Editorial: Vote yes, with thanks for an Ilsley project done well

It’s not often that residents of any town can gladly approach a significant bond issue knowing all parties involved have excelled at crafting a $16.99 million library renovation project down to a very manageable $4.4 million payment for taxpayers to retire over the next 20 years.

Houseless or unhoused gives no respect for the experience or depth of pain of someone who lacks a stable, safe place to live. Homelessness was painful.

When I look at the world it’s easy to feel heartbroken and paralyzed at the chaos. Granted, I’m a born pessimist, but I’m sure many of you share my despair about climate change, the war in Ukraine, the strife in Israel and Gaza, and the huge number of peo … (read more)

Residents of the Slate Valley Unified Union School District, which serves Orwell and the northwestern part of Rutland County, face tough sledding in getting its school budget passed on a third attempt next Thursday, May 9.

Over the winter, I heard about an intriguing vegetable-growing technique called “lazy gardening.” As far as I knew, that was the kind of gardening I’d been doing for two decades.

One day, a young first-year student comes up to me and says, “Yo, brotha Hector, why can’t you take me under your wing?”

I will vote to support the bond on May 7.

The Ilsley Public Library is consistently one of the most frequently used libraries in the state, but its 100-year-old building is in deteriorating condition.

Please, Middlebury, say yes on May 7 to funding a renovated and expanded Ilsley Public Library! For years, despite the severe limitations of its current building, Ilsley has been among the most visited libraries in the state. 

There are a few organizations that are critical to the fabric of a community. The library is one of them.

The bond vote for the Ilsley Public Library’s proposed improvements and redesign is one of the most important we can imagine, and it’s a shame that Middlebury must shoulder this responsibility alone when so many of us from other towns are loyal patrons an … (read more)

On Monday, April 15, Tax Day!, I participated in a “disruption event” up in Burlington as part of a group of Vermonters who, in solidarity with Palestine, gathered at Burlington’s “Innovation Center” to protest Marvell Technology’s role in Israel’s ongoin … (read more)

Ilsley Public Library is one of the most used facilities in our community. I’m asking Middlebury townspeople to vote yes on the May 7 Library bond.

I am in complete agreement that 100% renewable energy is a must. But a major flaw in H.289 threatens Vermont renewable energy jobs and the ability of Vermonters to participate in the benefits of community solar power projects.

Passover has always been my favorite holiday. When I was a child, it was the night our extended family came together around a table and acted silly for hours.