Last week, Jared Duval a member of the Climate Council and the Energy Action Network, testified virtually to the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee.

           On January 5 Gov. Phil Scott delivered an upbeat State of the State message. He declared that though Vermont has many unmet needs  -  his leading example was a “desperate need for more people and workers.” - “anything is possible”.

Middlebury College climate activist Bill McKibben gave some advice to President Biden last week, after West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin put an end to Biden’s  $2 trillion dollar Christmas Tree spending bill.

Sen. Bernie Sanders has made a career out of claiming that rich people aren’t paying their fair share of income taxes. But I don’t ever recall Bernie actually citing Federal income tax data to back up his charges.

Vermont is at a “high risk” of having its redistricting process fall prey to partisanship, below only “extreme risk.” RepresentUs, a activist group with a decidedly progressively flavored website, notes “High-threat states are ripe for rigged maps, but may see minor protections in their current political landscape, basic transparency requirements, or simple legal standards for mapmakers. With few exceptions, current politicians control the redistricting."

Matt Cota, executive director of the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association, is a very good source of information on the consequences of implementing the Vermont Climate Council’s sweeping recommendations. Here’s some of what he reported last week:

Peter Suderman of Reason.com keeps a close watch on Federal fiscal issues. Here’s what he tells us from the recent annual report of the Medicare trustees.    

Last month there was an horrific report out of Waukesha, Wisconsin, where a crazed driver ran his SUV through a Christmas parade, killing six people.

Leafing through a new Cato Institute monograph the other day, titled “How Wealth Fuels Growth: The Role of Angel Investment” by Chris Edwards, I extracted a few useful thoughts.

            The Brattleboro Reformer is reporting a story of potential voter fraud in regard to a vote on the closing of Windham Elementary School. The article states,

A complaint filed by two parents at Windham Elementary School claims three non-residents participated in a controversial vote resulting in the school staying open rather than closing.