Editor, Before the Covid pandemic, theater and live music were doing OK in Rutland. Many of the local performing artists were part of that “gig economy” and were making a living playing the Killington entertainment scene, while holding day jobs in the food & travel industry which both shut down with Covid. Now, a…

By Richard Balzano Editor’s note: Richard Balzano of Ryegate, a Ph.D candidate in history, a former high school teacher, a stand-up comedian, and a veteran in the fields of human services and mental health. This is a letter he submitted to the Blue Mountain Union School Board, in Wells River, in support of a vaccine…

Dear Editor, Tens of thousands of children are victims of sexual abuse and exploitation in the U.S. every year — in their homes, communities and online. Covid-19 has created a perfect storm for unprecedented levels of abuse by trapping children at home with their abusers and children are also spending an unprecedented amount of time…

By Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos and Deputy Secretary of State Chris Winters It only takes just a few minutes online to get a snapshot of America in 2022; a country divided; a digital battleground of rhetoric where information is wielded as a weapon. We hold faith that we can still heal this divide…

Dear Editor, Editor’s note: The following letter is an adaptation of the testimony Art Malatzky gave to the Vermont Economic Progress Council (VEPC) on Jan. 27. VEPC is considering the town of Killington’s application to utilize future incremental municipal and education property tax revenue to finance debt, if approved by the voters and incurred for…

By Janet McLaughlin Editor’s note: This commentary is by Janet McLaughlin of Burlington, executive director of the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children. Just before the calendar flipped to 2022, thousands of Vermont families with school-age children picked up free Covid rapid tests to ensure as safe a return to school as possible.…