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Friday, December 28, 2012
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Guns / News Shumlin Says He Backs Federal Effort to Combat Gun Violence
Posted
By Paul Heintz
on Thu, Dec 27, 2012 at 2:33 PM
In his first public comments since a mass shooting in Connecticut two weeks ago, Gov. Peter Shumlin said Thursday he'll support federal legislation being drafted by a presidential task force on gun violence.
"There can't be a human being in America who has seen the events of what happened in Connecticut and not recognize that we have to do everything in our power to bring some sanity to the availability of weapons of war to people who are unstable and crazy. Period," Shumlin said in an interview with Seven Days.
But Vermont's gun-toting governor cautioned that, "State-by-state solutions don't work," and said he wouldn't support efforts in the Vermont legislature to tackle gun violence at the state level.
"If they worked, we would've solved the problem already. We know that if one state has strict restrictions, you can go purchase an assault weapon at another state or gun show," he said. "So I fully support President Obama's and Joe Biden's urgency to come up with a 50-state solution that will work."
Shumlin, who chairs the Democratic Governors Association, declined to say what approach he thought the federal government should take, but said it should be "multi-faceted" and include enhanced services for those with mental illness.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Elections / News
Morning Read: Sanders, Shumlin Make The Nation's "Most Valuable Progressive" List
The Nation names Bernie Most Valuable Progressive.
Posted
By Paul Heintz
on Sat, Dec 22, 2012 at 11:40 AM
It's not quite Time Magazine's person-of-the-year, but two Vermont pols made the cut this week in The Nation's "Most Valuable Progressive Honor Roll."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a longtime darling of the lefty political rag, won the magazine's top honor, "Most Valuable Progressive." Citing Ol' Bernardo's fights against cutting entitlement programs and the Postal Service, Washington correspondent John Nichols writes:
"Sanders has broken the boundaries of conventional politics. By refusing to bend to the compromises and spin of Washington, he has made himself the conscience of the fiscal cliff fight."
Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin, meanwhile, took home the mag's "Most Valuable Governor" award.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Energy / News
Vermonters Form Fuel-Buying Cooperative to Leverage Lower Prices
Posted
By Ken Picard
on Fri, Dec 21, 2012 at 9:00 AM
While Sen. Bernie Sanders has been railing against the high price of gasoline in Chittenden County, a buyers' cooperative in northwestern Vermont is focused on the cost of a different kind of fuel.
The Hilltop Energy Buyers Group, a new fuel-buyers' cooperative that launched over the summer, uses the collective buying power of its members to negotiate below-market prices for home heating fuel.
Peter Katz is co-founder of Hilltop Energy Buyers Group. Since June, when Katz and his partner, Jason Marias, first began negotiations with local fuel providers, the group has signed up about 200 members, who were able to lock in a one-year fixed rate for propane at below-market prices.
"We’re definitely getting some favorable feedback," says Katz. "People are talking about us, and I know the [fuel] companies are talking about us. They now know we’re out there."
Katz explains how the buyers’ group works: Members pay a $50 annual fee to join, which allows Hilltop Energy to act as their fuel "broker" and negotiate the lowest price for members. Customers still continue dealing with the provider — which this year is Amerigas — for service and maintenance, and pay their bills directly to that company.
For now, propane is the only home heating fuel for which Hilltop has been able to secure a discounted price. Still, the savings have been impressive. For the 2012-13 season, Hilltop clients are paying $2.60 per gallon for up to 400 gallons, $2.25 per gallon for 400 to 899 gallons, and $2.10 per gallon for 900 gallons or more. Those prices are fixed until August 2013.
How do those rates stack up to current market prices?
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Elections / Guns / News Where Do Your Lawmakers Stand on Gun Rights?
Posted
By Paul Heintz
on Thu, Dec 20, 2012 at 1:15 PM
While reporting a column on Vermont's gun politics earlier this week, I asked Gov. Peter Shumlin's campaign manager, Alex MacLean, for a copy of the National Rifle Association questionnaire he filled out this fall while seeking the group's endorsement.
Apparently, MacLean didn't keep one.
But given Shumlin's 92 percent rating by the group, it ain't hard to figure out how the pro-gun gov filled it out.
Yesterday, we got our hands on a blank copy of the 25-question survey distributed to Vermont state lawmakers in July (it's posted below). The comprehensive questionnaire touches on everything from safety locks to the expired assault weapons ban to the so-called "gun show loophole." The phrasing of several of the questions is, shall we say, loaded.
Here's an example:
10. In 1994, Congress imposed a ten-year ban on the manufacture, for sale to private individuals, of various semi-automatic firearms it termed "assault weapons," and of ammunition magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition, which primarily affected handguns designed for self-defense. Congress' subsequent study of the ban, as well as state and local law enforcement agency reports, showed that contrary to the ban's supporters' claims, the guns and magazines had never been used in more than about 1-2% of violent crime. Since the ban expired in 2004, the numbers of these firearms and magazines owned have risen to all-time highs and violent crime has fallen to a 35-year low. Would you support state legislation restricting the possession, ownership, purchase, sale, and/or transfer of semi-automatic firearms and/or limits on the capacity of magazines designed for self-defense?
So how did your lawmakers answer?
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Burlington / News This Week's Issue: The F-35's Biggest Booster; Year-Round Events on Burlington's Waterfront?
Posted
By Tyler Machado
on Wed, Dec 19, 2012 at 1:59 PM
In this week's winter reading issue of Seven Days, which will probably be the last issue ever since the end of the world is coming in a few days...
- Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger wants to hold more festivals and events, year-round, at Waterfront Park. But some neighbors object to more noise and park closures.
- The quest to bring the F-35 to Vermont has drawn Frank Cioffi, the head of the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation, out of the shadows.That's him in Marc Nadel's illustration, right.
- The University of Vermont is facing criticism from its own students and faculty for using kill traps to catch beavers in Centennial Woods.
- This week's WTF tackles a pair of questions from commuters: What's up with the sheet-enshrouded bridge in Richmond and the big foam blocks on the Burlington Beltline?
- In Fair Game: Vermont's laws, and its politicians, have a history of being gun-friendly. Will that change in the wake of the Newtown shootings?
Also, one editor's note: the Seven Days office is closed through January 2 for our year-end break. We'll be putting out a double issue on December 26, with no paper on January 2. This blog will be updated less frequently than normal over the break, too. Happy holidays!
Frank Cioffi illustration by Marc Nadel
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