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There are 356 Government and Politics links for you to choose from!
Circumferential Highway opponents won a big victory in 2004
when a U.S. District Court judge said the proposal needed further study.
Friday, the same judge ruled the opponents must pay their own attorney fees from the complex litigation surrounding the Circ decision.
U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III said although his May 10, 2004, decision forced the new review, the Federal Highway Administration prevailed on most issues raised in the lawsuit by the environmental groups opposed to the Circ. The Circ opponents had sought to have the highway administration pay their legal bills connected to the case.
The Circ is a long-planned 16-mile ring road in suburban Chittenden County. A four-mile section in Essex opened in 1993, but otherwise the proposal has been bogged down in debate since at least the 1960s.
new
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Williston residents spoke out this weekend during a two-day forum
to outline what they think is important for their community.
The discussions ended with plans for more of the same. Residents whittled down brainstorming to five topics of importance for Williston: green initiatives, transportation issues, community gathering places, maintaining the town's rural character, and the need for social services and representative government.
The forum was organized by Williston Into Next Generations, or WING.
The gathering of thoughts and ideas from residents of all ages underscored the strong sense of community residents have. "The people here are dedicated to what it means to be from Williston. It's striking," said Delia Clark, WING facilitator.
During Saturday's day-long forum, the 70 residents who gathered at Williston Central School identified nine discussion issues, including community unity, maintenance of Williston's rural character and community gathering places.
new
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A shakeup in Burlington politics is in the making.
Mayor Peter Clavelle is running for re-election, but this time he will seek not only the Progressive Party's nomination, but the Democratic nomination as well. Two decades ago Clavelle renounced the Democratic party and joined the Progressives under then-mayor Bernie Sanders. In Burlington, the Progressives just about destroyed the local Democratic party.
Clavelle has occupied the mayor's office for twelve years, always elected as a Progressive. But he says he would not have won without support from Democrats.
Now several prominent Democrats, including former governors Phil Hoff and Madeleine Kunin, have endorsed him for the next election in March. The same Democrats have backed him before, but this time some are taking it one step further.
... Clavelle says others, some of whom may not want to go public with it right now, plan to back him for the city Democrats' mayoral nomination.
popular
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Above the Vermont Pub & Brewery in Burlington is the headquarters
for a presidential hopeful. Vermont Governor Howard Dean, just back from his 19th visit to neighboring New Hampshire, is carrying a television. It's something new in the Dean For America office that's otherwise stuffed with old furniture.
... Binders contain the names of contacts and connections across the country that are helping the doctor Governor. ... The candidate's office is the smallest. ... Dean started this run for the White House nearly a year ago. One day he is in Iowa. The next New Hampshire. ... The midterm elections were staggering to Democrats. With the Republicans controlling the White House, Senate and House. Dean says it's time for democrats to start acting like democrats. ... Dean says it was a mistake for Democrats to vote for the President's tax cuts. Dean says the money was needed for social programs. ... It's a policy Dean says should be based on balanced budgets, investments in children, health care for all and renewable energy.
popular
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ACERCA Plans to Protest Vermont Democratic Party
A representative from the Burlington area ACERCA office has informed the Burlington Web Magazine that their group plans to protest at the Burlington office of the Vermont Democratic Party on Monday, October 9 at 4:00 pm to deliver the following message to Al Gore: "No Blood for Oil! Save the U'wa Tribe." ACERCA stands for "Action for Community & Ecology in the Regions of Central America." Their office is located at 156 College Street in Burlington, VT.
