Wednesday, May 14 Thanks, Mike The other day I read a column by Michael Reagan ("Environmentalists are behind it"), which, if it were intended to be serious not only missed the mark but was written by someone who is badly informed, is unwell, or both. Mr. Reagan identifies three people: John Flicker of National Audubon, Frances Beinecke of the Natural Resources Defense Council and Trip   Full Story

Tuesday, May 13 In a recent column written by Telly Halkias, regular writer for the Banner, I was astonished to learn that now Mr. Halkias is a political pundit. Frankly, I would have thought that the town has already had enough of political punditry. Indeed, the whole world seems to be saturated with politics.   Full Story

Monday, May 12 Sen. Bernie Sanders recognizes the pain higher gas prices cause; that's why he joined the call for a gas tax holiday (Congress must act on oil costs, May 1). Sen. Sanders has been an environmental champion, and we agree with him on most things. On this issue, we urge him to reconsider.   Full Story

Friday, May 9 Cambridge schools work to keep students safe Many members of the Cambridge school community have read newspaper reports about alleged threats of violence at Cambridge Central School, While confidentiality laws prevent us from discussing specific students, we are writing to assure the community that it has always been our first responsibility to make sure the school   Full Story

Thursday, May 8 Clarification of my remarks on North Bennington park I am writing this letter to the editor to clarify the inaccurate article written in Wednesday's Banner regarding my comments about the proposed town of Bennington support of the Village Park in North Bennington. The only question I asked of the group who came to our Monday, April 28, meeting was directed at who would   Full Story

Wednesday, May 7 The 'silent tsunami' is population growth In an Associated Press article that appeared April 23 about the World Food Program warning of a "silent tsunami" of hunger, author David Stringer says the WFP claims 20 million of the poorest children around the world are threatened with the "first global food crisis since World War II.   Full Story

Tuesday, May 6 Fight crime, not ownership of guns I read with interest the column by Charles Putney in Friday's Banner. Mr. Putney expounds upon his feelings about the usefulness of a gun called the Tommy Gun. While the gun he refers to is a famous weapon dating from the 1920s, the fully automatic, legally owned, registered, versions of such are very expensive, very hard to find, and   Full Story

Monday, May 5 There is an ancient African proverb: "It takes a whole village to raise a child." On May 6, there will be a community gathering to raise awareness of the needs of children in foster care. Our mission is to involve individuals and community partners for the purpose of collaboration and the development of needed resources for the betterment of children.   Full Story

Monday, May 5 in my heart My name is Crystal Careau, and unlike most, I've been to multiple schools in my 17 years. Unfortunately, only one of them felt like a home. Some were full of teachers that were just there to do their job and students that stayed in permanent cliques. No one reached out to others.   Full Story

Saturday, May 3 They say 'talk issues,' but they never do Three letters have appeared in the Banner vociferously objecting to my letter of March 28 (Bush Has Reagan's DNA). One letter requested an "intelligent dialogue," in answer to which I point to the following specific and substantive issues raised in my March 28 letter: unconstitutional signing statements, the wasteful Stars Wars   Full Story