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On this week’s 51%, hear from the first woman expected to serve as Vermont Senate Pro Tem, and another woman has taken disaster prepping to another level.
A record number of women will serve in Congress next year. And women are gaining political ground in a number of states, including Vermont. In fact, when the new biennium of the legislature begins on January 6th, the first woman to serve as the Vermont Senate Pro Tem is expected to be confirmed. During a caucus in November, Democrat Becca Balint won the nomination and with Democrats controlling the Senate, her election to the post is secure. Balint, a Brattleboro resident who is openly gay, is one of a cadre of women assuming top positions in the Statehouse in 2021. She tells 51%’s Pat Bradley why she wants to be pro-tem of the Vermont Senate.
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Dr. Rajinder Bajwa, the chief of Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Centerâs Infectious Disease Division, was among the first to receive one of the 300 doses of COVID vaccine administered by JoAnne Pelligrino, chief nursing officer.
JamesNeiss.com
JamesNeiss.com
Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center s Amy Wojceichowski, infection prevention coordinator, shows off their NUAIRE ultra-low temperature freezer where their supply of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will be stored.
JamesNeiss.com
Niagara Falls Memorial Medicals NUAIRE ultra-low temperature freezer where their supply of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will be stored.Â
JamesNeiss.com
A doctor at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and a resident and Schoellkopf Health Center received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, marking the beginning of what is expected to be the gradual vaccination of frontline workers and nursing home residents in the coming days and weeks.�
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New York State Senator Betty Little has been serving in the legislature for 25 years. In 1995, the Republican won a special election to the state Assembly and in 2002 she won the state Senate seat that opened with the retirement of Senator Ronald Stafford. A year ago, she announced that she would retire at the end of this term December 31st. As she approaches the end of her public service, the 80-year-old Little tells WAMC North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley she has no regrets about her decision to retire.
“You know, I ve been in the Senate and the Assembly now for 25 years. And I said that I would not be there when I turned 80 and I had my 80th birthday in September. So you know you never know what s ahead of you when you re 80. But I ve seen too many people dozing off during session in Chamber because they were older and it was not going to be me. And you know there are things I d like to do mostly travel and I m hopeful that this will end so we can travel and d