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The judge has rejected five previous BT requests to halt the proceedings. In his brief asking Toor to deny BT’s request, attorney Norm Williams references albert eiNsteiN’s definition of insanity: “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
The War on Whistle-blowers
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Solicitor Shumlin
Gov. Peter shumliN had some fun with the flap over whether he violated state campaign-finance laws by soliciting money from lobbyists during the the current legislative session. At his weekly press conference, Shumlin said his campaign — if there is one — made a mistake, and he apologized for the oversight. Wait, if there is one? He has a Democratic consultant on staff and has sent out two fundraising letters, and there’s been at least one out-of-state fundraiser in Rhode Island. Coming soon: a sizable instate fundraiser hosted by major Democratic donor Crea liNtilhaC. Isn’t that a campaign? “I’m not an announced candidate,” Shumlin said. So, why the early fundraising? “Just in case,” he quipped with a smile.
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Media Notes
WCAX-TV took home three Edward R. Murrow Awards for excellence in reporting at the Radio Television Digital News Association awards. One of those 1st-place awards was for the station’s “Mission: Afghanistan” series with darreN PerroN and laNCe maCkeNzie. The pair spent time with Vermont National Guard members in Afghanistan. In addition, Vermont Public Radio won six regional Edward R. Murrow Awards from the RTDNA in the following categories: breaking news coverage, hard news reporting, documentary, writing, website and overall excellence. Congrats! m
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SEVEN DAYS
Can’t wait till Wednesday for the next “Fair Game”? Tune in to WPTZ NewsChannel 5 on Tuesday nights during the 11 p.m. newscast for a preview.
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FAIR GAME 13
If Entergy wins its injunction against the state and keeps operating the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, some ratepayers could benefit. A revenue-sharing arrangement with Green Mountain Power and Central Vermont Public Service, which has been in place for years, would be good for their the utilities’ shareholders. But both utilities would also have to use some of that money to keep consumer power costs down. Beneficiaries would include the state’s largest private employer, IBM, which gets its power from GMP. IBM has complained that VY’s closure could increase its power costs.
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Though the original sale deal says the revenue-sharing deal is in effect if Entergy has a license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, I suspect Entergy will figure a way to wriggle out of this commitment. If there’s one thing Entergy is better at than splitting atoms, it’s splitting legal hairs.
OPINION
Who’s Got the Power?
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SEVENDAYSVt.com
Now that osama biN ladeN is dead, I guess we can call off the “Global War on Terror” and return to the good old days before September 11, 2001. Or not. The feds are moving ahead with their espionage case against former Vermonter thomas drake. As “Fair Game’ detailed late last year, Drake is the fourth person in U.S. history to be charged under the Espionage Act for mishandling classified information. His alleged crime occurred when he tried to blow the whistle on an ineffective, costly and likely unconstitutional domestic spying program at the National Security Agency. His trial, set for April, has been delayed until June. Meanwhile, Drake is gaining national attention for his bravery. In April he received the prestigious Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling — an annual honor given to whistleblowers, investigative journalists and other private citizens for “bringing an issue of social importance to the public’s attention.” At the award ceremony, Drake told the crowd his case has exposed “a truly Orwellian world, where whistle-blowing has become espionage. Espionage includes whistle-blowing, and whistleblowing is now equated with spying. Dissent has become the mark of a traitor. Truth is equivalent to treason, and speaking truth to power makes one an enemy of the state, and yet who is really the enemy here?”
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