Sanders: Cold Shoulder for Global Warming on Sunday TV

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 – A group of senators today asked network television executives why there has been “shockingly little discussion” about global warming on Sunday morning broadcast network news and interview programs.

Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) cited a new Media Matters for America  which found that only 27 minutes of air time was devoted to discussions about climate change during all of last year on Meet the Press, This Week, Face the Nation and Fox News Sunday – combined.

Governor Shumlin’s Budget Address 2014

by Not Signed In | State News

Budget Address
Governor Peter Shumlin
January 15, 2014

Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, members of the General Assembly, distinguished guests, and fellow Vermonters:
Good things are happening all across our great state. Vermont’s unemployment rate is the fifth lowest in America, and the lowest this side of the Mississippi. Jobs have rebounded from the depths of the recession, with over 11,000 new jobs created since I first spoke to you three years ago. In the last year alone, we have seen 2,000 jobs created in our manufacturing and professional services sectors, with our wages rising faster than inflation.

VTA Forum On Cell & Broadband To Be Held Wednesday, January 22nd From 10 – 12 Noon

by Not Signed In | State News

Cell phone, fiber optic, and broadband infrastructure projects are vital to businesses, families and educational sites in the Windham Region. The Vermont Telecommunications Authority (VTA) will hold a public forum at the Newbrook Fire Department (698 Route 30) on Wednesday, January 22nd from 10 a.m. until noon. The Windham Regional Commission invited the VTA to explain numerous telecommunications infrastructure improvement projects already underway in the region and those planned for the future. The Vermont Council on Rural Development is also active in the Windham Region. The director of its Digital Economy Project will also be at the forum to talk about what they’re working on in the region and to answer questions.

Sanders Calls for Limits on NSA Surveillance

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 – The National Security Agency director, responding to an inquiry by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), did not rule out collecting intelligence on members of Congress.

“In recent months, the American people have learned that a record of virtually every telephone call made in the United States is placed in an NSA database, that as many as 35 foreign leaders – including some of our strongest allies – have had their cell phones monitored, and that the NSA has intercepted Americans’ emails and monitored their Internet traffic,” Sanders said.

Caravan of Thieves w/ Emma Walsh at Next Stage on Friday, January 17

by Not Signed In | Music

Twilight Music presents acoustic swing and alt gypsy jazz quartet Caravan of Thieves, plus fiddler Emma Walsh, at Next Stage on Friday, January 17 at 7:30 pm.

For the past five years, Caravan of Thieves has roamed the North American continent recruiting a family of avid thrill seekers at their high energy shows. Driving gypsy jazz rhythms, acoustic guitars, upright bass and violin lay the foundation for mesmerizing vocal harmonies and fantastic stories. It’s theatrical and humorous. It’s musical and intense. It entertains, dazzles and defies classification while welcoming the spectator to join the band throughout the performance in momentary fits of claps, snaps and sing-alongs.

I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update – Week of January 12th, 2014

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

I-91

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge in the Fall of 2015.

Weather permitting, night work will recommence on Sunday night, January 12th and continue through Friday, January 17th.

Route 30

The speed limit on Route 30 near the work zone has been reduced to 40 mph. This reduction will remain in effect through the Fall of 2015.

Project-related truck activity on Route 30 will continue. Route 30 will be reduced to a single lane intermittently, with flaggers regulating traffic within the work zone.

Vermont Jazz Center Presents Freddie Bryant Kaleidoscope Quartet on Saturday, January 18th at 8 pm

by Not Signed In | Music

Guitarist Freddie Bryant’s Kaleidoscope Quartet to feature the sounds of jazz from around the world at the VJC in a tribute to VJC founder, Attila Zoller

The Vermont Jazz Center kicks off 2014 with a concert featuring guitarist Freddie Bryant’s Kaleidoscope Quartet a band that features disparate grooves from around the world unified by Bryant’s simple truth that he is indeed an authentic global citizen. This show will be a tribute to VJC founder, the great guitarist, Attila Zoller.

Which is More Corrupt – The Garden State or the Green Mountain State

by Not Signed In | Op/Ed

New Jersey has been known for its culture of mobsters, hooligans, and political dirty tricks for many decades. When I was a kid, anytime the topic of New Jersey was discussed, my Dad would smile and say – “Yep, that’s where all the crooks are”. He always had a twinkle in his eye when he said that. Naturally, it made me want to move to New Jersey as soon as I was old enough. New Jersey sounded really cool, like a land of fun and excitement…especially, while growing up in the coal mine region of Pennsylvania.

Brattleboro Dog and Wolf-Hybrid Licenses Are Available

by Not Signed In | Pets

Brattleboro dog and wolf-hybrid licenses are available for the 2014 licensing period. Vermont dogs and wolf-hybrids 6 months of age and older must be licensed on or before April 1.