popular
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BOTTLE AND BREW MARIJUANA TEA FOR CANCER PATIENTS
One member of the Burlington Fire Department explained to me that if MEDICAL MARIJUANA is passed, and that if patients grow their own marijuana at home, that he was VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE FIRE HAZARD OF "GROW LIGHTS". He stated to me that he knew of one death caused by "grow lights". St. Louis, Missouri was built on brewing and bottling beer. We could create jobs in HEALTH CARE, farming and brewing and bottling MARIJUANA TEA. By the way, I am running for governor again for 2004 and I welcome you to read my updated web page. I hope that you all ADD YOUR BUSINESS LINKS TO THE BOTTOM OF MY WEB PAGE, ESPECIALLY YOUNG ARTISTS AND MUSICIANS because I sent a check for . for on ad, one insertion, in small print under 'web pages' to THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER which has about 15 million readers. So, add your link and get some exposure! Sincerely, Cris Ericson 802/862-8015 http://www.webspawner.com/users/makemarijuanalegal
popular
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Dr. Howard Dean had two sudden drops in popularity.
The first drop came when Dean quietly encouraged the Vermont General Assembly to pass some sort of homosexual rights bill, which he quietly signed behind closed doors. The second sudden came during his bid for the U.S. White House, when Dean had managed to climb to the most popular nominee for the democratic party and managed to drop out within a few months.
popular
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Mayor Peter Clavelle
popular
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Polls show former Vermont Governor Howard Dean trailing
his closest rival Massachusetts Senator John Kerry in their quest to become the democratic party's nominee for president. But Dean is not discouraged by his second place status. He just raised .5 million in the last three months.
Dartmouth College Political Science professor Linda Fowler considers Dean a contender now that he's able to raise money.
... With money and momentum, Dean's now getting more scrunity in the press. After Dean's most recent hour-long appearance on NBC's Meet the Press, many columints took aim at his performance. A New York Daily news columinist calling it "perhaps the worst performance by a presidential candidate in the history of television". The Washington Post called Dean's answers "waffling and evasive." And the Dallas Morning News reported that "many top democrats" are worried a Dean nomination would produce an electoral wipeout of George McGovern and Walter Mondale dimensions.
popular
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Vermont Dads
is an organization that was started by a group of non-custodial fathers who are interested in ensuring the health and well-being of children caught in divorce.
Vermont Dads is a resource for fathers, mothers, grandparents, friends and other extended family.
Vermont Dads recognizes that there are few places for divorcing men and their families to turn for support. One of Vermont Dads goals is to give fathers and their families a place to turn for support.
Vermont Dads is an organization that promotes parental responsibility and believes that children benefit by having access to both parents and their extended families.
Vermont Dads promotes fathers in having a continuing role in their children's lives.
popular
Burlington Anti-War Coalition
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A deep chilliness has entered local politics,
though it might pass as quickly as the arctic winds blowing outside.
Sam Osborne, who heads Burlington Democrats, said Friday he is "unsettled" by Democratic State Auditor Elizabeth Ready's endorsement of Progressive Carina Driscoll over Democrat Gail Compton for the Ward 3 Council race. Ward 3 covers the downtown and the western section of the Old North End.
Driscoll is trying to hold Doug Dunbebin's seat for the Progressives against Compton's Democratic challenge.
... Osborne also expressed impatience with Mayor Peter Clavelle, who accepted endorsements for his seventh term from both Progressives and Democrats last month.
The state committee of the Progressives will meet today in Randolph to discuss a change in party bylaws that would sanction Clavelle's acceptance of both endorsements, but Osborne said he wants to know whether the Progressive mayor will support Democratic or Progressive candidates for the City Council.
Action for Social & Ecological Justice
is a liberal group with an office on Upper Church Street in Burlington. They endeaver advance and support the struggle for liberation from global inequality, injustice and ecological destruction and create opportunities for dialogue and spaces for transformation toward a socially, ecologically and economically just world.
We work toward this mission by:
* Improving the flow of information and analysis between and among social and ecological justice movements globally.
* Supporting, creating and enabling grassroots initiatives and campaigns that mobilize for social and ecological justice and reject the neoliberal model of economic globalization.
* Creating and participating in spaces for dialogue so that locally based initiatives may share their experiences and collaborate in their struggles to confront corporate globalization and create socially and ecologically just alternatives.
Click here to read more.
