News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
Stop Giving It More Money! As Vermonters gear up for Town Meeting Day and prepare to vote on the local school budgets that will determine our statewide property tax bill, please consider that the post-Act 60 public school system we have created is destroying our state. It has become a money-sucking vortex of incompetence eating … Read more
So we saw this a few days ago: Intrigued, we read the linked article. According to the bill (House Bill 1815)’s sponsor, Bob Lynn, HB 1815 is a repudiation of the ConVal decision: “I think basically what it says is, ‘You, court, got it wrong. You didn’t give us the proper role that we have. You … Read more
Steven Spielberg is estimated to have assets worth between 5 and 7 billion. This makes him one of the richest SOBs in Hollywood, but thanks to years of voting for, funding, and supporting Democrat campaigns, can he no longer “afford” to live there? While ET wanted very much to phone home and then go home, … Read more
A proposed amendment to Act 73, Vermont’s sweeping education reform law, would create a single, unified statewide school district in which parents would allocate tuition dollars to any public school. The proposal was introduced by sponsor Steve Heffernan (R-Addison) on Wednesday afternoon in Senate Education. The amendment would move Vermont toward a Unified School System designed to … Read more
Vermont, once famous for its dairy – I dig a good Vermont Cheddar – is getting cheesy in other ways. Progressive legislators, some of them elected as actual progressives, are always looking for ways to steal money from people. Two facts or rules of progressive political life. First, when it comes to the Elected Left … Read more
Introduction The record of the 1850 New Hampshire constitutional convention somehow went missing with no explanation until it was discovered in the state archives in 1980. After it was discovered, the convention record was organized and published in 2005. The state Supreme Court did not have this all-important document when it decided the Claremont decision. … Read more
A Closer Look Mayor Donchess wanted the State of New Hampshire to spend $20 million to acquire the Xinhua property for housing development, yet this plan omits critical financial realities. The City of Nashua stands at a crossroads where enforcing existing tax regulations could recover significant unpaid revenues from delinquent property owners, including Xinhua itself. … Read more
The New Hampshire Learning Initiative (NHLI) is offering a two-day professional development workshop for K–12 science teachers focused on designing a “student-centered, competency-based instructional model aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS),” with connections to Career Connected Learning. The workshop costs $495 per participant and will be held April 9–10 at the McLane Audubon … Read more
Helping veterans is a noble and popular thing to do. I doubt that anyone would disagree. Similarly, we are often told to help our elders. With that said, I propose a volunteer group for performing one particular service to elderly veterans in NH. I don’t know if Reps Mannion, Sabourin, and Granger were officers or … Read more
During testimony in the Senate Education Committee regarding Vermont’s taxpayer-funded universal preschool program (Act 76), Senator David Weeks (R-Rutland) challenged advocates with some stunning numbers. Vermonters gasp when learning our K-12 system spends around $30,000 per student on average (second-highest per-pupil spending in the country). But what about Pre-K? That gasp may escalate to a … Read more
GraniteGrok has consistently called out the mafeasance and misfeasance of government at every level for two decades. Without deference to any political party. But without looking, I’m going to guess that among the 60,000 or so pieces of content we’ve published in that time, there are none that show Democrats advancing any idea you could … Read more
Today, on the Morning update, our external revenue service is 250 years old. Could we (should we/can we) get rid of the internal one? A quick look at what was, what is, and what could be. Check Out The Morning Update Here! – Also available on Rumble, Instagram/Reels, and Steve’s Substack. Follow ‘Grok on X … Read more
There’s going to be a warrant article in Epsom that asks the voters if TIFs (Tax Increment Financing) should be allowed. You might already be thinking this article isn’t for you, but stay with me here, especially if you live in a town that doesn’t currently have TIFs, because the discussion of them might be … Read more
I’ll be the first to admit it. I’m a simple-minded person. That doesn’t mean I’m ignorant or stupid. It means I tend to see things in a basic, no-nonsense way. When I first started paying attention to local government, one phrase on town warrant articles immediately confused me. “NOT TO BE RAISED THROUGH TAXATION.” I … Read more
As the legislature returned to Montpelier for the 2026 session, Representative Gina Galfetti (R-Barre) announced her proposal for a bill that would freeze property tax rates for the next three years. We like this! It is a necessary response to the 14 percent statewide increase in 2024 – an insane 40 percent increase over the … Read more
Originally posted by Bruce Fenton on the Durham, Lee, Madbury- Oyster River – Open Page on Facebook – this may be the best public comment at a town council meeting…EVER! Thank you, Bruce, for what ought to be satire but is closer to the truth than just about anything that could have happened during public … Read more
This week, on Right Side Up, we discuss tax freeze legislation, more drug-related arrests, and socialist policies. And the “head of the snake” was arrested.” We’ve got loads of podcasts – Check them all out here! Check Out The Morning Update Here! Also available on Rumble, Instagram/Reels, and Steve’s Substack. Follow ‘Grok on X – … Read more
HOWARD PEARL VOTED FOR A PAINT TAX. He was also the 5th R vote, therefore arguably the one responsible for its advancement because 8+5=13. Read that again if he’s YOUR senator. I put those words in all caps because he’s MY senator and I am adding today’s HB451 roll call to Howard’s senatorial rap sheet. … Read more
Here’s a hard truth those on the Left will never acknowledge: Anyone who pays taxes in Vermont is already paying MORE than “their fair share.” We already pay the highest property taxes in the country. Is that fair? We have the third-highest state and local tax burden at 11.53 percent. Is that fair? Only eleven … Read more
Just days after a popular Burlington coffee shop announced it would close amid a strike and challenging financial and social conditions in downtown Burlington, a Barre restaurant is sounding the alarm about overtaxation. Barre restaurant owner Diane Duquet Hood says she plans to take her concerns about rising property taxes directly to local lawmakers after … Read more