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Rebuilding after the Tornadoes
It’s been a month since the June 1st tornadoes ripped through towns and cities in western and central Massachusetts. Some residents are back in their homes but many are still living in shelters, motels, or with friends. FEMA and MEMA have committed funds and other resources, but how do individuals and communities rebuild, in some pockets, literally, from the ground up? Call in to the next Focus: Western New England, Wednesday June 29th to share your story. Where were you during the June 1st tornadoes? How has your world changed since that day of unusually fierce weather? What does it mean to lose so much and to start again? Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, Monson Town Administrator Gretchen Neggers, and the American Red Cross’ Brenda Brouillette join host Jill Kaufman live in the studio. They’ll talk about the challenges and outreach they’ve seen over the past four weeks, and about what’s ahead.
The Future of Nuclear Energy
The fight is on over the fate of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, located on the banks of the Connecticut River, just north of the Massachusetts border. Vermont officials say they have the authority to force the plants closure next year, but that would mean the loss of hundreds of jobs and a relatively cheap energy source. Entergy, which owns the plant, is suing the state to keep it open. And Japan’s Fukushima disaster has intensified the debate. Thursday May 5th, on the next Focus Western New England, live from 4pm to 5pm on 88.5 FM WFCR, we’ll talk about the future of nuclear energy in Vermont, and beyond. Listen again at 6pm on 640 AM WNNZ.
- Studio Guests:
- Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin
- Patrick Parenteau, Senior Counsel to the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic and Professor of Law, Vermont Law School
- Gilbert Brown, chair of the Nuclear Engineering Program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell
- Ray Shadis from New England Coalition Against Nuclear Pollution
- Randy Kehler from Safe and Green Campaign, Greenfield, MA
Photo credit: Peter Moskowitz – A worker at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power station checks a monitoring well last year – when radioactive tritium was found leaking into ground water.
The owners of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant are taking the state of Vermont to court. WFCR’s Fred Bever reports that, depending on the outcome of the case, the plant could shut down next year – or stay in service for another twenty years.
Japan’s crippled nuclear reactors are causing more scrutiny of nuclear plants across the United States. As WFCR’s Jill Kaufman reports, last week’s earth quake and tsunami came just as Vermont Yankee received a renewed license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to operate for 20 more years.
Follow WFCR’s recent coverage of Vermont Yankee below:
- 4-25-11 WFCR News
- 4-18-11 WFCR News
- 4-18-11 WFCR News
- 3-22-11 WFCR News
- 3-14-11 WFCR News
Japan’s crippled nuclear reactors are causing more scrutiny of nuclear plants across the United States. As WFCR’s Jill Kaufman reports, last week’s earth quake and tsunami came just as Vermont Yankee received a renewed license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to operate for 20 more years.
Entergy Corporation took out full page ads in several Vermont newspapers this week, appealing to readers to see its side. The company is suing the state of Vermont, to keep Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant open. As WFCR’s Catherine Hannula reports, some energy experts think the corporation has quite a fight on its hands.
The owners of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant are taking the state of Vermont to court. WFCR’s Fred Bever reports that, depending on the outcome of the case, the plant could shut down next year – or stay in service for another twenty years.
Massachusetts lawmakers this week held a hearing on the safety of nuclear power plants in and around the state. They heard testimony from the industry, from regulators and activists, some who live close to Vermont Yankee. The NRC’s recent decision to extend Vermont Yankee’s operating license to 2032 is not welcome news for some, including VT lawmakers. John Dillon from Vermont Public Radio has been reporting on Vermont Yankee since the 1980s. He spoke with WFCR’s Bob Paquette about the plant’s fate.
The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission has granted the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant a 20-year extension of its license, which was due to expire in March of 2012. But Vermont lawmakers can bar the plant from gaining a state certificate of public good, which they say is also needed to continue operating. But Vernon Republican State Representative Michael Hebert told WFCR’s Bob Paquette he has filed a bill that would bypass the legislature and limit plant oversight to the Public Service Board.
Civil Rights 50 Years Later: The Freedom Riders
Fifty years ago this summer, 400 men and women, black and white, traveled through the Jim Crow South aboard buses. Their actions were a prelude to the Civil Rights movement about to explode. On the next Focus Western New England, Tuesday April 5th, meet the Freedom Riders from this region, and join the conversation about race in America then and now.
- Studio Guests:
- Jean Thompson: In 1961 at the age of 19, she boarded the first Freedom Riders bus, a Trailways that went from New Orleans, LA, to Montgomery, GA, to Jackson, MI. Jean Thompson now lives in Amherst, MA.
- James Breeden: As a young minister in Roxbury, MA, in 1961, he became a Freedom Rider along with a group of Episcopal priests. James Breeden now lives in Leyden, MA
- Ray Arsenault: author of Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice, professor of Southern History at the University of Florida, St. Petersburg.
Unions Under Fire?
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s battle with state workers over pay and bargaining rights has had ripple effects around the country, as voices are raised in solidarity with both sides. The Democratic governors of Massachusetts and Connecticut are making their own proposals to trim pay and benefits of public sector workers, as they contend with major budget issues. Although the fight here is not nearly as contentious as elsewhere, it’s unprecedented in recent history. WFCR listeners can join the conversation Thursday March 10th, when Focus Western New England looks at Wisconsin as a turning point for workers in the region and around the U.S. Join host Jill Kaufman and guests as they look at specific legislation in Massachusetts and Connecticut that could affect state worker benefits, and discuss the ongoing relationship between unions, economic crises, and politics.
- Studio Guests:
- Eve Weinbaum, Labor Relations and Research Center UMASS Amherst, Director
- Roy Occhiogrosso, Senior Advisor to Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy
- Geoff Beckwith, Massachusetts Municipal Association, Executive Director
- A representative from the CSEA-SEIU Local 2001 in Hartford