Opinion
Forum for Feb. 16, 2024: GOP drops ball on border
GOP drops ball on borderOnce again, the dysfunctional Republican party has put politics ahead of national interests. Our country faces a problem on our southern border. It’s important to understand the nature of this problem. Years ago, illegal...
Editorial: Sununu squanders money at the border
Thanks to the ACLU of New Hampshire, a rough estimate can now be made of how much it will cost the state’s taxpayers to secure the Northern Border from the purported threat of undocumented immigrants crossing over from Canada. By our calculations, the...
Forum for Feb. 15, 2024: Prioritize NH’s children
Prioritize NH’s childrenI am puzzled by the priorities of some New Hampshire legislators: banning books from school libraries, withholding medical care from trans students, censoring what can be taught in the social studies classroom, worrying about...
A Yankee Notebook: Reckoning with the pace of change
By WILLEM LANGE
Change, we have been told, is the only constant. In recent years, we’ve come to believe, change is accelerating at a dizzy pace. And how many times have we heard the phrase “the good old days”?The good old days, I always muse, before antibiotics and...
Editorial: Dartmouth’s reinstatement of standardized tests shows promise
Of all the reasons for colleges to require applicants to take a standardized test, among the most unlikely would seem to be promoting increased diversity in the student body. But that is precisely the rationale cited by Dartmouth this week in...
Column: New Hampshire lawmakers ignore obvious gun safety measures
By WAYNE GERSEN
Monday’s Valley News featured two articles describing gun control legislation under consideration this year in New Hampshire. As part of the majority of voters who seek stricter gun control, I am frustrated and bewildered by the incremental approach...
Forum for Feb. 10, 2024: Be sure to vote
To serve and to voteOn March 12, Lebanon voters will have the opportunity to make their voices heard. This is not just a civic duty, but a privilege and a right that all should exercise. If you want to have a say in how your school district is run,...
Column: How a key piece of Vermont gun law works
By PAUL MANGANIELLO
The 2023 Vermont legislative session saw passage of significant gun safety legislation. One piece of this legislation I would like to highlight is the Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) provision in Act 45. The recent tragedy in Lewiston, Maine, was...
Column: Wishing for a stern winter test
By JONATHAN STABLEFORD
I’m staring out my window into the deep woods, where the trees are swaying like a gospel choir and releasing clouds of last night’s snow. The temperature is barely above freezing, but what I see looks like winter. January brought us a little of...
Column: Don’t blame Act 127 for higher Vermont tax rates
By MARC B. SCHAUBER
Act 127 of 2022, the law that corrected 25 years of injustice in our education funding system, is a good law. It allows all children in Vermont to receive an excellent education regardless of their background or zip code, all while supporting local...
Forum for Feb. 9, 2024: Monkey business
Economic monkey business Have you heard that hospitals are full? Not just because it is winter but because patients cannot be sent to rehab or nursing homes, they do not have the staff. Have you noticed long waits at restaurants? Limited staff there...
Forum for Feb. 8, 2024: Mourning a man and a business
Mourning a man and a business Mike Zack died on Feb. 2 and in losing him we also mourn the end of an institution. This requires us to take notice.Mike was the remaining brother who founded Northern Motorsports, a repair shop that cared for the...
A Yankee Notebook: The second midwinter heralds the return of the light
By WILLEM LANGE
Our culture is pretty thoroughly saddled with rituals and celebrations that originated in our distant, non-scientific past, when we considered phenomena the result of supernatural intervention. I guess maybe these rites seem cute or quirky, and are...
Forum for Feb. 6, 2024: NH is a landlord state
NH is a landlord state Has it come to anyones attention lately that rents in this state have sky rocketed, especially in Claremont, Newport, Charlestown and all towns around? The reason for this is because New Hampshire has no cap on rent control,...
Column: Newbury juvenile justice facility plan leaves room for abuse
By JOANNE O’MEARA
Abuse occurs behind locked doors because it can; it occurs in cities and small towns; it knows no socioeconomic limitations. Most people do not want to believe that abuse is ubiquitous, and they turn a blind eye.In the face of this reality,...
A Solitary Walker: The first presentiment of spring
By MICKI COLBECK
It is Imbolc, the time for lambing, seed catalogues, and garden sketches. Groundhogs and bears are stirring. The sun lingers on the western hills, listing just a bit more to the north each afternoon. We are at the halfway point between the longest...
Editorial: Taxing Vermont’s wealth
Polls show that large majorities of Americans sense that the wealthiest members of society are not paying their fair share. That perception reflects reality: With income inequality hovering near historic highs, the poorest 20% of taxpayers are...
Column: NH bill thwarts family medical conversations
By JULIE KIM and FRANCES LIM-LIBERTY
New Hampshire lawmakers are currently debating a bill that would take away the ability and rights of parents to make informed decisions about their child’s health care. This bill is HB 619 and, on its surface, it might seem like it “protects...
Forum for Jan. 30, 2024: Vermont climate action
Vermont needs stronger climate actionThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that average land and ocean surface temperatures in 2023 were the hottest ever recorded, 2.12 degrees Fahrenheit above 20th-century averages, that...
By the Way: The unforced errors of first-year college presidents
By RANDALL BALMER
Early in my career, a senior colleague warned that funky things tend to happen during the first year of a college presidency. As a new president settles into the job, poor decisions and unforced errors seem to follow almost inevitably — although they...
