As the saga of Burlington Telecom continues to unfold, a growing number of observers are offering their take on the ever-popular topic.
From the pages of the Burlington High School newspaper to the airwaves of Vermont Public Radio, the topic is capturing the public’s imagination. Given the confluence of issues in play, such interest makes sense: We’re looking at a $17 million loan that was never given an explicit OK by the city council; the use of that money in violation of BT’s certificate of public good; a growing revulsion among some people toward anything government-run; and decades-old political turf wars between Democrats and Progressives thrown in for good measure.
As I noted in this week’s “Fair Game,” there are plenty of parties to blame for missing all the signs of a possible scandal (and the media aren’t exempt). But where to go from here?
That’s where these commentators come in. I’ll simply provide a salient quote and a link to some of the thoughts being offered on how to move forward with Burlington Telecom.
This article appears in Nov 4-10, 2009.
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That Center for Media and Democracy list is hilarious.
Quiet weekend on the BT front. I hope councillors are preparing a bombshell for the Mayor and CAO for Mondays meeting. Resolutions to shut down any city spending that does not affect basic city public services would be my suggestion. No more pennies for Moran or anything else that is not a basic city service. Send the message and make them sweat, their attitude for what they have done is not acceptable, and they must be removed from office. It would be a bold move by the council but it is now time to play hardball.