Bridge of the Year

by Not Signed In | Town News

Roads & Bridges’ Top 10 Bridge awards, created in 2000, recognize the top projects in North America. Each year, nominations are submitted to the R&B editorial staff, which determines the Top 10 list based on project challenges, impact to region and scope of work.

In 2014 the top bridge chosen by Roads and Bridges is the I-91 bridge in Brattleboro over the West River.

You can read the article here on Roads and Bridge’s web site.

Roads and Bridges also made a site visit earlier in the year and produced a video that you can watch here.

WBA Names Daleys Community Leaders Of Year At Annual Holiday Party

by WBA | Town News

The West Brattleboro Association (WBA) announced the Community Leader of the Year recipients during its annual Holiday Party on Thursday, December 11, at The New England House. The winners of this 4th annual award are Bill and Judy Daley, owners of the Vermont Country Deli as well as the associated, brand new Market next door.

After living for ten years in Central Vermont, the Daleys came to Brattleboro to purchase the ever-popular delicatessen in 2007. Bill grew up in Cleveland and met Judy, who grew up in Brattleboro, at Miami University (Ohio). She is the daughter of Sylvia and (the late) John Hunter who was president of the Vermont National Bank. Since buying the deli seven years ago, together the Daleys have made it thrive even more, adding many features including a quick-stop facility with extra parking next door.  The new market is in the process of becoming an official Vermont Ambassador Welcome Center, and will be adding an ATM in January. Both Bill and Judy work full time in their Deli.

Festive Fruitcake

by Julia Beard | Food

This year, the Beard household is having a big, whiskey-soaked fruitcake. In years past I’ve made small fruitcakes, one pounders that were tasty and spirited, but this year it’s a bundt cake. The small loaf is gone too fast!

We were a store-bought, tea-totalling fruitcake family growing up. Nobody liked them, and nobody ate them. When I began making them my opinion of fruitcake changed. I went to all lengths, soaking brown paper and wrapping it tightly, tying in cheesecloth and keeping in a pot, baking in a Bain Marie. To my relief, I’ve found that regular baking techniques work just fine. A standard spice cake recipe with alcohol-soaked fruit bakes up perfectly. I continue “feeding” the cake every other day until serving.

Important Changes Coming to Zoning and Subdivision Regulations

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

There are significant changes coming to the Brattleboro Zoning Bylaw and Subdivision Regulations. The changes will have significant impacts on property owners, land development patterns and Grand List values.

If such matters interest you, please get involved early. As time passes so does the ability to participate. Raising concerns after the ship has sailed is a fruitless tradition.

Meetings will held on the following dates:

Local Gas Prices

by Nan Stefanik | Economics

The other day I paid attention to gas prices along my route from Westminster to Newfane. DANG – what a difference a few miles can make!

For 87 octane, the price ranged from $2.679 (Circle K on Route 30 in Dummerston) to $2.829 (Allen Bros) to $2.959 (Putney Sunoco).

What have you noticed in town?

Weekend Concert Series: James Brown, April 1971, Bologna, Italy

by cgrotke | Entertainment

This is a truly funky line-up, and perhaps my favorite era for James Brown. Everyone in the band was great.

We have Bobby Byrd, backing up James on vocals. We have the horn section that included Fred Wesley, Darryl Jamison, Chicken Gunnells. We have young Bootsy and Catfish Collins, Cheese Martin, and two drummers Jabo Starks and Tiger Martin.

This film isn’t great quality, but it has it all: funky suits, dances, and breaks, plus crazed Italian fans, and what seems to be Sophia Loren’s sister acting as a narrator in parts. My Italian isn’t so good, but she was talking about Sonny and Cher for a moment. If any of you can translate, please share/Cher…

Governor Allocates $814,000 for Projects in Windham County

by Not Signed In | Economics

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. – Governor Shumlin announced today that $814,000 from Round 1 of the Windham County Economic Development Program will be allocated to five projects. A small amount will be dedicated to legal costs and technical assistance to applicants and the remainder of the $2 million from this round will roll over to the next round in 2015 and the program will be redesigned to attract more business applications for loans and grant applications that meet specific entrepreneurial economic development objectives.

“I am allocating funds to a limited number of projects that promise job creation and investment in Windham County,” said Governor Shumlin. “The rest of the funding will roll over to the next round and I’ve asked Commerce Secretary Pat Moulton to redesign the application and allocation process.”

Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – December 14, 2014

by cgrotke | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard will receive their first official report on possible police facility locations at their final regular meeting of the year. You can attend in person at the Municipal Center, or watch on BCTV.

If you do, you can join talk of additions to the FY16 budget in the form of capital improvements and expenses, a discussion of the Windham Solid Waste District budget, a continued debate on a motion to incorporate life cycle costs considerations for town capital projects, an update from the Pay As You Throw Committee, a request by the Stroll for a permit for their June parade, and wishing a happy retirement to a long-time children’s librarian.

All this and more. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during Public Participation.

I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of December 14

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

NOTE: Upcoming night closure of I-91 Northbound between Exits 2 and 3 to re-address pothole problems. This work is weather dependent. It is tentatively scheduled for Monday night, December 15th between 8:00 pm and 6:00 am. The actual closure date will be communicated to stakeholders at least 48 hours in advance, after the team is able to confirm forecasted weather conditions are acceptable for work to proceed.

