Month: November 2010

Why?

7-18-6. Not a fertilizer label, but an accounting of the fall semester at Middlebury. Seven-the  number of weekends in a row we’ve seen vandalism against trees. 18-the total number of trees affected. And 6-trees killed outright. We come into work Monday morning, and, in addition to picking up the inevitable and ubiquitous litter and detritus […] Continue reading →…Continue Reading Why?

Norway Maple

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about one of the more contentious trees in our urban forest, the Norway maple. Late this fall, while the leaves were still turning, I recently closely inspected over ⅔ of our campus trees, looking for problems, and Norway Maple kept appearing in the problem lists, with similar patterns of […]…Continue Reading Norway Maple

Trustee or Delegate? The Impact of Controversial Votes on Democrats in the 2010 Midterms

Trustee or delegate?  It is the classic dilemma every elected official faces. Political scientists are fond of reminding their students that Edmund Burke once explained to his constituents that as a member of Parliament he would be a trustee, not &#82……Continue Reading Trustee or Delegate? The Impact of Controversial Votes on Democrats in the 2010 Midterms