Vermont Governor Sides With Louisiana Nuclear Co. Against State Legislature

Vermont Governor Jim Douglas on May 22 vetoed a bill that would have required Entergy Corporation of Louisiana to pay for cleaning up the mess it made at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. On June 3, Vermont Senate president Peter Shumlin of Putney said the legislature will wait until January 2010 to try to override Douglas's veto.

Anti-nuclear march, Brattleboro, 2008. photo by Eesha Williams (click to enlarge)

 

Top Obama Official Speaks at Northampton Group’s Meeting

The Northampton-based group Free Press held a public meeting in Washington, DC on May 14 about how the public can successfully lobby the government to increase public funding for journalism, and to create universal high speed internet access. Among the speakers at the event were Susan Crawford, a member of President Barack Obama’s National Economic Council and a graduate of Yale Law School. This one-minute video shows part of Crawford’s speech, and the line of people waiting to use computers with extremely slow internet connections at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, also on May 14.

Arrests, Boycott Over Northampton Business Promotion Plan

Northampton’s Business Improvement District, created last month by the city council, has endured significant opposition, including about half the potential property owners choosing not to join, a lawsuit alleging it was created in violation of state law, and a protest march through downtown which resulted in two arrests.

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1,000 at Vermont Rally: 'Healthcare Is a Right'

Sheila Linton of Brattleboro spoke at a "Healthcare Is a Human Right" rally at the Vermont statehouse on May 1. The event was organized by the Vermont Workers Center. The U.S. is the only rich nation that does not provide universal health care. More information on the rally is at www.workerscenter.org photos by Eesha Williams

Hundreds at Statehouse for a Nuclear Free Vermont

Claire Chang lives in Gill, Mass., less than 10 miles from the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. On April 29 at the Vermont state capitol, Chang and her partner held a sign reading "No Radiation Without Representation." They were joined by hundreds of activists, and their dog. photo by Eesha Williams

(Click on the "nuclear power" tag, above, for details on the upcoming vote by the Vermont legislature. The vote will decide whether Yankee will close in 2012, or run until 2032, as owner Entergy Corp. of Louisiana wants.)

Shut Vermont Yankee March Is April 29

A volunteer-run citizen's group is organizing an April 29 march on the Vermont statehouse to call for the closing of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. “We need to show Vermont legislators that the citizens of Vermont want Entergy Corporation held accountable for decommissioning, and we want the dirty, dangerous, unreliable, and costly Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant shut down,” said event organizer Debra Stoleroff, of the Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance (http://www.vyda.org/).

Local Food Co-ops Hear from Activists

Food co-ops keep consumers’ money in the local community, unlike chain supermarkets like Stop and Shop or Price Chopper. The Greenfield food co-op opened in 1980; the Brattleboro one, also in business for decades, is the size of a small supermarket.

Local Nuke Affects People in Vermont, NH, Mass., and Nevada

Ian Zabarte, a leader of the Western Shoshone Native American tribe, stands in front of Vermont Yankee. The Shoshone's land includes Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Vermont Yankee's owner says it will dump its nuclear waste at Yucca. photo by Eesha Williams

Univ. of Massachusetts Students Begin 107-Mile, Five-Day Walk to Protest Fee Hikes

A committee of the University of Massachusetts board of trustees on Feb. 20 approved a 15 percent increase in student fees. That would bring annual tuition for in-state undergraduates to an average of $11,000. The fee increase is likely to be approved by the full board, which meets Feb. 27 in Dartmouth, Mass., near Providence, R.I. (The board generally meets in Amherst only in summer, when most students are away. Amherst has far more students than the other UMass campuses.)

The Shutdown Jamboree

The Nuclear Free Jubilee, a parade and rally to close the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, is set for Saturday, Oct. 25, in Brattleboro. Nerissa and Katryna Nields, about whom the Washington Post has written, "Their harmonies are tight, their spirits unflagging," will perform at the rally, as will folk singer Charlie King.