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The Melting Pot Revisited

by paulgardner | Opinion

I remember hearing the term, “melting pot” used to describe America. That was back in the ’60s. 

The idea was that America takes all sorts of disparate human parts from  Europe, Africa, and Asia, and melts them down into an ingot called an American.  All traces of your old self were to disappear as you took on the new identity.

That was the theory. Of course, America was “whiter” back then.

Now, depending on who you listen to  America either soon will, or already has passed the point where European Americans are the majority.

Rep Alan Grayson (D – FL) on US Surveillance

by cgrotke | Politics

I got to watch a fair amount of CSPAN last week as I recovered from a flu. One of the more interesting moments came late in the week, after most of the work for the week was through and members could use their time to talk about anything they wanted.

Rep. Grayson, a lawyer and a former phone company president, decided to spend about a half an hour talking about PRISM, phone records, metadata, and government spying on US citizens. It’s a pretty good overview of the known programs, and he offers up some good points of further inquiry.

BCTV Channel 8 & 10 Schedules for the Week of 6/17/13

by BCTVProg | Media

BCTV Channel 8 Schedule for the week of 6/17/13

                   Monday June 17

1:00 am       Artists ala Mode: March 2013- Electric Fence

2:00 am       FSTV Overnight

4:00 am       Danger Men Cooking: #008 – Guest, Chef Michael

5:00 am       Dummerston Conservation Commission: Got Bats?

6:30 am       True North Reports: Conservative Environmentalism

Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – June 18, 2013

by cgrotke | Town News

Overpriced ice rink compressors will be a topic of conversation at the next regular Tuesday meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard. The single bid received for fixing the ice rink came in more than $100,000 over what was anticipated to be a $364,000 project, and the Town can’t afford a $471,000 price tag, says the Finance Director.

The Town also plans to purchase a new dump truck and brush chipper, BaBB will give the board a status update, Brooks House owners Mesabi, Inc. will return to ask for an additional $50,000 in loans from the Town of Brattleboro, and much more. Tune in to watch on BCTV, attend in person at the Municipal Center, and read full coverage here the day after.

Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meetings – Interviews and Appointment

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold two special meetings on Thursday, June 20, 2013 in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.  The first meeting will commence at 5:00pm.  The second meeting will commence at 6:30pm.  Agendas for both meetings are attached.

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

Safe Surfing

by Lise | Sci-Tech

A couple years ago, I became leery of the amount of tracking Google engages in when anyone types a search term into their search engine. The last meaningful Google search I did was to find a safe alternative to Google, which has turned out to be . Unlike Google, which uses your IP address to track your searches as well as your movements around the web, StartPage.com does not record your IP address and does not track users of their service.

Weekend Concert: Singles Weekend

by cgrotke | Entertainment

Everybody wiped out this week and no one was able to come up with a concert to share.

So, instead of full concerts, you are invited to share the equivalent of a video single. It can be an official video for a song you like, or a something that isn’t quite a full concert, but worth noting. (Save the full concerts for other weeks.)

Sanders Proposes Limits on Surveillance

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, June 14 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced legislation to put strict limits on sweeping powers used by the National Security Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation to secretly track telephone calls by millions of innocent Americans who are not suspected of any wrongdoing.

“We must give our intelligence and law enforcement agencies all of the tools that they need to combat terrorism but we must do so in a way that protects our freedom and respects the Constitution’s ban on unreasonable searches,” Sanders said.

Brattleboro Selectboard Vacancy – Candidates

by Not Signed In | Town News

The deadline for candidates to submit letters of interest for the vacancy on the Brattleboro Selectboard was Thursday, June 13, 2013 at 5:00pm. Applications were timely received from the following individuals (in the order received):

Donna Macomber
Ian Kiehle
Michael Bosworth
Steve Cormier

Twilight on the Tavern Lawn presents The Stockwell Brothers

by Not Signed In | Music

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, June 16 with newgrass and contemporary folk trio The Stockwell Brothers.  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.  The concerts are free to the public (donations are accepted) and food will be available.

Are We Trustworthy? Laptop Stolen

by Not Signed In | Other

I have the sweetest daughter. Roia is my angel. She has a mild form of autism called aspergers. She loves her life, family, faith, pets and her music. Although not true, Roia will tell you she is nothing without her music. Music is her connect, her happy place that sets her soul free in these bittersweet times.

Roia is also one of the most ethical and moral people I know. In a heartbeat she would and has given a beloved treasure to a child in need.Sometimes we take away treasures more precious than things.

Trisko Earns Associate’s Degree

by BMH | Health

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital announced that Christine Trisko earned her Associate of Science degree from Community College of Vermont this past May. Trisko is the Scheduling Coordinator for the Radiology Department.

BMH Director of Radiology Marcy Rushford says the degree improves Trisko’s skills and knowledge and makes her a more rounded employee. BMH supports the personal and professional development of employees by offering a tuition reimbursement program.

New Breakfast Spot In Town!

by Wendy M. Levy | Business

Brattleboro Cheese Shop & Café is now serving BREAKFAST! 

Come to 39 Main Street, across from the Latchis Theatre and Hotel, and have a real, homestyle breakfast!  

We now serve breakfast TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, 7am til 11am.

Delicious egg sandwiches and egg platters available to enjoy in the store or take with you.  We feature Vermont’s indigenous cheese — Plymouth Artisan cheese — on our breakfast sandwiches.  It’s similar to Cheddar but is smoother and melts beautifully.  And it was invented by Calvin Coolidge’s father!

Enjoyable Jaunts Beyond Brattleboro

by Lise | Travel

Brattleboro is a lovely place in the springtime, but sometimes, you just feel like going out and experiencing spring somewhere else for an afternoon.  This is especially true if you have out of town guests, as many of us do during the summer.  This year, we took advantage of my brother’s visit to take two very different day trips.  The first was down to Northampton, where we toured the many gardens of Smith College.  The second was a multi-stop drive out to southwestern Vermont where we checked out two lakes and the Southern Vermont Arts Center.  Both trips were great fun with plenty of variety to keep things interesting.

The Gardens At Smith College

West Brattleboro Village Day, Saturday June 22

by Not Signed In | Entertainment

On Saturday, June 22, the West Brattleboro Association (WBA) will host its third annual West Brattleboro Village Day, 12:00 noon to 4:00 PM on the Village Green in front of the fire house.

The event promises to be fun for all ages! The Village Day will feature a bouncy house, juggling acts, trapeze demonstrations by Circus Arts, and hula hoop demonstrations by Alotta Hoopla! The Brattleboro Fire Department will have a fire truck on display and the Sheriff’s Department will be showing off their new rescue vehicle purchased after Irene caused damage in hard-to-get places. In addition there will be a pie contest and 50-50 raffle.

French Masterpieces for A Midsummer’s Night

by Pam Lierle | Music

It is probably safe to say that the Fauré Requiem is one of the most popular and performed pieces of music in the entire choral literature. And for good reason: Fauré captured the essence of all that is beautiful and transporting in a format that is modest in size, but huge in concept. 

The No Film Film Festival

by Not Signed In | Entertainment

Falls Area Community Television (FACT TV) invites film lovers and budding filmmakers to attend the premier screening of the No Film Film Festival submissions on June 29, 2013. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. and the show starts at 6 p.m. at the Bellows Falls Opera House, with music provided by the Intercept.
“The No Film Film Festival is truly unique and can only be experienced to be adequately understood,” FACT TV Director Jacob Stradling said. On June 29th the films will premiere on the largest screen in southern Vermont at the world renowned Bellows Falls Opera House, “the only public viewing of these genre bending 1980s movie mashups,” Stradling said.