My brother, Tim and nephew, Danny are the genealogists in the family. Their insatiable curiosity and dogged determination have uncovered many fascinating facts about our family and connections to ancestors — both noble and not — who add a new understanding to who we are and why we are who we are.

The question on many minds following the Republican response to Joe Biden’s State of the Union address was “Where does the GOP find these people?”

Not unexpectedly, Vermont has once again hit a brick wall in public education funding. It’s nothing new. In fact, the wall was built and reinforced over decades by legislators, governors and school boards who jointly avoided addressing the root causes of the dilemma.

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Open government mattered to all of us during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Government played an outsized role in our day-to-day lives then. Schools closed, storefronts shuttered and the officials making decisions about quarantines, mask mandates and vaccines often met in secret or exclusively online.

In a moment where Stowe residents are facing unprecedented tax hikes, school budget chaos and inflationary cost of living increases, three members of the selectboard chose to pursue an ideological attack on one of the town’s main economic drivers through a short-term rental ordinance.

When I first played Old Maid as a child, I thought the old maid in question was an elderly housekeeper. That’s understandable, though it didn’t make the title of the card game any less offensive.

As Greek philosopher Heraclitus claimed around 500 BCE, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man. There is nothing permanent except change.”

A mentor once cautioned, “A failure to plan on your part doesn’t constitute an emergency on mine.” As a young employee, this was valuable advice that taught me to plan ahead, anticipate potential obstacles and listen to those that might be impacted by my decisions.

I hope the winter months have been treating everybody well thus far. Since the last session, I have occupied myself with board, committee and caucus meetings, town halls, legislative breakfasts and political gatherings to bridge the gap between my community issues and what I can do as a legislator.

The pace continues to pick up as we head for the Legislature’s town meeting week break. As has happened across the state, there have been changes in how and when towns and school districts vote and meet, including in our House district.

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