Dear Editor, Doug Hoffer gets my vote for state Auditor in the Democratic primary and, I hope, in the general election. He has consistently done a good job for all of us. His efforts to hold our state’s “accountable care organization,” OneCare, accountable are laudable and necessary. But that job is not yet finished. Few Vermonters…

The federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) pumped $1.19 billion into the Vermont economy in April, May, and June to help employers hang onto nearly 114,000 jobs during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. To put that in perspective, in normal times Vermont has about 315,000 non-farm payroll jobs, and the state’s total output of…

The following editorial was first published in the Deerfield Valley News in Wilmington, Vermont. Just in case readers haven’t noticed, it’s an election year. Of course, there is much focus on the presidential election. Understandably so, given all that is at stake with the future of the country and everything. But there are also statewide…

Dear Editor, The Martin Devlin July 4th 5K Fun Run committee would like to thank everyone who participated in the virtual race this year. While we hoped to be in person, we are so grateful for the continued support of our long term participants, and the new runners that represented Colorado, Florida, Indiana and Maryland. Special thanks…

Dear Editor, Concerning Covid-19 virus testing: I thought that the plan was to get as many people as possible tested throughout our population (symptoms or no symptoms). But it’s not so easy. The reason for doing testing is to identify the ailing and also to get a geographic mapping of all persons infected regionally, statewide…

Dear Editor, In the face of challenges brought forth by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Black River Independent School Committee has continued to hold fast to their fundraising goals. BRISC hosted a hugely successful peony sale over the course of three weekends from the end of June to early July raising nearly $5,000. The fundraiser was…

By Annabel Bruno I played a lot of sports in high school: soccer in the fall, snowboarding in the winter, and some mix of lacrosse, swimming and pre-season camps in the spring and summer. It will come as no surprise to those who know me that the athlete in my “tri-scholar athlete” status at RHS…

By Alis Headlam It was a perfect storm. Jim Baker arrived in Rutland to take the helm as chief of police at a time when drugs, housing and crime were devastating the city. This was 2012. A vision was created under his leadership with the help of Joan Gamble and a large group of concerned citizens:…

By Timothy R. Burgess In 2004, convicted and sentenced to a term in Vermont’s correctional system, I had been back in Vermont for 12 years. It was the experience of being in prison that really showed me how institutional racism in our little state was flourishing. I had a visit from my family, and it…

Dear Editor, Editor’s note: The following is a letter Sen. Dick McCormack sent to Gov.Phil Scott, Dr. Mark Levine, Lt. Governor Zuckerman, and the Senate on July 2. I think the time has come to require that all people wear face masks in public and keep six feet of separation. I applaud the administration’s frequent…

Dear Editor, Serving my community has become a way of life for me. Besides for my family, my life’s passion has revolved around public service. Giving back, leading during good times and bad, and being a voice of reason have been driving forces behind my public service. Since 2005, I have had a role in…

Dear Editor, The Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically changed so much of our daily lives in such a short period of time. The challenges we face as a state will be enormous in the coming year, if not longer. Preliminary revenue forecasts for the fiscal year that began July 1 are down significantly for the state,…

By Leo Pond The Black Lives Matter movement has driven another political “wedge” between the left and the right. The Black Lives Matter movement has advocated against police brutality and for equality, so why is it so hard for the right to support it? The right thinks that this movement forgets about all other races,…

By David F. Kelley If we cut the distance between two points in half, no matter how often, it brings them closer together, but they never meet. When I was practicing law I came to the conclusion that finding the “truth” was, very often, the same way. We rarely got to “the whole truth and nothing…

Dear Editor, In a recent opinion piece Windsor County State Senator Alison Clarkson, asks, “What kind of America do we want to be?” It is an important question. The causes that Senator Clarkson supports and how she votes is not the America or Vermont that I envision. It is not an America of compassion, liberty or equality. Alison…