Lottery Players Survey

Free Press

April 10, 2008

BARRE — Although a third of lottery players say their education ended after high school, a new survey suggests that half of all players have attended college, most graduated and a significant percentage hold post-graduate degrees.

These were some of the findings from a 2008 Player Demographics Study reported Wednesday to the Vermont Lottery Commission.

“The profile that emerges here debunks yet again that we are predatory,” said Arthur Ristau of Barre, commission vice chairman. He was referring to a commonly voiced belief that lottery players are poor and poorly educated and thus vulnerable to the lure of gambling as a way to get rich quick

The predatory aspect isn’t debunked simply because a wider section of the population is playing the Lottery.It’s preying wider demographically .Still one third of the players say their education ended after high school. People are lured by State sponsored and heavily prompted get rich quick tickets. It is not only the poor and un-educated ,but people that are better educated that are prey of the lottery.Prey responsibly,only one third can’t afford to lose.

70.1% wouldn’t be at all likely to buy lottery tickets online.

What other new and improved Lottery schemes are afoot as they try to boost up the revenue and save it from privatization?

 ….a small thing a big shadow.

McCain girls are back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…

Yesterday for a variety of reasons I was doing something I normally wouldn’t  do(really) ….reading road repair/maintenance evaluation data.This is kindly made available by  Times Argus /Rutland Herald.

Several things struck me right away ….first the dumbly obvious fact …..there are a lot of bridges in the State . All the status descriptions in one way or another get around to one thing ,all bridges need repair/maintenance in some way soon.This is obvious to any one that drives over or wonders around under a road bridge .The data base is searchable by County and you can find your favorite local bridge and check it’s status very easily .Status and overall evaluation text ratings yield some great language .Structurally deficient,functionally obsolete and not deficient are the status categories.The Functionally obsolete status is my personal favorite.

And tucked into that column I found this : Minimum adequacy to tolerate being left in place as is.That is it! That’s how he survives,his essence of management and vision distilled,almost poetic,yet dumbly obvious …. Jim Douglas ..minimum adequacy to tolerate being left in place as is .How perfect to find it in some long grey list .

Vermont Bridges

Search by county for bridges that are critical need of repair or upgrade. The percentage of bridges in Vermont that need major repairs or replacement is the 8th highest in the country, according to msnbc.com. analysis of National Bridge Inventory through 2006, as reported by states in April 2007.

 

here http://www.timesargus.com/apps…  also available are Vt.Food Insp. and Vt. Dangerous Intersections  by county .  

 

 This can’t be good a good thing .

It may just be cost trimming but…….

The overall economy is a National issue to a great extent but I can’t help but recall the Jim= Jobs slogan .

Can’t blame act 250 or over regulation. What’s a Gov. to do ?

Bank trims 71 workers in Vermont



Burlington Free Press  

Chittenden Bank announced Thursday it trimmed its Vermont work force by 71 employees — including 37 layoffs — and targeted five bank branches for closure.

The branches targeted for closure include those in Bennington, Brattleboro, and on Bank Street in Burlington, said Chittenden spokeswoman Kathleen Schirling; those branches will close within a month, leaving each community with two Chittenden banks, she said.

Chittenden branches also will be closed in Arlington and West Dover within 90 days …..

Last fall, People’s United shareholders approved a bonus plan for bank executives estimated to be worth more than $170 million. The passage of the “recognition and retention plan” followed People’s April 2007 conversion to a fully, publicly traded company.

Nice touch those bonuses

 

It’not easy branding green

Developing a “green” economy by broadening the Vermont brand

The Snelling Center for Government helped compile the 24-page document that makes recommendations on creating, developing and sustaining a “green economy” in Vermont.

The report states Vermont’s objective should be maximizing the number of companies, organizations and communities that participate in sustainable and “green” operations and practices to produce innovations, products and practices that can compete in the global marketplace.

“Green” business, according to the report, refers to companies and organizations that create products and services that “protect or enhance the world’s natural systems and encourage new sources of clean energy, or those which directly or indirectly reduce negative impacts on the environment.”

“Green represents the largest economic and innovation opportunity of the 21st century,” the report’s conclusion said. “Vermont is recognized globally as a green and sustainable place, green is our brand. Now, Vermont has the opportunity to build upon this brand and create economic opportunity for Vermonters.”

from Burlington Free Press

Intervale Compost to stop accepting waste

The suspense-filled tale of large-scale composting in Chittenden County took another twist Thursday, when the Intervale Center announced it will stop accepting new waste May 1.

