America isn’t broken because the law was enforced. It’s broken because the people who write the laws won’t do their jobs.
Soulia: Instagram isn’t Congress
Cavanaugh & Sweeney: It’s time to cut the Certificate of Need requirement
CON laws limit the supply of healthcare services in roughly two-thirds of the states, limiting patients’ healthcare options and preventing innovation in the industry.
Roper: Some on the Left admit climate change policy is Robin Hood in reverse
Impacts on low-income Vermonters “will be ignored.”
Klar: Supreme Court defers to President Trump’s deportations
Executive power respected above patchwork of liberal lower court judges.
Trump signals cuts to NPR & PBS
“The NPR, PBS Grift Has Ripped Us Off for Too Long,” said a press release from the Trump administration this morning including a list of news stories as examples of ‘extremely bad reporting’ by public resources.
Harrison: Moving Day
At the State House, you might refer to last Friday as “Moving Day” when the session’s big issue of education reform passed the House and is now moving to the Senate.
Roper: Democrats’ education finance proposal is a betrayal
Voters want tax relief, but Dem plan spends MORE.
Klar: Can schools force-jab children with COVID-19 shots?
The Vermont Supreme Court’s determination in Hogan v. Lincoln Medical Partners says legally, they can.
Gervais: Vermont’s AG Charity Clark gaslights election integrity
Vermont voters pay the price
Despathy: Advanced Clean Car and Truck Regulations mean devastation for businesses
Part II of an open letter to Vermont legislators
Klar: A chance to support a Vermont farm in tragedy
A tragic barn fire offers an opportunity to express farmer support
MacDonald: Vermont has the third highest total tax burden
Democrats are trying to make NH to be just like the rest of New England.
Mobley: Why comparing Trump’s tariffs to the Smoot-Hawley Act is dishonest
Trump’s tariffs will work — but they’ll work even better with the Federal Reserve’s help.
Despathy: Legislators, past time to repeal energy laws
An open letter to the Vermont Senate and House energy committees
Soulia: Efficiency Vermont: where $3,000 buys you one ton of carbon relief
Maybe it’s not about carbon at all.
Maybe it’s about keeping the system alive—no matter how expensive, ineffective, or ungrateful it becomes.
Tiemann: It’s time to protect young and developing minds
Are you aware of what your children are seeing?
Warner: Hartford is becoming lawless
It is becoming lawless and it will reap what it sows.
Roper: “Make Big Oil Pay!” flounders
Lawmakers can’t open $ million-plus spigot to pay for hopeless lawsuit.
Eshelman: Welcome to Vermont Daily Chronicle University
We are all teachers and students simultaneously. Lifelong learners in the most technical sense.
Keelan: Bernie is providing some welcoming news
Senator Sanders and his traveling companion, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D.NY), should have learned from last November’s election.
Roper: Clean cars & trucks heading for a crash
Policy will cost Vermonters money, jobs, tax revenue, and likely increase emissions.
Warner: Hartford HS still pushing trans agenda
Transgender “women” athletes (teenage boys or men) have been raising concerns for female students and parents with regards to girls’ safety from them.
Soulia: What vaccine risk really means
Beyond the talking points
Murray: Building a stronger Vermont
For years, Montpelier’s answer to any problem has been more spending—paid for by Vermonters already stretched to the breaking point. Gov. Scott rejects that.
Silverstein: Low education outcomes by the numbers
Part 3 of a 3-part commentary.
The metrics of student learning (or lack thereof).
McGuinness: House Health Care hears Outright Vermont youth leaders
Bills to expand health insurance coverage for gender-affirming care and to stockpile gender -affirming care drugs, H.55 and H.56, were introduced and referred to the Committee on Health Care but have not taken up this session.
Roper: Special interests versus the Children
“Reform” is propping up a failing system, not fixing it.
Silverstein: The cost and educational outcomes of public-school education in South Burlington
Another real-world example of how “equity” in Vermont is a word, not a societal reality.
Silverstein: School data shows more spending, worse results
Part 1 of a 3-part commentary
Kauffman: From State House Room 11 to the usurpation of parental rights
March 13th wasn’t just about free speech. It was a demonstration of the current State control of winners and losers. The protected and unprotected under Article 22 .
Roper: Treasurer’s report: “Cap & Invest” Program on Fossil Fuels requires 80¢/gal gas tax to meet GWSA mandates
Low-income, rural Vermonters hit hardest; no safety net program possible.
Soulia: Why don’t we move the state capitol to Burlington?
Until balance is restored, the Capitol may still be in Montpelier — but increasingly, Vermont’s future is being written somewhere else.
Marcotte: When Vermont accepted “not one red cent!” of federal disaster $$
I know some will say times are different, the challenges are greater. But is it just that we are different?
Keelan: Will we be losing our high school?
Education spending is at a breaking point for many Vermont real estate taxpayers. And the Legislature just passes the buck yet again.
Roper: Who is using the Motel Voucher Program?
Are progressive policies creating homeless, or attracting them?
