Arguably, one of the added bonuses of self-isolation has been more time with family.
Vermont has received $1.25 billion in Coronavirus Relief Funds through the federal CARES Act, which have time constraints and restricted uses. One of the allowable uses is providing for the needs of the unhoused as a response to the public-health emergency created by COVID-19, and another is…
The late, beloved baseball catcher, Yogi Berra, wasn’t a scholar, but he was a master of malaprop. Think of him as an Archie Bunker in Yankees pinstripes. Yet when it comes to capturing the current dilemma facing Vermont higher education, his line “It’s déjà vu all over again” is as much on …
Harwood Union Unified seniors deserve a graduation ceremony. We all agree the pandemic has created issues concerning this traditional graduation event. However, one’s journey should never end with a stumble.
If there’s anything that has become clear in this pandemic, it’s just how important schools are to Vermont families.
We’ve just lived through a spring we could never have imagined a few short months ago, and as we prepare for a summer that will also be unique in our experience, it is important for us to remember we are also heading into an election cycle.
Thousands of Americans lining up for food in 2020 boggles the mind of the observer and creates unfathomable stress for families trying to get by on meager government assistance as the COVID-19 pandemic migrates through the heartland. Here in central Vermont, we saw a day-long gridlock of veh…
A few weeks back, Vice President Mike Pence announced that a total of 5.1 million Americans had been tested for COVID-19. You may not have noticed as his report was somewhat overshadowed by the president’s prescriptive musings the previous day about ingesting disinfectants and bathing COVID-…
Marlboro College held its annual meeting May 16 in which they overrode term limits and ignored a petition with more than 800 signatures calling on leadership in favor of closure, to resign. Their plan to give away millions of dollars to Emerson College, while taking on new debt, $1M in Paych…
All of us at Northern Vermont University are greatly relieved that the immense value NVU and Vermont Tech-Randolph bring to Vermont has been recognized and that the former Vermont State Colleges Chancellor took his proposal to close NVU and Vermont Tech-Randolph off the table. However, we al…
In 1966, Vermont’s U.S. Sen. George Aiken offered President Lyndon Johnson a way out of the long and divisive war in Vietnam. Although it is not exactly what Aiken said, the advice has assumed a life of its own in the aphorism, “Declare victory and get out.”
Early mornings find me at Windswept Farm in Williston, where I board my Shetland pony, along with 24 horses. Social distancing requires tight scheduling so that only two or three mask-wearing boarders are there at any one time and no visitors are allowed. Currently, the equines aren’t gettin…
For some Vermonters, this pandemic has been nothing short of hell.
I’ve probably traveled more than 20,000 miles on foot the last several decades without having gotten anywhere, other than where I already was, which — for some reason — was satisfying anyway. I did it to drop some weight, which I haven’t; I did it to ease my generalized anxiety, which it gen…
As Vermonters, we are used to seeing ourselves compared to other states or regions of the country — some positive, other negative, assessments.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act recently voted into effect by Congress is amazingly close to a Universal Basic Income (UBI) system, or an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) system, although it is only temporary. I think it is safe to say the CARES Act has met with …
Donald Trump started his tour as president passionately approving of almost all of the world’s autocrats and dictators. That has not changed since. Why does our American president so admire all these authoritarian rulers? Bernie Sanders says, “The president makes it more and more clear with …
I don’t remember from whom I stole this story. Most likely, the late Alan Foley, of Norwich. It’s about a newspaperman in northern Vermont. He owned a biweekly paper; did all the news gathering and writing; set the type, printed it, delivered it and handled the finances. It was tight, but he…
Last year, several colleges in Southern Vermont shuttered their doors — one of which was Green Mountain College in Poultney. Poultney happens to be where I grew up. Since the college was the biggest employer in my small hometown, many of my friends and family members were directly impacted b…
Watching Jared Kushner proclaim the “success story” of his father-in-law’s COVID-19 catastrophe, as infections passed the million mark, the death toll topped 60,000 and over 30 million Americans sought unemployment benefits (now, these numbers have substantially increased), was enough to gag…
We’re itching for self-isolation to be over and done with.
In Vermont’s all-hands-on-deck response to the COVID-19 crisis, no stone is left unturned. And it’s incredibly inspiring. Everyone is chipping in, helping neighbors with grocery deliveries, donating goods to local food shelves and banks, making homemade masks for health workers, and even don…
No voter in Vermont should have to choose between staying safe and exercising their right to vote this year.
With changes to virtually all aspects of our daily lives due to the pandemic, we are continually being asked to rethink the ways we usually do things. Many people are working remotely for the first time. Kids are being homeschooled. People are staying six or more feet apart, and wearing mask…
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Throughout the pandemic, and the consequential shutdowns, there is often talk of wanting to go “back to normal,” to fall back into the past, the thought of which provides us comfort and a sense of security, to forget COVID-19 ever happened. Though there is no doubt this pandemic must be foug…
Anyone who’s ever run a classroom election is familiar with the perennial question, “Can I vote for myself?” It reflects a charming childhood understanding of humility, a quality parents have long tried to instill in their children.