Intervale’s decision was forced by a demand from the Attorney General’s Office that the center apply quickly for an Act 250 land-use permit or submit a plan to close, said Don McCormick, the center’s deputy director.

Intervale cannot afford the extensive archeological studies required to obtain that land-use permit, McCormick said. Those studies could cost as much as $300,000.

from Burlington Free Press

Some pretty” radical “stuff tucked away at the end of this Time Argus editorial .In light of Gov. Jim Douglas last week literally recommending paving over the road problems with a thin coat of asphalt for the time being . A real plan to correct the States crumbling infrastructure is needed.Correcting these problems is a form of economic development.Old fashioned municipal projects for the coming hard times .

Investment in public infrastructure cannot end once these projects are built. We are learning that those investments are ongoing. Otherwise, the roads, bridges or buildings will crumble. Our old school buildings, hospitals, libraries, bridges and roads are a legacy that must be maintained, or else we grow poorer.

The anti-tax movement of the last 30 years has undermined those investments, and now we are paying the price. At the same time the tax system has been skewed so badly that wealth in the nation, instead of being directed toward the public good, has been channeled to the wealthy few. These priorities may be shifting. It will take time to secure the funding necessary to bring the full slate of needed improvements to Vermont’s roads. But now is the time for it to begin, one pothole at a time.

from Times Argus Editorial   3/31/08

The ProgBlog has a good post on this today  

This is a food for fuels program of a sort.

the Guardian UK

The EU is being urged to take action to stop a biofuel trading scam that exploits US agricultural subsidies and undermines the fight against global warming.

Up to 10% of biofuel exports from the US to Europe are believed to be part of the rogue scheme reaping big profits for agricultural trading firms.

The “splash and dash” scam involves shipping biodiesel from Europe to the US where a dash of fuel is added, allowing traders to claim 11p a litre of US subsidy for the entire cargo. It is then shipped back and sold below domestic prices, undercutting Europe’s biofuel industry.

The trade is not illegal, but flouts the spirit of producing green fuel by transporting it needlessly across the Atlantic at a time when campaigners are voicing concern about emissions from global shipping.

The producers’ body, the European Biodiesel Board, has uncovered the trade as part of its investigation into why British, German and Spanish producers are in financial trouble at a time when biodiesel prices remain high. The board will call for retaliatory action against the US over subsidies for its leading biofuel.

Biofuels are plant-based oils from crops such as soy and corn. They are expensive to produce but have become relatively cheaper as the price of crude

US producers worried about the trade also call it the U-boat trade because vessels arrive and then almost immediately return, he said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/01/biofuels.energy

Another explanation of the origins of April Fools’ Day was provided by Joseph Boskin, a professor of history at Boston University. He explained that the practice began during the reign of Constantine, when a group of court jesters and fools told the Roman emperor that they could do a better job of running the empire. Constantine, amused, allowed a jester named Kugel to be king for one day. Kugel passed an edict calling for absurdity on that day, and the custom became an annual event.

The Malta Independent on Sunday presents you with the Fool’s Guide to April Fool!  http://www.independent.com.mt/…

1.    The Covert Clicker

2.    The Toilet Monster

3.    Funny Crime Scene Tapes

4.     Embarrassing Magnetic Bumper Stickers

5.     Fake Parking Tickets

6.     Fake Lottery Tickets

7.     Exploding Golf Ball

8.    Prank Envelopes

9.     Shocking Pen

10.     Spilled Coffee Cup*

*Actually nothing is funny about spilling coffee

Disloyalty That Merits An Insult

Washington Post

By James Carville

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Last Friday the New York Times asked me to comment on New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama for president. For 15 years, Richardson served with no small measure of distinction as the representative of New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District. But he gained national stature — and his career took off — when President Bill Clinton appointed him U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and later made him energy secretary.

So, when asked on Good Friday about Richardson’s rejection of the Clintons, the metaphor was too good to pass by. I compared Richardson to Judas Iscariot. (And Matthew Dowd is right: Had it been the Fourth of July, I probably would have called him Benedict Arnold.)

…..If Richardson was going to turn on the Clintons the way he did, I see no problem in saying what I said. Because if loyalty is one virtue, another is straight talk. And if Democrats can’t handle that, they’re going to have a hard time handling a Republican nominee who is seeking the presidency with that as his slogan.

A man

A metaphor

A Fool

Carville

WASHINGTON (AP) – Democratic Party chief Howard Dean says Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and their supporters should beware of tearing each other down, demoralizing the base and damaging the party’s chances of winning the White House in November.