Dame: Four Democrats choose activism over responsibility
One Democrat might be an outlier, two could be a coincidence, but four elected Democrats shirking their duties demonstrates an alarming pattern.
Hafner: Microdwellings may provide relief to homelessness pandemic
Settings that already provide homeless housing might easily welcome 1-5 micro dwelling units in nearby empty parking lots.
Soulia: Full reimbursements for Planned Parenthood, service cuts for hospitals
While hospitals cut services to stay afloat, Planned Parenthood benefits from a 90-10 Medicaid match, private donations, and millions in political spending.
Roper: Dems’ Clean Heat face-saving attempt blowing up in face
Bill obliterated in four hours of critical testimony; passes committees anyway.
Thurston: Embracing adaptation for a resilient and prosperous future
We have ALWAYS adapted to our ever-changing climate throughout history and must continue to do so.
Donahue: Legislative leaders support silencing opposing views
Hopefully, no one despised the individuals speaking at the statehouse last week, but many certainly despised their message.
Soulia: Vermont bill seeks to prohibit mask mandates in schools
The bill stems from a growing frustration among parents and educators who have witnessed firsthand the impact of prolonged mask-wearing on students.
Bossange: Solutions for the housing shortage
If we wish to have more employees for a healthier business community and want to encourage younger families to move here, we need to offer housing solutions.
Westman: Transportation fund in even worse shape than expected
Vermonters are driving more, but EVs and fuel efficient cars mean a depleted Transportation Fund.
Klar: AI agriculture boosts soil, crops, and human health
Potato study shows drone surveillance can boost natural results.
Roper: Is VT Pre-K program driving up property taxes and harming kids?
The numbers don’t look good.
Dame: Lawmakers should resign or be disciplined for ‘rebellious,’ ‘takeover’ of State House
These two legislators worked in an unusual way to incite and organize a “takeover” to prevent themselves and anyone else from hearing a particular point of view.
Despathy: Tucking CHS ‘repeal’ into costly carbon mandate bill is a political maneuver
Vermonters deserve to know if politicians are using manipulation and rhetoric to push unpopular, expensive agendas.
Harrison: At Crossover – State House half full or half empty
Depending on one’s perspective we might look at various issues as making progress or going in the wrong direction.
NotTheBee: Transsurrection at the Vermont capitol
Again, Republicans are the weirdo culture warriors. not the people in their underwear storming the Capitol.
North: Paying for gold, getting dirt?
I can say with first-hand knowledge that the Speaker of the House and Senate majority leader both control which bills are allowed to be discussed in Committee.
Beck: New funding plan more transparent, accountable than Act 60
Vermont will likely continue to move toward an education system composed of local elementary schools, central middle schools, and regional high schools and career & technical education centers.
Lindberg: When Harry Truman did DOGE
There is no worse policy for the taxpayer and consumer than to have politicians and bureaucrats choosing winners and losers in the economy.
Roper: A bill so absurd in every respect I can’t find words for a headline
Lawmakers’ arrogance, stubbornness, and fiscal irresponsibility on full display with H.125
Fireovid: VT Dems are guilty of violating citizens’ right to free speech and assembly
The Sergeant-at-Arms aided-and-abetted protestors to violate Vermont Statute and possibly Federal Civil Rights Law.
McGuinness: House and Senate Democrats mischaracterize detransitioning event
Transgender Activists intended to cause public inconvenience and annoyance by disturbing a lawful meeting of persons with loud noises and the potential implied threat of confiscation or damage to our materials and equipment due to their actions, in violation of Title 13 : Crimes and Criminal Procedure Chapter 019: Breach of the Peace; Disturbances.
Priestley, Arsenault: Big Tech’s privacy gamble
Public servants’ lives are the stakes
Warner: Mary, Mary quite contrary
She clearly rejects our long-established unity in favor of the tools of division.
Perrino: No, a heckler’s veto is not ‘more speech’
“To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.”
Roper: The Clean Heat Standard is a mess Democrats need to clean up
EVENT TODAY! There is a rally at the State House 12-1 pm calling on the legislature to REPEAL ACT 18.
Keelan: How the $36M grant to EVT has been spent to date
What is missing is how much follow-up the Legislature and Administration are doing to see how the funds are being applied. So little is publicized.
Copeland-Hanzas: Celebrate Civic Learning Week, March 10-14
if we don’t know where to start when we want to fix something that is broken in our communities then we become easy to divide, and the problems persist.
McClaughry: Nuclear power revival
Originally published Tuesday May 3, 2022. In 1960-61 McClaughry was a reactor physicist in GE’s Atomic Power Equipment Division.
Covey: In hunting predators, what is ‘fair’?
Bill supporters have consistently stated their opinion that all the tools we use to hunt predators are “unfair”, and we shouldn’t be allowed to hunt them at all. Activism-driven bills like this are a waste of the legislature’s time, a waste of the taxpayers money, and a disservice to the people.
Thayer: Vermont’s path to tax simplicity
Funding government with a Unified Consumption Tax
Soulia: Residents consider recount and revote after school budget passes by one vote
Otter Valley Unified Union School District residents are weighing their options after the district’s proposed $28 million budget was approved by just one vote.
