Richard Davis Candidate for One Year Selectboard Seat

by RDavis | Politics

I am Richard Davis, a 74 year old semi-retired nurse, writer and political activist running for a one year seat on the Brattleboro selectboard. A Boston area native, I have lived in Windham County for the past 45 years, 41 of those years in Guilford and for the past 2 ½ years in Brattleboro with my wife Roberta Levy.

I feel that the current board would benefit from new blood to provide a different perspective on issues important to the people of Brattleboro. Many people have been frustrated at the appearance of a lack of transparency that has surrounded the actions of the current board, especially in relation to the decision to end a long-standing relationship with Rescue Inc.

Construction Update Brattleboro-Hinsdale Bridge March 1, 2024

by Not Signed In | Hinsdale

Recent favorable weather has helped the cure of the footing at Pier 1 and the strength of the concrete has allowed crews to move forward with the work on the Pier 1 stem and cap. As the stem rebar is placed and tied, form walls and corners will be set. Once the stem rebar is complete, crews will finish the cap rebar. The next concrete placement will be for the Pier 1 stem and is scheduled for Wednesday, March 6th.

Brattleboro Select Board Candidate

by JakiReis | Town News

I am Jaki Reis and I am running for Select board here in Brattleboro. You may know me from the 22 years that I’ve lived and worked downtown. Maybe we met at Brown and Roberts, or at the Chamber or the River Gallery School, or at the Latchis Theater. I have been close to so many who know me as their neighbor, friend, and fellow volunteer.

I have gained a rich understanding of how we all live and the concerns and complaints that we all share. Like most of you, I love this town a great deal, and I’m happy to have a chance to contribute to the Select board in doing its job.

Selectboard Oversight & Transparency

by Oscar Heller | Politics

This is my fourth year on the RTM Finance Committee. Many people have asked me what the committee’s job is, and now that we’ve finished our report (link), I can give a specific answer.

Our job is to provide citizen oversight of the Selectboard and the town’s budget. This report represents the culmination six months of research, analysis, and hard work by David Levenbach, Millicent Cooley, Mike Hutcheson, Paula Melton, and myself. We watched and rewatched Selectboard meetings, interviewed Town staff, and performed independent research.

Some notable sections:

Dummerston School Leadership Council Meeting Agenda

by Not Signed In | Education

The Dummerston School Leadership Council will meet at 5:00pm on Thursday, March 14, 2024 at Dummerston School. DLC will meet each month in person in the 4th grade classroom, and via Google Hangouts (unless there is an unforeseen interference). Future meetings-2024: Apr. 11, May 16, Jun. 13.

Brattleboro Town Clerk’s Office Closed March 5, 2024

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Town Clerk’s office will be closed all day on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 in order to run the Town Meeting elections, which will be held at the American Legion from 7am-7pm. The Town Clerk’s office will also be closed to the public on the morning of Wednesday, March 6. On Wednesday, March 6, 2024, the Town Clerk’s office will reopen at noon (12:00pm).

What Does Being Too Old Really Mean?

by RDavis | Politics

There has been a lot of talk about electing someone to the office of President of the United States, perhaps the most demanding job in the world, who is in his eighties. Joe Biden was born in 1942 making him the oldest person to sit in the oval office. People express misgivings about voting for him because of his age, but there is very little discussion of what exactly they fear about his age.

It is time to unpack the issues relating to an octogenarian president to see if they will really make it difficult for Biden to continue in office. The worst case scenario is that he dies in office. Males at 80 years old have a seven year life expectancy. That is based on averages, but when it comes to Biden, he is not your average 81 year old. He remains mostly physically fit and his father died at 86 and his mother at 92, so he has some genetic longevity working for him. He had a physical a few days ago and was declared physically fit to perform the duties of President. His doctor felt no need for cognitive testing.

Next Stage Arts Presents Cuban Quintet Espirales Project

by hahrenholz | Music

Next Stage Arts presents Cuban quintet Espirales Project on Friday, March 29th at 7:30 pm, at Next Stage Arts, located at 15 Kimball Hill, Putney, VT. Tickets are $20 in advance / $25 at the door / $10 livestream. Next Stage will provide a beer, wine, and cocktail cash bar. Advance tickets are available at nextstagearts.org. For information, call 802-387-0102 or visit nextstagearts.org.

