Letters to the Editor (12/5/23) 

Hate Lives Here

I was saddened, horrified and angered by the news of the attack on Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdelhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad last Saturday ["Three People Shot Near UVM Campus in Burlington, Police Say," November 25, online; "Three Victims in Burlington Shooting Were of Palestinian Descent," November 26, online]. Unfortunately, I was not surprised. We like to think of Vermont as a safe, welcoming state for all who come to visit and live here. We have seen this not to be true too many times.

The response from our officials is one of justifiable outrage and sorrow, as well as hopes and prayers. The press seems to think it is important to let us know that two of the young men are U.S. citizens and one is a legal resident. Is this important information, or does it remind us again that they are not really like us?

When will we get to the real work of figuring out how we got to this place where hate and distrust allow three young men to be shot for no reason other than the color of their skin, the clothes they are wearing and the language they are speaking? When will we be willing to do the hard work to make sure it doesn't happen again?

Deborah Kutzko

Burlington

Still Kicking

Ken Picard's article ["A Life by Design: The Latest Issue of 05401 Honors the Architects, Idols and Thinkers Who Shaped Its Eclectic Publisher," November 22] brought me back to the mid-1980s, a heady time for the rebirth of public housing in Burlington.

When former mayor Bernie Sanders got control of the Burlington Housing Authority board in 1985, the board hired me to turn BHA around, particularly the Franklin Square and Riverside Avenue family housing developments. BHA soon hired Beth Sachs and Blair Hamilton, then known as the Memphremagog Group, to assess the physical plant of BHA, with a strong slant on energy costs.

The result of Beth and Blair's work was the key to attract a $3 million modernization grant to Franklin Square in 1987. BHA contracted with architect Louis Mannie Lionni in conjunction with Beth and Blair — affectionately, "Mannie and the Magogs" — to redesign the development for maximum livability.

The result was a beautiful transition to energy-efficient, family-centered housing units, much different from the institutional ones originally constructed during urban renewal in the early 1970s.

Mannie Lionni's vision for Franklin Square was then, and continues to be, a more sustainable model for family public housing now, 35-plus years later.

In the September 2023 edition of 05401, Mannie devoted two pages to me, as a client back in the day. I am grateful for his expansive remarks on my role back then; they are most appreciated. However, one detail in his account includes the reference to me that "He died recently, too soon for me."

I love you, Mannie, but I'm still alive and well!

Michael McNamara

Colchester

McNamara is former executive director of Burlington Housing Authority.

Yankee Doodle

It's good to see that Tim Newcomb's favorite Depend-wearing convalescent, Vermont Yankee, is getting the treatment it needs, as depicted in the cartoonist's November 29 offering.

There used to be a slogan among some nuclear industry watchers: "Nuke 'em 'til they glow."

I've been telling Tim for years he needs to collect his Vermont Yankee cartoons into a small book and call it Newcomb 'Til They Go.

Dave Gram

Montpelier

'Institutional' Problems

Your article on literacy, and the letters following, open an important debate ["Reading Reckoning: Too Many Vermont Kids Struggle to Read. What Went Wrong — and Can Educators Reverse a Yearslong Slide in Literacy?" October 4; Feedback, October 11, 18 and 25].

I am no expert. I lost my interest in becoming a teacher during a couple of education courses.

Donald Trump showed us the state of ignorance of too many Americans. One-third of Vermont voters supported him.

Good teachers and social workers are artists. Heavy administration blunts their potential. Reduce the number of administrators and their pay so they are on par with teachers. Require all "educators" to teach at least one class to keep them honest from preschool through college.

The Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center article ["The Loss of Grace," October 25] is illustrative of all-too-common problems in most institutional settings. The history of Shaker Mountain School and some other group homes needs investigative reporting, as well.

One last thought: Get the Department of Corrections out of the Agency of Human Services. Your article clearly demonstrates their incompatibility!

Geoffrey Cobden

Weybridge

Flights Pattern

[Re "JetBlue Ends Burlington Flights to NYC, While Delta Cuts Back," October 25]: Anybody who has followed the airline industry recently could have foreseen the elimination of rural flights across America. Antiquated air traffic control systems; COVID-19 vaccine mandates (and the subsequent retirements or firings); burnout of remaining overworked controllers; and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are primary drivers in decisions by JetBlue and Delta to eliminate these flight routes. I suspect this is happening all across rural America due to Federal Aviation Administration mandates.

