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Will a New Siting Commission Placate Big Wind Opponents?

by Kathryn Flagg Posted on October 4, 2012 at 12:34PM

Breaking news! Apparently some Vermonters are ticked off about the way new electrical generation projects — think wind turbines and solar farms — are sited, permitted and approved.

Morning Read (or Listen): VPR Records Request Outlines Taser Use on the Mentally Ill

by Paul Heintz Posted on October 4, 2012 at 10:50AM

A public records request lodged by Vermont Public Radio's John Dillon found that state police officers have deployed tasers 50 times in the year and a half since they've been in use in the state. Ten of those times, Dillon reports, the stun guns were used on Vermonters in mental health crisis, some of whom were attempting suicide.

This Week's Issue: October 3, 2012

by Tyler Machado Posted on October 3, 2012 at 3:54PM

In this week's ink-and-paper edition of Seven Days, find these news and politics stories... In the cover story, the town of Essex tries to find its "heart and soul" through a grassroots planning initiative.

Dope or Dopey? Burlington's "Legalize It" Advocates Choose Cruiser-Crushing Farmer To Push Message

by Ken Picard Posted on October 3, 2012 at 12:59PM

For the growing number of Vermonters sympathetic to the cause of snuffing out pot prohibition in our lifetimes, there are oodles of convincing facts and figures to support their case. But is Roger Pion's act of monster-truck vengeance exacted upon the Orleans County Sheriff's Office one of them?

The Fact Checker: Does Vermont Have the Highest Tax Rate in the Country?

by 7D Staff Posted on October 3, 2012 at 12:15PM

With the 2012 campaign season in full swing, Seven Days has teamed up with VTDigger.org to create a fact-checker feature to test the "truthiness" of claims made by the candidates who want your vote this November. This week's Fact Checker was written by VTDigger's Anne Galloway.

Morning Read: Rutland Harshes Mellow on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

by Andy Bromage Posted on October 3, 2012 at 11:57AM

Correction: Our good buddy Nathan Burgess over at the Stowe Reporter informed us that Rutland was apparently not the first city to prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries. Stowe passed a prohibition in June.

After WCAX Errs, Wilton and Pearce Get Personal Over Home Ownership

by Paul Heintz Posted on October 3, 2012 at 10:56AM

The drama began Tuesday night during WCAX-TV's 6 p.m. newscast. In a side-by-side profile piece of the two candidates, WCAX's Keith McGilvery reported that Pearce rents a home in Barre and owns a home in Massachusetts, which is not true.

The Zuckerman Shut-Out Continues

by Paul Heintz Posted on October 2, 2012 at 6:18PM

A Vermont Democratic Party mailer that hit houses around the state this weekend was an all-inclusive affair. Mostly.

Video: Brock Takes on Single-Payer in New TV Ad

by Paul Heintz Posted on October 2, 2012 at 2:33PM

As the ever-enterprising Peter Hirschfeld of the Vermont Press Bureau reported earlier Tuesday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Brock is hitting the airwaves with a new TV ad — this one focused on Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin's single-payer health care agenda. Brock's finance consultant and de facto campaign manager Darcie Johnston confirmed to Seven Days that the new ad will run for 10 days at a cost of $70,000.

Department of Health: Formaldehyde Use on VT Dairy Farms Not A Public Health Risk

by Ken Picard Posted on October 2, 2012 at 12:31PM

More than a year after scores of Franklin County residents began reporting bizarre and unexplained medical problems, state and federal health officials have concluded there's no evidence to link those ailments to formaldehyde use on Vermont's dairy farms. The Vermont Department of Health (VDH) and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) have both released studies saying there's no causal connection.