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On Town Meeting Day, there will be an Australian ballot article pertaining to a $4.3 million bond vote for the Randall Meadow project. Because this project has several moving parts, we wanted to provide a clear explanation of the project and the need for the bond vote.
The Friends of Waterbury Reservoir is a community organization with a mission to protect and improve the Waterbury Reservoir experience for the majority of users and wildlife. We have joined many other Vermont lake groups and petitioned the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources to modify the regulations regarding wakesports.
Every day, I admire patriotic Americans who give us hope by demonstrating against the radical Trump dictatorship.
Our school board posted on Front Porch Forum that the proposed increase in the "per pupil" expense this year will be 4.8%. Actually, school board financial documents show that the overall school budget increase will be 5.4%. Why didn't the board just tell us that?
When early childhood educators are qualified, supported, and fairly compensated, children thrive, parents can work and build stability, and communities grow stronger.
The discussion begins on the proposed school budget, described in the budget warning (and a recent FPF post) as a per-pupil expenditure increase of 4.8%. I'll have more to say on the per-pupil cost in the future, but for now, let's just clarify that the actual school budget requested is a 5.44% increase.
Waterbury Select Board Vice Chair Kane Sweeney shares his board resignation news with the community. “I love this town and this community… I will continue to be very loud about working people and affordability.”
Aware that clarity and honesty don’t guarantee popularity, real leaders focus on what they want to convey. They tell it like it is, formulating straightforward, declarative language that conveys their thoughts and plans for action.
I am heartbroken as I write this post. I hope that you have a strong friendship/family group to support you through this difficult time if you are as heartbroken as I am. We are slowly losing our fundamental rights as U.S. citizens.
Across political lines and communities, Vermonters agree: young families should be able to afford to live and work here. The good news is, our investments in child care are moving us toward this shared vision.
A month ago, there was a post on Front Porch Forum from Stefanie Pinard looking for specific items to help unhoused people in central Vermont. Kit Walker contacted me to see if we could organize a collection drive to help.
Right now, there is quite a to-do over a proposed project at the site of the former Stanley and Wasson Halls at the state complex. The developer DEW Construction has proposed a project that seems large by Waterbury’s standards, but could very well pull the town’s housing vacancy rate back from the brink.
As much as I’d like to, I simply cannot visit every school every year. So, on Tuesday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m., I am going to be hosting a virtual student town hall, open to all Vermont high school students.
Every day, tens of thousands of Vermonters head to work with the pride of knowing their union jobs support their families and their communities.
We had a small group at our community meeting Thursday night, but had a great conversation!
Why should grassroots nonprofit organizations have to sue the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife to make it comply with legislative mandates?
Indivisible Mad River Valley, Indivisible Calais, and Indivisible Montpelier will hold a Martin Luther King Day Call to Defend Democracy on Monday, Jan. 19, 11 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. in Waitsfield along the Mad River Green.
The 2026 session has started off at full tilt! In this report, I will concentrate on efforts to stay abreast of the ever-changing shifting sands at the federal level and what efforts we are making to address some of those issues.
Harwood School Board Chair Ashley Woods invites Gov. Phil Scott to attend a school board meeting. ‘We would welcome the opportunity for you to hear directly from our community and to share your perspective on education affordability and policy.’
Growing up, we Boomers (born 1945-1964) were steeped in the idealism of John Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and the minimalist hippie ethic. But Watergate, Vietnam, and assassinations would turn idealists into cynical, self-serving uber-consumers.
Waterbury Rotary Club is behind many projects, efforts and events in the Waterbury-Duxbury-Moretown community and it’s seeking new members.
Praise for Harwood Union Unified School District is overdue. For three years in a row, the district has reduced its use of physical restraints and eliminated seclusion, demonstrating that this progress is not temporary, but sustained.
Born in 1901, Grammie Couture lived over 101 years. She was the family matriarch, the friend we all turned to when our lives tipped over.
During the past two years, I have offered opinions on a variety of topics such as the impact of the DOGE reductions, the misuse of “alternative facts,” the rise of Christian nationalism, the Supreme Court decisions on the Voting Rights Act, campaign financing and the establishment of a “unitary executive,” threats to our Bill of Rights, the harmful impact of aging presidents, the importance of speaking out and exercising one’s free speech, and calling out racism, antisemitism and misogyny.
The close of a year is a time of reflection. For 57 years, Central Vermont Medical Center has stood as a trusted partner in health care, serving generations of families with compassion and commitment. That history is a source of pride—and a reminder of the responsibility we carry to ensure access to high-quality care for everyone in our region.
As Vermonters enter another difficult school budget season, it is important to ground our conversations in the realities of being a small, rural state. Vermont’s scale shapes nearly every public service, including education.
When I first adopted the Hunger Mountain Trail for the Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation in the mid-1990s, the entire trailhead might see three cars on a holiday weekend. Today, in peak season, we regularly see 100+ vehicles cycling through in a single Saturday or Sunday, far beyond what this narrow hillside road and fragile watershed were ever designed to accommodate.
Afghan allies are our neighbors, friends, and colleagues. At the Alliance, the majority of staff and board members are Afghan allies themselves—thoughtful, courageous, emerging leaders raised in an Afghanistan backed by the U.S. They understand, as deeply as we do, the hope and possibility that come with a free and democratic society.
A huge shout-out to everyone who made the 16th annual River of Light Lantern Parade such a joyful success!
Vermonters are counting on us to be bold in addressing today’s challenges. Rising property taxes, scarce housing, and skyrocketing health care costs all demand urgency, courage, and shared resolve from leaders in Vermont.