Congress has been acutely aware of this impending transportation debacle for a long time but, as with so many other critical infrastructure issues, has done little to address this serious issue. Our transportation secretary is MIA, as well. Our government seems inept in so many ways, particularly on critical infrastructure needs.

For Vermont's federal congressional delegation — especially Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has been in Congress for more than 30 years — to accuse JetBlue of leaving behind "rural America" is both disingenuous and self-serving. But then again, that's what Congress seems to do best.

Dave Spaulding

Montpelier

Pro Paul

I support the Paul Action Plan for Public Safety and am glad to see that it specifically addresses our need to secure our downtown immediately ["Burlington Council President Karen Paul Is Running for Mayor," October 24, online]. Karen Paul is seeking to gain funding for downtown policing for this Christmas season, a position that is not being taken by many members of city council, despite the fact that they seek more police.

This is different. We are in a crisis now. I support Paul as she is presently seeking to move quickly and use her position as city council president to get immediate action authorized. As our current mayor steps down after securing a better credit rating and many new buildings and infrastructure projects, it is important to remember that he has consistently fought for a police chief who has little oversight.

I find it hard to forget that Mayor Miro Weinberger has more than once stood up for keeping the current and previous chiefs' serious infractions under wraps. As he departs, during the greatest crisis the city has ever seen, I think the time has come to create a police force that both has independent oversight and is willing to create a safe downtown as soon as possible. Paul is seeking an answer to this, and I support that.

Megan Epler Wood

Burlington

'Make Burlington Great Again'

I've known Karen Paul my entire life. I'm delighted that she is running for mayor of Burlington ["Burlington Council President Karen Paul Is Running for Mayor," October 24, online].

I grew up and raised my family in Burlington, but I live overseas now. As an expat, I still vote in elections. And this election for mayor seems to be one of the most important inflection points for Burlington in my lifetime.

When we moved to Sweden in 2017, Burlington had a mall, a high school and a safe downtown. Now on visits home, I hear friends despair at the city's state of disrepair, physically and psychologically. Everyone seems to express that they want to (and I can't believe I'm going to write these words!) Make Burlington Great Again.

I think Karen Paul is the person to make this happen. She is smart and experienced, she gets things done, she is a proven collaborator across party lines, and she has the greater lived experience of having spent her entire life here: She's seen firsthand the transformation of the city from beautiful, quaint college town to one of the best small cities in the U.S. to our current state of angst.

For Burlington to get our mojo back, we need to go back and recapture the magic that made us great in order to move forward into an inclusive and expansive future. Karen Paul is the right person for the right job at the right time. I hope you vote for her in the Democratic Mayoral Caucus on December 10.

Rich Nadworny

Stockholm, Sweden

Berlin or Montpelier?

[Re "Wayback Machine: At Montpelier's Wayside Restaurant, a Good Meal Goes Beyond Good Food," November 29]: I realize the writer of the Wayside article isn't from Vermont initially, so I kindly inform her that the Wayside is in Berlin. Us old Berliners are pretty proud of that!

Christopher Maloney

Washington

Which Wayside?

I see the correction notice at the end of ["Wayback Machine," November 29] and suspect the piece may have been written as located in Montpelier.

Here's the funny part: The Wayside sits on the town line of Montpelier and Berlin. There are, in essence, two halves. Someone told me long ago that when legislators in Montpelier went to lunch at the Wayside, they would sit on the Berlin side because they received a higher per diem for meals and such if they were outside Montpelier. I haven't tried to verify it, but it's possible.

When standing at the register, if you turn around 180 degrees, you can see the town line sign through the window across Route 302. Listing the Wayside as being in Montpelier or Berlin is neither 100 percent wrong nor 100 percent right — unless you're looking at its property tax bill.

Philip Stevens

Barre

Editor's note: The Wayside Restaurant, Bakery & Creamery is among many businesses in Vermont whose street or mailing address does not accurately — or fully — reflect its actual geographic location. In the case of the Wayside, the property has a Montpelier address, but it straddles the Montpelier-Berlin border. According to the restaurant's managing partner, Chris Moore, most of the property is in Berlin, but the parking lot and one table are in Montpelier. He pays property taxes to both municipalities.