Robots In Our (Not So Distant) Future

by cgrotke | Sci-Tech

As Brattleboro’s Future’s Committee begins to form, it might be good to look at a few things predicted for the near future. One of them is robots.

The current path with robotics is to replace a majority of human workers wherever and whenever possible with robots. Very soon, they will be cheaper and better skilled than humans in a wide variety of tasks, from farming to surgery. Foxconn, maker of iPhones and such, has announced already plans to buy 10,000 robots to assist in production at a cost of about $25,000 each.

Sanders Statement on Meeting with VA Nominee McDonald

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, July 9 – Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement today after meeting on Tuesday with Robert McDonald, President Barack Obama’s nominee to be secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs:

“I enjoyed the opportunity to meet with Mr. McDonald and was impressed by what he brings to the table. I believe that his years of military service will make him a very strong advocate for veterans, and that his corporate leadership gives him the experience to bring about the management changes – in terms of accountability and transparency – that the VA needs.

Free Films: Screwball Comedies at Brooks Memorial Library

by Brooks Memorial Library | Entertainment

Beginning Wednesday, July 9th and continuing through November 12th, the Brattleboro Film Festival and Brooks Memorial Library will present free afternoon screenings of nine Hollywood classic screwball comedies from Tinseltown’s Golden Era.

A film by renowned Director Preston Sturges whose comedies mix the sensibilities of “a lowbrow aristocrat” with a that of a “melancholy wiseguy” will kick-off the five month-long series on July 9th at 2 p.m. in the library’s Meeting Room on the 2nd Floor. Brattleboro Film Festival Advisory Board member Tim Metcalfe and journalist Tom Bedell will host post-screening discussions in the library’s Meeting Room covering a wide range of topics related to the screwball comedy era, filmmaking and Hollywood trivia in general.

150 Years Ago (1864 7/8)

by BusyMom | History

Near the Railroad, July 8th, 1864.

Dear Wife, 

Here I am on picket again. Came on yesterday morning, pretty well round towards that rail road. I should write with clean hands if there was any water near, but it is half a mile to the spring, and we can only spare a man occasionally to get enough to cook with and drink when it is fresh. It is as good water as I ever saw. It is at that house I wrote to you about where I was on, the first time I was on picket. The women and children are all at home and are not molested in the least. People may talk about the women of the south being she-devils and all that. I have not seen many, but such as I have seen say, when they hear firing they only think of the killed and wounded, without reference to which side they belong. There are some that are decidedly Union. They show it pretty plainly.

EBT Customers: Double Your Money With Harvest Health Coupons at the Farmers Market!

by Not Signed In | Food

The Brattleboro Farmers’ Market announces the arrival of Harvest Health Coupons for EBT customers! Use your EBT card at the manager’s booth at market and get free matching value in coupons- up to $10, per visit.

The Brattleboro Farmers’ Market will have Harvest Health Coupons while supplies last, at both Saturday and Wednesday locations. Use these coupons to stretch your EBT dollars, which can buy fresh berries and vegetables of all kinds, maple syrup, jams, and honey, eggs and meat, fresh breads and granola to take home (EBT and Harvest Health CANNOT purchase hot lunches).

Appreciating the Right to Disorder – Our Evolving Fourth of July

by cgrotke | History

The way we celebrate the 4th of July has changed.

I read the news from long ago each day, scanning old copies of the Phoenix, and for the last few days (many decades ago), the papers were filled with reports of Fourth of July celebrations. It appears that our earlier celebrations of independence involved more mayhem and being quite independent for the day. It almost seemed a bit more like Halloween, with noise, pranks, costumes, and silliness.

I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of July 13

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.

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 will continue at the columns on Route 30. Night work will be conducted Monday night, July 13th thru Friday night July 18th.

Putney Sits Atop CRVBL As Season Enters Final Month

by CRVBL | Recreation & Sports

After a break over the Independence Day weekend, six of the seven town teams in the Connecticut River Valley Baseball League return to action next Sunday, each of them hoping to gain ground on the undefeated Putney Fossils. The Fossils enjoy another week off after running off nine straight victories to start the season. Regular season play will end in early August with two weeks of playoffs to determine the winner of the 2014 CRVBL Cup.

WKVT “Green Mountain Mornings” Available as Podcasts

by KAP | Media

Fans of WKVT’s “Live and Local” show probably know that due to some scheduling/programming changes, L&L is no more, but that host Chris Lenois is now on “Green Mountain Mornings” on WKVT (100.3 FM or 1490 AM) from 6:00 – 9:00 a.m. with a similar approach to topics of local interest.

