All Entries in the "Op-ed" Category
An explainer: Proficiency Based Education is on the way
Editor’s Note: Over the next few weeks in The Chester Telegraph, TRSU Curriculum Coordinator Michael Eppolito will be explaining a seismic shift in public education, classroom work and grading that will be implemented throughout Vermont schools for those graduating in June 2020. We begin with Part 1. By Michael Eppolito States across the nation, and […]
Op-ed: A Windham resident speaks out for wind
By Mary McCoy As a resident of the town of Windham, I have observed the activity related to the wind farm proposed for our town — and Grafton, which has been dominated by very vocal opposition. For my own peace of mind, I am compelled to publicly state some of the positive reasons for supporting […]
Op-eds: 2 views on the Windham-Grafton industrial wind plan
On Thursday, Aug. 11, The Chester Telegraph received a request from KSE Partners, a Montpelier and Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm, to run an op-ed by Art Sasse, the communications director for Iberdrola Renewables, the Spanish wind turbine company that is seeking to build Vermont’s largest wind project in Windham and Grafton. Instead of letting the […]
Commentary: Vermont bloodsuckers and other dangerous fauna
New Age Trigger Warning: The following column contains information that may be troubling to people with heightened sensibilities and little real world experience or who suffer from enhanced yuck factor syndrome. By Bill Schubart Biologists claim the only life-threatening fauna in Vermont are the endangered timber rattlers making their homes in Benson. Benson wasn’t my […]
Commentary: Many state public records need to be preserved
By Jim Condos Vermont Secretary of State Records management is not exactly an exciting topic, but when a particular record is the focus of a request or controversy, it becomes critically important in that moment. Those records are owned by the State of Vermont and are incredibly valuable for a variety of reasons, not the […]
Commentary: Vt. Attorney General overreaches in prosecuting anti-wind activist
By Deborah T. Bucknam Esq. Vermont’s Attorney General has filed a complaint against Annette Smith, the activist who helps Vermonters opposed to industrial wind navigate the administrative jungle that best describes the Public Service Board proceedings. I have represented folks opposed to industrial wind at the Public Service Board, and the hearings are overrun by […]
Commentary: An open letter to Vermont legislators
By Bill Schubart Bill@Schubart.com As the new legislative session ramps up, I’d like to offer some thoughts. Don’t micromanage complex issues. We already have too many laws and administrative statutes, many poorly drafted, ambiguous or conflicting. Some actually confound good behavior. Our problems can’t be enacted away. They’re substantial and demand clarity of vision, courage […]
Commentary: Vermont has done much, can do more to stem climate change
By Deb Markowitz When Vermonters see a problem, we work to fix it. That is why earlier this year Vermont signed onto two historic climate agreements that will strengthen our state’s resolve to combat carbon pollution and transition to a new clean energy economy. In April, Gov. Peter Shumlin joined leaders from around the world […]
Commentary: Sen. Campbell’s legislative epiphany on ethics
By Bill Schubart I just searched Sen. John Campbell’s official state website and typed in “ethics.” The site yielded “no results” and urged me to check my spelling. Campbell (D-Windsor District) has been an outspoken opponent of establishing ethical oversight for the legislature until his recent epiphany inspired by the arrest of Sen. Norm McAllister […]
My Andover Town Meeting
By Sandy Stiassni I remember Andover Town Meeting well, from my long-ago childhood. Now 58 years old, I last attended Town Meeting in March 1961. My grandparents Ernst and Margaret Stiassni owned Hill Top Farm in Andover. Located on a rugged land assembly of rolling hills, pastures and valleys, it had been discovered by […]
Why Vermont needs a federal farm bill
By Ted Brady and Bob Paquin This fall, Congress has an important opportunity to create jobs and grow the economy by passing a long-term, comprehensive Food, Farm and Jobs Bill. The Vermont congressional delegation — Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and Rep. Peter Welch — are working hard to pass the Farm Bill […]
Festivals, foliage and a fond farewell from former Message editor Gary Band
From the editor: Former Message editor Gary Band asked The Chester Telegraph to run this column, knowing that he might not get the opportunity to say farewell to the many people who have touched his life since he first came into the area almost two years ago. We believe everyone deserves a voice, and we […]
Rep. Dakin seeks your input on end of life, GMOs, early education and child-care issues
Clearly, End of Life Care legislation — where terminally ill patients with less than six months to live can request a prescription for drugs that they can self-administer to end their lives — will be a major issue in the State House in the final eight weeks of the session. I’d like your opinion: Do […]
State should adopt more transparency for law enforcement
This commentary by Bill Schubart was written for Vermont Public Radio and aired Monday, Feb. 4, 2013. Audio is available on line at VPR.net. By Bill Schubart By way of full disclosure, I’m Chair of the VT Journalism Trust, doing business as VTDigger.org, serve on the Board of the VT ACLU, and am a former […]
Health care, job creation top Rep. Dakin’s legislative priorities
We have hit the ground running after our swearing in on Wednesday Jan. 9 and the inauguration of Gov. Peter Shumlin on Thursday Jan. 10. I have the privilege of continuing as a member of the House Committee on Health Care, where for the past two years we have been working on legislation that hopefully […]
Single payer: A common sense approach to health care
By Leigh Dakin Nationally, health care has emerged as a central issue in this election. Rightly so, with nearly 50 million Americans without health insurance and the cost of insurance and health care growing much faster than our incomes. The United States spends far more on health care than any other country: on average $8,000 […]
A Tale of Two Towns: Chester PA & Chester VT
By Sandy Stiassni While I have childhood memories of Chester, VT as an exceptionally fine place to live, set apart from banal Big-Box retail communities that have come to comprise so much of small town and suburban life in America, I’ve known another Chester, in a different locale and with a different character. As a […]
An unforgettable childhood in 1960s Chester
By Sandy Stiassni Like many New York Times readers, I read Abby Goodnough’s arresting article about the Dollar General plan to colonize Chester. It brought back treasured early youth snapshots. My grandparents were Chester residents. They become naturalized in the1940s, having emigrated as holocaust survivors from war-occupied Brno, now in Czech Republic. My grandfather, a […]
CVPS must repay ratepayers $21 million
By Leigh Dakin The repayment of the $21 million loan to CVPS from ratepayers has emerged as a hot issue in the closing days of this legislative session. Early on, I joined as a co-sponsor of the House bill to require this repayment. For me, this is a simple question of fairness and fulfilling a […]
Commentary: Vaccines can help keep rising health-care costs down
By Leigh Dakin Many issues that come before the State House require balancing personal freedoms against the public good. In areas that involve health, the public good includes who will pay the cost of medical treatment. Currently, the state and federal governments are the payers of last resort, but the current system is unsustainable. An […]
