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The Arabic translation of Al Jazeera is “the island.” But now, that island is about to be deep-sixed off the West Coast of New England.... Read more

Ah, spring: time for the crack of the bat, the smell of the compost, the end of another legislative session and — because we’re in an even-numbered year — the official start of the Vermont campaign season.

This week, lawmakers will scurry off to vacations or head back to their jobs, and the governor will hit the ribbon-cutting road doing what he does best: getting out and talking to people.

But his potential challengers are doing some public outreach, too.... Read more

"Facing Facts" is a new feature that appears each week in Local Matters, the local news section of Seven Days.

At Passover, celebrants read the Haggadah, which tells the story of the Jews’ slavery under the Egyptian Pharaoh and their Exodus out of his land. They’re in such a hurry that they don’t even let the bread rise — hence, matzoh.... Read more

This column makes it official — all is fair game now. I want to thank Seven Days for welcoming me aboard. And thanks in advance to the many well wishers — and probably not-so-well wishers — whom I hope will read this column closely each week.

Some of you know me from my various stints in journalism. I’ve covered Vermont politics and its people since high school, when I was a sports stringer for The Barton Chronicle. More recently, I founded and ran The Vermont Guardian, a statewide print weekly and online daily.... Read more

Actor Dan Butler is on the phone with presidential advisor Karl Rove, a fan of his irascible Bulldog character on “Frasier.” “I agree, the testosterone level of ‘Frasier’ really went down when I left the show,” says the veteran supporting player, straight-faced. Pause. “I didn’t watch it much either after that.” Pause. “I think you’re sexy, too.”... Read more

You’ve no doubt noticed how awful life is here in Vermont. Awful and getting worse, what with wages so low and prices so high — especially the sale price of a nice house, or the rent on a decent apartment.

You’ve noticed because the newspapers and the radio and television keep telling you. Across the political spectrum, important people keep proclaiming our woes, especially Gov. James Douglas, who has made “affordability,” or lack thereof, the dominant theme of his tenure.... Read more

It’s Tax Day, and a gorgeous spring morning in the nation’s capital. The tulips and cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and suit-and-tied lobbyists are sharing the sidewalks with schoolchildren ambling along like ducklings.... Read more

Last Thursday, as Pope Benedict XVI addressed a few hundred Catholic educators in Washington, D.C., a Marine Corps recruiter in full dress uniform set up shop outside the St. Michael’s College cafeteria.

For a couple of hours the recruiter, an officer named Will Morgan, shook hands and took down the names of a few interested students, then packed up his pamphlets and headed for the door. “Not bad,” he said on his way out.... Read more

In the mid-1990s, when I joined the faculty at Vermont Law School, people often asked if I taught environmental law, given the school’s national reputation in that area. I used to retort — only partially in jest — that I taught law that was concerned about people, not trees. At the time, environmentalism seemed dominated by emotionally detached men fighting over the wild. It struck me as abstract and disconnected from everyday life. In contrast, I was interested in making a meaningful difference in people’s lives.... Read more