White River Junction PO Stamped

So then how are Vermonters that aren't retired millionaire bankers with their own megaphones doing? How are the 99% doing on their roads to prosperity?
In the Upper Valley and White River Junction for the next three months, postal workers have job uncertainty to spare. Two hundred and forty-five good-paying USPS jobs are at stake. William Creamer Jr., president of Local 301 of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union told the Valley News:

the White River Junction [USPS] plant, which employs 245 people, was one of eight plants around New England that received such [closure] notices yesterday, Creamer said. Mail currently sorted in the Upper Valley would instead be routed through Manchester and Burlington. […]The plant closings are part of a national plan to close as many as 252 processing plants affecting more than 100,000 jobs.

This is part of U.S.Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe’s proposal for cutbacks – which may prove to be a death spiral of quality and service cuts for the Postal Service.
The workers at the White River facility (and eight others in New England) are on notice, yet still in limbo, as no decision is final until May. That is when a Congressional moratorium on closing or consolidating postal facilities ends. By that time some resolution of the USPS’ dire financial situation may be achieved. The Vermont Congressional delegation, and Bernie Sanders (ever the supporter of rank-and-file workers) in particular, has expended great effort to try to save these folks' jobs. Senators Leahy and Sanders and Congressman Welch released a joint statement of support reiterating their plans to work to maintain service. In part they said:

We are extremely disturbed that the Postal Service intends to continue with its original plan to close the processing plant at White River Junction. We are pleased that the processing plant in Essex Junction was spared, but what we are saying loudly and clearly is that we will do all that we can to keep the White River Junction processing plant open as well.

What needs to be done first? Local 520 president of the American Postal workers Union explained what they need from lawmakers “If legislation passes that prohibits the service standards from being diminished, that is our only hope,”

The USPS mailing centers handle standard bulk business mail, which includes advertising fliers, periodicals and non-profit solicitations. And, of course, there are the political mailings – when printed and handled locally. Many printers and supporting mail-fulfillment businesses rely on the postal center for efficient handling of bulk shipping orders. We can expect that large ripples – even waves – from much more than just 245 lost jobs and their lost incomes and spending will flow throughout the area.

Vermont’s business leaders do moan and wail publicly about uncertainty over possible changes to health care costs. Imagine the yelping we'd hear from them if they had to go through employment uncertainty like our postal workers are being put through!

cross posted Green Mountain Daily

Has Lisman’s Campaign crossed a line?

In the most recent entry in their blizzard of “issue” ads Bruce Lisman’s Campaign for Vermont may have crossed a legal line past issue advocacy. TheVermont Press Bureau reports that the Vermont Democratic Party thinks so, and has filed a complaint with the Attorney General claiming the following about the newest ad’s content:

“such critical and inaccurate hyperbole about the Governor can only be viewed as furthering the purpose of opposing his candidacy and/or influencing the outcome of the governor’s election.”

The ad targets by name Governor Shumlin over the state budget that Lisman claims may increase property taxes.

If the VDP complaint is supported it would mean millionaire Lisman’s Campaign for Vermont has violated their 501(C) (4) status. A registered 501(C) (4) can accept unlimited donations and does not have to disclose donor’s names but is constrained to issue advocacy.

If organizations want to advocate expressly for the victory or defeat of a specific candidate, they have to register as political action committees, abide by $2,000 donation limits and disclose the names of their donors.

Transparency is one key to a functioning democracy was title of the Campaign for Vermont’s initial public offering distributed throughout the state. Says Lisman“…the lack of government transparency ignited me into action”
Maybe donor transparency is one key to a functioning advocacy. So, come on Bruce, be a transparent Campaign for Vermont. This change might put you in bind but it would get your preaching and practicing into functional alignment.

A Wealth Gap Runs through Charities

Income and wage inequality issues have found their way solidly into the news maw lately. The Occupy movements and President Obama’s re-embrace of the issue as he gears up for re-election in 2012 have helped keep economic inequity in the spotlight. And for years Vermont’s Senator Bernie Sanders has been reliably speaking out about the US wealth gap. He routinely quotes this startling fact
In 2007, "the top 1 percent of all income earners in the United States made 23.5 percent of all income," which is "more than the entire bottom 50 percent." This pattern of economic extremes has trickled down to the US charitable sector says a group dedicated to making foundations more effective, Caring for Change

The top 2.5 percent of charities that report data to the Internal Revenue Service have over 50 percent of the sector's wealth and bring in over 60 percent of charities' annual revenues. Colleges, hospitals, and primary health-care facilities dominate that top tier. In contrast, human-service groups, which account for more than a third of all charitable organizations, have only about 13 percent of annual revenues and 11 percent of assets.

