Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meeting Scheduled – DID and Personnel

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Thursday, July 3, 2014 at 4:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at 4:10pm to discuss the appointment or employment or evaluation of a public officer or employee.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100


Senator Sanders Statement on Court Ruling on Workers

BURLINGTON, Vt., June 30 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement today after the Supreme Court ruled that some home health care workers cannot be required to pay fees to cover the costs of collective bargaining:

“Today’s Supreme Court decision by Justice Alito and four other extreme right-wing Republicans is another attack on the rights of workers to collectively bargain for higher wages and decent benefits. Make no mistake: this decision will lead to an increase in income inequality, a further decline in the wages of middle-class workers and an increase in poverty.


Brattleboro Independence Day Schedule

In observance of the July 4th holiday, all Town offices will be closed on Friday, July 4, 2014, with the exception of emergency services.

Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Friday, July 4. All other violations, including extended parking will be enforced.

Brooks Memorial Library will be closed on Friday, July 4, 2014. It will be open for normal business hours on Thursday, July 3, and Saturday, July 5, 2014.

Trash, recycling and composting schedules will not be affected by the holiday. All curbside pick ups will be on the regular schedule.


Welch Reacts to Hobby Lobby Supreme Court Decision

Washington, DC (June 30th) – Congressman Peter Welch made the following statement after the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Hobby Lobby Stores v. Sebelius:

“The Supreme Court got it wrong today. A woman’s access to health care should not depend on the religious views and conscience of her employer,” said Welch. “Decisions about the use of contraceptives should be between a woman and her doctor. The Court’s misguided decision in this case is a good example of why Congress should have included a public option in the Affordable Care Act, which would have removed employers from the equation of health care coverage.”


Twilight on the Tavern Lawn presents The Chris Kleeman Band Sunday, June 29

Twilight Music continues its 12th annual Twilight On The Tavern Lawn series of folk, world beat, rock, jazz, zydeco, Celtic, swing, blues and bluegrass summer concerts on Sunday, June 29 with an evening of hard driving, house rocking, in your face blues by The Chris Kleeman Band. The seven concert series continues every other Sunday through August 24. All concerts begin at 6:00 pm in downtown Putney on the Putney Tavern lawn (bring a lawn chair or blanket) or at Next Stage at 15 Kimball Hill in case of rain. The series is sponsored by the Town of Putney, Soundview Paper Company, Next Stage Arts Project, The Stockwell Brothers and many other Putney businesses and organizations. The concerts are free to the public (donations are accepted) and food will be available.


Brattleboro Union High School Board Meeting Agenda

BRATTLEBORO UNION HIGH SCHOOL BOARD
53 Green Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
www.wssu.k12.vt.us

NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS

The BUHS District #6 Finance Committee will meet at 7:00 a.m. on Monday, June 30 in the WSESU James E. Kane Conference Room, 53 Green Street.

NOTICE OF MEETING

The BUHS #6 Board of Directors will meet at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, July 7 in the WRCC Cusick Conference Room.


Senators Call for Emergency Action to Stop Price Spikes Caused by Oil Speculators

WASHINGTON, June 26 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today introduced legislation to make federal regulators invoke emergency powers to stop speculators from taking advantage of turmoil in Iraq to drive up oil prices and make motorists pay more for gasoline.

“I am getting tired of big oil companies and Wall Street speculators using Iraq as an excuse to pump up oil and gas prices,” said Sanders, a member of the Senate energy committee. “The fact is that high gasoline prices have less to do with supply and demand and more to do with Wall Street speculators driving prices up in the energy futures market.”


I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of June 29

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.

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 Spring of 2016. Project-related truck activity on Route 30 will continue. Route 30 will be reduced to a single lane intermittently both day and night, with flaggers regulating traffic within the work zone.

Night work on the new bridge columns will continue Monday night, June 30 through Wednesday night, July 2.


