After years of reading Kos and staying in the background, the $100 lifetime subscription and the gentle prodding of the Kos community convinced me to stop lurking and start posting.
I've been in print, broadcast and online journalism around New England for more than 30 years. For the past two decades, I've been in southern Vermont -- Brattleboro to be precise.
Vermont is a great place to be a journalist. Public officials are accessible and (usually) return phone calls promptly.
We have a citizen legislature, and the ALEC folks have made little headway here. The Tea Partiers are small in number, and even smaller in influence.
Democrats are in control of both houses with solid majorities, and our Democratic governor, Peter Shumlin, is smart and capable.
We have a state government that works, and an economy that is diversified. Small businesses and entrepreneurs are flourishing here, and social responsibility is seen as an asset, not a liability, for companies.
Molly Ivins once called Texas "the laboratory for bad government." I like to think that Vermont is the laboratory for good government, and I hope to use this space to let others know that there is still a place where life is lived at a human scale and the public good still matters.
Vermont has led the way in the past, and this state has some good ideas for the future. I'll be sharing them in future posts.