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.

Hegemonic Western Colonialist Media Journalists Are Accessories to Israeli Mass Murder of Children

by jay janson | Op/Ed

Since October 7, journalists of hegemonic Western colonialist media have made themselves accessories after and then before the fact of crimes against humanity ordered by the Israeli government and committed by Israeli military in their continuous mass murderous bombing and air strikes demolishing homes and entire cities of Israel’s captive Palestinian population in Gaza – indiscriminately killing thousands of residents, 70% [1]of which are women and children. These journalists became accessories after the fact and then before the fact. How?     

Maya Hasegawa: Oscar Heller for Selectboard

by Oscar Heller | Politics

I received this letter and permission to post it from Maya Hasegawa. I worked with Maya on the Finance Committee, and her name is well known to anyone involved in town politics. In addition to town meeting, she currently serves on the Charter Revision Commission, the Design Review Committee, and the Development Review Board – three serious commitments. I’m grateful for her support, and hope you’ll consider voting for me on March 5th.

Her letter follows. Thank you again, Maya!

***

One hears a great deal of talk these days about aging Vermont and how important it is for our future to attract and keep younger people. Brattleboro is fortunate to have such a person running for Selectboard.

$72,000 Parking Ticket

by Kurt Daims | Town News

(And that’s not the worst of it. The judge hinted he could raise it to $170,000.)

On February 14 the Town asked VT Superior Court for a judgement of $72K against a local nonprofit for placing RVs that were used as emergency homeless shelters on private land in Brattleboro.

The Town has effectively evicted the RV shelter, though homeless people are now sheltering in the house of the non-profit Brattleboro Common Sense, which started the shelter in late 2022. The non-profit claims the Town has started to harass them for that. The group spokesman, Kurt Daims, says “We have a good safe project here. See the work we’ve been doing for sixteen years.

We Perceive, and Then Believe

by AnneODyne | Opinion

I don’t know about you, but if I inadvertently walk into a spider web, or step in dog poop, my impulse is to get it off as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Why is the same not true for wayward ideas, made up threats and prejudices we blunder into? Clearly we are bound by our frames, blinded by the bubbles we inhabit, conditioned by what we see, even if that’s an optical illusion.

The most obvious example, steeped in misperception, the Sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening. Seems obvious and undeniable, and our ancestors can’t be blamed for succumbing to this illusion, but the fact is the earth is spinning, and our orientation of the sun coming and going is a fabrication.

There are countless similar constructs in daily life that fail to register as odd. Fake news, so to speak. How much more is this true with the projections and propaganda that pass as settled knowledge. There is probably a protective rationale for errant world building, but so much trust is abused by these faulty mechanisms in our consciousness.

Brattleboro Police Department Rabies Clinic on March 16, 2024

by Not Signed In | Police & Fire

The Brattleboro Police Department’s Animal Control Officer will be holding a Rabies Clinic on Saturday, March 16 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Brattleboro Police Station located at 62 Black Mountain Road, Brattleboro, VT 05301.

Registration is not required for this event. This event is open for Brattleboro residents and non-Brattleboro residents.

In addition to the rabies clinic, there will be a variety of services available, including: Rabies Clinic: The rabies clinic is for cats and dogs. The rabies vaccine costs $15 per animal and will be a cash-only service. The rabies vaccine will be the only vaccine available during this clinic.

Guilford Pre-Town Meeting Tuesday

by DonInGuilford | Guilford

Broad Brook Grange, in collaboration with the Guilford Selectboard, will hold the annual Pre-Town Meeting on Tuesday, February 27, at 6:30 pm, live. The event will be live-streamed on BCTV, but those interested in participating should attend at Broad Brook Community Center.

Town Meeting Moderator, Rick Zamore, will facilitate the February 27 session.

(Town Meeting itself will convene at 10 am on Tuesday, March 5, at Guilford Central School. Australian ballot will again be used to elect town officers, with polls open at the school 10 am -7 pm.)

WSESD Independent Budget Review Committee Meeting Minutes

by Not Signed In | Education

The committee discussed the pending legislative changes to Act 127, and the challenges for the district with the removal of the 5% cap.

The committee reviewed the Guilford tax rate, and on a motion by Laura and seconded by Jaci, the committee unanimously agreed to have Maggie contact Chloe Wexford to try and understand how the reappraisal affects the upcoming tax rate.

Brattleboro Committee Meeting Warnings

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro RTM Finance Committee will meet on Monday, February 26, 2024 at 6:30pm in the Hanna Cosman Meeting Room (230 Main Street, Rm 211) and on Wednesday, February 28, 2024 at 6:30pm in the Hanna Cosman Meeting Room (230 Main Street, Rm 211).

The Brattleboro Arts Committee will meet on Tuesday, February 27, 2024 at 5:00pm in the Brooks Memorial Library Community Room (224 Main Street).

After Watching the BCTV Candidates’ Forum, I Am Leaning Toward Oscar Heller

by SK-B | Politics

My initial visceral feeling was to dislike Heller, and like Case better. Case seemed more people-oriented. Although Heller said he listens to other people, his focus seems to be on spread-sheets, and I felt his outlook is reductionistic. I figured he probably does listen to other people, but what he probably listens to is their dollar-and-cents, reductionistic, insights.

But then came the question of safe injection sites, Case dismissed that immediately on the grounds that safe-injection sites would create more of an ambiance of Brattleboro as an addiction town. It appeared that his rejection of that idea was based on an emotional, shoot-from-the-hip reaction, apparently made with a complete lack of knowledge and information.

Arts & Humanities Curators Speak at Next Stage Arts in March and April

by hahrenholz | Arts

Next Stage Arts announces the return of the NXT Curators Series, offering an opportunity for audiences to hear from curators in various arts/humanities fields. The intent is to shine a light on less known styles and genres, providing a behind-the-scenes look at what curators need to consider when working with their medium.

“Three curators, all speaking on a different facet of what it means to present, collect, and preserve various objects, will be a part of our yearly Curator Series,” says Keith Marks, Executive Director of Next Stage Arts. “The series highlights a diverse lineup of topics – Art Deco, the environmental movement, and a historian committed to preserving music recorded on shellac. The range of topics gives the audiences a broad range of perspectives to consider.”

Pro Life Means Women Suffer and Die

by RDavis | Health

For 50 years our country gave women the right to control their bodies when it came to the decision to terminate a pregnancy. The Supreme Court took that away in June of 2022. The result of their ruling is that states now have the ability to ban abortions and at least 24 states have done so with a variety of time restrictions.

Many voters will still have this issue in mind in November and it is important for all of us to find out where candidates stand on this issue. Some states, like Vermont, quickly passed legislation to give a woman the right to choose and that means that women at least can try to go to states without abortion bans when they need the procedure.