The recent issues in the news about Burlington Telecom (BT) have obscured one of the most important facets of our efforts in Burlington: providing a high quality and local alternative to large conglomerates like Comcast and Fairpoint. These large companies in effect create monopoly conditions where consumers are subject to [...]
This past Tuesday I had the opportunity to testify in Washington D.C. before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and its Green Jobs and the New Economy Subcommittee (chaired by Bernie Sanders). My written testimony focused on the work Burlington has been doing for the last 20 years to [...]
Burlington is on the eve of kicking off its Quadricentennial celebration, which begins tomorrow July 2 and runs through July 14. There are several performances headlining the celebration, such as Tony Bennett, Buddy Guy, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, The Roots, Steve Earle and Aimee Mann, among others. However the [...]
Burlington has made a substantial investment of time, energy and financial resources in the celebration of Samuel de Champlain’s arrival in Vermont 400 years ago. The “Quadricentennial” will be celebrated with events throughout the state but with a major series of events in Burlington from July 2-14 forming the “[...]
Yesterday I hosted a press conference at City Hall with the Vermont Workers’ Center to talk about the May 1 “Healthcare is a Human Right” Rally in Montpelier, as well as mark Workers’ Memorial Day which is observed around the world on April 28. I was joined by Rabbi [...]
Monday evening I was sworn in for a second term as Mayor of Burlington and gave the annual “State of the City” address to a new City Council. There were many things from the past year in Burlington to celebrate, but steady applause and cheers broke out when I [...]
As a Mayoral candidate I’ve received the endorsement of the Vermont Building Trade and Construction Unions and Champlain Valley Labor Council. These umbrella organizations represent several unions, including AFSCME , nurses, ironworkers, laborers, electricians, carpenters and plumbers. I’m pleased to have received these endorsements. As a City we remain committed [...]
The federal stimulus - or economic recovery act as it is now termed - has dominated news over the last several weeks. When I was in Washington for the US Conference of Mayors meeting in mid-January, I had the opportunity to meet with Vermont’s congressional delegation. The Vermont delegation is [...]
Progressives have long-advocated for a sensible approach towards funding important government services. In difficult budgetary times, as the State is facing now, it’s important to consider new revenue sources in conjunction with reviewing the need for cuts in services. This is not a radical idea. Policy analysts such as Paul [...]
The economic problems that have deepened in the last several months have led to the prospect of cutbacks in spending by government. It’s important to place reservations about spending in perspective. While we should be careful about spending choices, instead of retreating, it’s even more important now that we focus [...]
The issues of climate change, renewable energy development, and energy efficiency continue to be a focus in Burlington. The City is in the midst of rewriting its 2000 Climate Action Plan, a process which will comprehensively restate and renew our efforts at greenhouse gas reduction (for more information go here: [...]
I had the opportunity this past Saturday evening to attend the Diwali celebration at UVM’s Davis Center, sponsored by the university’s Indian Students Organization. I joined with 500 other people to enjoy Indian cultural performances, food, and dancing. Diwali or “the Festival of Lights” is observed across the world, but [...]
The City of Burlington is in the process of rewriting and updating its Climate Action Plan, first developed in 2000. The update will include new strategies and goals for the City to reduce its own carbon footprint and to encourage the entire community to do the same. You can learn [...]
The issue of rental housing health and safety is one I’ve addressed before on this blog and something that should continue to be of concern. Vermont has approximately 75,000 rental units and over 140,000 tenants state-wide. State law requires that each of these rental units meet minimum health and safety [...]
Summer is beginning to wind down in Vermont. Looking forward it’s impossible not to think about the looming problem of utility costs, particularly heating costs for low and moderate income Vermonters during winter months. In Burlington we asked our City Assessor to calculate the number of homes heated with oil, [...]
There’s currently an exhibit at City Hall running through July 29 which commemorates the atomic bomb victims of Hiroshimi and Nagasaki, Japan. Presented by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (and coordinated by Burlington City Arts), the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Exhibition is intended to inform people about the devastating effects of [...]
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I attended a talk by Michael Pollan yesterday evening at UVM called In Defense of Food: Connecting the Dots Between Sustainability and Health. Mr. Pollan is a well-known author and advocate for local food production, from smaller-scale farms to backyard gardens. One of the things he said is that Burlington [...]
April 28th is internationally known as Workers’ Memorial Day. According to statistics provided by the Vermont Workers’ Center, every day more than 15 workers are killed on the job in the United States; nearly 6,000 workers lose their lives on the job each year and more than 4 million workers [...]
Along with Senator Bernie Sanders and Anita Selec, the director of the VT Council on World Affairs (VCWA), I welcomed Finnish Ambassador Pekka Linta for a talk at Contois Auditorium in Burlington this past Monday, March 31. The talk was sponsored by Bernie Sanders and the VCWA (see [www.vcwa.org]). [...]
This past weekend Burlington had its annual Mardi Gras parade. As Mayor of Burlington I led the parade along with Alan Neuman, owner of Magic Hat Brewery. It was an incredibly festive event, as it is every year, drawing tens of thousands of people to Burlington to celebrate. The Progressive [...]
We are hoping to move forward in Burlington on a plan to re-develop the site and building of the decommissioned Moran power plant on the City’s waterfront. Almost everyone familiar with Burlington has seen this building, and may also be familiar with the unsuccessful attempt of the City in 2005 [...]
