Our regional news this week included controversy over phone tapping, debate about a school budget rule, a theater project on hate crime, rising fuel costs and Senator Patrick Leahy’s decision not to support the attorney general nominee. Here’s a listen back to some of the voices in the news this week: Leahy, Sanders oppose immunity for phone companies in wiretapping investigation (Sen. Bernie Sanders) I don’t understand how we can give immunity to phone companies who are spying on the American people and we don’t even known what they’re doing and furthermore if you give prospective immunity that simply gives them a green light to do anything that they want to do I think that makes zero sense." Symington opposes a repeal of new school funding law (House Speaker Gaye Symington) "I think that by asking voters to look at that second vote you’re drawing attention to that level of spending. And you are giving school boards a tougher job – I acknowledge that – in convincing voters that that spending is necessary." (John Nelson, Vermont School Boards Association) "With all due respect, if there’s anybody who thinks that school boards only think once about their budgets, or that voters only think once about their budgets – they are from somewhere else. This is kind of a patronizing approach to it." Bias and hate crimes expored in "The Laramie Project" (Judy Shepard) "I think the straight community is largely ignorant of what the gay community goes through on a daily basis. And the only way we can correct that ignorance is if members of the community and their friends and families tell their stories." Fuel oil prices on the rise (Tim Searles, Champlain Valley Office for Economic Opportunity) "We’ve seen an 18 cent increase in the price of fuel just in the month of October.
