Topic: Vermont

Congressman Bernie Sanders urges regulators to use emergency powers to stop oil speculation

May 29, 2009 |

BURLINGTON, Vt. – As crude oil prices jumped to the highest level in six months, Senator Bernie Sanders urged federal regulators yesterday to stop speculators from artificially driving up prices.

Sanders said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission should use its emergency powers – which include the authority to impose speculation limits, increase margin requirements, and suspend trading – in order to ensure that oil prices accurately reflect supply and demand.

“I hope you will seize this opportunity to redefine the CFTC as a strong regulator that will do everything within its power to benefit consumers,” Sanders said in a letter to Gary Gensler, the commission’s new chairman.

The price of crude oil rose to more than $65 a barrel yesterday. The price has vaulted 70 percent higher since mid-January. The run up in prices is happening despite dropping demand for gasoline, jet fuel and other oil products. According to the federal Energy Information Administration, demand for gasoline over a four-week period that ended May 22 averaged about 9.2 million barrels a day, down 0.4 percent from the same period last year. The International Energy Agency predicts global demand for oil will drop this year to its lowest level since 1981. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: News | No Comments

Not just your everyday marketplace…

By Christine Anne Piesyk | August 28, 2008 |

On the Road in America is an occasional column of chance, of seredipity, written in the course of my travels.

A buttery light tart filled with tomatoes, cheese and herbs. A light golden crepe folded around a filling of melted bittersweet chocolate and fresh homemade raspberry preserves. Crusty warm olive bread inviting buyers to break off a chunk and just eat. Jar upon jar of freshly made preserves (think strawberry, blueberry, red raspberry…). This is not your typical farmer’s market.

Every Friday afternoon in a field on a country road in Hardwick, Vermont, vendors arrive to set up their tents and tables for the afternoon’s sales. By 3 p.m., cars have filled the parking lot and spilled onto both sides of the road. This market more closely resembles a country fair.

The Hardwick Farmer’s Market, featuring local produce, products and services, has plenty to offer every taste. vendors market whatever fresh vegetables are ready for harvest : snap peas, lettuce, early corn, cucumbers, and tomatoes are just a few items to be found here (keep in mid that gardens are started much later and are subject to freeze much earlier this far in the Northeast). «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure, Events, Opinion | No Comments

A new twist on fruit salad: a bouquet of the best of summer’s bounty

By Christine Anne Piesyk | July 14, 2008 |

On the Road in America is an occasional column born of occasional travel. Every trip is a new experience or a meeting with other friends. This is a look into one small facet of my current journey.

A country wedding. Low key, informal. Good friends and neighbors invited. Held at home with sprawling lawns edged with Green Mountain forest and a wonderful view.

Though my friend Robin has known the bride, Nettie, for a lifetime, I met Nettie as a undergraduate at Goddard College in the 1990s. She’s the kind of woman whose beauty is not just external but radiates from within; her spirit is radiant, warm, loving. The kind of person everyone should have for a friend. We all wanted her wedding to be special.

So, even as we faced the challenge and choices of what to bring to this pot luck country wedding, Robin spotted a TV ad for a bouquet of fresh fruits. Clever. Cute. Little sculpted flowers and such.

“We can do that,” Robin said.

“Of course we can,” I echoed. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure, Politics | No Comments

On a snowy road in America: snow, politics and wood-burning stoves

By Christine Anne Piesyk | January 1, 2008 |

Crossing the state line into Vermont, the first thing I spotted — beside the snow — was a Ron Paul sign. Blue state, it screamed.

My first memorable stop on this On The Road In America sojourn was Brattleboro, a quick pause at the roadside trailer that serves as the Vermont Trailways bus terminal, and the first bit of local news: a story about the upcoming town meeting and a petition to charge President Bush and Vice-President Cheney with war crimes. That was followed by a jumble of news stories about the inroads John McCain is making in his New Hampshire presidential primary bid. I felt right at home. Snow on the ground and political discourse hot enough to melt it. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion | 1 Comment »

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