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Legislative economist Tom Kavet, center, in April 2019. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger The Legislature’s economist, Tom Kavet, has said frequently that the billions of dollars pouring into Vermont grant programs hasn’t been well targeted. He asked the Agency of Commerce on Monday to try to do a better job of making sure the money goes…

Editor’s note: This commentary is by Robyn Freedner-Maguire, of Burlington, who is a career issue-based campaign strategist on issues concerning mental health and a stay-at-home mom of three.  Burlington must take a quantum leap forward to heal the impacts of police brutality committed against BIPOC community members and people living with mental health issues. To…

Editor’s note: This commentary is by Peter Gilbert, of Middlesex, a former teacher and college administrator, and the retired executive director of the Vermont Humanities Council. Even before the votes were counted, all Americans and all the world heard the president of the United States declare our national election a fraud. We knew it was…

Editor’s note: This commentary is by Lynn McNamara, who is director of stewardship for The Nature Conservancy in Vermont. Several years ago I made a decision that came as a surprise to many of my friends and family. I was going to start hunting deer here in Vermont. As a lifelong animal lover and considered…

Editor’s note: This commentary is by Marc Estrin, who is a novelist and cellist, living in Burlington.  In the control booth, the subject sits at a switchboard. An authority figure in a white lab coat stands at his side. Behind glass, in another room, a man sits strapped to a chair. He has made a…

John Carroll is the chair of the Vermont Board of Education. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger The board has proactively investigated a private school outside the regular reapproval process before, when the Compass School – also incidentally located in Westminster – briefly lost its tax-exempt status for failing to file federal tax returns for several years…

Vermont Department of Financial Regulation Commissioner Mike Pieciak at a press briefing in May. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger Lawmakers then expanded the program to include people who work in pharmacies, grocery stores, and some retail stores; licensed child care providers, cleaners, and several others. To qualify, apart from making $25 an hour or less, workers…

Editor’s note: This commentary is by Dr. Turner Osler, a career academic trauma surgeon at the University of Vermont Medical Center turned research epidemiologist. Over a 50-year career as a surgeon and researcher I’ve had a front row seat for the many advances in medicine that have saved lives and revolutionized how doctors practice their…

Editor’s note: This commentary is by Jon Leibowitz, of Middlesex, who is executive director of the Northeast Wilderness Trust. Based in Montpelier, it is the region’s only land trust focused exclusively on forever-wild conservation, protecting 37,000 acres of forever-wild and future old forests across the Northeast. David Attenborough’s nature documentaries have long celebrated the beauty,…

Editor’s note: This commentary is by Vicki Harrison, MSN, of Barnard, retired from 45 years in social work and community health nursing, with a subspecialty in mental health and substance abuse. U.S. health care has to become a human right. Capitalist principles, alias business, was brought in by MDs in the 1990s to “control health…