Who won and lost the week in Vermont news and politics? We thought you’d never ask.
Here’s The Scoreboard for the week ending Friday, April 5:
Winners:
Milton Elementary School students — They got to hang with Michelle Obama Thursday and help her plant the White House garden. But did they neglect to present her with an “Eat More Kale” t-shirt? Runner-up winners: WCAX’s Bridget Barry Caswell for drawing national coverage of her sit-down with Obama and the Milton Independent‘s Jackie Cain for snagging a sweet photo of the real White House rock star, Bo Obama.
Migrant workers — The Senate voted 27-2 Friday to grant them a “driving privilege card.” And, in only tangentially related news, the Associated Press this week purged the term “illegal immigrant” from the journalistic lexicon.
Weed — Marijuana decriminalization smoked the legislature this week. House Judiciary is poised to approve a one-ounce threshold, while last year’s top narcs — House Speaker Shap Smith and Senate Judiciary Committee Dick Sears — say they won’t stand in the way.
Bird lovers — Gov. Peter Shumlin’s weekly press conference went to the birds Wednesday. Really. Rather than talk budget and taxes, the gov spent half an hour promoting a new edition of the Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas. Runner-up losers: nighthawks, whip-poor-wills and meadowlarks, which are all on the decline in Vermont.
The Vermont Republican Party — After a year without paid staff — an election year, no less — Vermont GOP chairman Jack Lindley finally got his act together this week and hired a full-time political director: Texas native and recent Army vet Brent Burns. Runner-up loser: Green Mountain Daily’s John Walters for his unwarranted, but typical, 3:22 a.m. trashing of Burns. Welcome to Vermont!
Hopheads — Heady Topper wins the Vermont Brew Bracket while Three Penny Taproom invades the ‘Noosk.
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