Rain wreaks havoc at the Rutland Free Library, a retirement incentive plan is weighed, the AARP calls for lower electric rates and Vermont’s senators support a credit card bill and closing Guantanamo Bay. These were some of the voices in the news this week:
Trustees say they may have to move Rutland Free Library (5/19)
(Rutland Free Library Director Paula Baker) "We’ve had so many leaks that we’ve been moving from wastebaskets and ripping up garbage bags to actually a cart that we’ve filled with buckets and tarps and mops so we can wheel ourselves quickly to the next leak."
New retirement incentive plan being weighed at Statehouse (5/18)
(Franklin County Senator Randy Brock) "I think that many people think the size of state government is too large and would like to reduce the number of state employees. At the same time I think there’s a great desire to do it without having massive layoffs. The idea of a retirement incentive is a way to achieve a win-win."
AARP pushes for reduced electric rates for low income Vermonters (5/20)
(Philene Taormina, AARP Vermont chapter advocacy director) "These are people who are really struggling with energy costs and electric is a component and we are the only northern state that doesn’t have a utility-based program to help people, low-income, customers afford their bills."
Sanders applauds credit card bill (5/21)
(Senator Bernie Sanders) "I think there will be a lot more controls in terms of fee manipulation. You know, every time you sneeze there’s a fee attached to that – you’re late, you’re early, you have a balance, you don’t have a balance – they just get you any which way they can, and I think there’s got to be more work on that."
Leahy, Sanders support closing Guantanamo (5/21)
(Senator Patrick Leahy) "I am not afraid of this – not when we spend billions and billions of dollars to put together a justice system that can handle them, a prison system that can handle them, a military system that can handle them, otherwise we’ve got to ask ourselves ‘what did we spend all that money for’?"