Vermont View

The Rundown - Week 4

Jenna Pizzi — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:21:48 -0500

Watch The Rundown - Week 4 where Pete Hirschfeld and Thatcher Moats give you a sneak peek into the weekend editions of The Times Argus and The Rutland Herald.

The Rundown - Week 4 from 802 Live on Vimeo.

Tangletown Farm winners in state's mobile slaughterhouse auction

Thatcher Moats — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:24:18 -0500

MONTPELIER – Central Vermont chickens beware: There’s a new slaughterhouse in town.

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture announced that Tangletown Farm in Middlesex was the big winner in the auction of a mobile poultry processing unit that was owned by the state.

The online auction, which drew a bit of media attention, ended with Lila Bennett and David Robb paying $61,000 for the unit.

The processing unit was designed and built in 2008 with a $93,000 investment from the Vermont Legislature and the Castanea Foundation.

The mobile unit, which hit the road in 2009, is the first of its kind for farmers to process poultry under state inspection right on the farm, the agency said.

"Animal welfare is at the heart of Tangletown Farm,” Lila Bennett said in a news release. “ This unit will allow us to expand our business, to maintain our high standards of quality, and to play a larger role in Vermont agriculture. With this unit we will be able to humanely slaughter, part, and package chickens, ducks, turkeys, rabbits, and eventually lambs under the watchful eye of a Vermont state inspector.”

Sounds delish.

-- Thatcher Moats

Vt. reps, senators get threatening e-mails

Thatcher Moats — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:35:07 -0500

MONTPELIER -- Vermont lawmakers received threatening e-mails on Wednesday, according to the Vermont State Police.

Was it the net metering bill the House voted on this week that prompted the threats? The Senate's plan to fast track the Vermont Strong license plate bill?

No, said police, who pointed out "this is a common scam used by persons in other countries to extort money from people believing that this is a legitimate threat."

Below is the state police press release with the threatening e-mail in all caps:

Waterbury, VT – 01/25/2012 – Today, Wednesday January 25, at approximately 7:30AM the Vermont State Police were notified by members of the Vermont Senate of a threatening email they had received. As the morning progressed numerous members of both the House and Senate reported receiving the same message. The Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations assigned a detective to investigate the scam and attempt to track these emails.

The Vermont State Police take seriously all threats made against citizens of Vermont, and will investigate the incident to the fullest extent of our ability. That being said, this is a common scam used by persons in other countries to extort money from people believing that this is a legitimate threat. These emails usually emanate from developing countries and we have seen this scam used numerous times in the past. Rest assured, this is a scam and not a legitimate threat; there is no danger. Below is the threatening email, in full.

ATTN.

LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY ,THIS IS THE ONLY WAY I CAN CONTACT YOU, MY TEAM
HAS BEEN PAID TO ASSASSINATE YOU, I HAVE EVERY REASON TO CARRY OUT THE
CONTRACT,BUT I DECIDED TO GIVE YOU A CHANCE AND SAVE YOUR FAMILY THIS
PAIN,THIS YOUR ALTERNATIVE,I WISH TO HELP YOU UNLESS YOU DON'T WANT TO
HELP YOUR SELF,I WILL SEND YOU ENOUGH EVIDENCE YOU NEED ON A VIDEO
TAPE RECORD TO NAIL MY EMPLOYER DOWN WITH THE LAW.

BEFORE THAT YOUR REQUIRED TO MAKE AVAILABLE THE SUM OF $10,000. USD
AFTER WHICH I WILL DIRECT YOU ON WHAT TO DO NEXT TO SAVE YOUR SELF AND
YOUR FAMILY FROM THIS PAIN THAT WOULD HAVE BEFALLED YOU FROM MY
EMPLOYER,THE MONEY WILL BE USED TO SETTLE THE TEAM MEN INVOLVED TO GO
BACK TO THERE DESTINATIONS AND YOU BETTER KEEP THIS INFORMATION TO
YOUR SELF BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHO IS WHO WHERE YOU ARE NOW,IF HE
FINDS OUT I HAVE BETRAYED HIM TRYING TO HELP YOU,YOU WILL HAVE YOUR
SELF TO BLAME, I HAVE ORDERED MY MEN TO STAY AWAY FROM YOU.

