The gaggle of 50s throwbacks pictured above, tightly bunched around a single print newspaper, would have no idea what a podcast is. But in these days, when The Burlington Free Press‘ readership is not much more than the… 14?… avid readers in this image, podcasts have become a vital part of the Vermont media scene. We have two worthy entries atop this week’s roundup, followed by some worthwhile stories from Vermont’s doughty local outlets.

Liberal lawmakers speak out against H.454. The latest edition of “There’s No ‘A’ in Creemee*,” the newish podcast from former state senator Andy Julow and Joanna Grossman, chair of the Chittenden County Democrats, is an insightful interview with two Democratic lawmakers who voted “No” on H.454, the education reform bill that split the Dem caucuses and won the support of almost every Republican. Rep. Erin Brady and Sen. Martine Larocque Gulick, both professional educators, barred no holds as they spoke of their disappointment bordering on betrayal. “A gut punch” is how Brady described the maneuverings on the House floor that left many lawmakers feeling hornswoggled by leadership. Gulick’s verdict: “Some serious harm has been done with the public education community.” My only disappointment is that the hosts didn’t take my suggestion that they ask Gulick why she got swindled out of chairing the Senate Education Committee. So maybe a few holds were barred, after all.

*The podcast issues new episodes on Mondays, so there’s likely a new edition available by the time you read this. But I close the books on this feature every Sunday night. Gotta draw the line somewhere.

Four perspectives on civil unions. David Goodman of The Vermont Conversation devoted the latest episode of his weekly pod to the 25th anniversary of the passage of civil unions in Vermont. He had previously interviewed former state representative Bill Lippert, who played a key role in getting civil unions through the Legislature. This time, Goodman wrapped three interviews into a single program. Most memorable were Stacy Jolles and Nina Beck, two of the six plaintiffs in the court case that prompted the enactment of civil unions. Goodman asked them if they feared for their safety during the overheated Statehouse debate, and Jolles replied “Okay, well, we’re both martial artists,” and laughed.

Other moments weren’t so funny. Both women said that when civil unions became law they felt defeated, because it was a halfway measure that didn’t provide anywhere near the full legal protections of marriage. They didn’t celebrate until full marriage equality became state law nine years later. And Jolles believes her rights are unlikely to survive the Trump presidency. “I think it’s going to get very bad, and I’m going to be active until the very last minute I can be active,” she said. “We’re going to have to fight harder than we have before.”

Schubart takes a stand. The often restrained, measured Bill Schubart took to his blog last week and excoriated mainstream Democrats for attacking Zohram Mamdani, the progressive mayor-elect of New York City, a strategy he described as “Raise foot, load pistol, aim at foot, pull trigger.” Schubart excoriated centrist Democrats like Sen. Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries who, he wrote, “are funded by tech-elite interests…. We must remind them that, since FDR, the strength of the Democratic Party has been that it stood for the common good rather than the further enrichment of elites.” That’s the stuff.

Further adventures in off-the-chain NIMBYism. The Other Paper‘s Liberty Darr covers a Hail Mary pass by opponents of a planned apartment complex on Dorset Street, a.k.a. the very picture of suburban sprawl. Naturally, those opponents live nearby. One of them described the seven-acre parcel as “a tangible, magical, gorgeous space” which, okay, here’s what it looks like on Google Street View.

Not my idea of magical or gorgeous, although it seems tangible enough. But wait, there’s more: nearby resident James Marc Leas, a perennial entry in the Most Litigious Man in Vermont competition (kind of a bookish version of the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest) claimed that this plot offers the “last remaining views of the Green Mountains from anywhere along Dorset Street in South Burlington.” (The quote is uncredited by Darr, but is ascribed to Leas in VTDigger’s story on the dispute.)

Really now. If anyone drives down Dorset Street expecting scenic views, they are very much in the wrong place. This development has been approved at every level, up to and including the state Supreme Court, and yet the dead-ender NIMBY crowd fights on. With ridiculous arguments.

Local paper issues a cry for help. The Northfield News’ publisher Kimberly Lynn Abare penned a heartfelt editorial in its latest edition (scroll down and click on the pdf), calling on the local business community to step forward and support the paper, “especially the larger, established businesses that once sustained us.” If not, Abare warned that “this historic newspaper will cease publication… no stories of our fall fairs; no winter holiday features; no record of our children’s accomplishments or our seniors’ milestones.”

She’s right. And local papers, even in their diminished form, are the best way for advertisers to reach a local audience. It’s not just charity; it’s a sound business investment, a way to connect to your customers as well as support a community resource. Necessary disclaimer: I’m on the board of The Hardwick Gazette, so I’m arguing for my own cause. But only because I believe in it. The News’ service area, like The Gazette’s, would be a complete news desert without a local paper. And advertisers would no longer have a way to reach local consumers.

Stone sculptor gets justice. Oh look, it’s Aaron Calvin of the News & Citizen again, this time with the story of the Phoenix Helix, a stone sculpture in Morrisville destroyed in 2022 by a wayward street sweeper. It’s only now that artist Thea Alvin received a settlement from a recalcitrant insurance company, which had insisted that the sculpture was nothing more than a stone wall, not a work of art. I urge you to click on the link and take in a photo of the since-restored Helix. Now try to tell me, with a straight face, that that’s a plain ol’ stone wall. On the advice of legal counsel, Alvin would not disclose the terms of the settlement, but it clearly brought her a long-awaited sense of closure.

Flag fracas in Chester. Shawn Cunningham of The Chester Telegraph enjoyed a brief respite from the “internal wrangling” of the Green Mountain Unified School District Board, as he chronicled the doings at the Chester Select Board. The feature attraction: a discussion of the American flags displayed around town. It seems that Board member Tim Roper is upset at the condition of the flags. As Cunningham reported, “They can be found wrapped around their poles, sometimes tattered and even snared on splinters from the utility poles where they are mounted.”

Problem is, it’s not the town that put the flags there. It’s the Chester American Legion that’s been buying and displaying the flags for years. It’s an all-volunteer effort, and they don’t have the resources to regularly monitor the state of the flags. No decisions were made by the Board. I might suggest that you could think of a tattered flag as a reminder of the battles Americans have fought to secure and preserve their liberty. Not every flag has to be factory fresh.