Blog

fall newsletter: broadband, climate action, upcoming events and more

Dear Neighbors and Friends,

While I love the work up in Montpelier, there is nothing better than coming home. It's been wonderful to be back to enjoy this spectacular summer and fall, to have time with my family, to reconnect with the communities I serve, to work on issues and to prepare for the coming session.

The off-session has been very busy -- I’ve been meeting with constituents and community groups; organizing meetings to advance broadband, the creative economy and renewable energy projects in our region; traveling to Montpelier for the Joint Justice Oversight Committee meetings and to DC for the Women in Leadership conference; participating in local and state-wide conversations on higher education, corrections reforms, climate solutions and strengthening our rural economy. As a State Representative it's such a privilege to meet with a lot of people and hear about struggles and challenges and I try to help them cut through the red tape and connect them with resources. I also get to hear about the success stories and all the wonderful work that people are doing in our communities and it really inspires me and motivates me.

I am working to find solutions and build coalitions to collectively address the social, environmental and economic challenges we face and I wanted to share some of the issues that I have been working on and to let you know about some upcoming events and opportunities.

ADVANCING REGIONAL SOLUTIONS FOR RURAL BROADBAND

As many folks know, improving access to broadband has been a high priority for me. This year the Vermont House passed the boldest, most innovative policy yet to get high-speed internet service to the farthest corners of our state. The legislation empowers local municipalities to determine the connectivity solutions most appropriate for their communities and provides financing programs to get local initiatives off the ground.

Telecommunications are regulated at the federal level, so close cooperation with our federal delegation is key. In July we had a terrific meeting with Congressman Peter Welch to talk about the complex issues around connectivity in our rural state, and while challenges remain, coordinating our state efforts with work being done in DC will mean better access for Vermonters. You can read more about our meeting HERE: https://www.reformer.com/stories/common-ground-found-on-broadband,578557