Write-in candidate for governor Annette Smith amped up her rhetoric on wind energy today during an appearance on WDEV-FM's "The Mark Johnson Show," comparing wind turbines to "a terrorist" landing in your community.

"Don't shoot the messenger. I'm sorry, I thought wind was going to be part of the solution," Smith told the radio host. "When you work on the wind issue, and you go into these communities — it's like a terrorist has landed in your community."

Here's audio of the quote:

Smith: "Don't shoot the messenger."

Smith, who is waging a write-in campaign as an independent after narrowly losing a write-in campaign for the Progressive nomination, appeared on Johnson's show to talk about her campaign and her choice to remain at the head of the nonprofit advocacy group Vermonters for a Clean Environment, among other topics.

Smith's no stranger to strong words about wind development. In March, she told me developers are "making climate-change victims out of the people who live around the projects" — to which climate change activist Bill McKibben, a supporter of wind development, retorted that there are plenty of people and places around the world that better qualify as victims.

Now Rolling Stone is crediting Shummy with working hard to get another tough thing done: score you some ganja.

Celebrating (kind of) this month's 75th anniversary of marijuana's prohibition, the lefty music mag has named "The 10 Best Politicians on Pot Reform." And it says Shummy's one of the dankest governors around:

To assist the patients who were now legally allowed to use medical marijuana but forced to grow their own or buy on the black market, Shumlin signed a bill last summer authorizing up to four medical marijuana dispensaries in Vermont. And late last year, Shumlin joined two other governors – Washington's Christine Gregoire (a Democrat) and Rhode Island's Lincoln Chafee (an Independent) – in petitioning the Drug Enforcement Agency to reclassify marijuana, moving it out of the highly restrictive, non-medical Schedule I category to at least Schedule II, which would recognize marijuana's medical benefits.

Rolling Stone did note that the green mountain gov is a bit of a buzzkill on synthetic marijuana, quoting him as saying, "We're not talking about a plant that is grown, like marijuana. This junk will kill you."

So who else is hot-boxing Statehouses and congressional offices around the country? RS gives "high" honors to fellow Democratic governor Dannel Malloy of Connecticut, along with U.S. Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Ron Paul (R-Texas), Sam Farr (D-California), Dana Rohrbacher (D-California), Barbara Lee (D-California), Jared Polis (D-Colorado), Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) and John Conyers (D-Michigan).

As we've noted before, Shummy's love of the green has helped his campaign bring in another kind of green. As of last month's campaign finance filings, the governor had raised at least $13,000 from pro-pot interest groups and companies.

**Updated below**

The liberal super PAC Vermont Priorities will run its first ad starting Wednesday and, as expected, it will back Democratic State Treasurer Beth Pearce.

The 30-second ad will air during the morning and evening news on WCAX-TV Thursday and Friday and will also run for a week on cable television, according to Todd Bailey, the group's consultant. The buy cost the group $15,000.

"We're anticipating other contributions coming in and, as those come in, we'll buy accordingly for this particular ad," Bailey says.

Here's what the ad looks like:

The news stories you'll find in this week's print-and-ink version of Seven Days...

• Several former employees say the new head of the Vermont State Employees Association is doing big damage to the organization.
• A convicted sex offender stole an active-duty soldier's identity and registered to vote, got a job and made friends in Vermont.
• Rutland is still reeling from the death of teenager Carly Ferro at the hands of a drug-impaired driver. How should the city respond?
• A crowdfunded, Twitter-hyped local film project had a very public breakdown last week when social network users fought back against an alleged con artist.
• It's also the winter preview issue of Seven Days this week. One place you won't be able to ski this winter is Ascutney Mountain Resort.
• In this week's Fair Game column, Paul Heintz reports that there could be a new majority leader — and possibly a new President Pro Tem — coming to the state Senate next year.

Well, Hirschfeld has an interesting follow-up in today's Rutland Herald and Barre-Montpelier Times Argus about another complex land deal the gov's engaged in next door to his East Montpelier cabin.

While the whole story is behind the Herald's and the T-A's paywall, you can read the first half of it for free here on the Press Bureau's blog. You could also drive on down to the store and buy yourself a copy, which you can't quite do with VTDigger.org.

CLAIM: “Montpelier is keeping a $5 billion secret. Why? Because the truth will result in the largest single tax increase in state history.”

 — Television commercial from conservative super PAC Vermonters First

FACTS: So what’s the secret? The super PAC Vermonters First is referring to the state’s current annual health care expenditures, including private insurance and federally funded programs, which total $5 billion. If Vermont moves ahead with a publicly financed universal health care system, residents would pay taxes instead of insurance premiums to cover the cost.