An environmental group said Monday that it has laid
the groundwork for a lawsuit against South Burlington property owners over Lake Champlain stormwater pollution.
The Conservation Law Foundation notified about 15 property owners of its intention to sue. The 60-day warning is required under law before the lawsuit is filed. The property owners operate businesses at or near the Kmart shopping plaza.
The CLF says the runoff, predominantly from the shopping center's parking lot, flows into the polluted Potash Brook nearby. The pollutants consist of metals, sediments and particularly phosphorus. The brook flushes the pollutants into Lake Champlain.
Robert Moore of the CLF said the upcoming lawsuit was borne of frustration.
Businesses have allowed the polluted stormwater to flow in violation of the federal Clean Water Act, he said. Moore said the Vermont regulators have not tried to force the property owners to obtain stormwater permits. Property owners have not investigated ways to prevent or clean stormwater, he said.
Bill Meub knew Congressman Sanders was holding a press conference
Monday morning. He used the opportunity to bring his debate requests to the Congressman, while the cameras were rolling.
"I have not been able to get any dialogue with Congressman Sanders," Meub said loudly. "It's time for a debate."
But Sanders argued this was not the time or place. "We have about six debates scheduled and this is not a debate," he said. "It's an embarrassment, we're talking here with the farm bureau about an agricultural crisis and you come barging in. You should really know better," Sanders told Meub.
Sanders says there are debates scheduled, but Meub says they aren't soon enough. "He hasn't agreed to any debates except for four small debates at the end of this campaign," Meub told reporters. "He owes it to Vermonters to debate the issues with me one on one."
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Burlington Anti-racism Coalition is asking Church Street
merchants and restaurants to sign a Statement of Goodwill that says "customers should not be targeted for special surveillance on the basis of their color, creed or national origin." The group says racial profiling is a problem.
... A quarter of the retailers have already agreed to sign on.
... But there are some businesses opposed to the measure. One store manager who declined to go on camera says those who refuse to sign will be labeled as racist. He also says he's never treated people differently based on race in the past, so why should he promise not to do so in the future?
"In the five years that I've been director, I'm a mayoral appointee, and I have yet to have a complaint about racial profiling," says Ron Redmond, Director of the Church Street Marketplace.
Redmond says the marketplace takes the issue of racism seriously. With more minorities moving to the Queen City, the marketplace will soon offer training and education for businesses.
Click here to read more.
Burlington Bicycle Council
works to promote the safe use of bicycles for transportation and recreation in Burlington, Vermont.
The Bike Council will make a good faith effort to represent the best interests of the bicycling community in Burlington when it makes recommendations to DPW and other city agencies.
The Bike Council wishes to act with forethought and planning, not just in reaction to requests for advice. Issues of concern to the Bike Council will be studied as far in advance as possible. This is true for projects proposed by the Bike Council as well as projects initiated by DPW and other agencies that will impact the biking community.
Click here to read more.
Burlington Business Association
is the voice of business in Burlington, Vermont. We advocate for business; we offer networking opportunities for our members; and we promote the economic vitality of Burlington. We are proud that our city is the cultural, social, political, economic and educational center of northwestern Vermont, and our mission is to assure that it continues to fill those roles. BBA is a non-profit business association founded in 1978. Our 200 plus members include both businesses and non-profit organizations. The majority are located in Burlington, but we also welcome members from outside the city who share our mission to promote the economic vitality of Burlington. We were originally named the Downtown Burlington Development Association, and the members were primarily from the retail sector in downtown Burlington. The name was changed in 1998 and today our members represent all sectors of the economy and all sections of the City. Our focus is on the economic well-being of all of Burlington.
Click here to read more.
Burlington GOP are planning to be More Competitive.
Burlington Republicans have been a small minority in this liberal-leaning city for a long time, but this year they're trying to field candidates for all seven council seats up for election on town meeting day in March.
