In Vermont, nuclear opponents gathered at Dummerstown for the second Nuclear Free Northeast Action Camp, August 18-22. The educational, cultural and skills-building event concluded with a march on the Brattleboro Corporate offices of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant on August 22. Vermont Yankee has been up for sale at a loss; demonstrators demanded it be shut down to save bucks and save lives. A few dozen people rallied for an anti-nuclear skit and the testimony of the nuke's neighbors who cite it as the source of increased illness in both families and farm animals.

Nine people, dressed in black, spent over an hour inside the building, silently seeking to meet with corporate boss Ross Barkhurst. Supporters vigiled outside and police were not called in. The nine were eventually asked to leave by Vermont Yankee's Corporate Communications director, who offered to speak with the group outside. No arrests were made, but a spokeswoman for the camp's co-sponsor, the Citizens Awareness Network, reminded the demonstrators that Vermont Yankee's "response to issues of death and suffering is to deal with it as a public relations problem."

For more information about expanding plans for nuclear-free action camps in 2001, contact the Nuclear Information & Resource Service, 1424 16th St. Suite 404, Washington, DC 20036; (202)328-0002; www.nirs.org