Springfield voters rejected a landlord ordinance, the Vermont Veterans Home will not lose its federal funding, libraries in the state will launch a videoconference service, lawmakers approved new rules on motel stays for the homeless and the shoreland commission worked to balance environmental and property rights.
These were some of the voices in the news this week.
Springfield Voters Reject Landlord Ordinance, 8/21/13
(Apartment owner Alan Bruce) “Some of the hings that need to be fixed in a lot of these buildings aren’t going to cost you fifteen-hundred dollars; they’re going to cost you tens of thousands. And as landlords, this isn’t coming out of our pockets. This is coming out of our tenants’ pockets.”
VT Vets Home Won't Lose Federal Funds, 8/21/13
(Jospeph Krawczyk, chairman of the Vermont Veteran’s Home’s trustees) “This whole year we’ve been focusing on training. We’ve been looking at patient case loads; we’ve been getting everybody involved, sharing ideas, helping each other out. For example when you come in the morning, the busy time is when we’re feeding our residents and you’ll find maintenance folks out there helping the nurses deliver food to the patients.”
Libraries Use Google Donation To Launch Videoconference Service, 8/20/13
(Lt. Gov. Phil Scott) “We have folks that are working two or three jobs that don’t have this kind of capability in their homes, who have to make a choice between filling their fuel tank or buying an iPhone. So having the libraries provide the service to remain connected is going to be very important.”
Lawmakers Approve New Rules On Motel Stays For Homeless, 8/22/13
(Chris Curtis, Vermont Legal Aid) “So this is a big, big improvement over what had been originally proposed by the department. So we’re happy for that. At the same time, we’re only partly down the road here. We have got to address the issue of homeless in Vermont.”
Shoreland Commission Balances Environment And Property Rights, 8/21/13
(Essex-Orleans Senator John Rodgers) “The folks with the big check book have absolutely no problem – and we’ve seen that on Willoughby Lake – they thumb their nose at the regulations and just pay the fine. I’m concerned that the average person be able to, without degrading the water quality, be able to enjoy their property without a big check book.”