So far they have five, including incumbent Republican Kevin Curley who's running for re-election in Ward Four in the city's new north end west of North Avenue. ... The Republicans have only two seats on the fourteen-member council in a city known as the peoples' republic since Bernie Sanders and his progressives changed the face of city politics in the early 1980s. They say they'll run as a team, on many of the same issues. ... The Republicans are backing a five-million dollar bond issue on the March ballot to pay for new fire engines, but haven't decided whether to support a five-cent tax increase.
Burlington Livable Community Project
is a ten-year endeavor initiated by AARP Vermont and the City of Burlington establishing a community-driven process for identifying and addressing resource needs as its residents grow older. During the past year, more than thirty stakeholder organizations and hundreds of residents have united to articulate a vision for how to make Burlington more livable for everyone but particularly for those 50 and older. Specific action items have been identified to:
Burlington Protesters Blame Israel,
in their weekly pickets on the Church Street Marketplace, for the escalating violence saying the Jewish state should remove its forces completely from the territories it captured during the 1967 war.
Mousa Ishaq, who co-chairs Burlington's sister city program with the dual cities of Bethlehem and Arad, said, "Again, when we say pull out, it really (means) pull out within a hundred meters of the city gates. It really has to be pull out to the pre-1967 borders. That's the solution. Pull out your settlements and your settlers and allow a viable Palestinian state to co-exist with the Israeli state."
Burlington Republicans chose a new city chairman Tuesday
night and selected City Council candidates for just three of the city's seven wards, but they deferred a decision on whether to mount a mayoral campaign.
About 25 party regulars showed up at 7 p.m. in the library at C.P. Smith Elementary School for the annual caucus, and the meeting adjourned almost precisely an hour later, having selected council candidates for wards 4, 5 and 7.
The caucus delegated the mayoral decision to a committee of four, who will decide "no later than Jan. 15" whether to field a candidate -- and if so, who -- to oppose incumbent Mayor Peter Clavelle, who won endorsements last month from both his own Progressive Party and from the Democrats.
James Barrett was selected unanimously as chairman to replace Scot Shumski, who resigned Monday to take a job in Philadelphia. Barrett told the small group that the "reawakened GOP will send a message that we are a viable and legitimate choice"....
Burlington Republicans won't have a mayoral candidate
in this year's election, City Chairman James Barrett said Wednesday.
The Republican decision means that Peter Clavelle, a Progressive, will run unopposed for his seventh term as mayor in March. In December, he received the endorsements of the Progressive and Democratic parties.
Barrett said the decision not to contest the mayor's race would allow the party to focus on the council races. Three Republicans have declared their candidacy:
-- Ward 4: Kurt Wright, a state representative and former city councilor, will supplant two-term Republican incumbent Gene Shaver as the candidate.
-- Ward 5: Newcomer Charity Tensel, 26, a UVM analytical math graduate, will face incumbent Progressive Richard Kemp and a Democrat in a three-way race.
-- Ward 7: Michael McGarghan, 35, a security professional and school board member, will face Democrat Jean O'Sullivan.
Barrett said Republicans may contest "one or two additional" wards. The final filing dates for candidacy is Jan. 27.
Burlington Vermont Business and Professional Women
was organized in 1949 for many reasons: passage of legislative issues for women, scholarships to women in financial need, recognition of the career achievements of young women, and involvement in the community.
Their Objectives include
Burlington, Vermont GOP
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Coalition for a Tobacco Free Vermont
promotes and assists in the implementation of policies and programs at the state, local, and national levels to reduce tobacco use and its impact on the health and economic well being of Vermonters. The Coalition operates under these guiding principles:
Community Justice Center
is a place where Burlington citizens learn about conflict resolution and develop the skills to resolve disputes, applying restorative justice principles, outside or in partnership with the traditional criminal and civil court process.
Restorative justice elevates the position of victims and the community in the justice process, allows for direct participation of community members in delivering justice, and holds offenders directly accountable to the victims and communities that have been harmed.