Renewal licenses may be obtained in person at the Town Clerk’s office, through the mail or online at www.brattleboro.org. Dogs being licensed in Brattleboro for the first time may be licensed in person or through the mail by printing the license form from the website listed above.

Vaccination against rabies is required by Vermont Statutes before licensing. A current vaccination means:

Latchis Theatre Announces Accessibility Upgrades with New Renovation

by Not Signed In | Business

For Immediate Release– In the ongoing celebration of the newly renovated Latchis Theatre, the Latchis is very pleased to highlight accessibility improvements made to serve people with disabilities. “The Latchis and Latchis Arts are committed to doing the best we can with our historic structure” says Managing Director Gail Nunziata. “The recent campaign gave us the opportunity to make advances.”

Specific wheelchair accessible seating locations with companion seats are now available in clearly marked locations around the hall. One location is permanent, and seven offer flexible wheelchair accessible seating, all with companion seats. While “flexible” means that either theatre seats or wheelchairs may inhabit a space, in most cases the everyday set-up will accommodate wheelchairs.

Exploring Brattleboro’s Cultural Landscape: Past, Present, and Future

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

Brattleboro CoreArts Project – Track Two, Session Three

Exploring Brattleboro’s Cultural Landscape: Past, Present, and Future
Saturday, January 11, 2014, 9:30 a.m.-noon
Main Stage, Latchis Theatre

You are invited to join the ongoing discussion about Brattleboro’s arts and culture sector.

For many years, Brattleboro has been lauded as a small community with an outsized profusion of the arts. Many different threads have woven together to form the community we live and work in today. In which ways has the arts and culture sector informed Brattleboro’s personality? What lenses are used to described current trends? Who are the past and present players? What do we need to understand about how the community landscape is formed and subsequently altered? Can we learn from historical trends to nudge creatively at the future?

Antje Duvekot and Seth Glier at Next Stage on Friday, January 10

by Not Signed In | Music

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present a twin bill of award-winning contemporary folk singer/songwriters Antje Duvekot and Seth Glier at Next Stage on Friday, January 10 at 7:30 pm.

Antje Duvekot is a German-born, American-raised singer/songwriter whose songs have been critically praised for their hard-won wisdom, dark-eyed realism and street-smart romanticism. Her bicultural upbringing and relative newness to English have helped shape her unique way with a song, giving her a startlingly original poetic palette. They are the keys to the powerful, even revolutionary, empathy that informs everything she writes. She has won some of the top songwriting awards including the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, the Kerrville Folk Festival Best New Folk Award and the Boston Music Award for Outstanding Folk Act.

Investigation Into Double Fatal Fire In Dummerston, VT

by Not Signed In | Dummerston

VSP Press Release – Investigation into Double Fatal Fire in Dummerston, VT
STATE OF VERMONT , DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, VERMONT STATE POLICE

PRESS RELEASE
Investigation into Double Fatal Fire in Dummerston, VT

Det. Sgt. JP Schmidt, VSP – TROOP D BCI, 802 875-2112

Dummerston, VT – 1/6/14 – At approximately 5:00AM on January 6, 2014, Keene Mutual Aid contacted the Vermont State Police requesting a fire investigation at a residence located at 420 School House Road in Dummerston. The fire was initially reported at 4:41AM and fire personnel from the Putney, Guilford, Brattleboro, and West Dummerston Fire Departments responded immediately to the incident. The fire destroyed the residence, however firefighters were able to contain the fire; thereby preventing damage to the surrounding residences.

Robinson Hired by BDCC as SeVEDS Director of Workforce Development

by Not Signed In | Business

Moulton Powden assumes Executive Director role at BDCC

Andrew Robinson will be joining the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) staff as the Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) Director of Workforce Development.

The SeVEDS Director of Workforce position was created in 2012 to add capacity for tackling the region’s workforce development challenges and filling the position was one of three major goals the SeVEDS board identified for fiscal year 2013. The position has been funded by SeVEDS in partnership with regional municipalities and BDCC and was vacated at the end of 2013 by Patricia Moulton Powden who has replaced retiring Jeffrey Lewis as the Executive Director of BDCC. With the impending loss of over 600 regional jobs at Vermont Yankee, Powden is pleased to have found such a highly qualified and connected replacement.

Is the NSA Spying on Congress?

by Not Signed In | Politics

BURLINGTON, Vt., Jan. 3 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today asked the National Security Agency director whether the agency has monitored the phone calls, emails and Internet traffic of members of Congress and other elected officials.

“Has the NSA spied, or is the NSA currently spying, on members of Congress or other American elected officials?” Sanders asked in a letter to Gen. Keith Alexander, the NSA director. “ ‘Spying’ would include gathering metadata on calls made from official or personal phones, content from websites visited or emails sent, or collecting any other data from a third party not made available to the general public in the regular course of business?”