My Grandmother Hiles and Auntie Pasco, her companion of 50 years, were inveterate travelers in the early 1900s. A worn postcard recently surfaced, written to father in spidery handwriting from his mother: “Unable to attend your Yale graduation. We’re riding camels in the Gobi Desert. Hope to catch up eventually.”
It was in the spirit of Olympic fever with which I watched the video of my son, Sam, launching himself off ski jumps, spinning, flipping and soaring. I watched this Instagram post of his over and over thinking to myself … I gave birth to this?
Stormwater runoff is a serious water quality problem in Vermont that demands action. There is a fine balance between moving forward with urgency and unnecessarily compromising on cost-effective solutions. We must use the best available science and technology to ensure we select the most efficient path to clean water. I think Vermonters want us, and expect us, to invest their money wisely.
Regarding “Stop the new energy plan” – Hans Ohanian’s recent letter [Jan. 10 Charlotte News] , titled “Stop the new energy plan,” pointed out a mistake in the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission’s (CCRPC) June 2017 draft Municipal Energy Data Assumptions and Methodology report. There was indeed a math error in the graphic on page 19 from the Bennington County Regional Commission’s draft energy plan. Bennington County has since corrected this graphic in its final plan. CCRPC was unaware of the error and used the graphic to explain how regional renewable energy generation targets are developed.
My Grandmother Hiles followed her own rules and lived an extraordinary life. She stood tall, straight and thin, with unruly gray hair on top of her head. Keen, penetrating eyes peered over the top of her gold-rimmed, owly glasses. When she turned her attention to you it was best you made sense. Her nose was beaklike, reminding me of an eagle. Frankly, I don’t think she liked children.
Fifty years ago Buffalo Springfield said something was happening here and asked everyone to look at what was going down. What did they find?
They found something close to today’s climate in Vermont where the scent of revolution is in the air. Secession may well have returned to people’s minds. Vermonters may be considering becoming the Switzerland of North America.
What are the practicalities of the carbon tax bill? It would be difficult to disagree with the words of Rep. Mike Yantachka in accepting an award for supporting passage of the “carbon tax” bill in the Legislature. No question, there is a need to reduce human consumption of fossil fuels.
From oceans, lakes (“great” and “pretty good”) to rivers, ponds, creeks, icecaps, glaciers and, yes, the human body itself, water is a central element in our planet’s structure and function. We don’t always appreciate how much of a role water plays in our existence, and it has taken warming trends in the atmosphere to jolt us awake.
My husband, John, and I paused on Park Avenue in front of Mr. Saitys’ store with its enticing American Indian and Tibetan jewelry. I pressed the buzzer and Mr. Saity unlocked the door. He welcomed us as if we were former friends, although we’d never met, and began sharing the history of his jewelry. He took a prominent piece from a case.
While reading Edd Merritt’s commentary in the November 29 issue of The Charlotte News, titled “There are guns, and there are guns?” I discovered several instances of arguable and nonfactual ideas which I would like to address here.
Some years ago John and I often flew to New York City for the day on Jet Blue’s $19 round trips. We started at the Metropolitan Museum and worked our way down to Grand Central Station, stopping at places of interest.
I grew up in a gun-club family. My father and his father-in-law were avid duck hunters, and our weekend ritual during duck season was to rise before dawn, eat breakfast with other hunters in the only café in the area open at four a.m., and then hie to my grampa’s camp on a lake that was formed like a figure eight.
The holiday season is upon us! How will we ever survive the family gatherings, parties, large meals and the ever-dreaded shopping? Relax. There are a few things you can do to survive this short yet stressful period. One, remember that this too shall pass and that you will survive. Cut yourself some slack, and remember that no matter what you are going through someone else is going or has already gone through it as well. If you remember to take time for yourself, breathe and drink plenty of water, I promise you’ll make it.
I read Representative Michael Yantachka’s commentary, in the November 1 issue of The News, on Vermont’s new turbine noise rules with interest. Rep. Yantachka is a member of the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (LCAR), which gave its final approval to the noise rules over the objections of the wind industry on Oct. 19.
This letter is in response to Rep. Mike Yantachka’s commentary from Nov. 1. It is apparent that human beings are at a critical point in our life on Earth. We are confronted with a significant number of challenges to our well-being and even our future.
One morning in the early 1990s, my phone rang. It was not a nice man from Nigeria telling me I owed the IRS money. James Lawrence was on the line. “There’s a situation with The Charlotte News,” James said. “I’m asking all of the newspaper’s contributors to meet at the Congregational Church this afternoon.” He did not wait to hear my excuses. I showed up.
I’m tired of writing critical commentaries, which my last two have been. And besides, the natural world of Charlotte is not something one can easily criticize. Its skies, landscapes, clouds and harvest moons bring together many of the reasons for choosing here as home. Too often we fail to be conscious of the role our environment plays in our lives.
When it comes to gravestones, there are as many choices as there are individuals. Some people are adamant about their ashes being spread from a mountain top, on the water, in the forest or over their garden. We will limit this column, however, to traditional burials in a cemetery with a gravestone.
Although the legislature is not in session, many legislators serve on special committees that meet between sessions. The Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (LCAR) is one such committee, and it’s been keeping me busy this summer. LCAR consists of four Senators and four Representatives and is responsible for reviewing rules proposed by agencies of the executive branch of state government. Rules spell out the process by which an agency administers laws. Examples include the health standards of hotel accommodations, licensing of professionals, and standards for fuel oil tanks in our homes. It is LCAR’s job to review the rules to ensure that
Veterans Day, eh? I should be honored to take part in it, but, frankly, the Navy and I parted company on Treasure Island, California, in late summer of 1968 and have lived in blissful ignorance of each other ever since. I put my medals in a drawer and responded to a letter from the government asking me to become an active reserve with a “Thanks, but no thanks.” The country must have had a large enough supply of people (mostly men in those days) to keep their tanks full and did not feel the need to press too hard on those of us who said no.