Ever since I posted on Facebook my being irritated by Vermont Public Radio renaming itself just plain, old vanilla "Vermont Public" I’ve learned I’m not alone. And I’m not alone, (actually, I usually am alone), when I yell at the radio "Vermont Public … what?" But the upside is I get to make…

I happened across some online comments to a brief letter I submitted called “The sky isn’t falling” published by The Times Argus.

I think if Mr. McClaughry clearly understood the menace of climate change, he would have rambled derisively a little less (what point was he making, anyway) and supported Vermont's sincere efforts to be part of the climate solution mandating EV sales, rather than just to be another complaine…

Some thoughts on municipal budgeting. Is the entity now running efficiently? If it isn't, then what will it take to improve it? Machinery? Different methods? Training people? More people? Stockpiling supplies? Eliminating routine or encouraging it? More investment?

On behalf of the staff, physicians and patients of Rutland Regional Medical Center’s psychiatric inpatient services, I am writing to thank everyone who made the renovation of our department a success.

In a recent commentary, former Manchester Republican Committee Chair Perry Green claimed Donald Trump had declassified the documents he stored at his Florida mansion. Green wrote, “Stop, don't make false determinations based on misinformation by the mainstream media reporting.”

Cortina Inn is providing shelter for disadvantaged people, shelter which the state mainly pays for at a reduced rate. Is it the inn’s fault if there are problems that follow some of those people, problems which may spillover into nuisance or even criminality?

Murders, knifings, criminal gangs, police raids: It all sounds like Chicago in the 1920s, but it’s actually Bennington County in recent months. Almost daily, local papers carry news of another police raid or drug arrest, many linked to Massachusetts-based criminal gangs.

I want to commend Gordon Dritschilo for his Sept. 13 article about the Rutland City Board of Alderman addressing meeting violations.

Last week, I represented Vermont in Washington, D.C., at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s (ACS CAN) national Leadership Summit and Lobby Day. I joined over 550 volunteers from 50 states, representing every U.S. congressional district. We urged lawmakers to make cancer a na…

The editorial about the ongoing crisis in hospital budgets had it right stating "While we feel the need to health care reform would be the ideal answer, no such reset is anywhere near our reach. So in the meantime, we want all parties making decisions about budgets to be thinking of everyday…

The nomination of a significant number of tin-hatted Trumpites for national office leaves me wondering about the radical right turn the Republican Party, that was once described as a political party "reflecting your values," has chosen to take. Given that, I also wonder what are your values?

It seems like every day a layer of the proverbial Mar-A-Lago onion is pealed back. Obviously, at some point only the core will be left for us to view. If the DOJ believes the facts lead to a criminal indictment, they should act on it.

Advocates for people with disabilities know that tolerating discrimination without a word of complaint is the worst form of discrimination there can be.

What a beautiful rebuttal by Liz DiMarco Weinmann to the unfortunate commentary by Louis Scotellaro. Thank you, Liz, for making it clear that Lou was temporarily off his mark on this one. The Sculpture Trail adds grace to our downtown and invites an understanding of the depth of our history.…

Thank you, Joelen Mulvaney, chair of Barre's Diversity and Equity Committee, and supporters, for making the true meaning of "diversity" clear to me. Silly me, I always thought "diversity" meant a wide variety, including, most importantly, ideas. Now, thanks to the Diversity Committee leaders…

We all have a responsibility to tune in to the Jan. 6 hearings and call out falsehoods like the Big Lie, to ensure something like this never happens again. Donald Trump and his MAGA allies have been waging an ongoing campaign to sabotage our elections and attack our freedom to vote, and we m…

Every indicator says we are rapidly approaching the implosion of health care in Vermont and probably the nation. The 2021 Vermont Household Health Insurance Survey indicates 38% of Vermonters under age 65 are underinsured, as are 32.3% of those on Medicare. Since the Green Mountain Care Boar…

I find this display (for Jensen Afield) online as very offensive and disgusting. With so many killings by humans, many who started by killing animals both wild and domesticated, we do not need to be promoting this in our newspaper.

Article 22 is coming up for vote this November. If Article 22 is passed by Vermont voters, there will be no laws, and none allowable, restricting or regulating abortion at any time during pregnancy up to birth. Laws designed to protect women’s health, regulate who can perform abortions and u…

Regarding Mr. David Balfour’s criticism of the Rutland School Board, he needs to be reminded that real Americans don’t give up when a cause is just. Nor is he wise to pontificate upon his weakness.

Bells, whistles, new-fangled diagnostic equipment, oh, my.

Rutland School Board members who stubbornly refuse to give up on the Raiders name sound an awful lot like Trump supporters who refuse to accept that their guy lost the 2020 election. In both cases, it is long past time to grow up and move on.

