And speaking of how things have changed at the Statehouse, there's been a state trooper with a bomb-sniffing dog in the halls today. No specific threat, says security chief Dave Janawicz, just a chance for the dog and handler to become familiar with the Statehouse. Janawicz says the bats already are -- "I've seen them doing laps in the House chamber" he said.

State Sen. Mark McDonald, a Democrat from Orange County, hit the animal theme, too, when he was asked what he expected to hear in the governor's state of the state speech: "The ostrich-head-in-the-sand, possum in the middle of the road Affordability Agenda," he said. "You can't catch any tuna if the boat never leaves the harbor." He'd lost me by then, but these clearly weren't words of praise for the GOP governor. Republican Sen. Diane Snelling of Chittenden County was standing nearby and observed (avoiding animal metaphors) how "intense" the partisan sparring already has become, one day into the legislative session.
-Candace Page