Published Work
This is a portfolio page featuring a little archive of my professional news and feature writing for a variety of publications. You can link to content on external sites where available or see reprints where not. It’s for anyone who wants to see samples of my writing work. But it’s also for general reading, should the content interest you. It’s a mix of newer material and a few golden oldies dusted off here for their continuing relevance or historical interest.
Vermont's Nuclear Fallout Jitters, From Chernobyl to Fukushima
The Federal EPA's first notice of the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown came from a vigilant Vermont public health physicist, Paul Clemons, seen in the photo measuring atmospheric fallout on the rooftop of his office building in Montpelier, Vermont. I interviewed him shortly after the Chernobyl meltdown to learn what concerns he had about nuclear drift reaching Vermont. This later article looks back at both Chernobyl and Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant failure in 2011 when it failed to withstand a devastating tsunami following a 9.0 earthquake. And it breaks down the fallout impacts on Vermont both times. The [Montpelier, VT] Bridge Photo: Ricka McNaughton
Edgar May, Senator with a Pulitzer in his Back Pocket
While serving in the Vermont Senate, Edgar May told me with a grin that he had better public recognition these days as the brother of then-serving Governor Madeleine Kunin than for anything he’d done in the past. But years earlier he had been a journalist in upstate New York, and during that period he created a fake identity to pose as a social worker in order to expose an ailing welfare system and spur improvements. For his series of articles based on his time in the trenches, he received the Pulitzer Prize. Sen. May kindly informed me after this little article came out that I was the first to publish that account of the undercover work he did leading to his Pulitzer. (Letter attached.) I hadn’t known that. His long-game deep cover investigation was of the kind you rarely see anymore. (Vermont News & Views, photo provided)
Rare Italian Book Reveals Bizarre Early 16th Century War Machines
You don’t have to have an interest in military matters to be intrigued by the Dr. Seuss-like illustrations in an ultra-rare (physical) volume published in 1532, residing in Norwich (VT) University’s Special Collections Library. (The Barre-Montpelier Times Argus)
Hansel and Gretel Run for National Office
History will take no note of the political aspirations of two remarkable Minnesota candidates who sought to make a difference on the national stage in the last election. It’s partly because these contenders were at a loss to articulate their respective platforms or party allegiances. But they’re not too upset about it. That’s because they are dogs. White Bear Press (MN)
The $59 Million Question
Is the Vermont Treasurer’s Office doing enough to find people, businesses and organizations who don’t know they have money coming to them? On the State’s Unclaimed Property list are many familiar names it wouldn’t be hard at all to contact. Why don’t they? The answer made some sense, in a way. (Seven Days)
The Refueling of Plainfield, Vermont
As a spate of new businesses brought change to this small, community-spirited Vermont town, anti-competition maneuvers by convenience store chain own and gasoline wholesaler-retailed Skip Vallee raised local ire. His actions also spotlighted Vallee’s legal battles with Sen. Bernie Sanders over gasoline price-fixing. Vallee also served as former President G.W. Bush’s ambassador to Slovakia and was active in national Republican Party affairs. This piece combines an interview with Vallee and a series of articles on the issues. The (Montpelier, VT) Bridge. Photo Credit: Freyne Land, Seven Days Blog
TV’s “The Voice” Finalist Nicole Nelson and Partner: A Profile
When Nicole Nelson wrung every gorgeously controlled drop of ecstasy and angst from Leonard Cohen’s sensual poem-hymn “Hallelujah,” on NBC-TV’s “The Voice, it’s a good bet that the show’s 12 million or so addicted fans caught the perfect shot of musical adrenaline they craved. In Season 3, Nicole lost in a knock-out round to Loren Allred who (an update here) would go on to voice the hit song “Never Enough” in the movie “The Greatest Showman.” Nicole and her musical partner Dwight Richter kindly invited me to their waterfront apartment in Burlington (VT) to get acquainted prior to their performance at Vermont’s Flying Stage.
The Montpelier Bridge Provided
Houghton Cate DIY’d His Own Electricity
In rural North Calais, Vermont, electricity didn’t arrive until the 1930’s. So before that, Houghton Cate helped his father build a water-powered turbine on the family farm. Years later, on his place of business, Houghton built his own water-powered generator from an ingenious collection of re-cycled materials, despite a bothersome handicap. Houghton had been legally blind since boyhood. The Montpelier Bridge.
The Risky Work of a Vermont State Police Diver
When this was written, it had been a very bad year for drownings in the state. In fact, no one could recall a worse one. When we hear of a drowning, few of us think too much about what risks divers may face to recover a body. By the time VSP divers get the call it’s nearly always a recovery operation, not a rescue. But it is they who bring home the deceased to their loved ones. Also attached to this article is a tribute to Trooper Gary Gaboury, a member of the dive team featured in this story, who six years later died while attempting to recover the body of a drowned swimmer at a notoriously treacherous gorge. (Vermont News & Views)
Rare Leucistic Cardinal Pays a Visit
There’s a wild-looking Northern Cardinal frequenting my feeder with a white head and underside that aren’t normally white. It has a genetic color variation called leucism. While such a sighting is hardly the stuff of legends, this is a beguiling little specimen that many North American bird enthusiasts never get to see for themselves. White Bear Press (MN)