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Latest blog posts from Fractals of Change

The e-state; More for Less
Technology can make government both more effective and much cheaper to operate. Does this sound too good to be true? It's not; it's a fact. Bureaucracies in the private and the public sector were designed around bureaus, places that records were kept. It used to be that you had to go the branch...
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Published 2 weeks ago

Broadband Stymied
Unfortunately, no matter what else the stimulus bill may or may not have done, it's slowed down the rate of broadband deployment in the US over the last year. The Rural Utility Service (part of the US Agriculture Department) and NTIA (part of the US Commerce Department) have awarded only 15% of...
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Published 4 weeks ago

Fiber to the Neighborhood
The Vermont Telecommunications Authority (VTA) has asked the Vermont State Legislature for $5 million dollars of capital for "middle mile" infrastructure; the request was included in Governor Jim Douglas proposed capital budget. If appropriated, this money will be used along with the $40 million...
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Published a month ago

Should Vermont Pay for Broadband Deployment?
"Does extending broadband access to the last unserved 5% of Vermonters really stimulate economic development?" one Vermont senator asked. "Why should the State provide money to make that happen?" asked another senator. Two good questions at a time when Vermont is struggling to close a $153...
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Published 2 months ago

Challenges for Change
Vermont has a $150 million hole to fill in its fiscal year 2011 general fund budget. State revenues are at a five year low with no immediate prospect of a return to bubble-highs; there is a recession-fueled increase in caseloads for social services; federal stimulus money is running out. Short...
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Published 2 months ago

Backroads Broadband
We ARE going to get there from here. The Backroads Broadband Program, which was proposed by Governor Jim Douglas in his State of the State address to the legislature last week, is aimed at making broadband available to the last most-difficult 5% or so of Vermont residences, which are sparsely...
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Published 2 months ago

Vermont Yankee - Is The Price Right?
Vermont electric utilities promptly pronounced Vermont Yankee's offer of an initial 6.1 cents per kilowatt-hour(kwh) for 115 megawatts (Mw) of capacity inadequate. They are bargaining, as they should be, and are likely to end up with a better deal than Yankee's public offer which the plant's...
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Published 3 months ago

Why We Can Succeed
After Governor Douglas' press conference last week, there was the usual scrum of reporters and administration officials in the hallway of the fifth floor of the Pavilion Building in Montpelier. The Governor had just said that Vermont cannot and must not sit around waiting for another Stimulus...
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Published 3 months ago

We Need to Use More Electricity
What percentage of your home energy comes from electricity? Take a guess. If you're like me, you way over-estimated. A typical Vermont household gets about 16% of its energy from electricity, 53% from home heating oil, and 31% from gasoline. The estimate is based on annual use of 12,000 kWh of...
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Published 4 months ago

I Get Profiled
Fran Stoddard interviewed me for her Profile show on Vermont Public Television. It's available online: http://vpt.vo.llnwd.net/o36/vod/profile/900/904-tom-evslin/index.html var...
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Published 4 months ago

Lily Marie Morris; born 5:59P PST today. 8lbs 14oz
 Daughter of daughter Kate (who was a baby herself not so long ago) and her husband, Hugh Morris.Mary and I had a wonderful day caring for big brother Jack, who doesn't know what's coming; but is a delight. var...
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Published 4 months ago

Vermont, Challenged and Stimulated
Now, when recovery from the worldwide recession is beginning, Vermont has an opportunity to emerge with a stronger economy, a cleaner environment, a broader tax base, and better jobs than we had before the downturn. We also face the enormous challenges of far too many Vermonters out of work, a...
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Published 4 months ago