Suggested Saturday Itineray

Dear Friends,

Here is a suggested Saturday Itinerary to enjoy the best of the tri-village area:

Morning: Attend Westminster Cares Garden Tour 10am at Hayward Gardens in Westminster West, a benefit for Westminster Cares, contact Westminster Cares for more information 722-3607 or wecares2@sover.net

Lunch: Leisurely lunch at one of many fine local eateries

Afternoon: Attend Putney Cares and NeighborWorks HEAT Squad Home Energy Audit Open House, 2-5pm Putney Cares Activities Barn, 54 Kimball Hill Rd. Putney. Contact Bruce Whitney for more information 802-246-2111 or bwhitney.wwht@gmail.com


Beautiful Berries Downtown at the Wednesday Farmers’ Market

The Wednesday Farmers’ Market is back downtown by the Brattleboro Food Coop! 10-2 every Wednesday, our farmers (plus Bijou Bakes and Anon’s Thai Cuisine) offer the freshest locally-grown produce and prepared lunches and baked goods. EBT and debit are welcome; come by for some convenient, farmer-direct shopping–mid-week!


House Passes Welch Legislation Advancing Energy Efficiency In Schools

WASHINGTON DC—Last evening, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Congressman Peter Welch’s bipartisan legislation to encourage schools administrators to make cost-saving energy efficiency upgrades. The Streamlining Energy Efficiency for Schools Act, modeled after Vermont’s school-based energy efficiency efforts, is the second Welch-authored energy efficiency bill to pass the House this year.


Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meeting Scheduled – Appointment, or Employment, or Evaluation

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, June 24, 2014 at 4:00pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is expected that the Board will enter into executive session at 4:00pm to discuss an appointment or employment or evaluation of a public officer or employee.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100


I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of June 23 – Southbound Closure

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.

On Monday night, June 23 and Tuesday night, June 24, the southbound lane of I-91 will be closed to complete necessary shoulder repairs. The specifics of the closure are:

– The closure will be from 9 PM – 6AM and will take place over two nights, Monday 6/23 and Tuesday 6/24

– The closing will be for southbound traffic only between Exits 3 and 2.

– All southbound traffic will be detoured off at Exit 3.


Yard Sale on High Street – Toys, Office Furniture, Antiques & More

We are hosting a yard sale at 76 High Street (McCarty Law Offices) in Brattleboro on Satuday, June 21st from 8-3PM. We have lots of inventory from antiques, a Persian Rug, kids toys (a lot of it from my childhood), books, office furniture and Christmas decorations.

We would love to see it go and for you to come down and see what we have. Hope to see you there.

-McCarty Law Offices


Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee Meeting Agenda

The Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Tuesday, June 24, 2014, starting with a site visit at 8:00am at the Linden Lodge/Phoenix House on Linden Street, and reconvening in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center at approximately 8:30am.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100


Sanders and Vermont Religious Leaders Address Wealth and Income Inequality

BURLINGTON, Vt., June 20 – Vermont religious leaders joined U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today to address the moral implications of extreme wealth and income inequality.

Bishop Thomas Ely, the Rev. Dr. Lynn Bujnak, Monsignor Roland Rivard and Rabbi Joshua Chasan joined Sanders to emphasize that increasing wealth and income inequality in the United States is one of the great moral issues of our time and is undermining the fabric of our nation.


Oil Speculators Use Iraq as Excuse to Drive Up Prices – Sanders’ Bill Would Invoke Regulators’ Emergency Powers

WASHINGTON, June 19 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today accused oil companies and Wall Street speculators of using unrest in Iraq as a phony excuse to artificially drive up crude oil and gasoline prices.

The price of oil today rose above $115 a barrel – a new nine-month high on the New York Mercantile Exchange – ostensibly because of concerns that sectarian violence in Iraq could cut off the country’s exports. The price of regular gasoline rose to $3.67 a gallon today, up a nickel in the past month. That was despite the fact that today there is more supply and less demand for gasoline than five years ago, when the average price of a gallon of gas was just $2.67 a gallon.