Audio

 New Yankee Speak

In the weeks following the dramatic cooling tower collapse in 2007, I wrote about Vermont Yankee for a lot of different outlets. This is a piece VPR aired, which focused on the strange language that Entergy was using to describe (or explain away) the serious problems at the plant.

 An Impolitic Series of Uncalled-For Remarks From the Vermont Library Association's Jan. 18 Rally at the State House, Montpelier, Vermont, USA

I went to Montpelier a few years back to make a push for funding our state's libraries. Most people don't know it but our state is one of only eight nationwide who provide no funding whatsoever to libraries -- not a dime. And that's criminally stupid in an era where libraries are expected to close the digital divide for those without the money to buy a computer of their own.

 Birth Rate Blues

A darkly humorous look at a very serious problem: the falling birthrate in Vermont, and how that contributes to a fall in population under the age of 25. This piece won a shared Edward R. Murrow Prize for Overall Excellence and a solo first-place Public News Directors Award in 2009.

 The Cold Realities of Financial Aid

When my older brother Joe died some years back, he left behind a teenaged son named Craig. Craig's mom was severely handicapped by a form of systemic lupus, and so the family had no income when Joe died. Yet when I tried to help Craig through the financial aid process a few years later, I found out that none of that mattered. This piece sums up my feelings about affordable tuition, and any society that won't make it so.

 Actor's Presence At Convention A Missed News Story

As an elected delegate from Vermont, I attended the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, and I wrote up various stories for the Free Press and for VPR. Here's a piece about Richard Dreyfuss, who tried to stage a floor fight on the question of impeaching George W. Bush and who got no traction whatsoever.