DO WE HAVE A DEAL OR NOT ?

NOTE: YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS HERE, (1)YOU HAVE TO GET HIM ARRESTED WITH
THE INFORMATION I WILL GIVE YOU AFTER THE PAYMENT OR ( 2)YOU HAVE HIM
KILLED TO SAVE YOUR SELF.

I WILL VISIT YOUR HOUSE AGAIN BUT NOT NOW,MY BOYS EYES ARE ON YOU SO
GET BACK TO ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

The names of the members of the Vermont House and Senate that received these threats are being withheld for security purposes. For media questions, please contact the Vermont State Police Public Information Officer, Stephanie Dasaro, at 802-279-9773.

Shap Smith wants session wrapped up before May

Peter Hirschfeld — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:12:14 -0500

Shap Smith wants legislators to wrap up business before May this year, a timetable he aims to achieve by setting an urgent tone early on.

The Legislature has allotted funding sufficient to operate for 18 weeks in 2012, but the Speaker told House members this week he intends to use only 16 of them. That would have lawmakers out the door by April 30.

“I think it’s important to set an aggressive timetable so that people know what the expectations are,” Smith said Tuesday.

Beyond saving taxpayers a few dimes, the move would also have some political benefits – candidates for state and local office are prohibited from soliciting money from lobbyists until after the gavel falls on the 2012 session.

Administration Secretary Jeb Spaulding has said the governor is equally intent on sending legislators home early. His budget address on Jan. 12 was the earliest in a decade. Shumlin expedited the spending proposal in part, Spaulding said, to give lawmakers the head start they need to wrap up before May.

'Vermont Strong' license plate bill scheduled for Senate floor Thursday

Thatcher Moats — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:42:56 -0500

MONTPELIER – Legislation that would allow Vermonters to put “Vermont Strong” license plates on the front of their vehicles is headed for the Senate floor Thursday and should pass easily.

Twenty percent of the proceeds from the sale of the license plates is slated for the Vermont Food Bank and the other 80 percent will be for victims of Irene.

Gov. Peter Shumlin chided lawmakers last week for going well below the speed limit as they move the bill through committees.

Sen. Ann Cummings, a Washington County Democrat who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, said the committee had to make sure the money would be managed properly and go where it was supposed to go.

“I think with the appropriate due diligence it's gone as quickly as it can,” Cummings said. “The governor should know by now this committee doesn't rubber stamp.”

-- Thatcher Moats

The Rundown - Week 3

Jenna Pizzi — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:27:50 -0500

Watch week 3 of The Rundown. We asked Pete Hirschfeld if opponents of Vermont Yankee have any hope that the plant will close.

The Rundown - Week 3 from 802 Live on Vimeo.

Lawmakers disappointed in Entergy ruling

Rob Mitchell — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:15:52 -0500

From Pete Hirschfeld:

MONTPELIER — On a snowy February day in 2010, Democratic lawmakers celebrated a Senate vote they said would force the closure of Vermont Yankee. On Thursday evening, many of those same legislators huddled to regroup after learning that a federal judge had stripped their authority to shutter the nuclear power plant.

“It’s disappointing that the court found that the people of Vermont, through their Legislature, could not have a voice about the continued operation of the plant,” said House Speaker Shap Smith.

Word of the ruling spread through the Statehouse like wildfire. Shortly after its release, Smith and Senate President John Campbell hunkered in the speaker’s office with a small corps of lawyers and lawmakers to read the 102-page decision and draft a response.

Campbell called the decision from U.S. District Court Judge J. Garvan Murtha a blow to Vermont sovereignty.

