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This commentary is by Brianne Goodspeed, senior editor at Chelsea Green. As one of the employee owners who will benefit from the sale of Chelsea Green Publishing to “international publishing behemoth” Mondadori, I found your story about the sale (“Chelsea Green to be sold to international publishing behemoth”), as well as your characterization of the…

This commentary is by Liz Medina, executive director, VT AFL-CIO. What keeps the few in power over the many? It’s simple: divide and conquer. The “same old rich man strategy” — in the words of the artist collective the Peace Poets – is as old as the institutions of colonization and slavery. The British Empire…

Boaters paddle through the flooded intersection of Main and State Streets in Montpelier on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger As head of the Center for an Agricultural Economy in the Northeast Kingdom, Sarah Waring was surprised by the number of rules the federal government had for a grant to build a simple…

This commentary is by Jonathan Elwell of Brattleboro. He organizes with FreeHer VT and VTJustJustice and volunteers (and formerly worked) with the Brattleboro Community Justice Center. “The traditional closed institution has a consistent record of failure over the last 200 years. With increasing caseloads and steadily rising costs, Vermont cannot afford programs that are proven…

Kevin Jones, of Chittenden, commutes to work in his electric car, a Chevy Bolt, in Royalton on July 12, 2017. File photo by Geoff Hansen/Valley News This story by Frances Mize was first published by The Valley News on April 22. SOUTH ROYALTON — Nicole Lepre, a former student at Vermont Law and Graduate School,…

To the editor:  Vermont faces an escalating opioid overdose crisis with increasing fatalities each year.  Our current care system falls short — and we must consider new research-backed ways to save lives.  Next week, the Vermont Senate will vote on H.72, which would launch a pilot of an overdose prevention center, filling a crucial gap in…

This commentary is by Jean Waltz, who serves on the Burlington School Board and is a member of the Coalition for Vermont Student Equity. In Vermont we hold the belief that every child should have access to an equitable education. Though this promise is a constitutional right, in reality it’s been challenging to fulfill given…

This commentary is by Joanna Lidback. She is a dairy farmer, chief financial officer, consultant, wife and mom in the Northeast Kingdom. My husband and I own and operate an 80-cow dairy herd largely sustained by feed, including hay and corn silage, grown on our Wheeler Mountain farm. We, like most Vermont farmers, constantly try…

Peter Welch, left, and Bernie Sanders. File photos by Glenn Russell/VTDigger The U.S. Senate voted by a wide margin Tuesday night to send a $95 billion foreign aid package to President Joe Biden for his signature.  But among those who opposed it were Vermont’s two delegates to the U.S. Senate: Bernie Sanders, an independent, and…

This commentary is by Helen Riehle, former South Burlington City Council member and chair. The availability, affordability, and yes, safety, of housing will make or break a community, its economic vitality and its social vibrancy. If there is one thing that unites us, it’s that we all recognize the affordable housing crisis in Chittenden County…

This commentary is by Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman. It’s no secret that we’re facing a massive affordable housing shortage in Vermont.  Over the past few decades, we have not built enough new units to keep up with our growing demand. This scarcity, along with the significant increase in second home ownership and short-term rentals, has…

The 150-year-old former Vermont National turned Chittenden, People’s United and finally M&T Bank is one of several currently empty downtown Brattleboro properties. Photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger BRATTLEBORO — Five years ago, this community received an early Christmas present with the November 2019 news of a proposed $30 million arts and apartment block for downtown. “This…

This story by Liberty Darr was first published by the News & Citizen on April 18. A stir over tree planting at recent Charlotte Selectboard meetings has left the town without a tree warden and two deputy tree wardens as all three resigned recently from their positions. What began as an effort to plant trees…

This commentary is by Allie Cohen of South Burlington. She is a third-year social work student at the University of Vermont. The state of Vermont is in the grips of a severe mental health crisis. Inpatient pediatric floors, such as those at the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital, are being compelled to admit pediatric psychiatry…

This commentary is by Elizabeth Bridgewater, executive director of the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust. Every April, communities and housing organizations across this country recognize Fair Housing Month, commemorating the 1968 passage of the landmark civil rights law, which outlawed discriminatory housing practices. Yet, despite nearly six decades of fair housing efforts and advocacy, people…

“Tree in the Sunset,” by Chloe Deliso, YWP Media Library Young Writers Project is a creative online community of teen writers, photographers and artists, which has been based in Vermont since 2006. Each week, VTDigger features the writing and art of young Vermonters who publish their work on youngwritersproject.org, a free, interactive website for 12-…

Oliver Bub and Billy Bender rowing in the USRowing Olympic Trials for the pair, a boat class crewed by two people each with one oar. Photo credit: Ed Hewitt, row2k.com, courtesy of USRowing His life is spare, almost monastic in its simplicity. Rowing on the water in the mornings. Working the rowing machine on land…

Dear reader, Today is the last day of our spring member drive and we urgently need your help to close the gap. We’re only about halfway to our goal, but we have exciting news. Three Vermont donors are tripling every single dollar donated to VTDigger today! VTDigger’s journalism is made possible by member donations. Will…

Born Nov. 8, 1939 Lockport, New York Died March 1, 2024 Montpelier, Vermont Details of services A service of remembrance will be held at the Unitarian Church of Montpelier, 130 Main St, Montpelier, VT at 2PM on Friday, May 3. Anyone wanting to join the choir for the service should arrive by 12:30. Roger Ormiston…

Sen. Ginny Lyons, D-Chittenden Southeast, center, hands Sen. Jane Kitchel, D-Caledonia, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, a computer tablet before the start of a committee meeting at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Friday, April 19. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Cue the Jeopardy music. Over the course of numerous hours Friday afternoon, the Senate Appropriations…

This commentary is by Luke Miller, an executive committee member of the Vermont Sierra Club. This March, the Vermont House of Representatives voted to pass a new renewable energy standard, H.289, a policy that sets requirements for energy providers throughout the state. At the moment, H.289 is being considered by the Senate.  H.289 is the…