Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – March 3, 2015

by cgrotke | Town News

A new dog park for Brattleboro? It will be up for discussion at the next regular Tuesday meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard, to be held in the BCTV studios to make room for Election Day activities on the second floor of the Municipal Center.

The board will hear legal opinions on bonds and bids, hear about the new zoning ordinances being planned, continue with decisons relating to Pay As You Throw, and will discuss assessing penalties and/or suing Brattleboro businesses to collect the business license fees.

You can participate by attending in person, or you can watch on BCTV. We’ll have the full account here the day after.

Teams Sought for Bowl for Kids’ Sake Benefit April 4

by Not Signed In | Recreation & Sports

Brattleboro, VT–Families, friends and teams from work are invited to celebrate the 34th Annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake to benefit Youth Services’ Big Brothers Big Sisters program on Saturday, April 4. The fundraising event will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with teams signing up for a one-hour time slot at Brattleboro Bowl on Putney Road.

Local Soapmaker Launches Kickstarter Project

by Carolyn | Business

Love to shop local?  Love all-natural products? Want skin and eco-friendly soaps, cleansers, and cleaners? Want to help a Brattleboro small business succeed?

Scrub Your Soul has been making and selling hand crafted soap and home products for over 10 years. I’d love to expand further (and even approach the co-op about carrying my products) but I need to make sure I can meet demand before I do that.

Dr. Craig Rinder Joins BMH Physician Group

by BMH | Health

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital announced that Craig Rinder, MD, will join , effective March 2, 2015.

When the transition is complete, Dr. Rinder’s current practice, known as Craig Rinder, MD, LLC, will be called BMH Urology. Its offices will still be located at 375 Canal Street in Brattleboro, Vermont. The new phone number for making appointments will be 802-251-8720.

Dr. Rinder has been practicing urology in Vermont and New Hampshire for over 17 years. His practice provides medical and surgical care for illnesses involving the male and female urinary tract (kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra), the adrenal glands and the male reproductive tract.

FCC Vote Opens Opportunities

by cgrotke | Sci-Tech

The Federal Communications Commission voted today to regulate broadband under Title II of the Communications Act. In ordinary speak, this is Net Neutrality. It eliminates threats of a multi-tiered system, where certain bandwidth costs more than other bandwidth depending on what you want to access.

The actual rules will be published in the near future, but the impact is a good one for anyone who has, or is wanting to start, a site on the internet. Your site will remain as accessible as all others.

I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of March 1

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

Route 30: One-Way Traffic and Night Work: Night work on the new bridge Route 30 will be conducted Monday night, March 2nd through Friday night, March 6th. Traffic on Vermont Route 30 within the work zone will be reduced to one-way starting later this week, so that the team can work on a very slight realignment of Route 30. Work will be conducted during daylight hours only, and flaggers will be present to control traffic. The work will be completed by the end of next week.

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. The new bridge will be 104’ wide and is designed to carry all four lanes of traffic –two northbound and two southbound.

Brattleboro Time Trade – week of February 22

by Brattleboro Time Trade | Other

Brattleboro Time Trade:

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

BTT’s First Annual Spring Forward Extravaganza:

Friday, March 6 from 4:30-8:30 pm at the River Garden (during Gallery Walk):
• Spring Gardening Show • Music
• Silent Auction & Raffle • Dessert Bar & Cafe!

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

Brown Bag Lunch at the River Garden: Technology That You Can Borrow From Brooks Library

by Brooks Memorial Library | Education

Bring your lunch and learn about tech toys you can borrow from Brooks Library! As part of the Strolling of the Heifers Brown Bag Lunch Series, Reference Librarian Jeanne Walsh and Library Director Jerry Carbone will talk about the technology that you can borrow from Brooks Memorial Library.

The library has pre-loaded Kindles, Nooks, and iPads and more. The library also has a LCD projector, Canon Digital camera, and portable screen, which were received as part of a Vermont Economic Development Project from the Vermont Department of Libraries. The policy and procedures needed to borrow these items will be reviewed at that time. 

At Brooks Library: Revenge – A Reading and Discussion Series

by Brooks Memorial Library | Books

Revenge– A Reading and Discussion Series on Wednesdays 7 pm – 8:30 pm. What are the causes of revenge? What are the consequences? Is taking revenge ever justified? Explore this most passionate and provocative of human desires through drama, short stories, and novels. Join Vermont Humanities Scholar and long-time Brooks facilitator Richard Wizansky for an evening of engaged discussion on this universal topic. First in the four-part series: Agamemnon. Books are available for checkout at the circulation desk.

