I’m glad I don’t live in Massachusetts. Not just because my senator would now be Scott Brown, but because I would have felt obliged to vote for Martha Coakley — barely the lesser evil.... Read more

You have to give Gov. Jim Douglas credit for impeccable political maneuvering. Just take his “time out” recommendation to the legislature concerning the future of Vermont Yankee.... Read more

State Rep. David Zuckerman (P-Burlington) has a confession to make that might sound to some like political suicide.

He bills taxpayers for his “mileage” to and from the Statehouse — as much as $152 a week — even on days when he gets a ride with fellow lawmakers or lobbyists.

Zuckerman also takes full advantage of the $61 daily meal allowance afforded to legislators when they are in session, but admits he rarely spends that much on food.... Read more

Thursday, February 18, 7 p.m.
Burlington City Hall Auditorium

On March 2, Burlington voters will decide whether the city should continue using
Instant Runoff Voting to elect the mayor.

Remember how Barack Obama promised to relax travel restrictions between the U.S. and Cuba? The progress of his policy — or lack thereof — is on full display at the Highgate Springs border crossing.... Read more

As officials scurry to find the source of a radioactive leak contaminating groundwater along the Connecticut River, one can’t help but wonder: Shouldn’t regulators have noticed this sooner?

Short answer: yes.... Read more

It is a typical Tuesday night at Radio Bean, and the cozy Burlington coffeehouse is bustling. There is a pleasant hum of idle chatter, broken occasionally by the sharp clink of glassware behind the bar. Onstage, local country crooner Brett Hughes leads his rotating cast of honky-tonk heroes through a rousing Merle Haggard tune.

During a break in the music, and seeing that my drink is almost finished, my girlfriend asks if she can get me another. She gets up from the couch, nimbly dodges a dog sleeping on the floor and disappears. She returns a few moments later, glasses in hand.... Read more

Don’t fret, nuclear power lovers. Vermont Yankee and its corporate owner, Entergy, won’t let a good lie keep them down.

Sure, they might use up a half-life for misleading regulators and lawmakers about the existence of underground pipes carrying the radionuclides. But there are more near misses where that one came from.

Since buying VY in 2002 for $180 million — Entergy now claims it’s worth $800 million — the New Orleans-based company has employed a simple, four-step method to navigate Vermont’s political and regulatory waters.... Read more

Eight months after it hired an ambitious new director, Burlington’s Peace & Justice Center has hit the skids.

Last month, the liberal advocacy organization had to lay off two employees and decided not to replace its departing development director.... Read more

David Millson lifts a gold-colored metal pipe to his lips and inhales deeply. He exhales a cloud of pungent marijuana smoke into his living room, takes another drag and then relaxes into a lounge chair.

The 69-year-old retiree from New Haven repeats this regimen several times a day to alleviate the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, the degenerative disease he has battled for more than 20 years. Marijuana doesn’t do much for the pain, but it helps Millson cope with the depression he says comes with “slowly losing your ability to do stuff.”... Read more