In a major win for cable TV consumers and the people of Vermont, the Public Service Board delivered its long awaited ruling on Comcast’s Certificate of Public Good on Friday, January 13th 2017. The Board determined that Comcast’s renewed CPG, good through January 2027, is “reasonable to meet future cable-related community interests and needs” by modifying and adding several conditions that the Company had either omitted or opposed in its initial proposal to the state. The decision lays the groundwork for modernizing PEG access and delivers a clear statement that PEG access is an important community good and should remain relevant as cable technology changes.

"The proposal to combine recreation services between Essex’s two departments failed on Tuesday due in large part to town residents who decisively shot down the measure, preliminary results show.

Village voters passed the special ballot 701 to 420. Also considered Essex Town voters, village residents who cast ballots as town residents approved it, 688 to 412.

Town residents, who would have seen a tax increase under the recreation district, failed the proposal 333 to 1346, making the town’s combined vote 1,021 in favor and 1,758 against."

December 2, 2016 marked the 250th anniversary of the world's first freedom of press and access to information law.  A quarter of a millennium ago, Sweden's Parliament passed the law that abolished state censorship and gave people the right to access unpublished information.