The second year of the biennium got started with some pageantry and protests, Vermont’s school financing law got passing grades, a report gave new hydro plants on the West River the okay, while the Deerfield Wind Project faced opposition, as did the governor’s state of the state address.
These were some of the voices in the news this week.
Lawmakers Return For Second Half Of Term (1/3/12)
(House Speaker Shap Smith) "Would the House will please come to order, members kindly take their seats…"
(Singers from Maple Street School, Manchester) "In 1787 in Philadelphia, delegates from the 13 states changed America. They wrote the Constitution, the rules to guide the land…"
(Protestors from Vermont Workers Center) "Put people first. Put people first. Put people first."
School Financing Law Gets Good Grades (1/4/12)
(Lawrence Picus, professor, University of Southern California) "There’s very very little relationship between the property wealth or the income of a town and the amount of money that that town chooses to spend. In many states you find that property wealthy school districts spend more than low wealth districts. You’ve very much undone that."
US Report Okays New Hydro Plants On West River (1/5/12)
(Steve Costello, CVPS) "The generation is important. It can provide energy closer to the need so it doesn’t have to be moved as far on the system and for that reason, as part of that broader solution to our southern loop issue, we were very supportive of these two projects."
Precedent-Setting Wind Project Will Likely Be Appealed (1/4/12)
(Annette Smith, Vermonters for a Clean Environment) "More than half the area inside the wilderness you will be able to see the wind turbines from, with their blinking lights… and this is totally contrary to everything that the wilderness plan calls for."
Critics From Right And Left Take Aim At Shumlin Speech (1/5/12)
(Chris Pearson, Burlington State Rep.) "Most Vermonters agree that inequality in our economic structure is bad for our communities across the board. I’m going to keep advocating for greater equity in the way we raise revenues and I’m going to keep advocating to not cut budgets."