Behold The Scoreboard for the week of Friday, Dec. 7:
Winners:
Vermont environmentalists — The news that Gov. Peter Shumlin has tapped former Conservation Law Foundation “Lakekeeper” and Vermont Press Bureau alum Louis Porter to be his top legislative lobbyist is a win for the CLF and the rest of Vermont’s environmental community. After Tropical Storm Irene, Porter and the CLF pounced on the Shumlin administration for failing to enforce rules restricting the use of heavy machinery in the state’s rivers. Now they’ve got a man on the inside. Runner-up loser: Porter, for swapping Vermont’s sweetest job title for its second sweetest title.
Freedom of the press — Barton Chronicle publisher Chris Braithwaite was simply doing his job when he was arrested a year ago this week covering a wind power protest on Lowell Mountain. On Wednesday, after reviewing internal Green Mountain Power documents, the Orleans County state’s attorney finally dropped the charges. We hope law enforcement officials think twice next time they consider arresting someone seeking only to shine a light on a consequential state conflict.
Gov. Peter Shumlin — The Democratic Governors Association’s unanimous election of Shumlin as its next chairman on Tuesday was probably the least surprising election result since, um, Shumlin’s victory over Randy Brock last month. Now we know that it comes with some pretty sweet perks: Shumlin announced at his weekly press conference Thursday that the group is flying him to Rome late next week to deliver a keynote speech to the European Democratic Party. Nice work if you can get it!
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