BRATTLEBORO — Great stories by Olga Peters about the Brattleboro Retreat [News, Dec. 13]. Since I live in the Retreat neighborhood, and have heard stories “on the street,” I appreciate the fact-based reporting. Keep it up!
Sadly, I cannot say the same about Andrew Stein's article on Entergy and the New England Coalition (NEC).
The headline itself is totally in error. If you look at that current story on VTDigger, you will see that he got the facts wrong. Entergy is not suing Attorney General Bill Sorrell and Governor Peter Shumlin over the NEC case.
Mr. Stein edited the story on VtDigger.com after the error was brought to his attention. The fact is, as Ray Shadis, NEC technical advisor, commented: “Entergy asked the Federal Court to issue an injunction against New England Coalition compelling NEC to withdraw its request...period.”
I am really disappointed for a couple of reasons.
For disclosure - I am a longtime volunteer for, and a current trustee of, the New England Coalition. That headline has made our task of educating our membership and other interested parties in the case that much more complicated. And the legal and regulatory landscape involving Entergy, the state of Vermont, and the federal government is already complicated enough, thank you very much.
I am also disappointed as a supporter of The Commons as a local source of news and opinion. The Commons has quality reporting and a relationship with the community. I don't know what your relationship is with VTDigger.org or where Mr. Stein lives and works. But local readers should be able to expect that a Commons journalist will contact the local subject of the story - in this case, the NEC, which has an office on Main Street in Brattleboro.
I set a higher standard for a local weekly newspaper than I do for a blog. A blog can be changed. It doesn't lie around one's house for a week with the error sinking in over time.
At the least, I hope this error motivates you to take a closer look at how The Commons will cover Vermont Yankee issues in the future.