‘Misinformed Portrayal’

I call foul on Seven Days’ misinformed portrayal of Vermont state workers. Accompanying the article on September 25 [“Vermont Supreme Court Upholds Scott’s Back-to-Work Order,” online] was a graphic portraying a state worker as a guy hanging out in his jammies drinking coffee with his pets.

Actual data show that Vermont state employees working from home provide high-quality customer service and are equally or more productive than when working from an office. They’re consummate professionals.

What the graphic should have portrayed was Gov. Phil Scott handing bags of money to his developer friends, who happen to be major campaign donors and who garnered lucrative state contracts to the tune of $2.3 million for retrofitting and leasing office space that is not needed. An accurate graphic might also portray Scott kicking our friends and neighbors, who can’t afford $2,000 per month for a studio apartment in this state, out onto the streets while handing over millions in state funds to wealthy developer chums.

It’s always funny how millions can materialize overnight when it’s in the service of benefiting those at the top but are conveniently never available when they might benefit those who don’t have a lot of power and sway in politics.

Cozy Memories

I read with amusement your article [“We (Heart) Dives: An Uncomprehensive, Unscientific Guide to Some of Vermont’s Dankest, Dingiest, Most Beloved Bars,” September 30]. I was happy to see you included the perennial and Burlington favorite the Olde Northender.

I’m old enough to recall when it was called the Cozy Nook in the ’70s and ’80s, and my single mother tended bar there to support me and my siblings.

Stopping by weekday mornings to check in with my mom before heading to Burlington High School, I’d find a group of regulars bellied up to the bar. Some had walked from home, and others had just finished graveyard shifts at General Electric or the fire station.

They would all be drinking coffee, watching the clock, waiting for the beers that would automatically appear in front of them at 8 a.m.

Weekend nights when the place was hopping, my mother would sometimes call me over from our apartment nearby to wash glasses or fry up hamburgers in the tiny kitchen.

Eventually, I had what was possibly my least favorite part-time job, vacuuming the place on Sunday mornings (blue laws, no Sunday liquor sales) and thoroughly cleaning the two cramped bathrooms — not that my efforts made much of a difference.

Students, journalists, doctors, professors, neighborhood regulars, a motorcycle club called the Superhogs and even the occasional adventurous out-of-towner could be found playing the jukebox or waiting for the pool table out back, which in those days was the only “out back” there was.

Thanks for all the sticky-floor memories.

Cheers!

The dive bar article [“We (Heart) Dives,” September] was so rad — and so unexpectedly edifying.

Seeking Certification

The recent article “Expecting Trouble” [September 9] highlights critical challenges within Vermont’s maternal health care landscape. As birthing options shrink and community-based support expands, Vermont’s legislative frameworks must prioritize public safety and risk-appropriate care.

As our perinatal health care model evolves, an essential clinical boundary is becoming blurred. Increasing access to doulas through Act 50 is a positive step, as doulas provide valuable practical and emotional support. However, breastfeeding complications require specialized clinical evaluation. With increased access, Vermonters may turn to nonclinical support structures to manage clinical issues, creating an avoidable risk to infant and parental health. Difficulty with latching, complex anatomy concerns, infant growth problems, mastitis and the mental health risks of unsupported feeding goals demand specialized evaluation and care.

International Board-Certified Lactation Consultants are health professionals with rigorous clinical training and education who provide clinical lactation care. Establishing state licensure for IBCLCs is an action item in Vermont’s 2021 State Breastfeeding Strategic Plan. Licensure would provide essential professional recognition and clearly establish them as integrated members of the health care team. Vermont would join a growing list of states that have passed or are pursuing legislation for licensure.

As a registered nurse and IBCLC, I believe this is something Vermont lawmakers can do to strengthen public safety, clarify professional roles for new parents and ensure that families have access to appropriate clinical expertise when complications arise. Every Vermont family deserves access to the right level of safe, specialized care.

‘More Media Noise’

In regards to your recent reporting [“Roof Raids: Laborers in Construction and Roofing Are Being Targeted as ICE Detentions Spike in Vermont,” September 23], it appears your reporter Lucy Tompkins is unaware of the context of the dilemma, the underlying principles and laws that pertain to it; is perhaps uninterested; or, Creator forbid, is biased.

I encourage Seven Days to provide well-informed news, especially regarding polarizing and controversial issues. If the piece is seemingly one-sided or biased, it becomes only more media noise to sort through and discard as we search for well-informed, thoughtful and reflective journalism.

‘Impressive Journalism!’

Your article about the Kent museum by Alice Dodge [“Art at a Crossroads: After 19 Years and 20 Shows, Art at the Kent in Calais Faces an Uncertain Future,” September 23] was amazing, articulate, interesting, well researched, creative and educational.

Thank you for producing and publishing such impressive journalism! I am never disappointed with your paper.

