VOTE FOR VERMONT
GUEST:  JOLINDA H. LACLAIR, DIRECTOR OF DRUG ABUSE PREVENTION
TOPIC: VERMONT’S OPIATE ADDICTION CRISIS

Pat McDonald and Ben Kinsley, co-hosts of “Vote for Vermont”, were joined by Vermont’s Director of Drug Prevention Policy, Jolinda LaClair on a recent show. Jolinda, a 35-year public service career veteran, serving with Congressman Jeffords’ Office, as Director of USDA Rural Development, and as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.

VOTE FOR VERMONT
GUESTS:  MEREDITH ANGWIN, NUCLEAR ADVOCATE AND AUTHOR
TOPIC: STRATEGIES FOR PRO-NUCLEAR ADVOCACY

Pat McDonald and Ben Kinsley are co-hosts of the show “Vote for Vermont.” Joining them on a recent show was a repeat guest, Meredith Angwin, author and nuclear advocate. 

Meredith introduced a video by Eric Meyers, who founded Generation Atomic and is a trained opera singer.  Eric sings an aria he wrote called “Aria de Thorium”.  Quite a different approach to advocacy. No marching, carrying signs or debate – just telling your story through opera!

VOTE FOR VERMONT
GUESTS:  GOVERNOR PHIL SCOTT
TOPIC: UPDATE AFTER 11 MONTHS IN OFFICE

Pat McDonald and Ben Kinsley are co-hosts of the show “Vote for Vermont.” Joining them on a recent show was Governor Phil Scott.  McDonald started the discussion noted that just recently Business Insider Magazine ranked Vermont as one of the 15 states for job seekers.  The Governor noted that while this is good news, it highlights the problem of Vermont’s demographics. While there are jobs, we need more people to take advantage of the opportunities.

Vote for Vermont
GUESTS:  Kristin Chandler, Team Two Coordinator and Chief Tony Facos, Montpelier PD
TOPIC: Improving Responses to People in Mental Health Crisis

Pat and Ben have covered Vermont’s mental health crisis in several shows in the past few months.  In a recent show, Mary Moulton, Executive Director of Washington County Mental Health Services, and members of her staff spoke highly about a new program called Team Two. The program is about bringing mental health professionals and first responders together to train on techniques for handling individuals with mental health and intellectual disabilities. This helps to ensure a successful response during a mental health crisis.  To learn more about the program Pat and Ben invited Kristin Chandler, Team Two Coordinator, and Chief Tony Facos, Montpelier PD, on the show to talk about the program.