Blogs
Barbara Hofer is having more fun than the average college professor. With her new book featured on “The Early Show” and in USA Today, who can blame her?
Hofer, a psychology professor at Middlebury College, is co-author of “The iConnected Parent.” The book explores the reasons behind the often creepy connection that many of today’s college students have with their parents — and what mom and dad can do about it.
Vermont, like the rest of the country, has been forced to adjust to new fiscal realities as a result of the Great Recession. Throughout state government we have sought to rein in public spending to alleviate the strain on tax paying Vermonters who cannot afford an even greater burden. As we emerge from this economic downturn, it is critical that we maintain fiscal discipline and seek to reduce taxes so that we can maintain and create jobs in Vermont.
Tuesday’s Democratic primary race for governor goes into the history books as one of the most competitive and closest with five excellent candidates — four of whom had near-equal support across all sectors of the state. With Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin leading Sen. Doug Racine by just 182 votes at 25 percent of the vote total, and Sec. of State Deb.
We recently returned from a week in Germany and I am still kicking myself for not bringing back the perfect souvenir — a T-shirt bearing the slogan, “I survived the autobahn.”
People tend to assume I’m mild-mannered just because I drive the speed limit, avoid trans fats and consider it a wild Friday night if I stay up until 10 knitting socks. But I’m a thrill-seeker, all right.
I get my kicks on eBay.
For the uninformed, eBay is a website where people can buy and sell items in an auction format. Find something you like, enter the highest (non-disclosed) amount you’re willing to spend, and click on Place Bid. Your bid will automatically be raised against competing bids until your limit is reached.
Tomorrow is Vermont’s all-important primary. Four of the state’s elected offices have competitive primaries; there are competitive races among Republicans for the right to challenge U.S. Sen. Patrick Leady and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch; and we have a competitive write-in race for one of Addison County’s senate seats among Democrats. (See story, Page 1.)
Next Tuesday is one of the most important primary elections in Vermont’s recent history. Of the six state offices, four have competitive races. Five Democrats are vying for the right to confront Republican Brian Dubie in gubernatorial race. Two Democrats and two Republicans are in a party run-off in the lieutenant governor’s race and the secretary of state race; two Democrats are vying for the state auditor of accounts position to confront Republican incumbent Tom Salmon. Add to that a competitive three-way race among Republicans for the congressional seat held by Democrat incumbent Rep.
After spending most of a day driving through Montana and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, we’d turned east out of Grand Teton National Forest in the late afternoon, still with hundreds of miles to go before we stopped for the night.
Miles after the pine trees had vanished, replaced by sandy buttes and scrub brush, the snow-capped peaks still loomed behind us. Their peaks were etched sharply onto the deep blue sky, just like the mountains a small child would draw.