The CJC encourages citizens to set a standard for harmony and safety in their neighborhoods, and supports them in developing the skills and tools needed to achieve that standard.
Congressman Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, makes small talk
before the debate begins. But not with his Republican challenger, Bill Meub, who reviews his notes. The two men are joined by a third candidate, Progressive Jane Newton, for a debate at Vermont Public Radio.
It doesn't take long for the candidates to come out swinging. Well, Meub and Sanders anyway. Newton, for the most part, seemed to support the incumbent. The two men clashed on everything from the Iraqi War Resolution, to health care, to the Bush tax cuts.
... And once again Meub, who interrupted a press conference Sanders held last month for the same reason, called for more debates. That set off a spirited discussion.
"Would you agree to a debate with me hosted by WCAX and the Rutland Herald? And if not, why not?" Meub asked Sanders.
"Rather than debating how many debates we're going to have, we're here today. I'm here. Let's talk about the issues facing the state of Vermont," Sanders replied.
Click here to read more.
Conservation Law Foundation filed suit against Hannaford
Brothers, alleging the Maine-based grocery company continues to violate stormwater discharge laws at a South Burlington shopping center.
Hannaford Brothers owns the Kmart shopping plaza on Shelburne Road. Runoff from the shopping center's parking lot empties into polluted Potash Brook, a small tributary of Lake Champlain.
"We haven't seen Hannaford Brothers or other property owners take any interest in resolving this," said Robert Moore of the CLF.
Caren Epstein, spokesperson for Hannaford Brothers, blasted the CLF for what she said was a superficial lawsuit designed to gain attention rather than cleaning up the brook.
"This is more grandstanding by the CLF using their same tired, old tactics," Epstein said. "It's a shame the resources that should be directed to cleaning up the brook are instead going to be redirected to fighting needless and frivolous litigation."
Seven adjacent property owners to the shopping center are named as defendants in the suit,
Dean for American campaign estimates 5000 supporters showed
up for their leader's big announcement.
Although, Burlington police put that number closer to three thousand.
Nevertheless, that's a lot of people to jam into a half-block area at the corner of Church and Bank streets.
For an event of this magnitude with national coverage, security was light.
Tickets were easy to get and available at no charge.
"Anyone who asks for a ticket gets a ticket," said Susan Elliot of Dean for America. "We're asking for name and address and email information."
Aside from preventing signs and backpacks from being brought into the cordoned-off area, that's the only security measure put into place by the Dean camp.
Click here to read more.
Democratic candidate endorsed a Progressive candidate.
The Democratic Party candidate for Governor has officially endorsed a Progressive Party candidate in a Burlington City Council race.
Burlington's long-time Progressive Mayor, who is running as a Democrat for Governor, stirred up a controversy Saturday by snubbing a Democratic candidate to endorse a Progressive in a City Council race.
It is the latest chapter in a delicate political situation created last fall when Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle, a charter member of Vermont's Progressive Party, won and accepted the Democratic Party nomination for Governor.
Some Democrats feared that Clavelle's party loyalties would be divided. Those fears became reality in Burlington's Ward-3 City Council race that pits Democratic candidate Lynn Mesick against two-term Progressive Party incumbent Phil Fiermonte. Fiermonte is a close personal friend and key political ally of Peter Clavelle. Saturday afternoon Clavelle announced that he is backing Fiermonte .
Click here to read more.
Ed Flanagan spent more than 235-thousand dollars
in his unsuccessful bid to win the Democratic Party primary for state treasurer.
And of that amount Flanagan used almost 187-thousand dollars of his own money.
Flanagan lost in the primary election to Jeb Spaulding.
Spaulding will face Republican John LaBarge in the November general election.
Monday, 9/30/02
Ed Flanagan's campaign tactics have prompted some Democratic
office-holders to abandon their public neutrality in the party's Treasurer's race.
Attorney General William Sorrell... Auditor Elizabeth Ready... and Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz... ALL lined up this morning to support Jeb Spaulding in next Tuesday's primary contest. They say Flanagan's recent push-polling efforts... and distortion of Spaulding's record in campaign ads should not be rewarded by voters.