This two tiered situation is particularly troubling as all levels of government embrace austere budgets, cut back on programs and encourage private charities to take up the slack. Some of the most under-resourced organizations Caring for Change says are often the ones that want to deal with suffering communities in decline but are often challenged by lack of resources.

Another private sector feature casting its shadow on the non-profit world is the pay gap between upper level executives and staff.

Indeed, some top-tier charitable institutions further exacerbate inequality through their own internal practices. Far too many of them pay salaries that put senior executives in the top 1 percent of earners, often while having a large base of staff at or near minimum wage.

And Vermont is not immune from upward pressure on non-profit executive pay packages. A Vermonter involved in non-profit work defended departing Fletcher Allen CEO’s pay package of $826,000 plus performance bonus of $245,000.He described the amount as “right” and said under-compensation was the challenge. Health and health cost related issues are major causes for families plunging into poverty so spending patterns in the non-profit hospital sector is particularly important part of a safety net. However according to Caring for Change

two-thirds of non-profit hospitals dedicated less than 2 percent of their total expenses to charitable medical care only 7percent dedicated more than 5 percent.

And finally the ironic charitable deduction:

...the tax deduction for charitable gifts benefits only those who itemize their returns -- the wealthiest Americans -- while it costs government revenue that might otherwise go to serve people and communities in economic distress. In other words, the deduction itself can be seen as exacerbating economic inequality.

Speaking from experience-

Or how I wasted most of the morning online while some paint dried. But the internets are great for research and one of the best time wasting tools I know of.

Vermont’s Peter Shumlin says VtBuzz
is among six other governors named in an article: Rookie Governors: Who's Doing Very Well?

Well good enough, that’s something I agree with more often than not. Nice little blurb for the Governor, but who is handing out this honor? Following the link from VtBuzz takes you to
Governing Magazine which is found on a serious looking think-tanky website. Digging around I found a couple of the editors have early backgrounds with Forbes and Ladies Home Journal. The new director of The Governing Institute (Governing Magazine’s parent) is the former long-term auditor and one term mayor of Kansas City. He was the first mayor not to win re-election since 1920 and was almost recalled ahead of the vote. Among many of his troubles while in office was the appointment he made of a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (an anti-immigrant group) as the Kansas City parks and recreation commissioner.

So who or what is behind this online magazine and this think-tankery?

Governing Magazine is a longtime publication that changed hands three years ago and is now associated with E.Republic an online publisher of Government Technology, Emergency Management and Public CIO. E.Republic is owned by the Church of Scientology which amidst some controversy purchased Governing from The St.Petersburg Times in 2009. Surprisingly the Times had been running a lengthy expose on Scientology prior to the sale.

Does any of this matter much in this case? Probably not. But why not know who the owner/funder of a think tank and associated publication may be? And it helped pass the time this morning while some paint dried.

Regulating “pro-lifers” and the Brand

The Environmental Evangelical Network (EEN) a green evangelical “pro-life” group that supports EPA rules limiting harmful mercury is catching the wrath of fellow “pro-lifers”. The EEN favors specific restrictions on emissions from power plants because they will protect the health of the unborn. The EEN critics maintain that to portray safeguards against environmental hazards as “pro-life” is to “obscure the meaning of the term.”

While the EEN’ers still deny that human activity is driving global warming the group has urged support for regulatory restrictions by sponsoring TV, radio ads and billboards. A spokesman spells out their view this way: “We believe protecting the unborn from mercury poisoning is a consistent pro-life position,” Mercury exposure can cause mental retardation, cerebral palsy, deafness and blindness in infants. Low doses may result in developmental delays affecting walking, talking, attention span and learning disabilities.

However the EEN’s broader views and actions spell trouble for them from 30 other religious “pro-lifers” and conservative anti-EPA legislators including, The Family Research Council and Sen. James Inhofe. It appears these critics see a threat to the “pro-life” brand name. Says Inhofe about the EEN’s position: “To claim that EPA’s devastating, job-killing regime is somehow ‘pro-life’ is absurd.”

This is trouble junction in terms of controling of the issue when a brand boundary gets blurred and is no longer focused as they wish it to be. And worse still for Sen. Inhofe is the intersecting issue with his longtime pet villain, the “job-killing” EPA. Imagine the EPA protecting life?

Good News ! Vermont Fishing is Hot !

