Community Forum: CHIP will help rural Vermont towns grow

Picture a little town, home to a small ski mountain and halfway between two of the Northeast’s largest ski resorts. It’s on a scenic byway. The Long Trail and White River run straight through it. It has mountain peaks, waterfalls, swimming holes and miles of public trails.

As the director of the Burlington Farmers Market, I am deeply concerned about what’s happening in Congress right now and the potential to gut Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid, two of the most essential programs that help peopl … (read more)

Vermont just took a bold, historic step toward solving one of the most urgent issues facing our state: the lack of affordable and attainable homes for Vermonters of all income levels and backgrounds.

There’s been plenty of (deserved) attention paid to the education reform proposed this legislative season in our brave, little state. While many are focused on cutting costs, I have heard few asking the right questions or focusing on the right problem.

Like many Americans, I’ve been alarmed by the deterioration of due process and the rule of law in the U.S. over the past few months. But this past week, something hopeful for democracy happened, right here in Vermont.

I was at the Hands-Off rally in Montpelier on Saturday. It was an amazing display of solidarity and showed the determination we need to oppose what’s going on in our nation’s capital.

We live in a world of instability — jobs vanish, institutions falter, narratives shift by the hour. Every word we say, every action we take, is scrutinized, recorded and judged. The threat of digital mobs and public shaming doesn’t protect us; it paralyze … (read more)

On March 25, masked federal immigration authorities detained Tufts University Ph.D. student Rümeysa Öztürk for engaging in what Trump administration officials said were “activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the ki … (read more)

Voter anger over property taxes has led to angst this winter in the Statehouse. A legislative leader recently urged fellow legislators and all Vermonters to discard “preconceived notions” about the issue.

As the days are getting longer and snow is melting it is fitting that this is Sunshine Week — an annual celebration of government records and information as the cornerstone of government accountability and transparency.

Middlebury College’s Feb Class of 2024.5 gathered for their graduation ceremony on Feb. 1, marking the culmination of their academic journey with impassioned speeches that urged them to challenge norms, step beyond comfort and leverage their collective po … (read more)

Governor Phil Scott has provided his shock and aw-shucks proposal for rescuing taxpayers and claiming to improve education along the way. Finding renewed hubris with the “red wave” of new Republicans in the State House and Democrats running scared, Govern … (read more)

Elon Musk’s role as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, is on the surface a dramatic effort to overhaul the inefficiencies of federal bureaucracy. But beneath the rhetoric of cost-cutting and regulatory streamlining li … (read more)

We commend the Green Mountain Care Board for augmenting its efforts in tackling the crippling health care costs in Vermont, most specifically in relation to the recent FY2025 Hospital Budget Decision And Order, as well as stimulating serious discussions t … (read more)

A thriving, prosperous state is a goal that all Vermonters can agree to. That goal is easier to achieve with a growing population.