Books & bits from small town Vermont
It always cracked me up, when I got accused of running a "socialist" newspaper, that the worst, most personal abuse I ever got was from Annette Smith and the anti-wind movement. So I'm pleased to see the state is finally pushing forward in a serious way with wind energy in its portfolio. The state's energy plan… Continue reading The price of power
The governor has been talking about cutting down on the number of people incarcerated for nonviolent crimes as, primarily, a budget measure. It's expensive locking people up and he would rather see the state diverting those offenders -- often with addictions to drugs and/or alcohol -- into community-based programs. It's a fine idea, unless you… Continue reading Who pays?
After a period of stagnation, change is coming to downtown Rutland. Some change is inevitable: Stores close or move away; others open or move in. That change is also short[term cyclical. The change I'm discussing is also cyclical, but over a much longer term. At one time, downtown was the social and shopping center of… Continue reading Changing face of downtown
The city announced the two new heads of its redevelopment authority Tuesday. A press release announced Brennan Duffy, most recently of the state Dept. of Economic, Housing and Community Development as the new executive director and the elevation of board member David Cooper to the chairmanship. Duffy seems eminently qualified for the job and Cooper… Continue reading Disappointing from city
A letter to the editor today and a private missive in my inbox slagging the evil Mendonites who are trying to build a rec center in Rutland City. Sigh. Where to begin? OK, there's probably somebody from Mendon in the Creative Economy outdoor rec committee. And the CE steering committee includes (if I have everybody's… Continue reading Mendon and me
I am slowly converting to Green Mountain Power's view of its bid to put its solar/renewable operations in Rutland as a possible net positive for the city. OK, GMP says it's more than a possible positive. A lot hinges on the company's definition of a "solar city," but in broad strokes, they're defining it as… Continue reading Solaricity
It has taken three years to get the Rutland Creek Path almost-approved by the state. Three years, for the first section of a bicycle / footpath with no opponents and no environmental impact. You can't make this up. My understanding is that there have been a couple of minor delays occasioned by city hall, but that most of the… Continue reading Long, long, long and winding path
So this one is about the "I hope the other farmer's cow dies soon" folks in the city. We need a new rec center, badly. The old one, Dana, was a dilapidated school, run down after a century of hard use, and never designed to be anything but a neighborhood elementary, complete with empty, dingy… Continue reading The Giorgetti files
thistownvt 