“I think it shows the deterioration of states’ rights,” he said.

Continue reading on Rutlandherald.com >>>

In ceremonial office, Shumlin repents for his sins

Thatcher Moats — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:14:33 -0500

MONTPELIER – When Gov. Peter Shumlin was president pro tem of the Senate, Gov. Jim Douglas occupied the fifth floor, and the two clashed over numerous issues.

Now that he is governor, Shumlin told Douglas on Thursday, he sees how frustrating it can be when you're on the other end of the deal, trying to get the unwieldy House and Senate to do what you want.

As an example, Shumlin pointed to his ongoing effort to pass a “simple little bill” through the Legislature that would let Vermonters have “Vermont Strong” license plates on their cars. The license plates are designed raise money for Irene victims.

“They can't move the thing along,” said Shumlin, referring to the Legislature.

During a light-hearted meeting in the governor's ceremonial office with Douglas on Thursday, Shumlin admitted he may have been guilty of causing the gears of government to grind when he was in the Senate, and said he repented for his sins.

“Funny how your perspective has changed,” said Douglas.

Shumlin played host at the Statehouse to Douglas and the Middlebury College political science class Douglas is teaching.

Shumlin riffed on his top agenda items, and answered questions from students.

The two former rivals kept it light, offering jokes when the opportunity arose.

In comedy, timing is...everything. And timing matters when rising to the governor's office, too, said Shumlin, noting that in his first year in office Vermont was hit with a record blizzard, record rain and record flooding – including Irene.

“The governor knew when to get out,” said Shumlin.

– Thatcher Moats

Working hard or hardly working?

Thatcher Moats — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:52:19 -0500

MONTPELIER -- Sen. Kevin Mullin, a Rutland County Republican who went along with Democrats last year and voted in favor of the single-payer health care law, wants to make sure Vermonters are getting their money's worth out of all five members of the Green Mountain Care Board.

During a Statehouse hearing Thursday, Mullin asked the chairwoman of the board, Anya Rader Wallack, about a public perception that the other members of the board are not doing much work.

“Right now the public perception is you are Peter Shumlin's point person on health care and nobody else knows what they're doing,” said Mullin.

Wallack assured him the board members are working hard.

“Each of them have been up to their eyeballs in various issues,” Wallack said.

Mullin suggested notifying the press and the public when the board is out and about and hard at work in order to combat the perception.

Sounds like a good job for a PR firm, no?

-- Thatcher Moats

Wait continues for Shumlin administration's energy proposal

Thatcher Moats — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:43:45 -0500

MONTPELIER – One of the highest stakes games in the Statehouse this year is the move toward what's known as a Renewable Portfolio Standard, which is a requirement that electric utilities in Vermont have a certain amount of energy come from renewable resources like wind and solar.

The House Natural Resources and Energy Committee has taken extensive testimony on the idea, which is designed to spur the development of renewable energy. Shumlin said in his State of the State address that he wants to enact an RPS. And the quasi-judicial Public Service Board also recommends the idea, and has put forth a proposal that could add hundreds of millions of dollars to the cost of electricity over a 20-year period. (That's in the context of about $10 billion that Vermonters are expected to spend on electricity during that same period.)

But when it comes to the cost and effectiveness of an RPS, the devil's in the details, and the Shumlin administration hasn't put a proposal on paper for the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee to dissect to determine how it might affect electricity rates.

And the cost to ratepayers in any proposal is a king – both practically and politically.

Lawmakers were clearly getting a little antsy Wednesday morning as they listened to testimony from Asa Hopkins, who's with the Department of Public Service.

“I want to consider the rate impact of a specific proposal,” said Rep. Tony Klein, chairman of the committee.

“Even if there are all these variables, you've got to have a starting point,” echoed Rep. Betty Nuovo.

It's unclear when exactly the administration will offer its RPS plan.

– Thatcher Moats