If, for whatever reason, you can’t listen to the show live on-air, podcasts from “Green Mountain Mornings” can be heard online or on your iPod/MP3 player any time.

No Palm Trees in Brattleboro

by SteveJD | Sci-Tech

The ice at the poles are the highest since measurements, but the warming models predict otherwise! Oh well, it’s good to be wrong unless you ‘re a palm tree salesmen !

Global warming latest:. 

Public Invited to ‘Trail Talk’ To Be Held For I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Project

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

The PCL+FIGG Team will conduct the next on-site “trail talk” for the Public on Saturday, July 12, 2014. These trail talks will discuss the status of the I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Project and allow the public to ask questions. The talks will originate at the West River Trail near the marina. The trail talk will be led by Caleb Linn, Project Manager for PCL (lead contractor), and Garrett Hoffman, Design Manager for FIGG (bridge designer).

New River Garden Exhibit, “Farms in 7 Media” – Gallery Walk Opening To Feature Bondville Boys

by MartinLangeveld | Arts

During July’s Gallery Walk (Friday, July 11) a new exhibit, featuring works by members of Brattleboro-West Arts, is arriving at the Strolling of the Heifers’ Gallery at the Garden, located at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden at 157 Main Street, Brattleboro.

Entertainment during the opening will be by the Bondville Boys, an edgy, eclectic bluegrass band that plays a huge assortment of music, including a ton of original tunes and everything from Flatt and Scruggs to Blondie.

The reception, with refreshments, is free and open to the public. It takes place during Gallery Walk, Friday evening, July 11 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., and thereafter will be on view weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Saturdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., continuing through August. 

I Dropped The Ball: On Missed Opportunities During Child Rearing

by Rolf | Family

Recently I was hiking with my wife and boy, up Wantastiquet. We made this hike despite knowing that rattlesnakes have been seen on the trail suning themselves.  The chance to hike in nature, despite such risks, is one of the reasons we live here, and not some nature deprived metropolis. 

During this hike, I had a mission; to get up as far as we could in a certain amount of time.

Morgen, my boy, saw water coursing over the trail and down the hillside, in a little stream filled with rocks. “WOW !”, he said. Can we explore that stream? Can you come with me?” My instantaneous reply was, ” I think you know that we arem’t going to do that right now”. I had my mission, and it was to hike, and I marched farther up the trail.

BCTV Channel 8 & 10 Schedules for the Week of 7/7/14

by BCTVProg | Media

BCTV channel 8 schedule for the week of 7-7-14

Monday July 7             

12:00 am      2014 Slow Living Summit: Plenary 4 – Martin Ping: “Soil, Soul, and Society ” 

1:30 am       True North Reports: 21st Century Info Age and Jeffersonian Ideals

2:00 am       FSTV Overnight

4:00 am       Lecture at the Montshire Museum: Black Bears of VT

5:00 am       The Vermont Difference – Essays on Vermont

Brattleboro Time Trade Listings – Week of July 6

by Brattleboro Time Trade | Activism

Brattleboro Time Trade:

Exchanging services, creating connections, strengthening communities, one hour at a time.

See below for exciting Upcoming Events and learn what Time Trade is all about!

This week’s fabulous listings, brought to you from the White Mountains:

OFFERS:

Fresh Garden Produce
Live Music for Parties, Weddings or Concerts, Fundraisers
from Singer/Songwriter and Guitarist
French Tutor
Citizen’s Awareness Breakfast at the Senior Center 3rd
Friday of the Month
Child Care

Chris Lenois on WVEW

by pockets | Entertainment

Join DJ Pockets this tuesday for another experience that you won’t soon forget..this one features Chris Lenois former host of 1490 WKVT AM’s “Live & Local”. “Live & Local” is changing into Green Mountain Mornings…

Green Mountain Mornings is a morning news/talk program on WKVT 100.3 FM/1490AM in Brattleboro, Vermont, that broadcasts every weekday from 6:00-9:00am. Podcasts at www.wkvtradio.com. Guest booking: clenois@wkvt.com.

The show features interviews with local, state and national political figures, as well as members of the arts community, local newspapers, local town government officials, and anyone and everyone worth hearing from on the issues affecting life for folks in the area.

Not An Optimist

by tomaidh | Economics

Chris Martenson is a guy from nearby Montague Mass. He appears from time to time in Brattleboro. He’s a very bright guy with a PhD in neurotoxicology, but his real strength is economics.

Currently he is a writer and trend forecaster interested in macro trends regarding the economy, energy, finance and the environment. He is the founder of PeakProsperity.com and creator of the “Crash Course” which is available free on his website: www.peakprosperity.com (you can buy it on DVD as well).