Dear Editor, Please consider this an open letter to Vermont voters. What are the valid selection criteria we should be using to screen Congressional applicants? During the 1970s orchestras across the United States became concerned that members weren’t chosen by ability, but handpicked by the conductors. They designed an interesting, novel and effective solution to…

By Angelo Lynn It is to be hoped Jan. 6, 2021 will be a date that long resonates in our nation’s history. That historians will accurately assess the roots of the deadly insurrection on the nation’s Capitol, determine those responsible for assembling the crowd and encouraging them to storm Congress in what turned out to…

By Corey Parent Do you think the most wide-sweeping change to the Vermont Legislature should be rushed through in the first 72 hours of the legislative session? I don’t. Let me back up. Over the few years, we’ve heard about the importance of protecting our democracy—across the nation, and right here in Vermont—from forces that…

Dear Editor, We, the older Vermonters (including voters and taxpayers), must make it clear to younger Vermonters that our most crucial task and the most urgent job is to fix the broken two-party political system. Why, you ask? Only younger Vermonters can achieve the political transformation in the shortest amount of time to break up…

Dear Editor, It has taken post-World War II America a long time to figure out that police, firefighters and the military are not the only heroes in our society. It is true that country music singers, rappers, movie stars and billionaires have been getting more and more traction in recent decades. Outstanding individual pay-it-forward-type citizens…

Dear Editor, All indications are that, with the new omicron variant, we are in for another surge in Covid hospitalizations. After more than a year and half into the pandemic, our health care workers are exhausted and our hospital facilities stretched. At the same time, those who do not wish to take the vaccine and…

Dear Editor, The Rutland City Aldermanic Public Works Committee is preparing to re-examine the practice of fluoridation of the water supply. I made the request for this fresh look at the Nov. 1 Aldermen’s meeting, and the request was supported by 11 local and area citizens and approved unanimously by the board. Here are seven…

Dear Editor, As the new executive director and vicar at Mission Farm, I am impressed and overjoyed at the outreach and kindness shown in the Killington community. I have witnessed the partnership of the Killington Ski Resort and the town of Killington come together to help individuals, families and businesses through the difficult days of…

By Angelo Lynn It’s no surprise that Covid-19, the delta variant and its effect on our collective lives will be remembered as the top story of 2021. It’s likely the twists and turns of this pandemic will remain dominant in our lives in 2022 as well. To that end, it’s not hard to see the…

By Betsy Bishop Editor’s note: Betsy Bishop, of East Montpelier, is the president of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. The last two years changed our communities and how we do business. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Vermont businesses rallied, innovated and pivoted. Still, not every business was able to stay open.  And now, as we work…

By James Maroney Editor’s note: James H. Maroney Jr., of Leicester, is a former farmer who has a master’s degree in environmental law and policy from Vermont Law School. The passage of Vermont’s Global Warming Solutions Act in 2020, over the strenuous objections of our Republican governor, was a remarkable testament to the depth of…

Dear Editor, I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I am with our governor and his flunkies with regards to the non-masking of Vermonters. Historically, people do not do things by themselves, but have to be directed in order to have anything happen. We are not a proactive species. He needed to enact a…

Dear Editor, Discussion and debate about whether to wear a mask as a means to halt the spread of Covid-19 is traveling around Vermont like a wildfire, or, perhaps better said, like a virus. The matter comes up frequently at the governor’s weekly press conferences. Select boards up and down the state, from Hardwick to…

By Katherine Sims Editor’s note: Katherine Sims is a Democratic state representative in the Orleans-Caledonia district and the Rural Economic Development Working Group (REDWnG) of the Vermont House of Representatives, a tri-partisan group working together to advance legislation and policy initiatives that strengthen the economy in rural Vermont communities. Working lands are central to Vermont’s…

Dear Editor, Public health experts are critical participants in the development of government policies dealing with challenges like the pandemic. But their perspective is only one consideration in the development of effective and rational public policy. These folks may know more about limiting the transmission of a pathogen, but their prescriptions have consequences that fall…