A Conversation with Brattleboro Town Manager Yoshi Manale

by cgrotke | Town News

I had the opportunity to talk with Brattleboro’s new Town Manager, Yoshi Manale, last week via Zoom. What follows is a rough transcription of our conversation which wanders through topics such as Brattleboro’s downtown space, NJ politics, DC, Vermont, climate, housing, moving to a new place and fitting in, celebrities, and more.

….

I thought I’d do a little introductory story about you since you are new to to most people in Brattleboro. I thought I’d start with your name. Octavian is a really cool name. How did you get that name?

Selectboard Meeting Notes – FY23 Budget Finishing Touches, Bike Paths, Tax Stabilization for Alternative Energy

by cgrotke | Town News
sb january 18 2022

The Brattleboro Selectboard did some final tinkering with remaining FY23 budget items, with a discussion about bike paths and whether waiting six months is worth $16,000.

They approved some sidewalk improvements, Human Services requests, and a tax stabilization idea to encourage solar projects on already-developed land was discussed and sent along to RTM.

Brattleboro Downtown Street Snow Removal

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Town of Brattleboro would like to remind everyone that the snow emergency ban is in effect.   

Snow and ice will be removed from the streets in the downtown area this evening.   

Parked vehicles in the downtown district must be removed by 11:00pm or they will be towed at the owner’s expense.

BCTV Schedules – Week of January 17, 2022

by BCTVProg | Media

BCTV Channel 1075 schedule for the week of 1/17/22

Monday, January 17, 2022

5:30 am Addiction Recovery Channel – Preventing Overdose Fatalities – 12/17/21
6:30 am Open Exchange Vermont – EP 15 – Kevin Nathaniel – NYC Musician and Freedom Activist
7:00 am Brattleboro Literary Festival – Mateo Askaripour and Lauren Oyler – Real…and Unreal
8:00 am Democracy Now! – Democracy Now! Daily Broadcast
9:00 am Brattleboro Literary Festival – Sabina Murray and Dariel Suarez – Families and Dictators

Brattleboro Parking Lot Snow Removal

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Town of Brattleboro would like to remind everyone that the snow emergency ban is in effect.  

Snow and ice will be removed from the parking lots in the downtown area this evening.   

Parked vehicles in the downtown parking lots must be removed by 1:00am or they will be towed at the owner’s expense.

Which Test When

by RDavis | Health

People are flocking to testing sites to find out if they have COVID. That is a good thing and it means that a good number of people are taking responsibility for their safety and the safety of others. But when it comes to testing, there are options and it can be difficult to decide when to get tested and which test is best under certain circumstances.

The state of Vermont made over 300,000 rapid diagnostic testing (RDT’s) kits available a few days ago and they were grabbed up within a short period of time. Before people use them it would be a good idea to do some research and find out how to use the kits and when to use them. I will be getting some and I hope the instructions in the kits are useful.

Vermont Students Convene To Declare Their Priorities For The 2022 Legislative Session

by Not Signed In | State News

Vermont students representing the Vermont Youth Lobby and the Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network united on Zoom at noon on Friday and declared their priorities for the 2022 legislative session. In this address they looked back to their calls to action for the state seen in the Climate Congress Declaration and the work of the Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network, and they Youth highlighted the actions they have called for that have been left untouched, while they declared their priorities for the 2022 Legislative Session.

“Vermont legislators need to implement the Climate Action Plan, pass the environment justice bill, pass antiracism standards in education, pass the Bottle Bill and so much more,” said Jenna Hirschman, a student from Essex High School in Chittenden County, representing the Vermont Youth Lobby.

Brattleboro Selectboard Meeting Agenda and Notes – January 18, 2022

by cgrotke | Town News

Speak now or forever hold your peace – on the FY23 budget.  The Brattboro selectboard will be doing a final look at the FY23 budget they plan to send to Representative Town Meeting for consideration. Also for RTM, they will also review the annual Human Services funding request, consider an article to allow tax stabilization for alternative energy projects, appoint officers, and review draft warnings for upcoming elections and meetings.

The board will also have a public hearing for some safety improvements and hire a company to do some sidewalk repair. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.

If USA Were Reminded of 1967 Headlines! King Calls U.S.“Greatest Purveyor Of Violence In The World”

by jay janson | Op/Ed

If, during the three day Martin Luther King birthday holiday, a world attention getting source, for example, a Chinese government spokesperson, would point out that the government of the United States of America was condemned as the most violent in the world by America’s own idol, this writer believes it would be a sensation, and a most difficult moment for the U.S. government and America’s wars supporting mainstream media.

Brattleboro Martin Luther King Jr. Day Closings

by Not Signed In | Town News

In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, all Brattleboro Town Offices will be closed on Monday, January 17, 2022, with the exception of emergency services.

Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Monday, January 17. All other violations will be enforced.

Candide Revisited

by Lise | Books, Culture

While I was reading Candide, the controversial 18th century fable by master satirist and troublemaker Voltaire, I mentioned to some fellow readers that I thought it was very funny.  I was met with a chorus of boos and hisses:  “Awful book.  Miserable book.  Thoroughly depressing.”  This made me wonder if we were talking about the same book, until I realized that they had both read it while still in their teens, when the bitterness of Voltaire’s satire must have proved overwhelming to their youthful optimism.  

It should be noted that the full title of the book is Candide, or Optimism, although admittedly there is very little in the story of our hero Candide and his teacher Dr. Pangloss to inspire one to an optimistic view of the human race.  Technically, it’s a satire on the views of the German thinker Liebniz, whose philosophy on the existence of evil is summed up in the famous saying that we live in “the best of all possible worlds.”  Voltaire disagrees.  But you don’t need to know the works of Liebniz to get Voltaire’s indictment of society which in Candide is corrupt from top to bottom.

Town of Brattleboro Notice of Availability of Auditors’ Report

by Not Signed In | Town News

NOTICE is hereby given that the Brattleboro Town Auditors’ Report for fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, is available upon request and may be picked up at the Brattleboro Town Clerk’s Office, 230 Main Street,  Brattleboro, Vermont.

The Auditors’ Report will also be available as part of the Town Annual Report which will be available at  the Town Clerk’s Office no later than February 19, 2022.

BCTV Schedules – Week of January 10, 2022

by BCTVProg | Media

BCTV Channel 1075 schedule for the week of 1/10/22

Monday, January 10, 2022

5:00 am Vote for Vermont – Being Latino in Vermont 10/14/21
6:00 am Vote for Vermont – 12/2/21
7:00 am Brattleboro Literary Festival – Peter Filkins and Jennifer Militello – New England Poets
8:00 am Democracy Now! – Democracy Now! Daily Broadcast