Search
Vermont
Leaders or Politicians?
“Veteran Republican operative Mike Smith named new AHS Secretary” This recent headline in VTDigger implies that the new leader of Vermont’s largest agency ($2.5B), the Agency of Human Services was… Read More
Vermont
Can Vermont Lose Weight?
As someone who’s weighed just shy of 500 pounds and now weighs 200 pounds less, I’m comfortable talking about weight loss. It’s often said that Vermont has an “affordability problem,”… Read More
Stories & News from Magic Hill
August Newsletter
Stories and News From Magic Hill August 2019 Gassing Up When my farmer-son saw me filling my 45-year-old tractor with diesel fuel this way, he could hardly control his laughter.… Read More
Policy & Politics
Vermont's Comfort Commission
In a time of widespread citizen mistrust of their government institutions, what could be more important than re-building that trust? The recent reversal from VT’s largely symbolic Ethics Commission (VEC)… Read More
Education
Comments to Vt State College System Board 082219
Comments to Vt State College System Board 082219 The White Paper (Paper) does a credible job assessing the current challenges faced by VSCS (the System). It’s light, however, on offering… Read More
Education
Imagine if Vermont Got Immigration Right.
In a recent conversation with Governor Scott, one of his principle economic concerns was the gap between job openings and applicants. With Vermont’s population either slightly shrinking or growing, depending… Read More
Policy & Politics
Vermont Can Make a Difference on Mass Shootings
Since the national opinion writers have thoroughly covered the President’s role in stoking the violence we experienced this weekend we can agree that the next election offers us all the… Read More
Read Me A Story
I Am Baybie Story
Arts and Humanities
Role of the Arts & Humanities in Addressing Society's Problems
I recently attended a quiet conference that brought together leaders and innovators in the arts, humanities, and public broadcast. We met for two days to explore how the arts and… Read More
Vermont
Our Natural Capital
The Stick is Failing Us, Let’s Try the Carrot. Under the current administration we’re regressing into old but persistent racial and xenophobic resentments that, under great and unifying leaders, lie… Read More
Vermont
Vermont's Motto: Freedom and Unity
“Freedom and Unity” is Vermont’s motto and has been since 1788. It expresses the unattainable equipoise between freedom of the individual and the shared well-being of the community in which… Read More
Arts and Humanities
Our Recorded History: Intellectual Property or Cultural Heritage?
As the magnitude of loss becomes more public and musicians express more anguish about the loss of some half a million music masters in the 2008 archive fire at Universal… Read More
Education
Public Education and Privilege
Public Education and Privilege I’ve been trying to follow the debates on all sides of Act 46 and school consolidation and am struck by how complicated the route we’ve chosen… Read More
