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Twilight on the Tavern Lawn Presents Occidental Gypsy on Sunday, August 11

Twilight Music continues its 11th annual Twilight On The Tavern Lawn series of folk, world beat, rock, jazz, zydeco, Celtic, swing, blues and bluegrass summer concerts on Sunday, August 11 with Berklee College of Music-trained, acoustic Gypsy jazz/swing/pop quintet Occidental Gypsy. The seven concert series continues every other Sunday through August 25. All concerts begin at 5:30 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, Putney Food Co-Op, Soundview Paper Company, The Putney Inn, Next Stage Arts Project, The Stockwell Brothers and many other Putney businesses and organizations.


Weekend Concert Series- Green Day, Chicago, 1994

Filmed at the Aragon Ballroom in November and shown on MTV on December 21, 1994, this concert was Green Day in its first wave of mainstream commercial success. Their album “Dookie” had made a huge splash that year, selling millions, and making Green Day a big name act.

The band was started in 1987 by childhood pals Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt with the name Sweet Children. Their first gig was at Billie Joe’s mother’s workplace that year. They were 15 years old. They gained a small record company contract in 1989 and changed their name to Green Day in honor of their love of marijuana. Tre Cool joined as their regular drummer in 1990 and Green Day’s primary line up has stayed the same since.


Brattleboro Memorial Hospital Main Entrance Re-Opens

The Main Entrance of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital re-opened to the public on Tuesday, August 6, 2013, and the new ambulatory entrance for the Emergency Department opened the following day. Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is expanding and renovating the hospital’s Emergency Department.

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and U.S. Congressional Representative Peter Welch were at the hospital on Monday to help cut the ribbon on the new Hospital and Emergency Department Entrances. Both praised BMH for its leadership and efforts to advance access to high-quality, affordable healthcare in the community.


BMH Lobby Cafe Opens August 26

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital announced it will open its new Lobby Cafe in the newly renovated Main Entrance on Monday, August 26.

The Lobby Cafe replaces the coffee shop that was part of the old Main Entrance. It will be open Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 2:15 PM, serving breakfast items, soups, express salads, made to order sandwiches, specialty paninis and various snacks. Green Mountain Coffee and Mocha Joe’s coffee products will also be available. The cafe will also have a gift area with greeting cards, flowers and stuffed animals for purchase.

The Lobby Cafe will offer vegetarian and gluten free options and is open to the public. BMH is a proud supporter of the Vermont Fresh Network and Windham Farm and Food Network.


How To Listen To Brattleboro Emergency Responders Online?

Living on Main Street, a few times a day I hear police, fire and ambulances passing by. I’ve looked all over but can’t seem to find a web-based way to listen to their scanner frequencies. I have an iphone scanner app that works well, but Brattleboro doesn’t show up in the list. Does anyone know about a site or app that has local emergency responder scanner frequencies? 


Jeff’s Basement Hours?

Does anyone happen to know the hours and days that Jeff’s Basment in Dummerston is open? I’ve been calling for the last couple of days but no answer and no voice mail. His listing doesn’y give any info about his hours. Thanks!


Ask-a-Cop: License Plate Readers

“Can the police tell us a bit more about how the new license plate reader is being used?

What data does a license plate scanner collect? How many license plate scans have been done since the Brattleboro Police purchased the scanner? How many of those were “hits” associated with crimes or wrongdoings?

Are these records stored? For how long?”

……

Our license plate reader has been installed, but is not yet being used.  There were recently some changes in the law regarding their use and BPD officers have not been trained in those changes.


CRVBL Playoffs Begin Friday

The Connecticut River Valley Baseball League begins its 2013 postseason Friday night at 6:30 when the Walpole Wild Blue take on the Keene Black Dawgs at the Walpole baseball complex in the first game of a best of three quarterfinal series. Three other series will also be held throughout the weekend. Two of those series begin on Saturday, when the Putney Fossils host the defending champion Claremont Cardinals in a 1:00 p.m. game at Dummerston Field; and the Sunapee Old Lakers take the Newport Polar Bears at 4:30 in Sunapee.


Hospital Safety Scores

You can look up the safety rating for a particular hospital or for all the hospitals in a certain city or an entire state at:  http://www.hospitalsafetyscore.org/

Hospitals are given a grade, such as “A” “B” or “C” and you can also see the detailed breakdown for each category contributing to the overall score. For example, one category is: Surgery Patients Received Appropriate Treatment to Prevent Blood Clots at the Right Time.


Renovations Begin in the Latchis -Theatre Fund Raising Goal Only $62,000 Away

The theatre is dark, the Earth is bare and Latchis Arts is reaching for the Heavens.  