Just when we were about to relegate the phrase “You can’t make this stuff up” to the dust bin of history, perhaps replacing it with something more user friendly, like: “His lips are moving — run,” a gigantic speed bump in the person of one Donald J. Trump, is forcing us to dredge up the old …
Our apologies to the governor for making him the protagonist in a full-page reader engagement exercise on the cover of this section. But we felt that he was the perfect subject for a story that required levity. Besides, how many states have race car drivers who double as governors?
As we continue to grapple with the fear and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, and come to the realization things will never be the same for us and for our global community, we might find ourselves asking questions usually reserved for philosophy and religion, questions about meaning. For…
Given the potential COVID-19 health risks associated with standing in line at polling places, there are understandably more calls for a move to voting by mail. This may turn out to be necessary, but, if we are going to change the way we vote, we also have to ensure the new ways are just as s…
The problem for all Americans is there are only a few scientific absolutes available when it comes to dealing with the coronavirus. Yet large numbers of our population have chosen to disbelieve even those few absolutes and advocate for action that contradicts the only available scientificall…
The latest translation of the Bible, “Bible 2020,” has just been published by the Danish Bible Society. It has caused considerable controversy on account of the way this translation has handled the word “Israel” in the Old and New Testaments. For example, of the 60 instances in the New Testa…
The house vibrates slightly as a truck drives by, and Jameson, our colorful coonhound, leaps off the couch and heads toward the door. He knows what happens next. The truck, operated by Casella Waste Systems, stops just above our house and then backs carefully down a long dirt driveway beside…
With COVID-19 isolating us in our homes and wreaking havoc on every aspect of our lives, it has never been more important to have healthy lungs. So it takes a lot of gall for e-cigarette or vape shops across America to petition governments to remain open during the COVID-19 shutdown, claimin…
COVID-19 has caused more disruption in higher education during the past 30 days than we’ve seen in 30 years.
During the past several weeks, Vermonters have been thinking a lot about food — where it comes from, who harvests it, how far it travels, what it costs and how much is available.
In the last few months, our world changed. Vermonters and people around the globe are reeling from the impact of COVID-19 on their lives, work and loved ones. Throughout the pandemic, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce has advocated for financial assistance and regulatory relief to help busines…
The pandemic is causing great suffering and economic damage, but we’re starting to see opportunities for positive change, as well. Remote conferencing over the Internet might be one of those silver linings. It is allowing for increased public access to government, and that could be a powerfu…
Under the guise of COVID-19, rules were recently placed that prevent Vermont farmers from participating in their normal course of retail and wholesale business. The apparent argument, as perceived by government, is that farmers’ markets are “gathering places” and not primarily food suppliers…
Freshman Poor Elijah studied personality disorders. Sometimes he read books, but mostly he learned by observing his dorm mates or alternatively by looking in the mirror.
First, a little history. 2008 saw the worst financial crisis in this country since the Great Depression. In response to the economic devastation, congress enacted the Troubled Asset Relief Program to bail out America’s big banks. To the tune of $700 billion. Today, with the coronavirus pande…
You wouldn’t be surprised that a late night television meat salesman’s ignorance was nearly unrivaled in magnitude — in all ways and of all things. He himself would probably characterize his vacuousness as “The best ignorance in history” ... “Nobody’s ever seen anything like it.” Superlative…
When every person counts, it is key to ensure every person is counted.
On Nov. 3, 1927, Vermont took a hell of a shellacking. October had been extremely rainy. Then in two days nearly a foot of torrential rain fell on most of Vermont. The soggy mountain forests couldn’t hold it. Down it came in gushing brooks and wild brown rivers, sweeping away nearly 200 year…
Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe discusses how self-isolation and the pandemic have affected his life.
Executive Director of the Paramount Bruce Bouchard, of Rutland, talks about how his life has been affected by the pandemic and its consequences.
Stay-at-home mom and low-income advocate Roni Lynn Shrout, of Montpelier, discusses how the pandemic has affected her family.
Carrie Allen, of Rutland, explains how she has been coping with self-isolation and what she hopes will come from it after the pandemic is over.
Vermont cartoonist Tim Newcomb provides a bit of levity to his answers about self-isolation and how he is coping.
Recovery Vermont’s Melissa Story, of Montpelier, shares her thoughts on self-isolation and how it has affected her.
Major Jackson is a poet and professor at the University of Vermont. He lives in South Burlington.
Former governor Jim Douglas shared his thoughts on self-isolation.
Danziger: Five Questions With
How are you handling self-isolation?I’m on Week 5 of isolation with my husband, 5-year-old, 3-year-old, dog and cat. I definitely won’t be winning any quarantine productivity awards, and I don’t have any motivational stories of how I’m using the time to make the world a better place. No one …