A recent letter “VTF&W mission fail” attacked the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife. The author makes many false claims about trapping and wildlife management. This letter accuses trappers of being in opposition to the VTF&W mission to help protect, manage, control and conserve…

After many years of driving electric cars, I am considering buying one that burns gasoline. I have a few questions first.

This is in regard to Susan Beard’s letter relating to my letter about the NAACP. I appreciated your response. We are all entitled to our opinions. However, I never once mentioned the Holocaust in my letter so I’m not sure why you would in yours.

I had to take a breath after reading my state Rep. Art Peterson’s scare-mongering diatribe in Tuesday’s Herald about an issue he will never personally confront regarding reproductive liberty.

As it was with the myth of Critical Race Theory being taught in our public schools, Article 22, the Reproductive Autonomy Act, is generating a lot of unwarranted hysteria being fed by disinformation. And as it was with CRT, an even cursory review of the facts exposes the attempt to generate …

It is a very strange world we live in. A person who may have been injured by a vaccine they were coerced to take, is not allowed to sue the vaccine makers or anyone else for damages. However, Moderna can sue Pfizer because they want their "fair share" of the billions in profits the vaccines …

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. As a volunteer advocate with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, I am calling on my Congress members to pass legislation to prevent suicides and support crisis care.

Have you ever heard of crazy? I would imagine you have.

Great editorial recently on the jump in Vermont’s tick population and the serious nature of the variety of tick diseases they carry. For those of us who find great pleasure in nature’s woods and fields and even our yards, the tick problem has become a real downer.

The list of U.S. presidents includes men from excellent to terrible. Our flawed electoral process does not reliably produce good leaders, but it has one great advantage: It gives us a periodic, nonviolent way to get rid of the bad ones. This is hugely important, and it has worked reliably — …

In an effort to assist emotionally woke people, these are the instructions for future minor handcuff "triggers." Buy all the handcuffs. Nail one set to the walls of the City Hall for all to see with the epithet, "This was never allowed in Vermont, and never will be."

Your cartoon about the Good Old Party maligning the FBI shows your absolute cave dwellings point of view.

Americans are bombarded daily that fossils fuels will destroy our Earth, that windmills, electric cars and solar will save the planet. Recent congressional action allocates trillions promoting this anti-fossil fuel agenda that will raise energy costs, make taxpayers poorer and threaten the f…

Why do bad things happen to good people? We humans have been asking that question since long before the Book of Job was written centuries ago.

For the second year in a row, volunteers from Rutland Moose Lodge 1122 gave up their Saturday morning to work in the historic West Street Cemetery.

There are many places and situations where the concept of a safe space makes very good sense. However, a public forum is not such a place. In a public forum, all participants, members, etc., have the right to an unfettered expression of their points of view even if others find those expressi…

“The conservation of the fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the people of Vermont.” That is the official mission statement of the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Mr. Green’s caution to not buy electric vehicles (Aug. 25) ignores the fact while EVs may not be for everyone, some people may benefit from owning an EV while helping to reduce their carbon footprint.

I just finished reading the article "Before the Eyesore" about the Rutland clothing business and how it was a booming business at one time.

Regarding Article 22, Reproductive Liberty Amendment, I am seeing letters to the editor suggesting Article 22 will not protect personal reproductive autonomy if the state has a compelling interest in denying or infringing on that liberty. That is exactly why we need to vote "yes" for Article…

This is in response to Nick Searles' letter, “Hate versus harmony,” in the Aug. 25 edition. He objected to the NAACP finding a vendor's sale of slave shackles for a Negro woman or child, offensive. He wondered if they would protest the sale of white towels and bed linens next, and suggested …

Trust Vermonters to make the best decisions about their bodies and their lives.

Could it be the strong embrace that religious zealots have on the Republican Party could be more of a stranglehold than a hug?

I am writing on behalf of Rutland County Audubon Society to express our grave concern about the Lake Bomoseen Association's intent to mitigate milfoil with the use of a 4-year-old herbicide, ProcellaCOR. Because it is so new, it's harmful effects have yet to be experienced or analyzed. Poten…

I worked hard over several years to pay off my college loans. Now Biden wants me, and others like me, to help pay the loans of a generation of individuals who took on debt they can’t — or won’t — repay. This policy punishes responsibility and rewards irresponsibility. Please tell me where ca…

Regardless of how you feel about the issue of abortion, I encourage you all to carefully read the language of the Vermont constitutional amendment being proposed on this November's general election ballot.

In response to Genie Rayner's lovely thought regarding the pope ending Russia's war on Ukraine, I would remind her of what Joe Stalin said when advised of a statement by the then-pope: "How many battalions does the pope have?"