Less Government, More Government, or More Effective Government?

  Photo courtesy State of Vermont I regularly read True North Reports (TNR), billed as “the other side of Vermont news.” I’m troubled by TNR’s cutline as it refers to… Read More

A New Vermont Prison: Build it and they will come?

 Photo courtesy VT Digger   As a community, we need to make cost-efficient, long-term, and morally responsible decisions. Are we a punitive state or a supportive community that enables healing… Read More

Current Legislative Compensation Favors Privilege

  Two weeks ago I wrote about extending gubernatorial and legislative terms from two-year to four-year terms. Since then, good friend and revered former State Archivist Gregory Sanford sent me… Read More

It’s Time for the Four-Year Term for Governor and Legislators

  It’s time again for my biennial screed against Vermont’s two-year term for elected executive and legislative positions. I’ve watched the damage done by this narrow time horizon play out… Read More

Road Safety for Fauna: A Primer

Gray squirrels: Be decisive don’t zig-zag down the road directly in front of your automotive pursuer. Make up your mind and run to one side or the other. Red Squirrels… Read More

The Girl in the Yellow Pant Suit by Becca Balint a review (April 7, 2022)

I’ve just finished reading an advance copy of Becca Balint’s forthcoming collection of essays, The Girl in the Yellow Pant Suit. I had no idea what to expect from this… Read More

That Newcomb Cartoon

                                                        Schubart Cartoon… Read More

Cece’s Habit

For Mina   Cécile, or Cece as her family and friends called her, was five and a half years old. Although her parents had been trying for some time, Cece… Read More

Opinion Column on Hinesburg Ambulance Service – Kate and Bill Schubart (2/6/22)

We believe that the municipal budget we’re about to vote on, the unknowns therein, and the unquantified future costs these commitments will incur are unsustainable in Hinesburg. Kate and I… Read More

Connecting the Dots: Leadership, Vision & Courage

It helps to understand emergency rooms and prisons as the end-game of bad policy decisions. Vermonters can’t afford to keep spending money patching up the accelerating dysfunction absent a clear… Read More

Silverbacks in India

About 30 years ago, I was burned out and needed a break from a 50–60-hour work week. I was seeing a young photographer and, out of the blue, asked her… Read More

A Town Divided

Charlotte is becoming a town divided, and the centrifugal forces dividing it have a new indicator – a second newspaper. As VTDigger reported on April 14th, a group of relative… Read More