The books, which will be available for checkout, are the following:
February 25, 7 PM: Aeschylus, Agamemnon
March 18, 7 PM: E.L. Doctorow, Welcome to Hard Times
April 15, 7 PM: Andre Dubus, Selected Stories
May 27, 7 PM: Russell Banks, The Sweet Hereafter

Brattleboro Area Farmers’ Market Seeks New Members

by brattleborofarmersmarket | Town News

The Brattleboro Area Farmers’ Market is now accepting applications for new members to vend their products at the Saturday and/or midweek markets. The Brattleboro Area Farmers’ Market is the region’s largest and oldest open-air market and supports local agriculture, prepared foods and crafts. The market features over 50 diverse vendors from the local area and attracts thousands of visitors annually.

The Brattleboro Area Farmers’ Market is a not-for-profit membership organization and welcomes applications from those who grow and/or create their own high-quality products, especially those working with local ingredients/materials to bring variety to the market’s offerings.

3rd White House Error Message – You Have To Keep Your Eye on President Obama All The Time!

by CrisEricson2016 | Op/Ed

3rd White House Error message at “We the People” petition section of President Obama’s official government White House website.  This has occurred at 1091 signatures on the Make Marijuana Legal petition, and it previously occurred at 1064 signatures on the Make Marijuana Legal petition, and before that it occurred when the petition had not reached the first 150 requirement. 

Brattleboro Women’s Chorus Spring Session Begins

by Not Signed In | Music

The spring session of the Brattleboro Women’s Chorus begins Wednesday, March 4 at 7:00 – 9:00 pm, and there is a second rehearsal option of Thursday, March 5 at 10:00 – Noon. These first rehearsals are open to anyone interested in trying out chorus without obligation. Both sessions will be held at Centre Congregational Church on Main Street. This is a location change until April for the Wednesday rehearsal.

Founder-director Becky Graber will lead the chorus in songs of travel in preparation for two concerts in May. Participation in the concerts is optional. All women and girls ages 10 and above are welcome to join without audition or previous musical experience. Financial aid is available.

Heads Up!

by tomaidh | Rumors

A big, fat false flag is likely in the works, so the DHS can get its funding

 A video purported to be by Somalia’s al-Qaida-linked rebel group al-Shabab urged Muslims to attack shopping malls in the U.S., Canada, Britain and other Western countries.

The masked narrator concluded an hour-long video by calling on Muslims to attack shopping malls, specifically naming the Mall of America, as well as the West Edmonton Mall in Canada and the Westfield mall in Stratford, England.

New Town Rep Candidates Badly Needed!

by JohnWilmerding | Town News

Alert! More candidates needed for Representative Town Meeting!

If you read the paper, you know that Brattleboro’s Representative Town Meeting is woefully short of candidates for the Town Election next week (Tuesday, March 3).

So we are putting out an appeal to all Town residents to consider running as write-in candidates for any uncontested (currently having NO candidates) seats at Representative Town Meeting.

Economic Development Pitch Night with Lt. Governor Phil Scott

by SeVEDS | State News

On behalf of both the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation and Lt. Governor Phil Scott, we wish to invite you to attend the Southern Vermont Regional Economic Pitch Night.  The event will be held at Vernon Elementary School in Vernon from 4pm-6pm on Monday, March 9th.

Southeastern Vermont has done extensive analyzing of and strategic planning for growing the Windham Regional economy through development of our Federally approved Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies.  Now you are also invited to present ideas to legislators on how to move the Vermont State economy forward. Presentations will be limited to 5 minutes per person.  This is an opportunity to provide positive ideas for improving Vermont’s economy, and hopefully encourage new legislation.

1% Local Option Tax

by Judy3d | Op/Ed

Brattleboro residents can vote on March 3 ( or by early voting now at the Town Clerk’s Office) about whether we should add a 1% optional sales tax here in Brattleboro.

This is a difficult issue because many fear it will hurt our downtown businesses and Brattleboro residents will also pay this extra 1% tax.( It won’t just be people who live out – of -town or out -of -state. ) On the other hand, it has been estimated that it could raise around $600,000 in extra revenue for the town.

I haven’t heard much public comment about this issue and I ‘d be interested to know what I-Brattleboro readers think.