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.

Sanders Opposes Spending Bill

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement on a massive $1.01 trillion spending bill that the Senate plans to take up later today:

“At a time when the middle class continues to disappear, and the gap between the very rich and everyone else grows wider, this bill comes nowhere close to reflecting the needs and priorities of America’s working families.

“Instead of helping to strengthen Social Security, Medicare and other programs that help working families, this bill would allow the Pentagon to spend almost as much as the rest of the world combined on our military and seemingly never-ending wars in the Middle East.”

Brattleboro Pay-As-You-Throw Advisory Committee/Working Group Meeting Agenda

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Pay-As-You-Throw Committee (PAYT) will meet on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 at 4:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.  The Committee will then meet jointly with the Selectboard starting at 6:15pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

Brattleboro Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee Meeting Agenda

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee will hold a joint meeting with the Selectboard on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 starting at 6:15pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

…

Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee
Tuesday, December 16, 2014 – 6:15pm
Joint Meeting with Selectboard
Selectboard Meeting Room, Municipal Center
Agenda

Larry Bloch and Wetlands Preserve Remembered

by LEH | Entertainment

If you missed the Sunday Keene Sentinel, here is a. At Larry’s request, his first wife and “dream companion,” Laura Bloch Bourque, gathered together the many boxes of carefully saved calendars and photos of their nightclub into one amazing book which must be seen to be appreciated. Bands such as the Dave Mathews Band, Phish, Hootie and the Blowfish and so many others played at Wetlands Preserve in the 1990s.

The Sentinel article tells about the love that went into the writing and publishing of the book. The book itself is for sale at Everyone’s Books on Elliot Street in Brattleboro and Toadstool’s in Keene and Peterborough, NH

Ramsey Clark, “Without Demands for Compensation for Wrongful Deaths/Destruction, Anti-Imperialist-Wars Journalism is Hypocritical”

by jay janson | Op/Ed

Ramsey Clark and yours truly believe the great economic power shift Eastward augurs a future grand scenario in which the present and poverty of constructive thought from First World journalists will come to be recognized.
I plan to translate this treatise into various languages spoken in the neocolonial plundered world.

Sanders Welcomes Funding for Affordable Rental Housing

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a national leader in efforts to increase affordable housing, welcomed a move today that could free up hundreds of millions of dollars to expand affordable rental housing nationwide.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency ended its temporary suspension of contributions to funds designed to allow more renters to find the homes they need at prices they can afford. The agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ordered those companies to begin to make payments to affordable housing funds next year. The money will go into a fund to provided dedicated revenue for low-income housing. States and local agencies then could apply for the money and use it to finance very-low-income rental housing construction or rehabilitation projects.

Sanders Votes No on Defense Authorization Bill

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 – The Senate today advanced a Department of Defense bill that would authorize $560 billion for the military. The vote was 85-14. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) voted “no” and issued the following statement:

“I am voting no because I have very serious concerns about our nation’s bloated military budget and the misplaced national priorities this bill reflects.

“At a time when our national debt is more than $18 trillion and we spend nearly as much on defense as the rest of the world combined, the time is long overdue to end the waste and financial mismanagement that have plagued the Pentagon for years.

Fairpoint Internet Outage

by cgrotke | Other

Fairpoint’s high-speed interent service seems to be offline for Vermont and New Hampshiire.

As we rely on it (I’m away from the world HQ at the moment), updates to the site and answers to emails will be minmal, if at all, until they sort things out.

I wonder where Fairpoint could find a bunch of talented, knowledgeable technicians to help them bring this back online more quickly? Hmmm…

Anonymity & Pseudonyms Promote Cyber-Bullying

by JohnWilmerding | Op/Ed

Yeah I think I’be been ‘pushed around’ on iBrattleboro just a bit. And I have definitely spoken out quite a bit — and been taken to task for — questioning why people on iBrattleboro would want to debate serious issues under pseudonyms … and especially why they might expect to do so and still be taken seriously. It particularly irked me recently when someone criticized a Town employee by name on this site, but declined to give their own!

42nd Christmas at Christ Church: “All My Heart Rejoices!”

by fomag | Music

Guilford, Vt. – Friends of Music at Guilford’s 42nd Annual Christmas at Christ Church program, featuring choral and instrumental music, a holiday reading, and carols, is set for 8:00 p.m. on Friday, December 12, and 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 13. Christ Church is at the corner of Rt. 5 south and Melendy Hill Road in the Algiers Village of Guilford.
      
This season’s theme for the program — “All My Heart Rejoices!” — is reflected in nine mostly familiar holiday song texts in unfamiliar arrangements by composers from the past five centuries, including Arthur Sullivan’s “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” and Charles Gounod’s “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” Choral director Tom Baehr’s composing and arranging skills, featured in the repertoire of several recent Chamber Singers concerts, are represented in the version of “All My Heart This Night Rejoices!” being performed this weekend.

Elliot Street, Again

by Rolf | Op/Ed

Today, we again have news of another persons stabbed, (multiple times), on Elliot Street. My friend was reading the paper. I didn’t have my reading glasses, but I saw the headline had the word stabbing in it, and I immediately knew it was going to be on Elliot Street and in the early morning hours, as happened over and over again on that street, at that time.