Book bans, censorship… what’s next?

Courtesy Morrisville Centennial Library I oppose book bans. Having said that, I don’t believe freedom is an absolute. History has taught us that we need commonly agreed upon limits to… Read More

Healthcare… A Way Home

Shutterstock In the ‘90s, Vermont was among the states with the lowest per capita spending, but since 2010 it’s been consistently among the highest (see slide 14). So, to envision… Read More

Rural Free Delivery (RFD)… Rest in Peace (RIP)?

Shutterstock I think the heat-drunk garter snake living in our mailbox is an omen. As I lower the dented cover and reach gingerly inside to get our mail, I wonder… Read More

What a Functional Vermont Healthcare System Might Look Like

Shutterstock I’m often asked what an ideal Vermont healthcare system would look like. Many working in the field of healthcare reform in Vermont have put forward similar models and we… Read More

A New “Women’s Prison”… or a humane reentry facility?

Chittenden Regional Correction Facility (CRCF) One of the benefits of age is the realization that there are few absolutes and that being “right” is often relative. When I was young,… Read More

Are We Ready for a Functional Healthcare System?

The healthcare industry in Vermont is at a tipping point and the outcome depends on Vermonters understanding what is broken and how to fix it. Just leaving it to hospital… Read More

The Arc of Aging and Leadership

  Shutterstock image Like a good novel, our lives have a narrative arc, during which we are actively participating in and relevant to our world. We are born, rise slowly… Read More

School Budgets and Property Taxes

Champlain Valley Union High School Do we honestly believe we overpay our children’s teachers? There is a logical disconnect in our discussions about local school budgets driving property tax increases.… Read More

The 14th Vermont Journalism Conference at UVM: Good News

Center for Community News In this time of contrapuntal highs and lows, I find a need to look for and celebrate the occasional highs. I woke up the morning after… Read More

The Ghost Quartet: Part II

Shutterstock A Lucrative model: Make them sick, then charge them to get well. In Part I of the Ghost Quartet, we explored the lucrative model of using the chemical/agricultural complex… Read More

The Ghost Quartet: Part I

                         If we zoom out and look with cynicism at the health care crisis in America, we see a… Read More

Future of Vermont Healthcare: Goal and Vision

  Shutterstock Future of Vermont Healthcare Council Goal: For Vermonters to find consensus on and advocate for a healthcare system that delivers quality, equity, access, and affordability for all Vermonters.… Read More