I’m just going to say it. I love Town Meeting Day (TMD). Like, really love it. The sense of community. The potluck lunch (arguably one of the best meals all year). Listening to your neighbors disagree vehemently about whether the town should splash out on a new road grader. TMD can feel like the epitome […]
First the anti-Trump contingency howled. Images of young white males in Make America Great Again hats asserting their superiority and dominance over an elderly native American veteran flooded social media feeds. Outrage instantly ensued. Media outlets jumped on the story. Talking heads opined on the outrageous behavior of the racist males in the images. The […]
By Scott Mackey Leonine Public Affairs and the Tax Foundation jointly released a new study detailing the numerous federal, state, and local taxes that appear on wireless bills in the United States. Key findings in the study include: A typical American household with four wireless phones paying $100 per month for taxable wireless service can expect […]
FOCUS Legislative Review 2017/Preview 2018 Download the PDF Version With uncertainty at the federal level continuing into 2018, states will once again direct their focus on responding to federal challenges as they arise and continue to participate in many nationwide policy debates on issues ranging from healthcare to privacy. While Republicans hold the governor’s office […]
By: Clare Buckley We are extricating ourselves from a system that insulted our common humanity by dividing us from one another on the basis of race and setting us against each other as oppressed and oppressor. – Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa, October 29, 1998, upon receiving the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report The […]
By Scott Mackey Leonine Public Affairs and the Tax Foundation jointly released a new study detailing the numerous federal, state, and local taxes that appear on wireless bills in the United States. The study found that the average U.S. wireless consumer pays taxes and fees in excess of 18 percent on their wireless voice service […]
By Chuck Storrow Each fall all of Montpelier High School’s students spend a morning participating in a community service event. This year the students helped with a conservation project involving the planting of trees and willow whips along the banks of the Dog River. As a member of the local chapter of Trout Unlimited (the […]
By Alexandra MacLean I wrote a blog last week on the largely negative impacts that social media has had and continues to have on politics here in Vermont. And then the Harvey Weinstein story broke and actress Alyssa Milano called on all women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted to write ‘Me Too’ on […]
By Todd Bailey When our firm was founded in 1987 we were hired to help create an organization that would focus on land conservation and housing. At the time, lobbying was much more reactive than proactive. Despite that fact, the effort took a campaign in order for it to be successful. The result was the […]
By Clare Buckley Immigration reform. Minimum wage. Abortion funding. What tool allows Presidents and some Governors to unilaterally make policy changes in these and other areas that have the full force and effect of law without a single vote by a lawmaker? That tool is the Executive Order. Before your eyes glaze over, let […]
