Editorials
Sen. Patrick Leahy took to the floor of the U.S. Senate this week in defense of the Women’s Health Protection Act. The vote failed.
Governors typically stay on topic at media briefings, adhering to pre-planned talking points and always trying to bring reporters’ questions back to the message-of-the-day. Going off-script can be risky; a “wrong” answer threatens to derail the administration’s carefully planned public message.
The latest United Nations climate report couldn’t be clearer: We are at a planetary crossroads.
The state set a grim record in 2021: 210 Vermonters died from drug overdoses. Sixteen of them were our neighbors in Bennington County; 20 lived with us in Windham County. Our counties had among the highest overdose death rates in the state, well above the statewide figure.
Around Vermont, as municipal boards reorganize, set goals and undertake housekeeping for the term ahead, one of the things every town and city has to do is decide its “Newspaper of Record.” The designation allows town residents to know where to look for proper notification of hearings, vacan…
Americans who followed the four-day confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson last week were treated to a rare display of brilliance, principle and unflappability that demonstrate her fitness, to say the very least, to sit on the nation’s high court. The next step …
Accessing your birth certificate is a basic civil right. It is so basic that you probably don’t think about it. Unless you are adopted.
On April 20, 2020, Gov. Charlie Baker signed a statewide eviction moratorium unto law, banning non-essential evictions of residents and small businesses.
Our state continues to be plagued by incidents of hate crimes, often directed at people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
President Biden delivered a serious blow this week to Russian President Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, hitting the Russian economy where it hurts — banning the import of Russian oil and natural gas to the United States. Revenue from those sales are helping fuel the Russian military mach…
The same week that Gov. Phil Scott vetoed a bill designed to keep firearms out of hospitals and close the so-called “Charleston Loophole” to make it harder for people to purchase firearms when they are prohibited from doing so, a watchdog group gave the state low marks for its positions on guns.
News sources are reporting that one million Ukrainians are fleeing their home country, becoming refugees with uncertain futures in places surely unfamiliar to them.
Columnists
Let us make no mistake. The Supreme Court’s attack on a person’s right to control their own body is an attack on workers rights. We, as working women, are not machines to be regulated by men regardless of their status within the halls of power. Just as we reject the notion of the worker devo…
Educators and civil servants in Vermont made a promise to the communities they serve. They work for wages below those paid for comparable private sector jobs, and, in exchange, receive affordable health insurance, paid time off, and a stable pension on which to retire. They have kept their p…
I wish I could buy laser surgery to improve my hearing, like I did with my eyes. I wouldn’t have to, though. My girlfriend would pay for it first.
American culture wants “perfect” looking produce which is driving food waste in local, and large markets. The food wasted is not inedible, and it has nutrients, it just has a quality that is deemed unsellable. Consumers dislike produce that does not look the way they expect. This causes stri…
Am I disgusted by the Republicans and their ploy to overturn Roe v. Wade? You bet I am! Am I surprised? Not in the slightest. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 1,000 times, elections have consequences. We are now feeling the effects of the 2016 elections in spades! Voting rights and a woman…
If you look back at the build sheets from cars made in the 1960s, you’ll come across a listing known as Radio Delete. It is what it says it is. All you got was a cover where your radio was meant to be. Cars ordered specifically for racing modifications often sported the radio delete designat…
We keep hearing, “just listen to the biologists” from Vermont Fish & Wildlife (VFWD) senior staff, but those same staff members disparage outside biologists when the latter disagrees with VFWD’s wildlife policies that are often motivated by politics not science. After being involved in w…
A few weeks have gone by since the Brattleboro Select Board decided unanimously to move towards a municipal fire department-based emergency medical services (EMS) system by contracting with Golden Cross for local ambulance service for the next year, ending a long relationship with Rescue Inc.
As we come down the homestretch of the 2022 Legislative Session, loose ends are being tied up. Committees of Conference have been appointed for the large bills and progress is being made on finalizing, perhaps the most important bill, the 2023 Budget Bill. Typically, that is the last thing t…
Have any of you who are eligible for Medicare noticed any changes in the past few years? Perhaps you have bought into the new Medicare version that has been widely advertised called Medicare Advantage, (MA). Are you aware that MA is a wholly privatized system that no longer lets you use the …
First, here is good news. Recent advances in chemistry, agriculture and renewable energy technology now make it profitable to renovate and transform all central power plants into negative emission, power & storage stations. Instead of closing down coal, gas or wood plants due to age, CO2…
Morality is a slippery slope. While perhaps inspired by virtuous intentions, it can all too easily slide into holier-than-thou arrogance when it is expropriated by ego, and its potential value then becomes the property of a true believer. In this condition, we feel empowered to impose our vi…
DUMMERSTON — There are a lot of people in the tri-state region who remember skiing at Maple Valley before it closed in 1987.
Letters to the Editor
To the editor: So we have another example of the utter lawlessness of the Republican party. And who might be lying? Either Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, two powerful U.S. senators, by claiming that Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett all stated that they would not overturn settled …
To the editor: Perhaps as a man I am not entitled to an opinion on this subject. As an American I feel compelled to say something.
To the editor: With the release of the census data comes redistricting in Vermont which tries to make one representative for every 4,200 constituents. I have been a resident of Putney for 40 years, so my district is Windham-4, with two representatives and two senators, for the last 10 years.…
To the editor: I would like to thank Senator Leahy, Senator Sanders, and Representative Welch for making Vermont the only state in which its entire congressional delegation has co-sponsored the Protecting Community Television Act introduced by both Senator Ed Markey (MA) and Congresswoman An…
To the editor: You may have heard that the reapportionment has been completed and signed by the governor. There has been a change to the towns in Windham-3 due to the significant population loss in Northeast Windham County. Athens, Grafton and Windham will now join Chester in the newly forme…
To the editor: Once again, the leaked draft of the Supreme Court ruling concerning Roe v. Wade, written by arch conservative Justice Samuel Alito, shows us that the United States is not a democracy based on majority rule. The reason is that presidential elections are based on the antiquated …
To the editor: I write this letter to endorse former Windham 4 House Representative Nader Hashim for one of our two Windham County Senate seats. When Hashim served in the House he got important legislation passed as a first term legislator. Hashim was instrumental in developing and getting p…
To the editor: The emotions that I am now feeling as I let the reality of the closing of Holton Home sink in are frustration, anger and a deep sense of sadness ("'Very difficult decision': Inside the Holton Home closure," May 4). For several years, I played music at Holton Home and other Bra…
To the editor: Thanks to the Reformer for featuring on May 2 an editorial — ”Stronger Together” from the Rutland Herald — that highlights the Declaration of Inclusion. As an initiative from Al Wakefield and other residents of Rutland County, this proclaims values of acceptance and fairness. …
