In a normal year, a bill having to do with clean water would be no big deal and scarcely anyone would pay it much attention. This year is different. Lake Champlain in under assault from development and agricultural runoff. Some parts of the lake around Burlington and near the mouth of the Missisquoi River have become so polluted with phosphorus that the water turns slimy green in summer and is highly toxic. Vermont is under pressure from the EPA to clean up the lake, and volunteer efforts will no longer suffice. While farm runoff is frequently blamed, there are many other sources of phosphorus, nitrogen, municipal runoff and other pollutants that must also be addressed. To address EPA mandat

With the 2015 open enrollment period to purchase health insurance through Vermont Health Connect (aka, “the Exchange”) having just ended, it might be timely to share an update. The Exchange is possibly the most frustrating state government mechanism ever, surpassing even the longest waiting line at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Many people have shared their Exchange horror stories: perpetual inaccurate billings, a website that doesn’t work, and hours long wait times on the phone. If you have had a “change of circumstance” in adjusting your health insurance policy midyear, very likely you have suffered frustrations only Kafka could have dreamed up on his darkest day. When the Exchange

Many Vermonters have never heard of the Fee Bill, yet it's a must pass piece of legislation every year. So what is a fee bill, and what's a fee anyway? A fee is a charge that is intended to cover the cost developing or delivering a specific item or service. Examples are drivers licenses, teachers licenses, funeral directors licenses as well as a host of environmental quality permits and Act 250 fees. They include permits for storm water runoff, sewage disposal, river alteration, cell phone tower construction and on and on. Environmental permits and license fees invariably relate to public health, safety and maintaining professional standards. A number of years back, the administration impose