Republican candidate for attorney general Jack McMullen is up with two new TV ads: one taking incumbent Democratic AG Bill Sorrell to task on crime and the other faulting him for personally arguing a campaign finance case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Though McMullen declined to reveal how much he's spending to air the two ads, he said he's raised $50,000 from contributors thus far and loaned his campaign an amount "in the low six figures." He added that his campaign could pay back the personal loan if it succeeds in raising more money.

According to McMullen, the ad focusing on crime will run for several weeks — possibly through the election — and replaces an earlier biographical ad. It features footage of two somewhat preppy-looking drug dealers handing off the goods, as well as a still shot of an older woman with purple bruises below her eye and on her lips. Here, watch it for yourself:

Only four weeks until Election Day, and you know what that means — time to start paying attention! Candidates for virtually every office on this year's election ballot face off in debates this week, and many will take questions from voters like you.

Got a newsworthy event for next week's calendar? Email us by Friday to submit.

Monday, October 8

• At noon today, Attorney General Bill Sorrell is on VPR's "Vermont Edition" to make his "case for reelection."
• Think Secretary of State Jim Condos doesn't have an opponent this year? Wrong! He's facing Mary Alice "Mal" Hebert of the Liberty Union Party. They debate at 5:25 p.m. on Channel 17 (CCTV). Stream it at cctv.org.
• At 6 p.m., all four (that's right, four) candidates for attorney general — Democrat Sorrell, Republican Jack McMullen, Progressive Ed Stanak and Liberty Union candidate Rosemary Jackowski — debate live at Channel 17 (CCTV) in Burlington. Stream it at cctv.org.

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For weeks, the group has filled the airwaves and mailboxes with advertisements opposing "Democrats" generally and supporting two statewide Republican candidates specifically. But mailers and robo-calls sent to homes in St. Albans, Colchester and elsewhere in the state late this week focused newly on candidates for the legislature.

One mailer obtained by Seven Days (pictured right and below) asks voters to support Franklin County state Senate candidates Dustin Degree and Norm McAllister, as well as St. Albans House candidates Casey Toof and Stephen Trahan — all Republicans.

A nearly identical piece hit Colchester Friday, though it called on voters to back Republican House candidates Bob Bouchard and Joey Purvis.

The pieces mostly stick to Vermonters First's main talking point: that voters should "restore balance" to Montpelier.

"One-party rule in Montpelier does not benefit Vermonters," it reads. "Today, Democrats control the Vermont State Legislature, the Governor's office, the Treasurer's office, Secretary of State, and they are using this unchecked power to push for a government-run health care program that will cost taxpayers at least $5 billion."

The names of the candidates the super PAC is supporting are in small print at the bottom of one side of the piece. It also includes an absentee-ballot request form.

Tayt Brooks, the group's treasurer, consultant and sole spokesman, did not return calls seeking comment Friday — but two of the candidates backed by the group did.

"It is what it is. I think it's politics as of 2012," said Degree, who is hoping to trade his seat in the House for one in the Senate. "I think in Vermont we like to try to do things a little different, and I think that's OK. But the Democratic Party has a lot more money than the Republican Party does."

"I do like that this PAC is bringing some balance to the conversation," he added.

McAllister's feelings on the mailing were a little more mixed.

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Though Shumlin had gathered reporters to announce a federal grant, many of their questions focused on the governor's acquisition of 27 acres of land in East Montpelier this July, on which he is building a 2200 square-foot "cabin." As Vermont Press Bureau reporter Peter Hirschfeld reported Wednesday, the real estate deal involved several friends who have contributed to the governor's campaign.

After answering some questions about the transaction and declining to answer others, Shumlin lost his cool and went after Hirschfeld, who had posed several questions about the governor's decision to buy the property through a limited liability corporation.

"You gonna criticize me now for forming an LLC before the rest of Vermont and America?" Shumlin snapped at Hirschfeld.

"I'm just wondering why you would want —," Hirschfeld responded, before the governor cut him off mid-sentence.

"I'm just wondering what you're digging for, Peter," the governor said.

Hirschfeld responded, "The question is why would you want to escape liability for incidents that —"

"Have you moved from the Vermont Press Bureau to the National Enquirer?" Shumlin interjected.

At this point the exchange became hard to follow, as other reporters [Disclosure: including this one] attempted to jump in. As Hirschfeld sought to ask the question again, Shumlin said, "It's been great seeing you," and stormed out of the room.