Credit: © Dzianis Vasilyeu | Dreamstime

Passionate About Politics

We’ve received numerous election-related letters recently and are presenting some of them this week to coincide with the publication of our Voters’ Guide inside this issue. There are still two more papers before Election Day, so this won’t be the last batch, especially considering this week’s cover story on the race for governor. Brace yourself!

Seven Days’ article on a recent poll [“Gov. Scott Leads Janoo by 10 Points in New Poll,” September 28, online] prompted me to write this letter. I call on my fellow Vermonters to reelect Gov. Phil Scott as we deal with uncertain times and affordability issues that affect us all.

There’s a national trend by voters to back more progressive candidates, which most voters haven’t seen tested in their own state’s governing.

Vermont has. Three decades of Democratic Party control of our legislature, and what has Vermont accomplished to make us more affordable?

1. Vermont ranks No. 3 for total tax burden.

2. Vermont ranks No. 3 for K-12 public school spending.

3. Vermont ranks No. 9 in overall health care spending per person and No. 10 in the economic burden of health care costs relative to median income.

Oh, and Vermont ranks No. 41 in fiscal stability.

I don’t care what political party you are aligned with, but I do care about how well we’re doing and whether we can make ends meet and make Vermont a place where we can encourage new folks to move. Now, that’s what I call a win!

Reelecting Gov. Scott and a legislature that knows how to meet in the middle will get us all there. Join me in voting for Gov. Scott, and let’s continue to build a Vermont that we can all afford.

[Re Last 7: “Janoo Wins in a Squeaker,” August 12]: Much as I enjoy alternative media, especially Seven Days, they sometimes struggle to capture appropriate nuance, as was the case when Seven Days characterized Amanda Janoo’s recent victory as “narrow” and “a squeaker,” including barely 7 column inches inside.

While technically accurate if you consider only the vote count, characterizing this victory as “a squeaker” misses the picture.

Aly Richards raised $439,145; Janoo only $303,407. A PAC raised an additional $230,025 on behalf of Richards. Richards had 2.25 times the financial resources available to fund her bid for the office, yet Janoo won.

It doesn’t take a genius to interpolate: Had both campaigns been equally funded, Janoo might have defeated her opponent 2 to 1. Would that have been “a squeaker”?

We already know more than we want about the incumbent, moldering in office, vetoing every innovative piece of legislation that comes his way. We need the media to educate the voters about the challenger. That means reporters need to learn what makes Janoo such a sensation. She listens; she’s not afraid to buck the establishment; she advocates for ordinary people; and she has stratospheric emotional intelligence. Please shout her story from Vermont’s mountaintops!

So far, there’s been little coverage of the upcoming governor’s race, but Alison Novak noted the candidates’ campaign finance disclosures [“Janoo Outraised Gov. Scott in September, Disclosures Show,” October 2, online]. Novak looked at the amount of money raised as of October 1 and concluded that this race will be the five-term governor’s “most competitive in a decade.”

Call me a nerd, but I had to look at the public documents myself (posted by the Vermont secretary of state).

Amanda Janoo got help from more than 700 “major” donors who gave an average of $325. She also took in nearly $60,000 from smaller donations — that’s at least 600 people and maybe several thousand (sub-$100 donations are not itemized.) Thus, Janoo has somewhere between 1,300 and several thousand actual people actively fueling her campaign.

Meanwhile, Gov. Phil Scott’s take, as reported, was slightly less. He had just 162 “major” donors (but generous — they paid up more than $1,300 each on average). And he had perhaps as few as 116 small-dollar donors (likely more, but these aren’t itemized).

As Seven Days noted, Scott’s donors include well-known developers, out-of-state corporations and several who go by “Casella.” The people donating to Janoo are, well, people (she takes no corporate money).

Scott has had nearly 10 years in office, so voters might wonder not just who his political friends are but also why he seems to have so few. And since people, not dollars, get to vote, I’d sure rather be Amanda Janoo as Election Day approaches.

[Re Last 7: “Janoo Wins in a Squeaker,” August 12]: As the political campaigns ramp up, now is the time for those in Vermont media to not just ask tough questions but also tough follow-up questions.

I mean questions on Vermont issues plus Amanda Janoo’s stance on where she stands on Israel, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and border security, plus more on her political philosophy and agenda.

I appreciate Seven Days making it clear, in at least two former editions, that candidate Janoo is pleased to be associated with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani! That alone should be a red-flag wake-up call to moderate Democrats who may be overrun by the Democratic Socialist movement.

Are Republicans who voted in this past primary and took a Democrat ballot, thinking that Janoo would be a weaker candidate, being careful of what they wished for, knowing those leaning left are greater in numbers?

Will Gov. Phil Scott shed part of his laid-back image to lay everything on the line and push aggressively for education funding reform and other critical issues?

Will Vermont Democrats crave a win so much that they face destroying the Democratic Party and Vermont in the process?

So little is known about Janoo. Does she have possible ties to the Democratic Socialists of America, out-of-state PACs or other money?

