Dear Editor, A president deliberately lied to the nation he is legally and morally bound to defend, about a national health crisis. The lies induced many to take unnecessary risks that have cost lives. We will never know precisely how many lives which doesn’t at all diminish the magnitude of the disaster. Does his explanation…

Dear Editor, There but for the grace of God goes John Bradford... Allegedly a mid-16th century statement from John Bradford in reference to a group of prisoners being led to execution. Essentially stating “it could have been me.” That is all I can think of as I watch this town tear itself asunder over “a…

Dear Editor, I would like to correct your statement in relation to the Summit Lodge Resort’s press release. Your paper incorrectly stated: “Summit Lodge owner Emmett O’Dwyer issued a statement explaining that O’Dwyer’s Bar & Restaurant, which started operating in early August, will close and remain closed through the ski season out of an abundance…

Dear Editor, Lisa earned her high school diploma at age 59 this past June. Born in Vermont, her education was interrupted due to an unplanned pregnancy. Lisa spent 20 years working as a nurse’s aide and raising her two children before being sidelined by a career-ending back injury. “I was sitting at home. I knew…

By Jack Hoffman Dithering in Washington has left a lot of states scrambling to figure out how to pay for the support and services their citizens desperately need. In Vermont, Washington’s paralysis means the Legislature will have just over a month to determine whether the $7.1 billion budget Gov. Phil Scott proposed for the current…

Dear Editor, Voting by mail should replace voting at the polls in its entirety.  The two institutions that can definitely be trusted is the County Board of Elections and the United States Postal Service.  The money saved by eliminating the need for poll workers could be used to offer free postage on the envelopes used…

Dear Editor, I am encouraging my fellow voters in Brandon, Sudbury and Pittsford to cast one of their two votes for State Representative for Stephanie Jerome when you submit your November ballot. Stephanie Jerome has been a quick study during her first term in Montpelier — definitely serving our three towns, and all of Vermont,…

Dear Legislators: Thank you for investing federal Coronavirus relief funds to support people in Vermont struggling to put food on the table. We appreciate those investments made during the summer legislative session, and want you to know they have been used well. They are an important first step in what we know will be a…

Dear Editor, I am writing in response to an email sent this afternoon, questioning the risk of Covid-19 exposure that a member our staff might be posing to our community. I am the General Manager of The Karr Group, and have spent much of my summer weighing the heavy questions of risk and safety, in…

By Haviland Smith Editor’s note: Haviland Smith, a long retired CIA operations officer who has watched democracies fall. During the Putin era it has become clear that the Russians are in the process of trying to reestablish themselves among the most powerful and influential countries in the world. To do that, they see the diminution of…

Dear Editor, The Vermont Legislature is about to give its final approval to a bill called “The Global Warming Solutions Act.” Needless to say, the bill, H.688, does not solve global warming. In fact, the bill is downright bad climate policy because it prioritizes emissions reductions over environmental protection. The bill: Establishes targets for the…

Dear Editor, In 1970, when Governor Deane Davis signed Act 250 into law, he advanced a vision shared by Vermonters who wanted to protect Vermont’s unique cultural and historic ties to the land by addressing the environmental impacts of development, while allowing for economic prosperity. Now, 50 years later, many still hold that vision of…

Dear Editor, One of the brilliant features of the original Act 250 lets the public have a real voice in the proceedings of an Act 250 permit application. No other state or local permit proceeding allows such meaningful participation. The Legislature is now considering H.926, changes to Act 250. Among other things, H.926 will reduce…

By Rep. Pattie McCoy A few months ago, the Legislature adjourned without passing a full fiscal year’s budget. The hope by the majority party in Montpelier was Congress would come to the rescue and appropriate more money to the states so we could plug our budget holes with federal dollars. Some of us voted against…

Dear Editor, I am optimistic about our future. We are experiencing two societal traumas, one new and one as old as our history, which will either make us stronger or pull us further apart. I choose to engage with the challenges before us and work with you to improve the systems that lie at the…