Deborah Markowitz, the Secretary of State said: "It hurts government. It hurts politics. It keeps our voters home when they see candidates using negative campaign tactics like we've seen from Ed Flanagan. There's no place in Vermont for those tactics. There's no place in Vermont for push-polls and distorting an opponent's record."
Shewent on to say: "The tactics are an indication of temperment and so as between Ed and Jeb... you know it really shows that maybe Ed is not the appropriate person to be treasurer"
Expressing Concerns About War
Few voters showed up for the primary election,
but those who did had definite ideas about who they wanted on the November ballot.
Each of the statewide primary races Tuesday was decided by a lopsided vote.
The closest one was the Republican contest for Congress and the winner still had 60 percent of the vote in a three-way race. Moderate William Meub won the Republican nomination to challenge Rep. Bernie Sanders.
Meub beat political newcomer Gregory Parke, who got about a quarter of the vote, and 2000 congressional nominee Karen Kerin, who got 17 percent.
Former state Sen. Jeb Spaulding took two-thirds of the vote in the Democratic primary for state treasurer, defeating former state Auditor Edward Flanagan, despite a bitter campaign of charges and countercharges.
Click here to read more.
Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean officially kicked off
his bid for the presidency in downtown Burlington today.
Dean was joined by friends and political allies, his wife and daughter, without his son, and up to 5,000 supporters.
Church Street was packed with blue "Dean for America" signs and banners.
Dean was introduced by Sen. Jim Jeffords, Sen. Patrick Leahy, Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle and a young supporter who moved to Burlington to work on the Dean campaign.
Sen. Jeffords told the group, "Howard Dean has followed in the Vermont tradition of free and independent thinking. We praise him for that. He does what his guts tell him is right, not what the polls tell him is popular."
Click here to read more.
Friends of Route 7 delayed start date of U.S. 7 construction.
Here is a good example of how a project or change wanted by most people in the area can be held up by a relatively small number of people.
A -million project to expand and widen a portion of Shelburne Road won court approval in December of 2001 over the objections of owners of businesses along the stretch. a judge ruled that state interests outweigh the commercial interests of local merchants.... Owners of businesses along the 3.1-mile section of Shelburne Road in South Burlington and Shelburne say the road needs work, but they oppose the plan to construct a raised median.
Then in July, Opponents of the planned reconstruction won the right to appeal the project's stormwater permit
Friends of Route 7 argued the state violated its own stormwater rules by issuing a permit to a project that would allow dirty water to run off Shelburne Road into several already polluted streams and into Lake Champlain.
Governor Howard Dean is hoping the good times keep rolling.
"You are unbelievable!" he told the crowd shortly after taking the podium at the intersection of Bank and Church Streets in Burlington.
With hundreds cheering him on, the former Vermont governor made it official.
"Today I announce that I am running for the presidency of the United States of America."
This was a good old-fashioned presidential political rally. Vermont's two United States Senators warmed up the crowd by criticizing the incumbent: George W. Bush.
... "Right now we have a President who thinks war will elect him President," said Senator James Jeffords, I-Vermont.
The war in Iraq helped Dean rally his troops. It gave the anti-war candidate a national stage when other Democratic candidates were supporting the President.
Click here to read more.
Green Mountain Animal Defenders
is a group of caring volunteers who are dedicated to ensuring the humane treatment of all animals.
We work to promote cruelty-free household and personal products, to protect the "environment" and speak out against all forms of animal abuse.
Click here to read more.
Habitat is seeking to skirt Act 250 for their housing project.
A nonprofit housing group hopes to build affordable homes in Burlington's New North End without going through the state environmental approval process.
Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity is appealing a ruling that would require it to obtain an Act 250 permit under Vermont's development control law. Habitat, working with the Burlington Housing Authority, wants to build four homes and two duplexes for sale to low-income families in 15 acres of woods at the end of Venus Avenue.
