WEEKLY HUM ( 7-2-06 )

GET TORTI
Now, let's see if we understand this. The head of the Agency of Natural Resources, Tom Torti, is leaving his post as the environmental top dog, to become prez of the Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce, an org that goes to bat for thousands of businesses in Vermont.
The kicker is that Torti won't be leaving for 4 months or so, which has many people in the state shaking their collective heads, and murmuring something about 'conflict of interest'. Torti supporters state that any conflict of interest matters will be solved by recusals, and four months is not that long, anyway. Detractors say Torti has not been a good fit with the agency all along, and this is a good chance to start fresh, immediately.
Torti's year and a half with the ANR has been bumpy, to say the least. Vermont Hum recommends that Tom Torti resign his position, take the summer off, lick his wounds and move on. He'll probably be a great chamber chief.

BETTER LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Our HumDrum award, which picks out the best letter to the editor, goes to Jill Diemer of Burlington, who writes:
" If a person were to expose themselves to my son and I while walking down North Street they could face fines , mandatory therapy, a record and possible jail time. If 40 people do it while riding bikes it is considered "legal activism?" Try explaining this type of logic to your 5-year-old." Powerful stuff, Jill.
This letter appeared in the Burlington Free Press.

PITT, JOLIE, WESTERN MASS, CAMERA, SECRET SERVICE - HUH?
Weird and unfinished story coming out of Western Mass - Westfield to be exact. Read this quick piece from USA Today and try not to say, 'what?'
By the way, MassLive is a great site for individuals who have Western Mass ties or are just interested in the area. The site features folksy columns by Tom Shea, whose wife is author Suzanne Strempek Shea, a Hum fave.

DAYSIES CHAIN
Vermont blog frenzy regarding the Seven Daysies and it's Best Vermont Blog award. Numerous blogs have been less than subtle in their encouragements to the readers for votes; we at Vermont Hum have decided not to cheapen our presentation with the solicitation of votes; we instead want to thank our faithful readers for making us one of the fastest growing Vermont blogs in 2006.
Speaking of blogs, an anonymous reader was quite vociferous in his/her assertion that a blog can win only if the technical aspects of writing are, for the most part, sound. The example given was a posting from a blog called PoliticsVt and it's June 30 entry entitled Seven Daysies: Best Vermont Blog.
Indeed, the reader had a point, with the blog grossly mispelling clamoring (clammering) and responsibility (responsability). It was noted that 'polls close on July 3'rd; we've never quite seen the 3rd put that way. Recommended was misspelled, but give 'em some slack - that one is a toughie. Sentence structure was iffy, but hey, maybe it was a bad day. We've all had 'em. I guess we would have to agree that winning blogs should have some sense of, well, basic writing skills.

FIVE CORNERS UPDATE
Shucks! Got to the Essex Junction Five Corners Light just as the stupid thing turned yellow. Usually we scream through the yellow (after all, yellow means STEP ON IT!) but this time we came to a stop. Knowing we had time on our hands, we got out the DVD player and threw in...Five Corners! Yes - Five Corners the movie. The one from '87 about a psycho returning to his neighborhood after spending time in the clink. Great cast, with Jodie Foster, Tim Robbins, John Turturro and in a small role, Campbell Scott. It was great seeing the movie again and the light changed just as the credits rolled. It was perfect!