... Former Sen. Jim Leddy of Burlington made a Statehouse visit today, his heartbeat set by the pacemaker doctors recently installed inside him. Leddy was on his way home on an airplane recently when he fell ill, landed and rushed to the hospital. He may have been walking a little slower, but once he got talking about the Catamount Health Plan, Leddy had the same old fire. Suffice to say he doesn't think very kindly of the Douglas administration's plans to use from Catamount for other health care programs. He did say, though, that he received excellent medical care himself.
... A few senators had a change on heart Wednesday on the campaign finance bill that passed unanimously on the first vote Tuesday. Wednesday's vote was 23-3, with Sens. Vince Illuzzi, Hull Maynard and George Coppenrath, all Republicans, voted no. Illuzzi said he thinks the state is headed for another expensive lawsuit if this bill becomes law because contribution limits such as $250 for House members are too low.
... The whole Senate went along with a bill that would allow those state workers at the Bennington State Office Building who've come down with sarcoidosis to receive wroerks' compensation. The bill does not include any guarantee of workers' comp for those with asthma, as the union had wanted. The bill also sets up a panel to look at establishing a new office building in downtown Bennington, in case the tainted building from which workers have been moved can never be used again. Testing on the building won't happen until April 30, after more furniture is cleaned and moved out of the building.
... The Vermont State Employees Association has been feuding with the Douglas administration for some time over what employees are allowed to say and what they're not. Some agencies have lengthy policies about what to do when a legislator or a reporter calls seeking information, about who can testify before a legislative committe, then clarifications about how employees are not really restricted from speaking their minds. The latest round came in response to health problems at the state office building on North Avenue in Burlington. One e-mail to employees reminds them that when a reporter calls, all calls should be referred to the commissioner. A follow-up e-mail clarifies that, indeed, employees are free to talk to the media about their own experience, they just can't talk about clients, policies, etc.
- Terri Hallenbeck