The project puts Habitat afoul of a rule requiring developers to obtain Act 250 permits when building more than 10 units in a 5-mile radius within five years, according to the District 4 Environmental Commission.
Filing for an Act 250 permit could add thousands of dollars and months, even years, to the project, said Burlington Housing Authority Director Paul Dettman. If Habitat obtains the permit, project opponents could appeal, tying up the development in court even longer, Dettman said.
Here is a sampling of how Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., voted
on some high-profile issues that came before the House during the past two years. The votes were compiled by Project Vote Smart, a nonpartisan voter education group, and confirmed by Sanders' office.
Click here to read more.
It was a war of words Thursday in downtown Burlington,
as sign-toting anti-war activists shared street corners with newspaper vending machines carrying the day's top headline: America has attacked Iraq.
One protestor told Channel 3, "I'm here to protest this war. It's not humane. We need to be out of Iraq now." As this protestor and her compatriots voiced their opinions, a handful of opponents labeled them "traitors." The Peace and Justice Center sponsored the day's event, which drew a crowd close to three-hundred. It was to take anti-war activists from the top of church street to Memorial Auditorium for a speak-out rally.
However, en route, the activists took a number of detours, shutting down city intersections. During one of their impromptu demonstrations, a protestor told Thurston, "[Despite the protests of millions], Bush still goes and attacks Iraq. Almost unilaterally. [Perennial ally] Canada isn't even with us on this one!"
Click here to read more.
It was in 2004 that former Vermont Governor Howard Dean made his rise
and fall in the presidential campaign. Now an independent film maker is putting the finishing touches on a movie that gives an inside look at Dean's political roller coaster ride.
... The movie captures the excitement of Dean's campaign and at the time, surprise among seasoned political reporters at his status as front runner.
The movie also documents Dean's downfall, not at the hands of President Bush, but his own fellow Democrats. Eiden said, "You know, you'd think that it was just the Republican party that saw this guy was such a winner and such a populist, that the people were really about to propel him into this contest against George Bush. But in fact, what happened was, it was his own party that took him out."
"Dean and Me" delivers on its billing as an inside look at Howard Dean's presidential campaign, which at least until the scream, changed the face of American politics.
Click here to read more.
Jan Backus Kicks Off Campaign For U.S. Senate
[BRATTLEBORO and WINOOSKI, VT] - US Senate Candidate and State Senator, Jan Backus celebrated her candidacy with supporters in each of two Senate districts she has represented during her ten-year legislative career. Both events highlighted her dedication to healthcare, to families, to seniors and to livable wages for all.
Click here to read more.
Jeffords & Sanders Debating Effectiveness Jeffords: Drug
Re-Importation
Plan implementable
U.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords, R - Vt., today released a legal analysis done at his request by lawyers at the nonpartisan American Law Division of the Congressional Research Service (CRS). The analysis shows the new Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) can implement Jeffords' Prescription Drug Re-importation plan that was passed into law last year.
While Sanders does not dispute this analysis, he pointed out that the memo does not address the real question: whether the bill that passed the Congress last year is so riddled with drug industry-backed loopholes that it will do any good even if the Secretary tries to implement it?
Just by their sheer numbers, they couldn't be missed.
Nearly 200 people showed up to protest the appearance of Vice President Richard Cheney at the Burlington Airport.
The group came out to voice their displeasure with the administrations push to invade Iraq. Rev. Gary Kowalski of the Unitarian Church of Burlington said "War on Iraq right now would be a tremendous mistake, war on Iraq would be attacking a country that's not currently threatening us, that's not currently threatening its neighbors, and that would be a violation of both moral law and international law."
Mark Floegel of Burlington said: "I watch the news and I get upset at what my government is doing, and so I heard that this was happening today so I wanted to come out and let people know that Vermonters don't support this, and I don't think Americans support what Cheney and Bush are doing. And that's why I decided to take some time off and come down here today."
