Editorials
Two weeks ago the Groton Herald published a front-page story about the predicament of John Reilly and Heather Rhodes, two Lost Lake residents caught in a hall-of-mirrors enforcement of our bylaws, zoning bylaws that don’t pass the basic test of commonsense or civic decency. The Herald story...
Voters will be asked to decide whether to approve a more restrictive marijuana bylaw at Fall Town Meeting. Some will see this as an easy vote, a ‘no brainer’ with no downside. Approving a more restrictive bylaw is an easy way to protect us from the unknown. Why not let other towns handle...
We’ve tried liberalism and conservatism and now we’re trying populism. Maybe the next era of public life will be defined by a resurgence of localism.
Localism is the belief that power should be wielded as much as possible at the neighborhood, city and state levels. Localism is thriving — as a...
From Farewell Address to the People of Cavendish Vermont by famed writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Solzhenitsyn lived in Cavendish VT for 20 years after being forcibly exiled from the Soviet Union:
"I have observed here in Cavendish, and in the surrounding towns the sensible and sure process...
At the national and state levels of government, politics is a spectator sport, even a blood sport. At those levels - after voting - there is little anyone can do to influence policy or change the direction of debate. But in our Town Meeting form of government, every voter is a legislator; every...
Last fall a proposal to fund ten new public safety positions, including five full-time firefighters, was slipped onto the Town Meeting warrant without input from the Select Board or the Finance Committee. After the public outcry, the Select Board removed the article from the warrant with the...
It is hard to know how the Prescott School property might be used 25, 50 or 100 years from now. But with intense pricing pressure squeezing families out from Boston suburbs to the exurbs, the Prescott property will only become more valuable as a lynchpin for civic interaction and integration. To...
Each member of our Select Board is a good and honorable person. We are fortunate they volunteer to serve in a job requiring a huge time commitment without pay.
Despite the fundamental integrity of each member of the Board, their collective decision to grant a multi hundred-thousand-dollar...
Looking back on the process leading to the granting of the Indian Hill Music School Building Permit fee discount, there are lessons to learn and people to thank. Perhaps the most important lesson is that a single person standing up for common sense and the truth makes all the difference when...
As of now, there is no resolution for Prescott School's future. Claims concerning "change of use" and building codes and what impact these may have on this historic building in the heart of Main Street seem to change almost weekly. There is no coherent vision to move forward and there seems to be...