Newly emerging on the Cuban music scene in 2023, the Espirales Project brings together five top graduates of Cuba’s Instituto Superior de Arte performing across several genres—Cuban, jazz, world, and chamber music. Tania Haase, Olivia Rodríguez, Alejandro Aguiar, Jesús Estrada and Rodrigo García have led or contributed nationally and internationally to projects across all these styles, performing at Cuba’s International Jazz Plaza Festival and the Habana Clásica concert music festival. They are also teachers who have designed a development program on Cuban music and culture.

Housing Crisis Fake News ?

by Kurt Daims | Activism

The town has waged a legal campaign against BCS for its emergency homeless shelters in RVs for a year now. Their charges are based on rumors and technicalities.

They can win only by their legal power. At our “trial” February 21, 2023 selectwoman Elizabeth McLoughlin objected to the chairperson referring to the housing emergency. She said BCS (Daims) was the only one declaring it that. BTW the housing crisis was already a national issue. The only deniers were on the Brattleboro selectboard. (The selectboard is the health board).

Brattleboro Gravel Road Warning Sign System

by Not Signed In | Town News

DPW will continue inspecting and reporting the conditions of Brattleboro’s gravel roads during mud season as we did last year.

The updated report will not be sent daily as in past years. Starting in the coming days, you will see a sign at the beginning of each gravel road. The sign will have a color-coded section that indicates the current condition of the road and QR code that will take you directly to Maps-on-line for the conditions of all roads.  Instead of waiting for all of the roads to be checked to report each road be entered immediately which should speed up the reporting significantly.  Attached is a press release explaining the new procedure.

The Gaslight Tinkers at Next Stage

by hahrenholz | Music

Next Stage Arts and Twilight Music present roots and world music quintet The Gaslight Tinkers at Next Stage on Friday, March 22 at 7:30 pm. Blending African, Caribbean, Funk, Reggae, and Latin grooves with traditional fiddle music, the quintet creates the genre-bending future of the music of the past.

The Gaslight Tinkers’ mix of global rhythms creates a joyous world beat sound around a core of traditional New England old time and celtic fiddle music, merging boundless positive energy with melody and song. Drawing from their extensive musical backgrounds in traditional folk, Caribbean, old time, Celtic, and rock, I-Shea, Clara, Garrett, Elie, and Peter craft a sound that brings world traditions together.

Déjà Vu: Heartless Town Officials Lack Institutional Memory

by SK-B | Town News
newspaper article

The Town of Brattleboro’s harrassing Kurt Daims for doing what he could to shelter homeless people closely parallels something that happened nearly 4 decades ago.

Thirty-eight years ago, the Town of Brattleboro gave a homeless shelter run by Faith Ministries a December 25 deadline to close.

The Christmas deadline — a public relations blunder — was dramatic enough to garner national attention, but the real issue was articulated in a press release in which Wally & Emily White said the following:

BUHS Leadership Council Meeting Minutes

by Not Signed In | Education

Leadership Council organization

Stephanie was elected as Leadership Council Chair. Renee will continue to take minutes as Clerk.

Discussion of old business. Agree to leave issues from last year regarding the Athletic Department and Union with previous LC. Any issues with AD or department should be brought individually to Hannah directly. Winter Sports parent meeting set for 11/27.

Western Avenue Utilities Work  Feb 27, 2024

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Utilities Division of Public Works will be performing an emergency sewer main repair in the area of 735 Western Avenue on Tuesday, February 27. The work is scheduled to begin at 8:30 am and will require alternating one lane traffic with flaggers.  Motorists should expect delays in the area and seek alternate routes. 

Brattleboro Planning Commission Meeting: March 4, 2024 Meeting Agenda

by planning | Town Plan

6:15– 7:00 Bike Parking Standards
Planning Commission votes on whether to pursue short-term bike parking standards, long-term bike parking standards, rack performance standards, site design guidelines, and potentially other related elements.

7:00 – 7:40 Certified Local Government
Review of Certified Local Government(CLG) ordinance and proposed change to Historic Resource Overlay Purpose (Section 252.A) for potential recommendation to the Selectboard to pursue CLG.

Tech News: Avast Antivirus Sold Client Info

by CCM Holland Mills | Sci-Tech

This issue is simply not getting the press it deserves:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ftc-avast-browsing-data-privacy/

By definition, your AV [antivirus] needs to not only track every browser request, it needs to track every executable invoked while the AV is running.  Any AV worth its salt would aggregate all this information, at least for the purpose of addressing new issues ASAP.