Inclusive Arts Vermont invites established and emerging Vermont artists to participate in ANEW, an exhibition showcasing works of art by Vermont artists with disabilities to travel statewide through the 2020 calendar year. The exhibition will begin its statewide tour at the Amy E. Tarrant Gallery in Burlington on February 15, 2020. Artists are asked to submit works that represent their interpretation of the theme of ANEW, highlighting beginnings, openings, doorways, and new starts. ANEW will offer participating artists opportunities to be featured in statewide publicity, build larger audiences for their work, and receive technical assistance in the professional documentation and presentatio…

By Cody Smith, policy associate, Center for Rural Affairs In July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced more than $400 million available for farmers and rural business owners under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). REAP, a farm bill program, provides financing for energy efficiency upgrades like insulation, lighting, and HVAC systems. Renewable energy systems like solar panels, anaerobic digesters, and wind turbines are also eligible. For both farmers and rural business owners, these systems can help cut energy costs—keeping money in rural economies across the nation. On the farm, producers could use the funds for electric, solar, or gravity pumps for irrigation…

Bi-State Primary Care Association is proud of the work of our Vermont Congressional Delegation to increase access to comprehensive, affordable, quality health care for Vermonters and people across the nation. Senator Leahy advocates as a member of the Appropriations Committee and Congressman Welch is making his voice heard for added funding in his role on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Senator Sanders shapes policy through his role on the HELP Committee (Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) and is championing key investments in accessible health care through legislation currently before Congress. Senator Sanders’s legislation is fully supported by Senator Leahy and Congressman W…

By Wendy Freundlich As September approaches and summer comes to its inevitable end, think about  becoming a mentor with Girls/Boyz First Mentoring.  We are a 22 year old community based mentoring program in central Vermont.  Our mission is to provide our mentees with high-quality, long-term mentoring relationships that inspire, support and enable our mentees to realize their full potential and prepare for successful futures as productive, responsible and caring individuals. A project of Washington Central Friends of Education, GBF serves WCSU and Montpelier youth.  Typically, children join our program between the ages of 8-10. Although GBF is a one-year commitment, mentor pairs often stay…

By Elizabeth Fitzgerald Vermonters recognize that one of our most important public responsibilities is the education of our children. Not only is it a moral and legal imperative, but it is also critical for the economic future of our state. Providing a high-quality education for Vermont children means that we must make sure that those who choose to work in our schools are fairly compensated for the work they do. A large and growing share of that compensation is the high quality, generous health insurance that is provided by school districts to teachers and other education employees. As is the case for many Vermont employers, health insurance and other benefits can help attract, recruit and…

By G. E. Shuman Okay, so, today I want to talk to you about what I think is mankind’s greatest invention. If asked what that invention might be, most people would probably mention penicillin or computers, medicine or manned flight, the internal combustion engine or artificial intelligence, or some other invention that is great, but in my mind still not the greatest invention of them all. Others would mention fire, which was not invented, but rather, discovered, or the wheel, that old circular standby when talking about man’s greatest inventions. In the case of the wheel, it was a good idea, but the greatest invention? I think not. Without keeping you in further suspense, as if you have bee…

By Stilton Jarlsberg The recent rash of mass shootings has left the nation stunned but, sadly, not speechless. The usual media and political suspects are saying the usual things, using the bodies of the innocent as a sickening ideological soapbox. We’re not going to do that here. These gruesome murders are not about, nor caused by, politics. Rather, they are the unavoidable and perhaps unstoppable product of a deeply diseased culture. A culture which has become the perfect growth medium for psychopathy. “Loners” are no longer alone when in their online worlds. They can communicate without actual human contact. They can find reinforcement for their darkest and most twisted thoughts and fan…

A program long championed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will invest $98,918 in bolstering efforts to bring local agriculture into the classrooms and cafeterias of Vermont schools.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced Farm to School grants to connect child nutrition programs with local farmers. Leahy said:  “Tying local agriculture to our schools not only provides our children with healthy meals and improved nutrition, it encourages a long standing connection to the farms that define our Green Mountain State.  Every student deserves equal access to healthy meals, and I’m proud that our school nutrition leaders will use these funds to help all children gain a better und…