Dear Editor, I have felt the impacts of the healthcare system’s many manifestations over my lifetime. My parents spent nearly two decades paying off medical bills from my younger brothers’ stints in the hospital with infant asthma. I was forced to put off graduate school for several years after breaking my collarbone and using my…

Dear Editor, The Legislative Workers Caucus, 40-plus legislators that meet weekly during the legislative session, opposes Gov. Scott’s proposal to interfere with the bargaining rights of teachers negotiating around their health insurance benefits. One of the core values of the caucus is to protect collective bargaining and workers’ rights. Another is fiscal responsibility. Scott’s plan…

Dear Editor, The time to act is now. The Legislature faces a rare opportunity to make Vermont more affordable for all. The Affordable Care Act requires renegotiations of all teacher health insurance plans before Jan. 1, 2018. This provision allows the state to save money by dropping the high premium or “Cadillac” insurance plans. Working…

By Angelo S. Lynn While Gov. Phil Scott’s coup to have the state negotiate teachers’ health care benefits has been the unforeseen show-stopper of this legislative session, that a bill moving toward legalizing marijuana made it to the governor’s desk is one of the session’s biggest surprises. Gov. Scott made it clear early in the…

Dear Editor, What is the acceptable level of misery? The question was posed by Senator Dick McCormick when addressing the Vermont Senate about the anguish cats and dogs will feel if H.218 is signed into law. Reducing cages sizes used at Vermont puppy mills, and removing the requirement for a house for dogs that “guard…

Dear Editor, Please call the governor at 802-828-3333 and ask him not to support H-218—a pro-puppy mill bill. Dogs and cats forced to live their lives under the conditions in this bill will suffer greatly being confined to a space that is only big enough for them to turn around in. Dogs and cats confined to…

Dear Editor, Last week, The Washington Post published a major expose of the U.S. dairy industry concluding that mega dairies scam consumers into paying extra for “organic” milk that isn’t. The timing, a few days before Mother’s Day, is appropriate. Dairy cows, worldwide symbols of motherhood, never get to see or nurture their babies. The…

Dear Editor, There are 2.5 million patients that come to Planned Parenthood for care every year, regardless of their zip code, income, sexual orientation, race, religion, gender, or country of origin. Shutting down Planned Parenthood would deny millions of patients access to its cancer screenings, birth control, HIV testing, and more. If patients are blocked…

By Angelo S. Lynn In Vermont, Democratic legislators must carefully consider (and reconsider) a late-in-the-session move by Gov. Phil Scott that could potentially save taxpayers $26 million annually in education costs. To ignore it could risk losing this one-time opportunity and give Republicans political ammunition in upcoming elections. Here’s the deal: For the past several…

Dear Editor, May 6, 2017, is the official Green Up Day in Vermont. Free bags are available at the Killington Town Hall, so please begin ASAP! Signup sheet to list the streets you are greening up is on the Town Clerk’s counter. The annual thank you BBQ for volunteers will be held in the back…

Dear Editor, On April 29, the Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union’s Currier Memorial School in Danby, Vt., and the Mettawee Community School in West Pawlet, Vt.,  held their 2nd Annual “Community Clean Up.” Thanks to Casella Waste Management and ACE Carting Services for the generous donations of waste containers for these communities to access. Casella’s has never…

By Lee H. Hamilton I have significant differences with Donald Trump’s political stances, but I want him to enjoy a successful presidency. It’s good for neither the country nor the world when a U.S. president struggles or fails. Yet I also believe that constructive criticism can help a president grow more capable. It’s in this…

By Annette Smith Prospective neighbors of wind turbines heard all the promises: “Quiet as a library.” “Like a baby’s breath.” “The same decibel level as a refrigerator.” The more brazen wind developers claimed, “You will not hear them.” Then the 450-foot wind towers with their bus-size nacelles and three-bladed fans were built. Sixteen in Sheffield,…

Dear Editor, Is it just the nature of the institution that the Legislature tends to focus on issues that have or are about to become crises? We seem to have a new annual tradition in Vermont; each year we face a “budget gap” with insufficient revenue to meet the projected budget for our current level…

Scott appoints new representative for Bridgewater, Chittenden, Killington and Mendon Dear Editor, Job Tate, who has served as our state representative in Montpelier for the past few years, has resigned due to a pending overseas deployment as part of his naval reserve in service to our country. I want to thank Job Tate for his…