Vermont Topics

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Vermont

Newest First | Oldest First

‹ Previous 1 2 Next ›

As Supreme Court Affirms Patchwork U.S. Healthcare System, Vermont Pushes Ahead with Single Payer

Set to be implemented by 2017, Vermont’s healthcare overhaul goes well beyond the new federal law. The Vermont Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, enacted last month, will make Vermont the first state in the nation to offer single-payer healthcare. On Thursday, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin hailed the Supreme Court decision upholding the federal Affordable Care Act, but he said Vermont would probably be least impacted by it. "We’ve...
Jun 29, 2012 | Story
Vermont Voters Back Grassroots Campaign to Abolish Corporate Personhood

In another "Super Tuesday" vote, some two dozen towns in Vermont called on Congress to push a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC ruling and address the issue of corporate personhood. Vermont could become the third state, after Hawaii and New Mexico, to endorse similar proposals. Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has proposed a related amendment and has been an outspoken...
Mar 07, 2012 | Story
Vermont Radio Station Provides Crucial Details for Flooded Residents amidst Historic Devastation

As Hurricane Irene bore down on Vermont on Sunday, the national media missed the story. Across the state, rivers rose to record levels, washing away 200-year-old covered bridges, communications and roads. Residents across the state lost internet. Radio Vermont WDEV broadcasters Ken Squier, Eric Michaels, Lee Kittell, Tom Beardsley and the station meteorologist Roger Hill stayed on the air for 24 straight hours, providing a link to stranded citizens...
Aug 30, 2011 | Story
"We Are Still Under Siege": Vermont Gov. Shumlin on Catastrophic Flooding & Climate Change

Emergency officials say at least 22 people across eight states may have died as a result of Hurricane Irene, which spanned more than 500 miles at some points. After making landfall in North Carolina on Saturday, the hurricane was downgraded first to a tropical storm and then to a post-tropical cyclone as it hit New York City, flooding waterfronts and low-lying areas. Up to four million customers from North Carolina to Maine remain without electricity....
Aug 29, 2011 | Story
Bill McKibben: Will Hurricane Irene Be a Wake-Up Call about Climate Change?

Hurricane Irene received a massive amount media coverage, but television reports made little or no reference to the role global warming played in the storm. We speak with someone with his eye on climate change and its impact. "We’ve had not only this extraordinary flooding, but on the same day that Hurricane Irene was coming down, Houston set its all-time temperature record, 109 degrees," says Bill McKibben, co-founder and director...
Aug 29, 2011 | Story
Vermont Poised to Become 1st State to Enact Single-Payer Healthcare

Today Vermont is set to make history by becoming the first state in the nation to offer universal, single-payer healthcare when Gov. Peter Shumlin signs its healthcare reform bill into law. The Vermont plan, called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, will attempt to stem rising medical care prices and provide universal coverage. We speak with Dr. Deb Richter, president of Vermont Health Care for All. She moved from Buffalo, New York,...
May 26, 2011 | Story
"Single Payer Healthcare: Vermont's Gentle Revolution" By Amy Goodman

Vermont is a land of proud firsts. This small New England state was the first to join the 13 Colonies. Its constitution was the first to ban slavery. It was the first to establish the right to free education for all—public education. This week, Vermont will boast another first: the first state in the nation to offer single-payer health care.
May 25, 2011 | Columns & Articles
As Radiation Continues to Leak from Japan Nuke Plant, Owners of Vermont Yankee Plant Sue to Stay Open

Workers at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility in Japan have started to pump radioactive water from a leaking reactor into a makeshift storage area—an effort they say is a crucial step toward easing the nuclear crisis. The Tokyo Electric Power Company says it will take six to nine months to achieve a “cold shutdown.” Meanwhile in the United States, the owners of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant have filed a federal...
Apr 19, 2011 | Story
"A Warning to the World" By Amy Goodman

In the aftermath of the largest recorded earthquake in Japanese history and the tsunami that followed, killing thousands, the Japanese nuclear crisis has sparked global repercussions.
Mar 16, 2011 | Columns & Articles
Vermont Gov. Fights to Close Vermont Yankee, One of 23 U.S. Nuclear Power Facilities Nearly Identical to Failed Japanese Plant

One day before the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan and sparked a nuclear crisis, the U.S. Nuclear Regulator Commission announced it would renew the license for Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. Vermont state legislators had voted to close the plant when its license expires in 2012. The 38-year-old facility has had a series of radioactive tritium leaks and is almost identical to the troubled Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan. “My heart obviously...
Mar 15, 2011 | Story