Dear Editor, The movement to stop Israel’s murderous campaign against Palestinian civilians is up against the entire American military/industrial/congressional complex and assorted American war/death culture allies like AIPAC, The Heritage Foundation, and Fox News. Leaders of the most powerful American institutions and major party presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden want to continue official…

Dear Editor, Every year, beginning on June 1, bears, bobcats, foxes, and other wildlife are pursued by packs of hounds, potentially over miles of land, during Vermont’s hound “training” season. Since this is also the time of year when wildlife is tending to their young, this “training” may lead to orphaned animals, as well as vulnerable wildlife suffering…

Jim Harrison of Chittenden announced his candidacy for a new term as state representative for the Rutland-11 district (Chittenden, Killington, Mendon, and Pittsfield). He was first appointed to the legislature in 2017 by Governor Phil Scott and has been re-elected to new terms since then. Harrison is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, the…

Dear Editor, In Vermont’s quest for equitable education funding, Act 127 represents a beacon of hope, especially for our rural communities. This legislation, informed by thorough research from Rutgers and the University of Vermont, revises the state’s school funding formulas to reflect the actual costs of educating students in diverse socio-economic settings, with a significant focus…

Dear Editor, The debate over educational equity in Vermont, particularly around the implementation of Act 127 and the Pupil Weighting Factors Report, touches deeply on the state’s social and economic disparities. This conflict is starkly illustrated by the historical and current attitudes of certain towns towards neighboring communities, especially in the context of educational funding…

Dear Editor, We have an urgent call to action: to protect 3SquaresVT/SNAP benefits nationwide for millions of families, including nearly 70,000 people in our state. In early May, the U.S. Congress began to progress on Farm Bill negotiations again. Just a day apart, the chairs of the House and Senate Agriculture committees released their respective Farm…

Dear Editor, In a dismaying attempt to obstruct Vermont’s environmental and economic progress, Governor Scott vetoed compromise legislation aimed at modernizing the Renewable Energy Standard and setting the state on a path to delivering 100% renewable electricity by 2035.  By vetoing H.289, which was supported by nearly all of the state’s electric utilities, along with…

Dear editor, On May 9, the SVUUSD FY25 budget once again failed. While this budget was defeated, it was by a much narrower margin than in the previous two votes. During a school board meeting on May 13, the board decided to schedule a revote on this budget for May 30, with an informational meeting…

By Governor Phil Scott  Editor’s note: Governor Phil Scott gave the following speech at his weekly press conference, Wednesday, May 22, discussing his decision-making process with bills on his desk. Last week, I talked about all the bills that passed at the very end of the session, which are starting to head to my desk…

By Margaret MacLean Editor’s note: Margaret MacLean, from Peacham, has been an educator for 50 years, working as a teacher, school principal and consultant both in Vermont, the U.S. and internationally. Over the past 14 years Vermont has enacted three sweeping school district consolidation laws. The overarching goals of Act 153, Act 156, and Act…

Dear Editor, At the Veteran Administration (VA) in White River Jct, VT, there is a distinct memorial dedicated to the Submarine USS Flier (SS 250) lost during World War II.  Ever mindful of our lost shipmates, friends and family that have served in the submarine service of our country, the U.S. Submarine Veterans, Inc. (USSVI)…

Dear Editor, As the CEO of the Vermont Country Store (VCS), I strongly support consumer privacy as does the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and many peer companies in the state. I wholeheartedly endorse the Connecticut law that was the foundation of H.121. However, as passed it is my hope that Governor Scott will veto H.121.…

Dear Editor, Most Vermont taxpayers have just experienced a period of tax focus, specifically property taxes to support our public schools. Some communities are still going through the valuable public debate about property taxes and, more generally, the overall tax burden and trying to evaluate that relative to what we receive for our tax dollars.…

Dear Editor, On May 30, voters will be asked to go to the polls for the fourth time to approve the 2024-2025 Slate Valley Unified Union School District (SVUUSD) budget of $30,810,135. This budget is unchanged since the last budget vote. We are maintaining the same spending figure because we believe that this is the…

By Michael Leach Editor’s note: Michael Leach has spent most of his career as a healthcare professional specializing in substance use and addiction recovery. He is a certified clinical medical assistant and the public relations officer at Drug Rehab Services. Substance use disorders and mental health problems impact countless veterans. Unfortunately, too many slip through…