While the Senate dealt Vermont Yankee a serious blow, there was a call for a criminal investigation and a celebration against it, Entergy Corporation held out hope of a license extension for the nuclear power plant. And the Legislature discussed campaign finance and a job stimulus package.
These were some of the voices in the news this week:
Senate Votes Against Yankee Re-licensing (2/24)
(Senate President Peter Shumlin) "I’m asking us to have the courage to stand up for job creation, for the extraordinary economic opportunities that are going to come to this nation as we say good bye to our old and tired nuclear power plants and this one in Vernon and move on to renewables."
Groups All For Criminal Investigation For Yankee Owners (2/22)
(Chris Kilian, director of the Vermont office of the Conservation Law Foundation) "We concluded that Entergy did not disclose to the NRC that it had buried pipes that carry radionuclides. And that from our perspective rises to the level that we concluded that crimes could have been committed and we’ve simply asked for an investigation into that."
Nuclear Power Opponents Rally Against Vermont Yankee (2/22)
(Bob Bady, Safe and Green Campaign) "This is the beginning of the celebration of the closing of Vermont Yankee." (cheers)
Entergy Says Yankee Vote Is A Setback (2/24)
(Entergy Spokesman Jim Steets) "If we can demonstrate over time that we’ve taken the issues seriously that concern them, and we can focus on this great asset Vermont Yankee is for Vermonters, I think we could have a different outcome."
Sears Wants Campaign Finance Law In Effect This Year (2/24)
(Senator Dick Sears) "We deserve to know who’s paying and particularly with an open seat for governor, open seat for lt. governor – I think it’s important to know where the money is coming from."
Jobs Boost May Be In Store For Vermont Economy (2/25)
(Senator Vincent Illuzzi) "There are 38 companies are Vermont in areas like life science, agriculture, energy, software and manufacturing who are prepared to make investments in Vermont and we anticipate that and these numbers of course are only estimates but as many as 700 jobs in the state through this activity."