Watson: Thetford vote ignores ‘death to Israel’ pledge
If Hamas stopped fighting, there would be no war. If Israel stopped fighting, there would be no Israel.
Roper: Attorney General fiddles while Vermont burns
State’s Attorneys trying to push back the rising tide of crime with a broom.
Beck: The canaries are getting loud
The work is very difficult and at times overwhelming, but it is what every elected official signed up for when they asked Vermonters for their vote.
Klar: Fixing public schools by returning to core learning
The ideological brainwashing is over!
Thayer: Pro-Vance rally organizer ‘disgusted’ by tactics of the left
It’s time for the Left to stop the nasty behavior and work together with all Vermonters. Stop taking your orders from the Bernies of our great little state.
MacDonald: VT wants to put more women in harms way
Lawmakers claim that they are making prostitution “not illegal” while pretending they are also protecting sex workers from human trafficking.
Klar: Morristown student punished for “there are only two genders” shirt
Even though the school had relented, the student was threatened with discipline yet again by a teacher when M.P. next wore the shirt to school the next week.
Letter: An English take on Trump, Vance
Briton: Trump, Vance ignorant of history
Scott: Getting to quality, affordable education for all
Vermonters made it clear that we need to make major changes to a system that no longer meets the needs of our students, educators or taxpayers.
Roper: Senate Democrats block vote to repeal Clean Heat Standard
Vermonters expected quick action in 2025 to wipe Act 18 (the Clean Heat Standard law) from the books. That has not happened.
Soulia: VT lawmakers target farmers instead of pushing back against the Feds
If lawmakers truly want to stand up for Vermont’s future, they need to stop caving to EPA pressure and start holding Washington accountable.
Bossange: The real goal of DOGE
The President, Musk and their MAGA advisors need to realize the rest of us are on to their game. It’s time they feel the sledgehammer of our resistance.
McClaughry: Where Gov. Scott’s education transformation leads
When it came to education financing, however, the governor proposed what he called “incredibly strong measures” that vaulted him well into high-risk territory.
Posley: A plea on behalf of marginalized and underrepresented people
Posley: ‘With each bill I beg you to ask yourself, “How will this impact the lives of underrepresented people?”’
Klar: Rural Vermont attacks Trump policies for federal workers
Helping farmers, or federal bureaucrats?
Roper: Destroying school choice in Vermont
Governor’s education plan “fixes” too many things that don’t need fixing
Soulia: Lawmakers propose 32-hour workweek
The bill does not require businesses to maintain a 40-hour pay structure for a 32-hour schedule, leaving the door open for less hours rather than increased pay.
Page: Booker T. Washington’s shining example
Booker T. Washington believed in the ability of blacks to succeed by their own merits, despite the obstacles they faced.
Soulia: H.298: Bad-faith bill that shields illegal aliens while pretending to follow the law
H.298 will classify Vermont as a full-fledged sanctuary state, potentially costing it millions in federal law enforcement funding.
Iadarola: On the FY26 Slate Valley Unified Union school district budget vote
The current model of education funding is inefficient and unsustainable. There are clear areas for significant saving that will make VT more affordable for all.
Roper: GWSA transportation mandates will cost more than $177M per year
Tax on gas & diesel could start at 26 cents per gallon.
Keelan: Let’s stop talking and start building
To develop housing in Vermont, the hurdles have increased and are much higher, making the housing crisis all the more dire.
Klar: HHS cuts CDC ‘disease detectives’
Where were they during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Davis: Many reasons for Legislature’s slow start
March 14 is the deadline for a federal government shutdown, and at that time, we will get a first glance at the political potential for proposed massive cuts in national spending.
Thayer: Advocating for parents’ rights in Vermont’s public schools
A call for parent-school collaboration and transparency.
Soulia: 10 acres for $1. $12M in debt. And a quiet vote.
A proposal to build a $12.1M Valley Community Center (VCC) is moving forward across multiple towns, with funding to come primarily from taxpayer-backed bonds.
Jesses: DEI is Detrimental to Essex Instruction
DEI is inculcated into the lives of our EWSD students day in and day out, but show little to no academic benefits.
Roper: VT Democrats need to fish or cut bait on climate policies
Either pass laws that will meet GWSA mandates or repeal the mandates.
Soulia: VT’s PILOT Program: What it is and how it affects taxpayers
Vermont’s rural taxpayers are subsidizing PILOT payments that disproportionately go to larger municipalities, despite their own financial challenges.
McCann: The dire cost of getting well
Increasing healthcare and hospital costs pose a greater challenge than education
Crispe: The future of Vermont education reimagined
We can achieve new educational heights without draining our pocketbooks.
Soulia: The Rutland Forward enigma
A PAC with missing money, unfiled reports, and unanswered questions
Klar: Bernie Sanders’s ‘onesies’ rant displayed his animosity for free speech
Demanding Bobby Kennedy cancels others’ messaging is absurd!
Gervais: Can the feds save Vermont’s power grid?
Vermont’s legislature continues the race to the precipice.