The person who wrote the following Vermont State webpage’s wintertime recreation press release
“Fishing is Hot on Lake Champlain… and some memorable fish have been caught in recent weeks” probably didn’t have strontium or cesium in mind .But it certainly blends well with the Vermont chief radiologist’s news that a fish from Northern Vermont’s Lake Carmi tested positive for low levels of strontium-90 and cesium-137. The preliminary results are in the same range as found last August in a Connecticut River fish near Vermont Yankee. Bill Irwin, chief of radiological health for the Vermont Department of Health says this provides proof of what he had already decided …err hypothesized:

"We take this as some evidence that all fish in Vermont are likely to have radioactive cesium and strontium at these levels and that, as we’ve hypothesized, it is from nuclear weapons fallout and the releases of Chernobyl. All of us are glad to have proof and not just conjecture."

Good news! Call the tourist board because all the in Vermont fish contain radioactive strontium 90 and cesium. However if this shows the Lake Carmi fish was contaminated by nuclear weapons fallout and the Chernobyl disaster I shouldn’t think it takes our leaking Vermont Yankee out of contention as an additional source for contamination of Connecticut River fish.
Although the Lake Carmi fish had cesium in edible and inedible parts and strontium was found only in the samples bones, head, fins and scales. The Vermont Yankee fish had high levels of strontium 90 in the bones and small but measurable levels in the meat unlike the Lake Carmi fish.

A fish taken from the Connecticut River in 2010 had the highest levels of strontium-90 in bone that his department has seen in any samples.
"In that same sample we did find very low but measurable amounts of strontium-90 in the meat of the fish," said Irwin, which could have been a sampling or contamination error. "But we don’t know that."

The Lake Carmi fish as proof (not all "evidence" is "proof") reminds me of the line from the Nick Danger comedy skit where a supposed time traveler says “I have proof I’ve been to Ancient Greece! See look at this grape!” The Vermont chief radiologist found a grape.
Just remember, Bill Irwin is a culturally-sensitive guy looking out for you and your radiological health:

"There’s no danger in eating the fish," said Irwin. "Should we ever find that there are reasons to restrict diet from any sampling for any kind of radioactive or toxicological events, we would keep in mind different cultures have different diets."

Ever wonder how much local fish Bill Irwin eats?

Entergy Makes its Gesture

Well Entergy of Louisiana can’t keep the valves at the plant oiled but they do keep their legal team lubricated with money. Entergy’s legal team was successful in the challenge to Vermont’s law covering Vermont Yankee operating past 2012.The Times Argus reports that Entergy has sent a message from New Orleans demanding Vermont pay $4.6 million in legal fees they claim they incurred in the suit against the State of Vermont.

Reacting to this news Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell said he had thought the claim from Entergy would be “in seven figures” more in line with Vermont standards. The Attorney General says “I guess it [$4.6 million] shows the ‘David-versus-Goliath’ aspect of the case,” The mismatch is suitable but it’s kind of an ill fit otherwise for this situation as Goliath has won and is now making demands from David after this part of battle.

It also seems Sorrel had a surprising hope. Against all past dealings with Goliath he thought Entergy might make a gesture of being a good corporate citizen to atone for sins of the past.

Sorrell said he had even thought Entergy might not seek legal fees in a gesture of being “a good corporate citizen making up for the sins of the past and the misleading statements about the underground pipes.”

Sorrell had investigated Entergy officials for more than a year for possible criminal charges for the misstatements about underground pipes, which were later found to be the source of radioactive tritium leaking at the plant in 2010. Entergy executives had said such pipes did not exist.

Under pressure they grudgingly admitted to miss communicating about underground pipes.No criminal charges charges were filed; no case was brought so why would Entergy feel it had sinned? Hardly sinning in Goliath’s rule book, maybe in the eyes of Entergy Corp the only sin is losing.

Vermont State Police Cruiser Decals Sport a Pig

See an important Sneigwhblog news headline UPDATE below

Vermont State Police cruiser decals are sporting a pig shaped splotch.
Someone wasn’t connecting the spots on the Vermont Sate Police decals made by the Vermont Correctional Industries Print Shop until it was too late. About 30 decals on VSP cruisers now feature a cow with a splotch shaped like a pig.

Apparently someone at the Correctional Industries shop altered the cow.
The Burlington Free Press says two state senators who former police officers are found some humor in it and one noted:

"This is not as offensive as it would have been years ago. We can see the humor," State Senator Flynn said.
He said the artist has talents that could be used elsewhere. "If that person had used some of that creativeness he or she would not have ended up inside."

But a State Police Major’s press release statement bemoaned that the cost of the joke will be borne by taxpayers.
No one suggested keeping the decal cow,pig and all.


Updated!
Now along with a Save the Pig petition it naturally follows that there is a Facebook page too
Save the Pig

Facebook Save the Piggie page

Vermont!