By Lindsay Kurrle, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Commerce & Community Development It’s easy to look back over the last 18 months and see all of the ways that Covid has set us back: from shuttered businesses, to the thousands of Vermonters losing their jobs, a disproportionate amount of whom were women who had…

Dear Editor, During my 35-year career as a naturopathic physician I noticed that the natural treatments that had been successful in keeping people healthy in the 1980s became less and less effective. During these years the toxic load of chemicals in the environment has increased drastically. One group of fluoride containing chemicals known as PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and…

Dear Editor, It’s hard for people to understand there is more to life than pop culture, because that is the thing we are engaged in almost every minute of the day. Our particular society, unlike many others, spends an infinite amount of time and resources on two aspects of that culture: glorifying celebrities and evaluating…

Dear Editor, Are the fractures and divisions in America today worse today than they were in the 1960s? In the 1960s no one questioned whether Vietnam existed or claimed that the military casualties were really crisis actors. No one claimed that China and Venezuela had manipulated the presidential election. No one claimed that lizard people were behind the…

Dear Editor, Nearly half of the governors—23 and counting—have decided to end federal supplemental unemployment benefits for workers in their states. Evidently, they never heard the old adage: "Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face." In these bizarre times, I guess we have to be grateful that Governor Scott was raised with more…

By Lt. Governor Molly Gray  This past year has proven what we have long known to be true: Vermonters are resilient and know how to come together to get through tough times. While we should all be proud that our brave little state has led the nation in responding to Covid-19, the all too familiar…

Dear Editor, Kids’ Kingdom is a destination playground. Countless families, including my own, have become acquainted over the years at Kids’ Kingdom. Words that are often heard exclaim joy, admiration, and envy of such an amazingly fun, well built, and creative structure. Upon meeting new friends, my own children proudly proclaim, “This is OUR school.” It is outrageous…

By Richard Davis Editor’s note: Richard Davis, a retired nurse who lives in Guilford, was a columnist for the Brattleboro Reformer for 25 years and now posts a weekly blog on iBrattleboro. Many of us have been wearing masks for over a year and have looked forward to the day when our faces could be on full…

Dear Editor, I want to address an article from the May 12 edition “Killington Softball League’s return is conditional.” I want to clarify a few things because I feel I’ve been misrepresented. I’ve been the commissioner of the Killington Softball League for the past 15 years. I’ve had a great relationship with the town and…

Dear Editor, I recently learned that the Bennington Housing Authority no longer provides housing for people with a disability if they are under the age of 62 in their existing subsidized apartments. While "seniors" who no longer can age in place because of the architecture of our current homes will face slightly less competition for a…

By Elayne Clift As I watched the flag-draped coffin of the late Billy Evans, the second Capitol Police officer to lie in state, descend from the Capitol steps, I wept — and wondered how much longer we would find ourselves living in a country that has become so violent. As I saw the photograph of the deceased Dwayne…

Monday, May 31, is Memorial Day. It’s a day of remembrance for those who died in military service America, not to be confused with a day to remember all living veterans who served in the military, that’s Veterans Day or a day to honor all men and women currently in the military, that’s Armed Forces…

By Angelo Lynn When it comes to parents being unsure of whether they should give their children the vaccine to prevent contracting Covid-19, we get it. Parents are naturally protective; we are mama or papa bears protecting our cubs. It’s an instinct that lasts long into adulthood. But we also understand the scientific process, and…

Dear Editor, I wish to agree with Rebecca Holcombe’s views about religious schools taking public money on the basis of “nondiscrimination” for a religious school, while those schools not only discriminate, as the Grace School in the article does in a heinous manner, denying gay people’s humanity as they do, but have traditionally been allowed to do…

Dear Editor, The Vermont State Auditor’s report, which tells us that the cost to taxpayers for supporting the Vermont dairy industry during the period 2010-2019 has been very high but stops short of saying largely ineffective, has already stimulated the predictable responses from the industry’s apologists: that “agriculture isn’t an optional industry, but rather a…