Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss decided this week not to run for re-election. A new Vermont Supreme Court Justice, Beth Robinson, sworn in. Governor Peter Shumlin said he’s joining an effort to encourage the federal government to reclassify marijuana as a drug that has medicinal benefits. A local artist defended his "Eat More Kale" slogan against a legal claim by Chick-Fil-A. And poet Ruth Stone was remembered after passing away at age 96.
These were some of the voices in the news this week:
Kiss To Step Down Amid Financial Woes, Eyes Political Future
(Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss) "I think that people have to think about that, how long they serve. Ultimately what I decided for me the best course was to serve out this term and move on to other things."
Gay Rights Advocate Joins Vt. Supreme Court
(Justice Beth Robinson) "To me, my pledge is to remember the people because to me the only thing that is important is respecting this abstraction that we call the law, is respecting the people who both shape and give life to that abstraction and whose lives are, in turn, shaped by the dictates that the law requires."
Shumlin Joins Effort To Reclassify Marijuana
(Governor Peter Shumlin)"I believe that we should use our precious resources to go after drug dealers and the other challenges that we face criminals and the rest. I think it’s ludicrous that marijuana is put in the same category by the federal government as heroin and other drugs that are extraordinarily addictive. So I think moving it to a class two drug makes a lot of sense."
In Vermont, Fighting For The Rights To ‘Eat More’
(Bo Artist Muller-Moore) "It sticks because it’s a big design. It’s easy to see. And at a very practical level people really seem to love the hell out of kale – or hate it. Honestly, I hadn’t even thought of competition."
Celebrating The Life Of Poet Ruth Stone
(Ruth Stone) "And a poem would just start coming to me. If I didn’t get it written down quickly, right away, it would go right out into the ether and be gone. So, I used to try to catch ‘em. I’ve lost 99 percent of the poems that have come to me."