Just three days before formally launching his Presidential
campaign, Howard Dean has suffered an embarrassing set-back. Dean's 17-year-old son has been implicated in a burglary. Police say Paul Dean has been cited into court for attempting to steal alcoholic beverages from the Burlington Country Club. It's a stunning development for the Dean campaign partly because Dean's son is a top student and athlete at Burlington High School.
"When you're 17 years old, you get to make bad decisions and this was one." That was the first statement from Howard Dean about his son Paul.
The picture Channel 3 News obtained of Paul Dean is from last year's Burlington High School year book. There are not many pictures of him because the media has respected the governor's request for privacy.
Click here to read more.
Lake Champlain Committee
(LCC) is the only citizens' group dedicated solely to protecting the natural resources and beauty of Lake Champlain and its surrounding watershed in the states of New York and Vermont and the province of Quebec. Through advocacy, education and scientific research, we take action towards:
Lake Champlain Land Trust
is a private, non-profit organization that permanently conserves Lake Champlain islands and shoreline. With the help of neighbors, communities, and Vermont foundations and businesses, we have conserved thousands of acres of public hiking trails, town beaches, and low impact natural areas. The stakes are high. As Vermonters, we appreciate that open space, public access, and habitat preservation are essential to the quality of all our lives. The land we conserve will remain forever open and free from development; it remains open to those who love the land, and to the wildlife that relies on it. We hope you will spend some time learning about us. Take a tour of some of the lands we've conserved, or contact us with your questions and comments.
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More than half of the population old enough to vote in Vermont
went to the polls last week to pick a new governor and other state and local office holders.
The official count released Tuesday showed that 232,993 Vermonters voted, 51 percent of the 461,000 people older than age 18 and eligible to vote.
... Markowitz said the voter registration number is too big because town clerks aren't allowed to purge the names of chronic no-shows from their voter checklists until the individuals fail to vote in elections for four consecutive years. Clerks may remove names only if they have official information that residents have died or moved.
...
Despite aggressive efforts by the political parties to encourage early voting using absentee ballots, the number of voters who took advantage of the take-home ballots dropped compared with 2000. In this election, 15.2 percent of voters used early ballots compared with 19 percent two years ago.
More trouble for Intervale Compost
Compost piles, greenhouses and farm storage sheds in Burlington's low-lying Intervale appear to violate federal flood-plain management because they lie in a floodway, state regulators have warned the city.
The state gave the city an ultimatum in a Jan. 25 letter: Certify by March 14 that these "floodway encroachments" will not increase water levels during a 100-year flood, or risk losing federally subsidized flood insurance.
Residents obtain access to the insurance when their community adopts and enforces flood-plain regulations that meet standards set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The letter represented another challenge to Intervale Compost Products by the state Agency of Natural Resources, which cited the operation last fall for improper management of runoff and failing to control gulls.
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Native Forest Network
is a global autononomous collective of forest activists, indigenous peoples, conservation biologists and non-governmental organizations. It functions on a consensus basis, and is non-violent, non-hierarchical and non-patriarchal. Furthermore, it is non-discriminatory on grounds of race, gender, culture, class or species; whose mission is to protect the world's remaining native forest be they temperate or otherwise, to ensure they can survive, flourish and maintain their evolutionary potential.
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Obscure Senator, Small State
is a story by U.S. Senator, James Jeffords of "what led to my difficult decision to leave the Republican Party and how that decision has influenced the political agenda on Capitol Hill. For the past 26 years in Congress I have been labeled many things, a moderate, a liberal, a maverick, an independent - and at least until May 24 of last year - always with the party affiliation 'Republican.'
I have always done what I believed was right for the nation and best for my constituents in Vermont, rather than toe the partisan party line. In a city that is known for its partisan rancor, I always sought to be a champion of consensus and bipartisanship.
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Peace & Justice Center
is a Vermont-based non-profit, membership organization. Our mission is to work for the creation of a just, peaceful, and ecologically healthy world through education |