The main theatre of the Latchis complex closed for renovations on August 1 and on that day, all 750 seats in the theatre were cleared from the auditorium.  Day 2 brought New England Scaffolding Co. to begin the task of filling the 30 foot high void with scaffolding high enough to reach the signs of the zodiac residing in the Heavens.  “We are thrilled that the seats and ceiling project is underway,” said Latchis Arts managing director Gail Nunziata.  “Months of planning with architect Jeremy Coleman and fund raising for the Campaign for The Heavens and The Earth by board and committee members have brought us to this moment.”


Selectboard Meeting Notes: Rink Repairs, SeVEDS Second Payment, and a Town Clerk Update

The Brattleboro Selectboard had no problems guiding the town at their first regular meeting without an official Town Manager at the helm. They even did it without their Chair, too.

The board navigated concerns about downtown sidewalks, skateboarders, and homeless people in the parks. They heard an update on the SeVEDS program and gave them a second check for $25,000. They received an overview of the Town Clerk’s office, and debated skating rink compressor options once again. 

The board discussed becoming another online news source for Brattleboro, and how best to prepare to hire locally for municipal projects with big budgets.


Invitation to Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast – “Networking for Sustainable Energy”

Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast – Networking for Sustainable Energy

The next “Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast” will take place on Friday,  August 16, 2013 at the Gibson Aiken Center, downstairs, hosted by Senior Meals. Doors open at 7:30am.

Jonathan Morse will hold a conversation on the Sustainable Energy Outreach Network (SEON)  ~ it’s purpose, past programs, and plans for the future. SEON is a “networking organization, passionately committed to the promotion of sustainable energy for the benefit of the public, businesses, educational institutions, and public sector organizations.


Did U.S. or Israel Drop a Nuke on Syria?

“The fact of the matter is, what we are seeing in both these cases is a tactical nuclear strike, probably by cruise missiles launched from aircrafts near the borders of Syria or right off the coast in the Mediterranean.”

– Greg Thielmann, arms control expert


Brattleboro Schools In AYP Hell

Brattleboro’s public schools again fell afoul of the federally-mandated standardized testing program, with all schools failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress in at least one and in some cases all categories.  A summary is below, but suffice to say, with regard to their filling in of ovals, our students are not measuring up to federal standards.

It’s hard to pick a winner this time.  Schools that made Adequate Yearly Progress last year in one ore more categories — specifically Brattleboro Area Middle School (BAMS) and Brattleboro Union High School (BUHS) — did not do as well in 2013.  BAMS, in particular, dropped in both Math and Reading this year.  BUHS dropped in Reading.


Supposed Call from Microsoft Windows Trouble Desk?

I just received a call from California, 408-023-6901, saying they were from regarding microsoft windows having some problem.  I asked for a little more info, and he started asking to verify info about my computer, which I refused to answer, and said if there were a problem I would expect an email regarding this, and, unfortunately, I started to raise my voice, and he hung up.  Has anyone else gotten a call like this, and reported it to anyone?  Any other info?  Thanks.


Harris Hill Ski Jump Wins Jumping/Nordic Combined Club of the Year at USSA Congress

Brattleboro, Vt. — The Harris Hill Ski Jump committee, which manages the annual Harris Hill Ski Jumping Competition in Brattleboro, was awarded Jumping/Nordic Combined Club of the Year at the 2013 U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association (USSA) Congress. The annual USSA Congress awards not only clubs but coaches, athletes and resorts who display exemplary service to the sports of skiing and snowboarding.

Peter Graves, former Putney resident, Harris Hill committee member and snowsports announcer, and currently Communications Director for USA Ski Jumping, accepted the award on behalf of the organization at the Congress which was held in Park City, Utah in late May.


National Farmers’ Market Week: Write a Love Letter to Your Farmers at the Wednesday, Saturday Markets

Celebrate National Farmers’ Market Appreciation Week!

Show your local farms and farmers’ markets some love with a note of appreciation, and yourself with some fresh sungolds or peaches: Write a note of appreciation to your farmers at the Wednesday Farmers’ Market, downtown by the coop, 10am to 2pm. The market will host more love letter writing at the Saturday Farmers’ Market, outdoors on Rte 9 in West Brattleboro, from 9am to 2pm.

EBT and debit are welcome at both markets. Summer harvest is at it’s peak– come get some vine-ripened tomatoes, blueberries, fresh basil, greens, and salad fixings, peaches ripened on the tree, plums and apples, amazing veggies, flowers, and more. Market vendors offer dazzling globe-spanning cuisine and gorgeous handmade crafts and adornments.