Dear Editor, I’d like to tell a story that I’ve never told in print before. I’ve written hundreds of policy-oriented pieces for local and national newspapers, but I’ve never told this story because it’s very personal. I’m telling it now because I want everyone to know what guides me and directs my work. This traumatic…

By Lisa Loomis There has been considerable recent discussion about why Vermont’s response rate to the 2020 census form is so low. Several possible excuses have been floated, but one explanation is frequently overlooked when discussing why 43% of Vermonters have failed to complete the census form. The Census Bureau in its ill-conceived marketing plan…

By Fred Baser Editor’s note: Fred Baser of Bristol is a Vermont Housing Finance Agency commissioner. He is a member of the District 9 Act 250 Commission and an Addison County Home Health board member. He was a Vermont state legislator and small business owner. It seems odd going about the activities of daily life, albeit…

Dear Editor, Readers who care about animal welfare should ask U.S. Senators Pat Leahy and Bernie Sanders to support federal funding for cultured-meat research. Cultured meat is grown from cells, without slaughtering nonhumans. It has the potential to eliminate unimaginable levels of suffering. After all, we kill tens of billions of land animals and over…

Dear Editor, My name is Brittany Cavacas. I am writing this letter to formally announce my candidacy for the Vermont State Senate in Rutland County. I am running as an Independent. I feel that before you select a candidate, it is best to get to know that candidate first. When it comes to myself, I…

Dear Editor, Congratulations to the Rutland Region Chamber and REDC for making the decision to finally merge the two organizations to better serve the business community and the greater-Rutland region. I’ve long thought they could provide improved services and become more efficient together, provided there was solid leadership at the top. Lyle Jepson is an…

By Lauren Hierl Like so many aspects of our lives, the 2020 legislative session in Vermont has been unprecedented. For the first time, lawmakers figured out how to do committee work and hold votes virtually. Instead of adjourning before the election season got underway, as typically happens, lawmakers were merely on a break until Aug.…

By Patrick Leahy I'm hearing it from Vermonters every day, and with increasing urgency. From Bennington to South Newfane, to South Burlington, to Newport, to Windsor, to West Dover: People from all walks of life are rightly concerned about the threats to the mail service that we used to take for granted - the best…

Consider an alternative way to earn a high school diploma Dear Editor, Vermont schools are preparing for September openings amid Covid-19. School administrators, in consultation with staff, families and public health officials, have been working hard to reinvent our educational systems in ways that provide students with rich learning, while keeping students, staff and the…

Dear Editor, I want to thank all who took the time to vote either via an absentee ballot or in-person on Aug. 11. It was a record turnout for an August primary in Vermont. Something we can all take pride in. Hats off to our town clerks and their election teams for the job they…

Dear Editor, The River Road and Route 4 Killington river/wetlands is essential to Killington’s economy, used daily by kayakers and anglers. The town of Killington refuses to follow DEC guidelines and to install baffles. They just removed the dams, causing the beavers to cut down more trees and brush to rebuild the dam. Thus, causing…

By Jim Condos Dismantling the U.S. Postal Service during a pandemic will suppress the voting rights of American voters and is a disgrace to democracy. During any election year, and especially during a pandemic when voters are increasingly turning to mail-in voting as a safe and secure way to exercise their sacred franchise, we rely…

By Layne Bruce A move by the USPS to slow down mail service by cutting overtime and reducing sortation sure seems like a gambit by the Trump administration to impact voting by mail this fall. He practically said as much Aug. 13 on Fox Business. Democrats have proposed over $3.6 billion for voting by mail at…

Dear Editor, As children get ready to return to school, I am reminded of my family counseling work after 9/11. Kids came to school following that horrific day carrying tremendous trauma and stress with them. Not surprisingly, they used phrases and drew pictures much like their parents described to explain their own despair. It became…

Dear Editor, The National Congress of American Indians advocates for “ending the legacy of racism and the era of harmful ‘Indian’ mascots.” As the NCAI elaborates, such mascots “have serious psychological, social and cultural consequences for Native Americans, especially Native youth.” The caricatures and stereotypes perpetuated by the use of “Indian” mascots spawns a culture…