Not long ago, product placement was an important part of companies to get their brand out there. Movies were loaded with specific drinks, watches, cars, even smokes.

When America was in the throes of the Great Depression nearly a century ago, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt introduced a series of initiatives that would be almost impossible to imagine today — at least at the national level. But our brave little state (thanks for that phrase, President…

To those people who are disparaging the Tokyo Olympics, go troll somewhere else.

Don’t put those masks away quite yet. It was a good news/bad news kind of day.

This is what the Houston Chronicle had to say about the EU’s lead with a carbon tax. It has been edited for length:

This has been a very newsy week for a host of reasons. And while there are things worthy of note, they were not necessarily worthy of 775 words. But broken into pieces and parts, we feel more at ease with sounding off on some of the news of the week with a good, old-fashioned thumbs up/thumbs down.

It sounds like the plot of a movie. Maine Sen. Angus King urged government and private-sector officials to do more to be prepared because “the next Pearl Harbor, the next 9/11 will be cyber.”

Since news broke earlier this week that Ben & Jerry’s is going to stop selling its ice cream in Israeli-occupied territories, Vermont readers and leaders around the globe seem to be giving the company a very chilly reception.

News reporting depends on three things: people willing to talk, people willing to read and a journalist to connect them.

This is what the Boston Globe had to say about police reform:

Vermont continues to lead the nation with the fewest COVID deaths. In addition, the rate of eligible Vermonters who have been vaccinated is among the best nationwide, hovering around 83%.

A report issued this week shows just how challenging the rental market in Vermont has become. In order to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment at the Fair Market Rent in Vermont, full-time workers need to earn $23.68 an hour, or $49,258 annually, according to Out of Reach — a report release…

We will call it the “disconnect.”

It took five months for the Biden administration to make a substantive policy change to advance abortion rights. And even that change was buried in a 61-page regulation setting rules for 2022’s Affordable Care Act enrollment.

Days coming off of a Pride month that was one of the most involved and engaged in modern history, there remains uncertainty about what challenges remain.

Well, that was unexpected. And … yet not really at all.

Editorial pages of newspapers around Vermont have included commentaries from individuals trying to defend critical race theory. Around Rutland, there is a group eager to make sure that the tenets of anti-CRT take root.

This is what the Boston Globe had to say about police reform:

The weather this week was pretty hot and humid. It was anecdotally and figuratively a heat wave. It made those swimming holes and pools quite welcome.

Vermont hit a COVID milestone, of sorts, on Thursday. After nearly 16 months, yesterday marked the final daily update from the state Department of Health with regard to the pandemic.

This is what the Boston Globe had to say about remote access to public meetings being a a post-pandemic must:

Across our state right now, we are feeling exhilaration with such amazing summertime weather, and the lifted restrictions as a result of our commitment to make sure we are vaccinated. COVID kept us cooped up for a long time.

This is what The Baltimore Sun had to say on the Supreme Court affirmation of ‘Obamacare’:

So, things are about to get a little tense in America. It’s almost as if we are getting used to it.

Well, “normal” is still feeling a bit abnormal. While it’s refreshing not to wear a mask here in Vermont, other parts of the nation are struggling for a host of reasons.

This is what The Boston Globe had to say recently about immigrant students meriting a tuition break:

You could feel the change this week. In the days following Gov. Phil Scott’s announcement he was lifting many COVID restrictions, people seemed both relieved and eager to push forward as normally as possible into summer.

Turns out you don’t have to get there from here. Conversely, the pandemic has shown us we can do a lot from home.

You could argue this has taken a long time. You could also argue it has taken too long. Far too long.

This is what the Portland Press Herald had to say about shutting immigrants out of health coverage:

Congratulations, Vermont. We did it. We moved the needle back to “normal.” First in the nation to do so.

There has been frustration in recent months with some of our coverage. Some of it is justified but there are elements of what we present to you that we feel is important for you to see. As is.

It did not take long for the word to get around.

Last week, Connecticut joined the ranks of states that declared racism a public health crisis.

June is Gay Pride Month.

Paul Costello is too humble to say it, so we will: As the 21-year director of the Vermont Council on Rural Development he has probably done more for Vermont than most lawmakers or governors.

Over the last few weeks, there has been a bumper crop of advice. As those caps and gowns are donned, words of wisdom appear everywhere, from cards of congratulations and poorly written limericks by proud younger siblings to heady commencement addresses by individuals with an alphabet soup wo…

This week, hundreds of Vermonters came together to think about what is best for our state. While there were lawmakers present, this group of individuals were all experts in their respective fields. They were convened as part of the Vermont Council on Rural Development’s Summit on the Future …

When you spend your time trying to ensure public accountability and transparency, it's good to know the governor thinks the same as you do.

If you ever had doubts that climate change was not having an effect on Vermont, you weren’t paying attention. It is happening all around us, across every season.

To be an employer today is a serious challenge. And we’re not even talking cash receipts.

Let’s talk about the last week or so.

Vermont took a big step today.

At a time when Rutland is struggling with its image as a community resisting clearly racist and inappropriate iconography, it is refreshing it could take a step toward honoring a person of color whose contributions defined education today.

We all are witnessing the increase of gas prices at the pump right now.

This is an important first step. The Justice Department has begun an internal review to determine how to remove any extremists from within federal law enforcement after the arrest of current and former police officers for their involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

We have received some interesting calls and emails in recent days from readers who have been irritated by content appearing on these pages.

The United Nations is going after methane emissions in the effort to slow climate change. Vermont’s cows have nothing to worry about.

This week’s walkout at the University of Vermont should send three clear messages: Rape culture won’t be tolerated; individuals who commit sex assaults need to be held accountable; and institutions need to do everything they can to keep such atrocities from happening — at any cost.