Yes, Janoo has an impressive University of Oxford education. Did she attend Vermont public schools or elite private secondary schools? Attend a public or private college?

Information, please!

Vermont has become one of the least affordable places to live. Now more than ever, Vermonters deserve a voice in Montpelier that takes the affordability crisis seriously. As Seven Days recently reported [“Fighting Words: Lt. Gov. John Rodgers, Behind in the Polls and Cash, Takes Off the Gloves Against Challenger Molly Gray,” October 7], Molly Gray is committed to prioritizing and addressing it. She’s the best person for the job.

Molly knows housing in Vermont is too expensive and scarce. As lieutenant governor, Molly will work to remove unnecessary barriers to housing development, advance simplified zoning laws and fast-track preapproved housing plans.

Molly also understands that health care costs are crushing Vermont families. As a mom and caregiver to her own mom, who battles multiple sclerosis, Molly gets how important primary care is. She supports, as I do, publicly funded universal primary care for all Vermonters, expanding Vermont’s primary care workforce and lowering hospital administrative costs. Near-universal care for Vermont children under 18 was achieved when I was governor in the 1990s. We are long overdue for the next step toward universal health care in Vermont.

And having grown up on a farm in Orange County, Molly is committed to addressing the skyrocketing production costs our dairy farmers face and will be a champion for rural Vermont. As lieutenant governor, she’ll work to ensure access to local milk processing, strengthen access to local markets, and support farm viability and diversification.

Vermonters shouldn’t have to choose between staying in the state they love and affording to live. Molly is prepared to take on these challenges, and I hope you’ll join me in supporting her.

[Re “Fighting Words: Lt. Gov. John Rodgers, Behind in the Polls and Cash, Takes Off the Gloves Against Challenger Molly Gray,” October 7]: I was appalled to read the details of Lt. Gov. John Rodgers’ antics in his race against former lieutenant governor Molly Gray, particularly his evidence-free insinuation that his opponent used her influence as a former elected official to help her family navigate a code violation in one of their farm buildings. This is, after all, the same John Rodgers who incurred a state violation at his cannabis farm earlier this year and who has since gotten a reduced fine and closed the case. Did he use his position as the sitting lieutenant governor to help himself out of that jam? There’s no evidence suggesting that he did, but by the standards he set during the debate, it’s now a fair question to ask.

Lt. Gov. Rodgers has had two years to prove to Vermonters why they should support him for reelection. Rather than articulate any affirmative vision for our state’s future, he has used his time in office to sue his own town over a minor property-rights dispute and to elevate to the Vermont Supreme Court a Trump judicial appointee best known for prosecuting a Vermont resident for exercising his constitutional right to free speech. And now, Rodgers is spending his remaining time in office launching attack after attack on his opponent, instead of offering any specific policies of his own beyond: “I’m a farmer; trust me.”

Vermonters deserve better. This sixth-generation Vermonter and Vietnam-era veteran is proud to say: A vote for Molly Gray is a vote for Vermont.

[Re “Fighting Words: Lt. Gov. John Rodgers, Behind in the Polls and Cash, Takes Off the Gloves Against Challenger Molly Gray,” October 7]: Desperate times call for desperate campaign tactics.

You might think I’m writing about President Donald Trump’s efforts to stop the inevitable blue wave that will result in Democratic control of the U.S. House and Senate. No, I’m actually writing about Republican Lt. Gov. John Rodgers and his decision to go scorched-earth negative to save himself from being replaced on the job by Democrat Molly Gray, a former lieutenant governor.

Rodgers has already made one odd decision, leaving the Democratic Party to join the MAGA-dominated Republicans. That’s so out of touch with Vermonters.

I’ve lived in Vermont for my entire life and never seen a negative campaign succeed here. Go ahead, Mr. Rodgers. See how it works for you. Vermonters will want no part of “Mr. Rodgers’ Neighborhood.” Gray is smart and tough, and she won’t succumb to your nonsense.

Rodgers can’t get along with officials in his own town. He whined when he was disciplined for disobeying regulations covering his cannabis farm, even though, as an elected state official, he should have known better. Negativity drives him.

Rodgers should write his concession speech now, because is he is campaigning like the loser that he will become on Election Day.

I’d like to urge every registered voter to use your vote on or before November 3. Voting is your protected right to state your opinion on issues and candidates and to have your opinion count. We have taken the right to vote for granted in this country for a very long time, to the extent that many people have not bothered to vote in the past. If there were ever a time to vote, it is now.

Before you fill out your ballot, take advantage of the excellent voting information available, such as the Vermont secretary of state’s voter guide, the Seven Days Voters’ Guide — inside this issue — and the 2026 Vermont General Election Guide offered by VTDigger. The ACLU of Vermont also has a voter guide. All of these are available online. They provide reliable information on how and where to vote, what the issues are, candidate info, and more. Also check out Vermont Public’s website for election-related coverage.

What’s at stake this time around is too important to sit this one out.

This article appears in October 14 • 2026.