Tamara Hilmes's blog
The reactions by the two leading candidates for governor on the latest news from Vermont Yankee speaks volumes about each candidate’s approach to leadership — and each has its pros and cons.
Democrat Peter Shumlin, a long-time proponent of Vermont Yankee until shortly after it was purchased by Entergy, came out swinging and is more convinced than ever that a tough approach needs to be taken by the state to avoid sticking Vermont taxpayers with unforeseen costs down the road as a consequence of the tritium leaks.
Local school board members and school officials are in the midst of finding out just how tough it is to cut 2 percent out of the budget. For the UD-3 board, which oversees the Middlebury Union Middle School and High School, that 2 percent amounts to $341,565 out of a $15,445,919 budget. But, as UD-3 Supt. Lee Sease said, the cuts really amount to closer to 4 percent because of the added cost of inflation.
That $341,565 reduction in expenses, therefore, becomes $661,000 — and that’s not small change.
Public anger against the federal bailout that rescued the nation’s financial system from collapse, prevented the bankruptcies of the nation’s auto companies and salvaged the insurance industry — preventing a second Great Depression, according to most economists — has turned the 2010 mid-term elections upside down. The lack of understanding from Tea Party supporters and like-minded conservatives is appalling, but so is the two-faced political response from both parties.
Calling community colleges the “unsung heroes of the America’s education system,” President Barack Obama challenged them to produce an additional 5 million graduates by 2020 to meet a growing demand for more educated workers. The White House put the nation’s two-year institutions in the spotlight because they are ideally suited to reinvent their educational and training programs to meet the changing needs of the marketplace.
For Middlebury-area residents the newest pastime is to take a stroll over the Cross Street Bridge in early evening hours. The bridge is yet to be open, there’s no traffic and the sunset on a warm fall day is spectacular.
On the national political scene, the GOP leadership is stirring the pot with talk of shutting down the government. With inflammatory speech about a government run amuck, spreading socialism and deficit spending that’s out of control, these holier-than-thou hypocrites then offer the soothing tag-line that their intent is to create a “smaller government that cares for the people” by returning power to the Republicans.
Kristen is a 16-year-old girl from Vermont who set a goal at age 9 to reach the highest point in each of the lower 48 states. Today, seven years later, she’s honing in on her quest, but the high points are getting harder to summit and the risks that much greater.
Oh, how I love Mondays.
This is a change; I used to look forward to weekends, a time for relaxation and respite from the hectic workweek.
But after spending yet another Saturday and Sunday preserving endless bushels of produce from the yard and garden, the thought of going back to work and sitting in a chair like a slug for five straight days makes me happy all over.
