Today is Feedback Friday on VDC’s Hot Off The Press at 11:05 AM on WDEV AM 550, FM 96.1, and wdevradio.com livestreamed. As usual on Feedback Friday, there are no guests scheduled. 

Whether you’re at work or in the car or at home, I hope you will have your say, hang out with us for an hour, listen and call in with your comment or question – 802-244-1777.

First up: police, privacy, and politics.

Several Democratic lawmakers now backing a ban on police wearing masks in public voted last year to shield police ID information from Big Tech databases. Critics say that’s a contradiction—protecting officers from Silicon Valley while leaving them exposed to doxxing by activists and protesters. Supporters say it’s about transparency and accountability.

So what do you think? Should lawmakers be doing more to protect police from harassment—or is this the price of public service? Call in.

Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney Stanak tells her department heads to prepare budget cuts across the board. If a Progressive Mayor can do that, why can’t the Legislature?

Kolby LaMarche reported January 21 – Wednesday – Her administration is instructing department heads to develop plans for reducing their budgets by 5% to 10%, with a focus on identifying efficiencies, reevaluating programs, and seeking input from staff on cost-saving ideas.

Current Use back in the news – Rep. Gina Galfetti says it’s time to include Current Use farms and forests in the 50 x 50 initiative.

Next: credit cards and Vermont as a testing ground.

Senator Peter Welch wants to cap credit card interest rates nationwide. JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon calls that an “economic disaster” and suggests, half-seriously, “try it in Vermont first.”

Is Vermont the right place to pilot a credit card interest rate cap? Would it help working families—or dry up access to credit altogether? If you carry a balance, if you run a small business, I especially want to hear from you.

Third: President Trump’s first year back.

Columnist Greg Thayer says Trump’s return to the Oval Office has been about action, not apologies—fast moves, few regrets, and no waiting for permission.

Is that what the country needed right now? Or does speed come at too high a cost? One year in, how do you grade it?

Let’s talk land and conservation.

Under Vermont’s UN-inspired 50×50 conservation law, much of the land already protected under the Current Use program doesn’t count toward conservation goals. Guy Galfetti argues that’s a mistake.

Should working farms and forest land count as conserved land—or does that water down environmental protections? Farmers, landowners, environmentalists—this one’s for you.

A few quicker hits we can take calls on too:

Telephone land lines—are you finally cutting the cord, or are they still essential?

Traveling without a Real ID—overblown fear, or a real headache waiting to happen?

And what about the victims of violent crime involving mental illness who are asking lawmakers for a secure facility for people deemed incompetent to stand trial—long overdue reform, or a dangerous expansion of state power?

And finally: a major drug raid netting guns, cash, and five suspects, plus House lawmakers juggling homeless housing, school nutrition, and whether state-owned land should be used for housing.

Are lawmakers focused on the right priorities?

Plenty to chew on. Pick a topic—or surprise me with one I missed.

The phone lines are open. Let’s hear from you.